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Samuel Carrington Means
Sketch of Samuel Means
Born	(1827-08-05)August 5, 1827 Fauquier County, Virginia, U.S.
Died	March 2, 1884(1884-03-02) (aged 56) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Allegiance	United States of America Union
Service / branch	Union Army
Years of service	1862–64
Rank	Captain
Commands	Loudoun Rangers
Battles / wars	American Civil War Battle of Charlestown Battle of Monocacy
Spouse(s)	Rachel Ann

Samuel Carrington Means (August 5, 1827 – March 2, 1891) was the founder and first captain of the Loudoun Rangers, a Union Army unit from Virginia that served during the American Civil War.

Means was a successful gristmiller and businessman from Waterford, Virginia, with several ties through his business to Point of Rocks, Maryland, where he was station master for the B&O Railroad. After the secession of Virginia in May 1861, Confederate authorities began to court him over the use of his mill (the largest in Loudoun County). An erstwhile Quaker with considerable interests in loyal Maryland, Means was a unionist and would have none of it. Consequently, the Confederates issued warrants for his arrest forcing Means to flee to Maryland on July 1, 1861, leaving his family behind. Subsequent to his fleeing, the Confederate government seized all his property and assets in Virginia, including 28 horses, 42 hogs, 2 wagons all the flour and meal at his mill.

When Union forces under John Geary invaded Loudoun in March 1862, Means served as a scout for the force. For his service, Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton issued him a captaincy with permission to raise a company of cavalry for border service in Loudoun and Maryland. The resulting Loudoun Rangers served as partisans in Loudoun for much of the war but were eventually mustered into regular service leading to Means' departure from the unit over the issue in 1864.

He died on March 2, 1884, at the age of 56.

References

1. "Samuel Carrington Means 1827-1884 - Ancestry®". www.ancestry.com. Retrieved 2023-05-22.
2. "Capt. Sam Means, Founder of Loudoun Rangers, Honored at Graveside Ceremony – Lovettsville Historical Society & Museum". 2022-03-29. Retrieved 2023-05-22.

Further reading

• Goodheart, Briscoe (1896). History of the Independent Loudoun Rangers, Scouts U.S Army: 1862-1865. Washington, D.C.: Press of McGill & Wallace. Retrieved December 7, 2014.
• Scheel, Eugene M. (2002). Loudoun Discovered: Communities, Corners & Crossroads. Leesburg, Virginia: The Friends of the Thomas Balch Library. Retrieved December 7, 2014.

v t e Loudoun County in the American Civil War
Battles	Battle of Ball's Bluff Battle of Dranesville Battle of Harpers Ferry Battle of Aldie Battle of Middleburg Battle of Upperville
Skirmishes	Fight at Waterford Battle of Mile Hill Affair at Glenmore Farm Battle of Unison Fight at Aldie Skirmish at Miskel Farm Blackleys Grove 2nd Dranesville Action at Mount Zion Church Battle of Loudoun Heights Heaton's Crossroads Harmony Skirmish
Raids	Burning Raid George's Schoolhouse Raid
Units	Confederate 35th Battalion of Virginia Cavalry 43rd Battalion of Virginia Cavalry 7th Virginia Cavalry 8th Virginia Infantry Union Loudoun Rangers
People	Confederate Robert H. Chilton John Janney John Mobberly Elijah V. White Union Samuel C. Means
Sites	Ball's Bluff Battlefield and National Cemetery Harpers Ferry National Historical Park Fort Johnston Fort Evans Fort Beauregard

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• Loudoun County, Virginia, in the American Civil War
• 1827 births
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• People from Waterford, Virginia
• Southern Unionists in the American Civil War
• Union army officers
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