their parents. The names of only three of the slaves are known for certain. Records show that Albert purchased a young man named Charles in 1856. In 1859 he purchased, from his sister, another man named Hanson, who had been in the Willcoxon family since 1806. There are also records of a woman, Maria, whom Albert sold to his sister-in-law, Isabelle K. Eskridge, in 1859. There were most likely two slave quarters on the property. The Civil War years Albert and his wife were supporters of secession and supported the Confederate cause by selling Confederate soldiers large quantities of supplies. Some of the items Albert sold during the early war years were beef, hay, blacksmith supplies, horses and pork. By October 1862, however, Fairfax was controlled mainly by the Union army, which ravaged the area and depleted much of the landscape. The Willcoxon estate suffered from this. At some point in 1862, Albert, his wife, and their two children left the area. Since Mary's family was from Leesburg, in Loudoun County, VA, it is possible that the couple and their two children stayed there until the end of the war. Military significance of Fairfax and Blenheim Due to its proximity to the nation's capital, Fairfax was important to the defense of Washington, D.C. Since Blenheim is located at the edge of Fairfax, the Willcoxon family's land was in the middle of wartime activity in the town. Not long after the start of the war, a Confederate force of around 300 men guarded the town. On June 1, 1861, a Union cavalry unit advanced on the town and attacked the Confederate force. Despite the fact that the Confederates were poorly equipped and were not warned of the Union advance, they held off the Northern troops and retained possession of the town. During the skirmish, however, the war saw its first Confederate officer killed. On July 17, 1861, a Union officer reported that Fairfax was now occupied by the Northern Army. By the end of that year, the Army of the Potomac was using the courthouse in Fairfax as army headquarters. Some evidence suggests that Blenheim may have once served as headquarters as well. Between 1861 and 1863 control of the city changed hands numerous times, but by March 1863, it was solidified as a Union stronghold. Union soldiers and Blenheim Because of Blenheim's location within Fairfax, and its abandonment by its