Ball's Bluff Battlefield and National Cemetery
Encyclopedia
Ball's Bluff Battlefield Regional Park and National Cemetery is a battlefield area and an United States National Cemetery
, located 2 miles (3.2 km) northeast of Leesburg, Virginia
. The cemetery is the third smallest national cemetery in the United States
. Fifty-four Union Army
dead from the Battle of Ball's Bluff
are interred in 25 graves in the half-acre plot; the identity of all of the interred except for one, James Allen of the 15th Massachusetts
, are unknown. Monuments to fallen Confederate
Sergeant
Clinton Hatcher and Union brigade
commander Edward Dickinson Baker
are located next to the cemetery, though neither is buried there. While the stone wall-enclosed cemetery itself is managed through the Culpeper National Cemetery
and owned by the Department of Veterans Affairs
, the balance of the 223 acre (0.90244978 km²) park is managed through the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority
.
was a small but consequential defeat for the Union
early in the American Civil War
, occurring just months after the Union Army's
rout after the First Battle of Bull Run
and another embarrassing loss at Battle of Wilson's Creek
in the Western Theater. The Union defeat at Ball's Bluff revealed something to the public about the political nature of Union appointments of officers and their occasional incompetence, and led directly to the creation of the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War
.
On October 21, 1861, Union Colonel
Edward D. Baker
, a U.S. Senator
from Oregon
and close friend of President
Abraham Lincoln
, was given orders from Brigadier General
Charles P. Stone
to either withdraw Massachusetts
troops who already had landed on the Virginia
side of the Potomac River
to reconnoiter and raid a Confederate camp north of Leesburg, or reinforce the expedition in the event the raid was successful, at his discretion. Before Baker could discover the true nature of the situation, Confederates pickets detected and fired upon the Union force, and local Confederate district commander Col. Nathan "Shanks" Evans
quickly deployed his Virginia and Mississippi
regiments against the threat, while still presenting a defense against a larger Union crossing downriver at Edwards Ferry. The inexperienced Baker crossed additional companies to the bluff, but positioned his troops poorly, with the peak of the bluff against their back and higher ground in front of their lines.
After a prolonged firefight, the Confederate pressure broke the Federal line, and the assault pushed the Union troops down the difficult terrain and onto the river bank, killing Baker and 222 others, wounding 226, and eventually capturing 553. The few boats available became quickly overloaded and some capsized due to overcrowding, so evacuation became impossible. Some swam across to nearby Harrison Island, but 161 went missing, many of them drowned in the swollen Potomac. Bodies of Union troops who had drowned floated downstream towards Washington, D.C. for days after the battle.
in December, the eulogies for the late senator went on for days. An investigative Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War
was formed to examine the causes of the recent defeats, particularly actions related to the death of Baker, Lincoln's
close friend. Such congressional investigations, more common since, had only very weak precedents at the time. The committee's operations were arguably an aggravation for the duration of the war, and ultimately ruined the career of General Stone, who was held accountable for the Baker's defeat at Ball's Bluff. Army of the Potomac
commanding general George B. McClellan
, who was responsible at a larger level and had issued vague orders which set in motion the debacle, escaped blame.
The land for a cemetery was donated in 1865.
The battlefield area was declared a National Historic Landmark
in 1984. At that time the 300 feet (91.4 m) tall bluff, the landing on the Potomac River, and almost all aspects of the site were substantially the same as the time of the battle 123 years before. An "intrusion" is the wall-enclosed Ball's Bluff National Cemetery, holding 54 graves of Union dead (53 unknown, and James Allen of the 15th Massachusetts Infantry). Another intrusion is a fenced 1.3 miles (2.1 km) approach road built in 1907. A grave marker for Confederate soldier Clinton Hatcher, of the 8th Virginia Infantry
, and a marker of the site of Baker's mortal wounding, are nearby.
The park, maintained by the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority, contains over seven miles (11 km) of marked trails, including a mile-long loop trail to the bluff overlook with interpretive markers and 2.1 miles (3.4 km) trail along the Potomac riverbank.
United States National Cemetery
"United States National Cemetery" is a designation for 146 nationally important cemeteries in the United States. A National Cemetery is generally a military cemetery containing the graves of U.S. military personnel, veterans and their spouses but not exclusively so...
