in Northern Virginia

The Battle of Ball"s Bluff, also known as the Battle of Harrison’s Landing or the Battle of Leesburg, was fought on October 21, 1861, in Loudoun County, Virginia, as part of Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan"s operations in northern Virginia during the American Civil War. While a minor engagement in comparison with the Virginia battles that would take place in years to follow, it was the second largest battle of the Eastern Theater in 1861, and in its aftermath had repercussions in the Union Army"s chain of command structure and raised separation of powers issues under the United States Constitution during the war.

In the weeks preceding the battle, McClellan had been promoted to general-in-chief of all Union armies and, now, three months after the First Battle of Bull Run and after some considerable organizational activities and defensive preparations, he may have felt pressure from the Lincoln administration to take offensive military action. He chose to launch a reconnaissance in force in hopes of seizing Potomac River crossing sites and, ultimately, Leesburg, Virginia.

On October 19, 1861, McClellan ordered Brig. Gen. George A. McCall to march his division to Dranesville, Virginia, fourteen miles southeast of Leesburg, hoping to intimidate Confederate Brig. Gen. Nathan "Shanks" Evans into abandoning Leesburg. Evans did move out of the city, taking up a defensive position on the Leesburg Turnpike. McCall"s orders were to leave the area that night. Meanwhile, McClellan was uncertain Evans had actually evacuated, and ordered Brig. Gen. Charles Pomeroy Stone to stage a demonstration at Edwards" Ferry to distract the Confederates and glean positions and intentions. Stone personally supervised the crossing at Edwards" Ferry; he also decided on a second demonstration two miles upriver, and he delegated that task to one of his brigade commanders Col. Edward D. Baker. Baker, a sitting U.S. Senator and close personal friend of Lincoln"s, had recently been offered a commission as major general of volunteers, and was in the process of deciding whether to leave his Senate seat to accept.