Balls Bluff: A Small Battle and Its Long Shadow

Confederate troops scored what was probably the most complete victory by either side in the Civil War at a place called Ball's Bluff, thirty-five miles west of Washington, DC, on the Virginia bank of the Potomac River. Union soldiers were driven in a panic off the high bluff into the river, where many of them drowned

Ball's Bluff
Harrison's Landing, Leesburg
Civil War Virginia

American Civil War
October 21, 1861


A Girl's Life in Virginia Before the War
First published in 1895. An engrossing eyewitness account of antebellum plantation life as it really was

Confederate Brigadier General Nathan "Shanks" Evans stopped a badly coordinated attempt by Union forces under Brigadier General Charles P. Stone to cross the Potomac at Harrison's Island and capture Leesburg.

A timely Confederate counter attack drove the Federals over the bluff and into the river. More than 700 Federals were captured.

Col. Edward D. Baker (a U.S. Senator) was killed. This Union rout had severe political ramifications in Washington and led to the establishment of the Congressional Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War.

Result(s): Confederate victory

Location: Loudoun County

Campaign: McClellan's Operations in Northern Virginia (October-December 1861) next battle in campaign

Date(s): October 21, 1861

Principal Commanders: Brigadier General Charles P. Stone and Col. Edward Baker [US]; Brigadier General Nathan G. Evans [CS]

Forces Engaged: 3,600 total (US 2,000; CS 1,600)

Estimated Casualties: 1,070 total (US 921; CS 149)




Political Map of Potomac, MD
Political Map of Potomac, MD Photographic Print
16 in. x 12 in.
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Staff Officers in Gray: A Biographical Register of the Staff Officers in the Army of Northern Virginia
Profiles some 2,300 staff officers in Robert E. Lee's famous Army of Northern Virginia. Two appendixes provide a list of more than 3,000 staff officers who served in other armies of the Confederacy and complete rosters of known staff officers of each general






Civil War: White House To Harrisons Landing, c.1862
White House To Harrisons Landing
39 in. x 48 in. $169.99
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Virginia State Battle Map 1861
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Lee's Miserables: Life in the Army of Northern Virginia from the Wilderness to Appomattox
The words of the soldiers themselves provide a view of the army's experiences in camp, on the march, in combat, and under siege—from the battles in the Wilderness to the final retreat to Appomattox. It sheds new light on such questions as the state of morale in the army, the causes of desertion, ties between the army and the home front

Black Confederates and Afro-Yankees in Civil War Virginia
African American life in Virginia, both slave and free, during the civil war, from soldiers who fought in the Confederate and Union armies to those who acted as spies
Civil War Firearms
Standard Catalog of Civil War Firearms
Over 700 photographs and a rarity scale for each gun, this comprehensive guide to the thousands of weapons used by Billy Yank and Johnny Reb will be indispensable for historians and collectors.
Shelby Foot 3 Volume Civil War Set
The Civil War: A Narrative
3 Volume Set : Foote

This trilogy of books on the Civil War is not only a piece of first-rate history, but also a marvelous work of literature. Many know Foote for his prominent role as a commentator on Ken Burns's PBS series about the Civil War. These three books, however, are his legacy

Shades of Blue and Gray: An Introductory Military History of the Civil War
The Civil War with an emphasis on contemporary advances in military technology and their effects on behavior in the field. Ulysses Grant was speaking nearly literally when he wrote, "the iron gauntlet must be used more than the silken glove to destroy the Confederacy"

Wade Hampton: Confederate Warrior to Southern Redeemer
General Wade Hampton was for a time the commander of all Lee's cavalry and at the end of the war was the highest-ranking Confederate cavalry officer

Apostles of Disunion: Southern Secession Commissioners and the Causes of the Civil War
In late 1860 and early 1861, state-appointed commissioners traveled the length and breadth of the slave South carrying a fervent message in pursuit of a clear goal: to persuade the political leadership and the citizenry of the uncommitted slave states to join in the effort to destroy the Union and forge a new Southern nation

The Illustrated Battle Cry of Freedom
The Civil War Era

Published in 1988 to universal acclaim, this single-volume treatment of the Civil War quickly became recognized as the new standard in its field. James M. McPherson, who won the Pulitzer Prize for this book, impressively combines a brisk writing style with an admirable thoroughness. He covers the military aspects of the war in all of the necessary detail, and also provides a helpful framework describing the complex economic, political, and social forces behind the conflict. Perhaps more than any other book, this one belongs on the bookshelf of every Civil War buff.




Sources:
U.S. National Park Service
U.S. Library of Congress.

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