Samuel C. Means
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Samuel C. Means | |
|---|---|
| 1828 – 1891 | |
 Sketch of Samuel Means |
|
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/branch | Cavalry |
| Years of service | 1862–64 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit | Loudoun Rangers |
| Commands held | -Loudoun Rangers |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War - Battle of Charlestown - Battle of Monocacy |
Samuel C. Means (1828-1891) was the founder and first captain of the independent Loudoun Rangers, the only organized body of men from Virginia to serve in the Union army during the American Civil War.
Means was a succesfull gristmiller and businesman from Waterford, Virginia, with several ties through his business to Point of Rocks, Maryland. After the secession of Virginia in May of 1861, Confederate authorities began to court him over the use of his mill (the largest in Loudoun County). An erstwhile quaker and with considerable interests in loyal Maryland, Means, a unionist, would have none of it. Consequently the Confederates issued warrants for his arrest forcing Means to flee to Maryland in July of 1861. Subsequent to his fleeing, the Confederate government siezed all his property and assets in Virginia.
When Union forces under John Geary invaded Loudoun in March of 1862, Means served as a scout for the force. For his service, Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton issued him a captaincy with permission to raise a company of cavalry for border service in Loudoun and Maryland. The resulting Loudoun Rangers served as partisans in Loudoun for much of the war, but were eventually mustered in to regular service leading to Means' departure from the unit over the issue in 1864.
|
||||||||||||||||
 |
This biographical article related to the United States military is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
