William was born on July 19, 1821 in Fairfax
County, Virginia.(1) When he was
still a small child, the family moved to Shenandoah County,
settling in the Fork District west of Front Royal. This area became part of
Warren County when it was created in 1836 from Shenandoah and
Frederick Counties. On December 11, 1845, William married his
first cousin Amelia "Millie" Ann Ridgway, the daughter
of Judson and Amelia
Ridgway.(2)
William was a farmer, like his father, and owned property near Passage Creek in the vicinity of Buckton, a few miles west of Front Royal. In the 1870 Federal census, his farm was assigned a value of $1000. Prior to the Civil War, William owned several slaves whose primary functions were most likely house work and farm labor. According to information passed down through the family, he took great efforts to educate his slaves in reading and writing, during a period when, although permitted by Virginia law, this was not always looked upon favorably.(3) William freed his slaves at the onset of the Civil War.
On September 7, 1863, William enlisted
as a 3rd Corporal in Capt. Calmes' Company of the 23rd
Virginia Cavalry Regiment, Imboden's Brigade, General Lumsford
Lomax's Division.(4) The cavalry
played an important role in protecting the army's flanks and in
gathering information on the enemy's whereabouts and movements
during military engagements. This unit was part of General Jubal
Early's Army of the Valley, and in July of 1864 "Old
Jubal" began his famous campaign on Washington as part of
Lee's plan to distract Grant's attention away from Richmond.
Among other actions, this campaign involved the cutting of the B
& O Railroad, the defeat of General Wallace at the Battle of
the Monocacy in Frederick County, Maryland, the burning of
Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and the aborted attack on Washington
itself. Ultimately, Washington was too well fortified for the
tired, hungry and heat exhausted Rebels, but the actions of the
Valley boys were successful in drawing some of Grant's troops
away from Richmond to defend the threat further north, thereby
attaining their primary mission.(5) 
In September of 1864 a beleaguered Early
began his last defensive stand against Sheridan's army at Fishers
Hill near Strasburg, Virginia.(6)
Near sunset on the 22nd, Crook's Union cavalry, using
the cover of trees to gain Early's left flank and rear, swept
down upon the surprised Lomax, enveloping his forces and causing
them to flee in full retreat. After a simultaneous frontal
assault by Sheridan's infantry, the whole Confederate line broke
from its trenches, leading to a route of the Rebel forces. Early
barely escaped, but this action proved to be the death toll for
the Army of the Valley, who were eventually overrun by Sheridan
at Cedar Creek on October 19. William Ridgway was captured during
the cavalry action at Fishers Hill. He spent most of the
remainder of the War as a prisoner at Point Lookout,
Maryland, and was paroled on
May 18, 1865 at Winchester.
On the front lawn of the Warren County Courthouse in Front Royal, stands a monument commemorating the courage and patriotism of some 600 men from Warren County who served honorably for the Confederacy during the War. An inscription reads:
"To those who fought and lived, and to those who fought and died. To those who gave much, and those who gave all"
The monument was dedicated on July 4, 1911 with elaborate ceremonies and attended by many Confederate veterans, their sons and daughters. One of the noted orators who delivered an address at the dedication was Colonel Robert E. Lee, Jr., son of the Confederate leader.(7) The monument is about 20 feet tall and is surmounted by a Confederate soldier facing North. William Ridgway's name is listed on a bronze tablet located on the west side of the monument, commemorating those who served in the 23rd Virginia Cavalry. Other relatives named on the monument include Newton Ridgeway, Joseph Ridgway, William H. Ridgway, James Vermillion, William Lovelace and Alfred Kidwell.
