Blackburn's Ford

Blackburn's Ford (HMSLU)

Location: Centreville, VA 20121 Fairfax County
Buy Virginia State flags at Flagstore.com!
Country: United States of America
Buy United States of America flags at Flagstore.com!

N 38° 48.204', W 77° 26.977'

  • 0 likes
  • 0 check ins
  • 0 favorites
  • 548 views
Inscription

Bullets "Humming Like a Bee-hive"

On July 18, 1861, Gen. Irvin McDowell, the Union army commander, learned that the Confederate army had withdrawn from its Centreville earthworks to a strong defensive position behind Bull Run. McDowell ordered Gen. Daniel Tyler to reconnoiter the stream but not bring on an engagement. Tyler accompanied Col. Israel Richardson's brigade to Blackburn's Ford. Arriving about noon, Tyler and Richardson found a cleared field sloping down from woods to the creek's banks, which were thick with underbrush and trees. Tyler decided to test the Confederate position after seeing enemy artillery in the distance.

Two Federal cannon opened fire, and a brief artillery duel was followed by a Union infantry attack as the novice soldiers of the 1st Massachusetts Infantry swept down the hillside toward the ford. Suddenly a volley of Confederate musketry erupted from the woods across the creek. Repeated attempts to take the ford failed when volley after volley of bullets "humming like a bee-hive" force the New Englanders back. The contest ended about 4:00 when the Federals withdrew. Each side had engaged about 3,000 men; the thick vegetation helped reduce the casualties (68 Confederates and 83 Federals).

The clash at Blackburn's Ford proved a moral victory for the Southerners, who celebrated the Union repulse as a major battle. It demoralized the Federals, who experienced their first combat and learned that the Bull Run fords would be fiercely contested. Two Union soldiers received the Medal of Honor for their bravery.

(Sidebar): Three days later, on July 21, there again was action at Blackburn's Ford when Confederates approached it to flank the Federals. The 5th South Carolina and the 17th and 18th Mississippi under command of Gen. D.R. Jones attacked Col. Thomas Davies' New York regiments at Grigsby's Hill and were repulsed. During the Federal retreat, Confederate forces under command of Gen. Milledge Bonham and Col. James Longstreet moved across the fords to break the Union line of retreat, but Federal forces had established a new line of defense on the outskirts of Centreville.
Details
HM NumberHMSLU
Series This marker is part of the Virginia Civil War Trails series
Tags
Placed ByCivil War Trails
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Thursday, September 4th, 2014 at 2:44am PDT -07:00
Pictures
Sorry, but we don't have a picture of this historical marker yet. If you have a picture, please share it with us. It's simple to do. 1) Become a member. 2) Adopt this historical marker listing. 3) Upload the picture.
Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)18S E 287283 N 4297810
Decimal Degrees38.80340000, -77.44961667
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 38° 48.204', W 77° 26.977'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds38° 48' 12.24" N, 77° 26' 58.62" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)703, 571
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 7122 Centreville Rd, Centreville VA 20121, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

Is this marker missing? Are the coordinates wrong? Do you have additional information that you would like to share with us? If so, check in.

Check Ins  check in   |    all

Have you seen this marker? If so, check in and tell us about it.

Comments 0 comments

Maintenance Issues
  1. What historical period does the marker represent?
  2. What historical place does the marker represent?
  3. What type of marker is it?
  4. What class is the marker?
  5. What style is the marker?
  6. Does the marker have a number?
  7. What year was the marker erected?
  8. This marker needs at least one picture.
  9. Can this marker be seen from the road?
  10. Is the marker in the median?