White, Elijah V. (Elijah Viers), 1832-1907

Elijah Viers White (1832-1907), known as "Lige", is perhaps best remembered for his role as a Confederate cavalry officer. During the Civil War he was a major perpetrator of Confederate partisan operations, and was praised by leaders such as Robert E. Lee, Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, J.E.B. Stuart, and Wade Hampton.

Born in Montgomery County, Maryland on 29 Aug 1832, White received a two-year education at the Lima Seminary and Granville College, both in upstate New York. In 1855 he joined one of the Missouri Companies to combat abolitionists entering the Kansas territory. A year later he bought land in Loudoun County and married Sarah Elizabeth Gott (b. 1837). When the war broke out in 1861, White served with Lieutenant Colonel Turner Ashby's 7th Virginia Cavalry Regiment. Throughout the war, his distinguished service at the Battle of Ball's Bluff, Battle of Antietam, Second Battle of Bull Run was commended, as well as his command of the 35th Virginia Battalion (known as the "Comanches"). After the war, White became a businessman, president of the Peoples National Bank of Leesburg, and was elected Sheriff of Loudoun County. He continued to support veterans' organizations such as United Daughters of the Confederacy and Sons of Confederate Veterans until his death in 1907.