During the Civil War, families in the Front Royal area suffered greatly as armies from both sides crossed through and skirmished in this important region. The Shenandoah Valley was considered the "bread basket" of the Confederacy, and was often used as an invasion route by the North as well as the South. Following August of 1864, when Union General Phillip Sheridan assumed command of the Army of the Shenandoah and began his "scorched earth" policy, living conditions in the Fork District went from poor to desolate. Sheridan burned mills and barns on his way up the Valley, leaving very little remaining in his path. During this period, the Yankee army was encamped on the hills and surrounding area near the Ridgway property off Totten Road, and frequently raided local farms in search of food and, more importantly, horses. William was away at this time, serving in the Confederate Cavalry, and Millie Ann was left behind to tend to the farm and children. She hid their horses at the Frederick Burying Ground, a nearby family cemetery, to keep them out of Yankee hands.
Listen to Leona Hunt, great
grandaughter of Millie Ann, recount the story as told to her by
Millie's daughter, Lucy (wave, 138k)
Apparently this did not deter a certain group of soldiers from
entering the farm house, unwelcomed, in search of what ever loot
they might find. As the story goes, Millie
Ann, enraged by this brazen behavior, marched to the nearby
Yankee camp and demanded that the trespassers be removed
from her property. Unfortunately, the soldiers had meanwhile set
fire to the farm house and the clapboard structure quickly burned
to the ground before the Yankee commander could stop the
trespassers. The family was forced to rebuild following the War,(8) and this second farm house
remains standing today, although it is no longer in the Ridgway
family. 
William and Millie Ann lived out the remainder of their lives on their farm near Front Royal. Millie Ann passed away on March 24, 1899, and William died on November 18, 1912 at the ripe old age of 91. They were both laid to rest in the Frederick Burying Grounds, within sight of their farm house. There were 12 children in all born to this family, but six of them died very young, including the first three born. The first and second born of these, died two days apart in June of 1848. In the fall of 1862, an even more tragic event occurred in the Ridgway household. Four of the children died in less than three months. The first passed away in August, and the remaining three in November; the last two on the same day, November 10. The cause of this calamity is not known, but most likely was due to a disease such as scarlet fever, which was common at the time.
James
Richard Ridgway (1861-1945) James, who never
married, spent his entire life working the family farm on
which he was born. He lived on the farm with his spinster
sisters Martha and Lucy, and all three are buried in the
nearby Frederick Burying Grounds. The Ridgway farm was
sold to another relative after his death, and the
proceeds distributed among his surviving heirs of William
Ridgway. James was described by those who remember him as
a Southern gentleman, always kind and polite.
William Thomas Ridgway (VI)
(1863-1936) William married Elton Virginia
Clapsaddle on December 26, 1893. They farmed land in the
Fork District until 1913 when they moved to Savage,
Maryland, where William took a job working at the cotton
duck mill. They had seven children, Millie Blanche, Effie May, Herbert Bryan, Brocket
Boyd, Helen Elizabeth, Mabel Arbutus and Catherine
Virginia.
Lucy
Virginia Ridgway (1868-1947) Lucy, who never
married, lived most of her life with her brother Jim and
sister Martha on the family farm. She is buried in the
nearby Frederick Burying Grounds.
Martha
Frances Ridgway (1871-1928) Martha, who never
married, lived her entire life on the family farm with
brother Jim and sister Lucy. She is buried in the
Frederick Burying Grounds.
1. Bible records of William and Amelia Ann Ridgway, in possession of Mrs. Leona Hunt of Orange County, Virginia.
2. Warren County Marriage Register, Book A, Page 11, County Court House, Front Royal, VA.
3. Personal communication with Leona Hunt, December 28, 1995, Rhoadesville, VA.
4. Confederate Compiled Service Records, National Archives, Washington, D.C.
5. 23rd Virginia Cavalry, by Richard B. Kleese, The Virginia Regimental Histories Series, H. E. Howard, Lynchburg, VA, 1996.
6. Four Valiant Years in the Lower Shenandoah Valley 1861-1865, 4th edition, by Laura Virginia Hale, Hathaway Publishing, Front Royal, VA, 1972.
7. Memories In Marble, by Laura Virginia Hale, pamphlet sponsored by United Daughters of the Confederacy, Warren Rifles Chapter, Front Royal, VA, 1956.
