Sun Oct 06, 2013 4:25 pm
Early in October of 1861, General McClellan had briefed and assigned Brig. Gen. George McCall and his division to cross the Potomac and advance to Dranesville in order monitor the area based on recent Confederate maneuvers in the vicinity.
Shortly thereafter he was briefed by McClellan and ordered back across, however McCall stated that he wished to stay in order to conclude a proper survey and mapping of the area. This information would be critical in the coming days and will not be relayed to General C.P.Stone who's operations were occurring at the same time.
As stated, at the same time, Gen. Stone was ordered by McClellan to "Conduct a slight demonstration" across the Potomac towards Leesburg, VA. Acting on his orders, Stone dispatched his division to cover areas around Edward's and Conrad's Ferry, more significantly Edwards however. Keeping within the confines of his "demonstration" Stone called up only a few boats and posted his troops in an offensive manner, this being done in order to get reaction out of Confederate forces across the Potomac. After this operation had been completed Stone went on to further examine the area to his front by ordering reconnaissance parties to observe if at all what the response to the above described maneuver.
The offensive characteristics of Stones demonstration was the crossing of 100 men from the 1st Minnesota and firing off some of his artillery into suspected Confed. positions along the river.
Having come up short of intelligence following these operations, Stone ordered then Col. Charles Devens, whose command at the time posted on Harrison's Island which was opposite the Bluff, to send a party to cross to the Virginia side and monitor any movement as well as identify any installations: camps, works, supply dumps, artillery parks etc. Now, here is how the story of the Battle of Balls Bluff itself occurs, courtesy of the Balls Bluff Battlefield Regional Park is as follow:
Captain Chase Philbrick, Co. H, 15th Massachusetts, had led a small reconnaissance patrol across the river to determine whether Union troop movements earlier in the day had had any effect on Confederate forces in Leesburg. About a mile from Ball’s Bluff, Philbrick spotted what he thought was an enemy camp and hurried back across the river to report this to his commanding officer, Col. Charles Devens. Colonel Devens passed this information to his division commander, Brig. Gen. Charles P. Stone, who saw it as an opportunity. He ordered Colonel Devens immediately to cross over half of his regiment and, as soon as it was light enough to see, proceed inland and raid the camp. Shortly after dawn, Devens’ 300-man raiding party moved into position only to discover that there was no camp. In the uncertain moonlight, Captain Philbrick had been deceived by a row of trees, the drooping branches of which gave the appearance of tents. With nothing to raid, Colonel Devens decided to remain where he was and sent a messenger to General Stone asking for further instructions. It was this decision to stay, coming out of Captain Philbrick’s faulty report, which led to the battle. Though usually presented as a deliberate, pre-planned attempt by the Federals to take Leesburg, Ball’s Bluff in fact was an accident.
On hearing of the mistake about the tents, General Stone ordered Colonel Devens to reconnoiter closer to Leesburg. He sent Devens the rest of the 15th Massachusetts and gave command of this expanded reconnaissance to one of his brigade commanders, Col. Edward D. Baker. Colonel Baker, a close friend of President Lincoln, also was Senator Baker of Oregon and, later that day, would become the only U.S. Senator ever killed in battle*.
(*During the waning time of the battle Baker had just ordered two artillery pieces to shell elements of Gen. Evans Mississippi detachments coming upon his left flank going towards the Bluff, this artillery would little effect as the Confederates were shelterd partially by the foliage and trees as well as the union artilleries inaccuracy. Baker then moved over to the left were Col. Milton Cogswell had rallied several union elements to hold, as he implored Baker to shift more units to his front so as to effect a hard-driving counter-attack in order to break for the Ferry, Baker was shot through the breast and instantly killed.)
“In my opinion, Colonel Miles was a drunkard, a coward and a traitor, and if I had the power I would have had the United States buttons taken from his coat.”
Elble, Sigmund-Soldier with the 3rd U.S. Infantry
Elble, an officer on the frontier who knew Miles well