Freshman wins regional essay contest

The essay, entitled "Slavery -- A Nation at War," was judged to be the best written by a middle school student for the organization's James Peyton Atkins Memorial "War Between the States" Scholarship. The faculty of the Hill School, where Maddie was an eighth grader when she accepted the challenge of researching and composing the historical essay, had earlier selected her as one of the School's two winners. She and another student shared a $1,000 prize and their essays were submitted to the Mosby Association consideration.

Maddie's was selected by that organization as the best of all middle school essays submitted and she was honored at this year's Conference on the Art of Command in the Civil War, which took place Oct. 1-3. Well-known historians presented talks at the Middleburg Community Center and led a guided tour of the Battle of Fredericksburg.

The Mosby Heritage Area is named for the famed Confederate Cavalry officer John S. Mosby whose rangers fought throughout the region during the Civil War. It includes the counties of Loudoun, Fauquier, Clarke, Warren and part of Prince William--and was known during the Civil War as Mosby's Confederacy. The Association strives to educate about the history and advocate for the preservation of the extraordinary historic, cultural and scenic resources in the Northern Virginia Piedmont.

The Atkins Scholarship was established in honor of a southwestern Virginian who kept the experiences and sacrifices of his grandfather and great uncles alive by telling vivid stories to his children. His grandfather was won of four brothers who served and survived the bloody Civil War.