On February 20, 1863 a group of pro-Union Virginians, the family and friends of Mr. and Mrs. James Filler of Taylorstown, Virginia, gathered for a country dance at the Filler home. Among the revelers was young Mollie Anderson and her older brother, cavalryman Sgt. F.B. Anderson of the Independent Loudoun Rangers. The Loudoun Rangers were Virginians, too. In fact, they held the distinction of being the only Union troop to ever be formed on Virginia's mostly-Confederate soil. The majority were recruited from the German settlement of Lovettsville and the Quaker villages of Waterford, Lincoln and Hamilton - then Harmony.

By 11 o'clock, the FIller Dance was in full swing.

Outside the home, another local unit was preparing to crash the party: Elijah V. White's 35th Battalion, Virginia Cavalry , CSA. Nicknamed the Comanches for the Indian war whoop they let out during an attack, the 35th loved nothing more than surprising the enemy &emdash; especially when the enemy was busy having a good time.

The Comanches burst into the Filler house. In the next few seconds, approximately twelve Confederate revolvers were leveled at Sgt. F.B. Anderson's head. He was told to surrender, and he reluctantly complied.

The fellow in charge, Confederate Lieutenant Marlow, informed him he'd be taken to Richmond - to Libby Prison. Everyone knew imprisonment at Libby would mean death by starvation, disease, or worse - everyone knew it, but none felt it as deeply as F.B.'s young sister, Mollie.

She decided to do what she could. To her friends' shock and horror, she stepped up to Lieutenant Marlow, threw her arms around his neck, and began to weep and beg him not to send her brother to Libby.

In a society in which you would never consider publicly touching an ungloved hand let alone throwing your arms around the neck of a perfect stranger, the action was nothing less than shocking.

And what effect did it have on Marlow? The only account of this ball, written by Union cavalryman Briscoe Goodhart of the Loudoun Rangers, simply states: "Marlow wilted."

Lieutenant Marlow proceeded to tell Miss Mollie he would send her brother to a camp where he would be released on parole if she would dance the next sette with him. Mollie readily agreed.

At this point, "all the Johnnies" took partners for the dance. And F.B. Anderson, now a formal prisoner of war, proceeded to walk over to the musicians, borrow a violin, and begin to play a popular tune of the day, "The Girl I Left Behind Me."

Lieutenant Marlow and Miss Mollie led the dance, and Marlow called for a "promenade all," traditionally the first dance of the evening. By this use of ballroom etiquette, Marlowe told the crowdin effect, "This party is starting over." The Johnnies stayed and danced their sette &endash; six to eight dances, worth - and then they took F.B. Anderson and other prisoner away with them.

As promised, Marlow paroled Sgt. Anderson the next day. F.B. dutifully signed in at Camp Parole in Maryland and was eventually exchanged to return to his unit.

As the Civil War progressed, these two local units clashed more frequently, and feelings grew deeply bitter. The charming stand-off and compromise performed at the Filler residence would never be repeated.

In April of 1864, members of the Loudoun Rangers, F.B. among them, raided a Confederate ball near Hamilton. F.B. and another Ranger were the first to enter the house. The Southerners resisted, and an 18-year old soldier named Braden was killed and his sister wounded.

The rebels would not forget this incident.

In late November 1864, The Loudoun Rangers were chosen to lead the Union Amy on a burning raid through Loudoun's countryside. Tasked to point out homes that might still have livestock, hay, wagons and food, the Rangers did their duty. The County, already suffering starvation, saw its barns burned, livestock killed or driven off, and their last bits of food taken away. In an ironic twist, pro-Union Quaker families were said to suffer as much as the Southern sympathisizers.

The Loudoun Rangers took no pride in their work. In fact, Briscoe Goodhart fails to mention the Burning Raid in his book on the Rangers.

Soon after the Burning Raid, Confederates found a means of revenge on the Rangers &endash; and on F.B. Anderson.

It was Christmas Eve,1864, when a group of men from White's command and a few of Colonel John S. Mosby's Rangers decided to raid a social held at F.B. Anderson's family home near Taylorstown. F.B. was present with a young lady rumored to be his future bride. Following social decorum, he retained his pistol and pistol belt but unhooked his sword and left it standing against the wall.

When the Confederates broke in, F.B. immediately attempted to escape. He'd never run from a fight before, so we might presume he knew they were there to kill him if they could.

The next few minutes proved to be a comedy of errors, ending in a tragedy. The S-hook from F.B.'s empty sword belt snagged on a chair, stopping his flight when he reached the back doorway. Revolver in hand, he was still trying to extricate himself when he was shot four times.

He died in his mother's arms.

The Confederates then threatened another Loudoun Ranger with death, but a Mosby man named Braden intervened to save his life. His reason for doing so should not surprise anyone. Although the Civil War had fractured most ties in Loudoun County, the Andersons and the Bradens were blood relations - and some bonds not even war could break.

The fighting continued only a few months longer.

After the war, ex-Confederate Lieutenant Richard Marlow, retired to Loudoun to raise a family. He died in 1892 and is buried in Union Cemetery at Leesburg (one block north of St. James Episcopal Church).

F.B.'s sister, Mollie, disappeared from post-war County records in 1864. Evidence suggests she may have married, but the name of her husband and the events of her later life remain a mystery.

But the sure fate of her brother, the soldier who wanted to dance, has become part of Loudoun's unique Civil War history, providing us with a unique perspective on the brothers' war: the ties that bind and the ties that break

Those interested in learning more about life in Loudoun County during the Civil War are encouraged to read The History of the Independent Loudoun Rangers by Briscoe Goodhart, The Comanches by Franklin M. Myers, and Mosby's Rangers by James J. Williamson. Each of these books and many more concerning the history of Loudoun County can be found at The Thomas Balch Library in Leesburg, Virginia.