Cavalry Clash

On September 1, 1862, Col. Thomas Munford, commander of the Confederate 2nd Virginia Cavalry (163 men), was ordered to Leesburg to destroy a body of Union Cavalry—the locally raised Independent Loudoun Virginia Rangers—who were harassing southern sympathizers in the vicinity.

On September 2, 1862, 35 men of the Loudoun Rangers and 125 troopers of Cole's Maryland Cavalry occupied Leesburg, posting pickets on all roads into town. Arriving undetected, Munford ascertained that the Federals held the town and that the two forces were about equal. He quickly devised a plan, ordering half his men to descend on the town from the north while he led the other half into Leesburg from the east.

With his men in place, Munford charged down Edwards Ferry Road, surprising and scattering Federal pickets (a horse belonging to a Loudoun Ranger was killed as the courthouse was overrun). Fearful that citizens would aid the Confederates in any street battle, Cole retreated north along King Street to Mile Hill. Halting, Cole formed a line of battle on the west side of the road facing Leesburg. Munford's troopers halted below them, forming amid wheat stacks on the east side of the road. Seeing the apparently small size of the Confederate striking force, Cole ordered a counterattack. At precisely this moment, Munford's trap closed. With a "rebel yell" Confederate horsemen charged the Federal rear. One ranger recalled that both sides emptied pistols and used the sabers freely during the bitter melee. Their composure shaken by the unexpected attack, the Federals broke and fled west toward Waterford. The Confederate troopers pursued for six miles.

Munford lost two dead and six wounded. His men killed 11, wounded about 20 and captured 47 Federals. (The Loudoun Rangers suffered one dead, six wounded, and seven captured.) Two days later, Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia began entering Leesburg on its way to Maryland. That campaign ended with the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862.

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Show me all markers in:  Leesburg, VA  |  Loudoun County  |  20176  |  Virginia  |  United States of America

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