Battle of Ball\' S Bluff

The battles of Ball' S Bluff is a battle of the American Civil War which proceeded on October 21st, 1861 in Virginia within the framework of the countryside of the northerner general George McClellan. It was by its width one of the most important battles of the year.

Retrospective

McClellan was recently promoted general-in-chief of the armed with the Union and, now, 3 months after the First battle of Bull Run and after unquestionable organization considerable of the activities and the preparation to defense, It would have had pressures on behalf of the administration Lincoln to deal with offensive action. It chooses throw of the operations of recognition with an aim of seizing fords on the Potomac and, finally, Leesburg (Virginia).

The October 19th 1861, McClellan ordered with the Brigadier general S George A. McCall to make go its division on Dranesville (Virginia), 14 miles in the south-east of Leesburg, hoping to intimidate the Brigadier general S of the Confédérés Nathan " Shanks" Evans so that it gives up Leesburg. Evans did not leave the city, taking a position defensives in Leesburg Turnpike. The orders of McCall were to leave the zone during the night. While waiting for, McClellan was not certain that Evans evacuated, and ordered with the Brigadier general S Charles Pomeroy Stone to distract confederated and of glaner positions and intentions. Stone personally supervised the crossing with the vat of Edward; it also decided to make one second operation of distraction upstream on the river, and it delegated the load to one of its commanders of brigade, the Colonel Edward D. Baker. Baker, senator and personal friend of Lincoln, received recently the proposal to become Major general volunteers, and were about to leave its seat with the Senate to accept.

The battle

The night of the October 20th 1861, a patrol of a ford upstream located what seems to be lines of tents Confédérés in a field behind Ball' S Bluff. A dense forest was halfway between Edwards' Ferry (vat of Edward) and Conrad' S Ferry (now called White' S Ferry (vat of White)), on a rock rise of 100 feet to the top of banks of Potomac, and allowed to see Harrison Island, a narrow island of 3 miles length in the center of the river. Feeling an opportunity, Stone early ordered with a detachment of 15th Infantrie of the Massachusetts under the orders of Colonel Charles Devens of raider the camp the next morning, Monday October 21st. After having to send a messenger to Stone with news of the " tentes" who in were done only reflection of the light lunar through the lines of trees, Devens and its battalion of 300 soldiers of the Union remained on southern bank of the river while waiting for instructions.

The instructions of Stone with Baker ordered that additional forces, under the orders of Baker, cross to reach Virginia, where completely to withdraw with the discretion of Baker, following situation. Instead of crossing to evaluate his tactical options, Colonel Baker chooses to make immediately crossed the totality of his forces, and thus supervised during a few hours the Réquisition of the boats of the close relation Chesapeake and Ohio Canal to assist his crossing of the river.

Devens had to resist vis-a-vis the Raid S of 17th Infantrie of the the Mississippi. Batallions additional of the Union crossed the river all the day with the requisitioned fleets available. Baker itself crossed towards 1:00 of the afternoon, and considering its chances for a glorious victory. Evans continued to deploy its additional troops against the ford of Ball' S Bluff, while crossed Edwards' Ferry was supervised by only one company.

Colonel Baker was killed with approximately 5:00 of the afternoon of a ball in the head, and while the darkness fell the command from the Union to broken up thereafter under constant confederated loads. Several of the soldiers of the Union were drowned. Boats testing of crossed with new towards Harrison Island flooded then were capsized; a great number of the bodies of drowned floated in a worrying way on the river and went far downstream until Washington the days following the battle. Nearly 500 prisoners of the Union were made on banks of Potomac this same night.

Consequences

This defeat of the Union was relatively minor compared to the other battles to come, but that have an enormous impact. Because of the loss of a senator, there be several serious political plots in Washington. General Stone was took as Scapegoat for the defeat, but the members of the Congrès conspiracy with an aim of betraying the Union. Outcry has directly carried out to installation of Joint committee of congress of the United States on control of civil war, which would disturb officers of Union for remainder of war (in particular those which were Démocrate) and would contribute to sharp political combats among the generals of the high command.

The Lt. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., of the 20th Infantry of volantaires of Massachusetts, survived a wound almost mortal in Ball' S Bluff and became members of the Supreme court of the United States in 1902. The poem of Hermann Melville named " Ball' S Bluff - has Reverie" (published in 1866) the battle commemorates.

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