, located 2 miles (3.2 km) northeast of Leesburg, Virginia
Leesburg, Virginia
Leesburg is a historic town in, and county seat of, Loudoun County, Virginia, United States of America. Leesburg is located west-northwest of Washington, D.C. along the base of the Catoctin Mountain and adjacent to the Potomac River. Its population according the 2010 Census is 42,616...
. The cemetery is the third smallest national cemetery in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Fifty-four Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
dead from the Battle of Ball's Bluff
Battle of Ball's Bluff
The Battle of Ball's Bluff, also known as the Battle of Harrison’s Island or the Battle of Leesburg, was fought on October 21, 1861, in Loudoun County, Virginia, as part of Union Maj. Gen. George B...
are interred in 25 graves in the half-acre plot; the identity of all of the interred except for one, James Allen of the 15th Massachusetts
15th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry
The 15th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served from the State of Massachusetts during the American Civil War from 1861-1864. A part of the II Corps of the Army of the Potomac, the regiment was engaged in many battles from Ball's Bluff to Petersburg, and...
, are unknown. Monuments to fallen Confederate
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
Sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
Clinton Hatcher and Union brigade
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
commander Edward Dickinson Baker
Edward Dickinson Baker
Edward Dickinson Baker was an English-born American politician, lawyer, military leader. In his political career, Baker served in the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois and later as a U.S. Senator from Oregon. A long-time close friend of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, Baker served as U.S...
are located next to the cemetery, though neither is buried there. While the stone wall-enclosed cemetery itself is managed through the Culpeper National Cemetery
Culpeper National Cemetery
Culpeper National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the town of Culpeper, in Culpeper County, Virginia. It encompasses of land, and as of the end of 2005, had 9,880 interments.- History :...
and owned by the Department of Veterans Affairs
United States Department of Veterans Affairs
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs is a government-run military veteran benefit system with Cabinet-level status. It is the United States government’s second largest department, after the United States Department of Defense...
, the balance of the 223 acre (0.90244978 km²) park is managed through the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority
Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority
The Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority is an interjurisdictional organization that owns and operates more than 10,000 acres of woodlands, streams, parks, trails, nature reserves, countryside and historic sites in Northern Virginia in the United States. The Authority was organized in 1959...
.
Battle
The Battle of Ball's BluffBattle of Ball's Bluff
The Battle of Ball's Bluff, also known as the Battle of Harrison’s Island or the Battle of Leesburg, was fought on October 21, 1861, in Loudoun County, Virginia, as part of Union Maj. Gen. George B...
was a small but consequential defeat for the Union
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
early in the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, occurring just months after the Union Army's
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
rout after the First Battle of Bull Run
First Battle of Bull Run
First Battle of Bull Run, also known as First Manassas , was fought on July 21, 1861, in Prince William County, Virginia, near the City of Manassas...
and another embarrassing loss at Battle of Wilson's Creek
Battle of Wilson's Creek
The Battle of Wilson's Creek, also known as the Battle of Oak Hills, was fought on August 10, 1861, near Springfield, Missouri, between Union forces and the Missouri State Guard, early in the American Civil War. It was the first major battle of the war west of the Mississippi River and is sometimes...
in the Western Theater. The Union defeat at Ball's Bluff revealed something to the public about the political nature of Union appointments of officers and their occasional incompetence, and led directly to the creation of the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War
United States Congress Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War
The Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War was a United States Congressional investigating committee created to handle issues surrounding the American Civil War. It was established on December 9, 1861, following the embarrassing Union defeat at the Battle of Ball's Bluff, at the instigation of...
.
On October 21, 1861, Union Colonel
Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...
Edward D. Baker
Edward Dickinson Baker
Edward Dickinson Baker was an English-born American politician, lawyer, military leader. In his political career, Baker served in the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois and later as a U.S. Senator from Oregon. A long-time close friend of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, Baker served as U.S...
, a U.S. Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
and close friend of President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
, was given orders from Brigadier General
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
Charles P. Stone
Charles Pomeroy Stone
Charles Pomeroy Stone was a career United States Army officer, civil engineer, and surveyor. He fought with distinction in the Mexican–American War, earning two brevet promotions for his performance in the conflict. After resigning and surveying for the Mexican Government, he returned to the U.S...
to either withdraw Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
troops who already had landed on the Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
side of the Potomac River
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
to reconnoiter and raid a Confederate camp north of Leesburg, or reinforce the expedition in the event the raid was successful, at his discretion. Before Baker could discover the true nature of the situation, Confederates pickets detected and fired upon the Union force, and local Confederate district commander Col. Nathan "Shanks" Evans
Nathan George Evans
Nathan George "Shanks" Evans was a captain in the 2nd U.S. Cavalry who became a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.-Biography:...
quickly deployed his Virginia and Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
regiments against the threat, while still presenting a defense against a larger Union crossing downriver at Edwards Ferry. The inexperienced Baker crossed additional companies to the bluff, but positioned his troops poorly, with the peak of the bluff against their back and higher ground in front of their lines.
After a prolonged firefight, the Confederate pressure broke the Federal line, and the assault pushed the Union troops down the difficult terrain and onto the river bank, killing Baker and 222 others, wounding 226, and eventually capturing 553. The few boats available became quickly overloaded and some capsized due to overcrowding, so evacuation became impossible. Some swam across to nearby Harrison Island, but 161 went missing, many of them drowned in the swollen Potomac. Bodies of Union troops who had drowned floated downstream towards Washington, D.C. for days after the battle.
Aftermath
Wartime Washington, D.C. was horrified by Baker's death. At the opening of the second session of the 37th Congress37th United States Congress
The Thirty-seventh United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1861 to March 4, 1863, during the first two...
in December, the eulogies for the late senator went on for days. An investigative Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War
United States Congress Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War
The Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War was a United States Congressional investigating committee created to handle issues surrounding the American Civil War. It was established on December 9, 1861, following the embarrassing Union defeat at the Battle of Ball's Bluff, at the instigation of...
was formed to examine the causes of the recent defeats, particularly actions related to the death of Baker, Lincoln's
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
close friend. Such congressional investigations, more common since, had only very weak precedents at the time. The committee's operations were arguably an aggravation for the duration of the war, and ultimately ruined the career of General Stone, who was held accountable for the Baker's defeat at Ball's Bluff. Army of the Potomac
Army of the Potomac
The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...
commanding general George B. McClellan
George B. McClellan
George Brinton McClellan was a major general during the American Civil War. He organized the famous Army of the Potomac and served briefly as the general-in-chief of the Union Army. Early in the war, McClellan played an important role in raising a well-trained and organized army for the Union...
, who was responsible at a larger level and had issued vague orders which set in motion the debacle, escaped blame.
Cemetery, Landmark, Park
The battlefield area was declared a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
in 1984. At that time the 300 feet (91.4 m) tall bluff, the landing on the Potomac River, and almost all aspects of the site were substantially the same as the time of the battle 123 years before. An "intrusion" is the wall-enclosed Ball's Bluff National Cemetery, holding 54 graves of Union dead (53 unknown, and James Allen of the 15th Massachusetts Infantry). Another intrusion is a fenced 1.3 miles (2.1 km) approach road built in 1907. A grave marker for Confederate soldier Clinton Hatcher, of the 8th Virginia Infantry
8th Virginia Infantry
The 8th Virginia Infantry was Confederate infantry regiment raised by Colonel Eppa Hunton in Leesburg, Virginia on May 8, 1861. The unit comprised six companies from Loudoun, two companies from Fauqier, one company from Fairfax and one company from Prince William. Regimental officers included: Lt....
, and a marker of the site of Baker's mortal wounding, are nearby.
The park, maintained by the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority, contains over seven miles (11 km) of marked trails, including a mile-long loop trail to the bluff overlook with interpretive markers and 2.1 miles (3.4 km) trail along the Potomac riverbank.
External links
- Ball's Bluff Battlefield Regional Park site
- Ball's Bluff National Cemetery
- Balls Bluff National Cemetery, Route 7, Leesburg, Loudoun, VA at the Historic American Buildings SurveyHistoric American Buildings SurveyThe Historic American Buildings Survey , Historic American Engineering Record , and Historic American Landscapes Survey are programs of the National Park Service established for the purpose of documenting historic places. Records consists of measured drawings, archival photographs, and written...
- Ball's Bluff at the Journey Through Hallowed Ground