The Battle of Blackburn’s Ford was fought on July 18, 1861 between Union forces commanded by Brig. Gen. Daniel Tyler and Confederate forces commanded by Brig. Gen. James Longstreet in Prince William and Fairfax Counties, Virginia during the American Civil War. The battle, a prelude to First Manassas, was a Confederate victory and resulted in 151 total casualties.
The area surrounding Manassas Junction has undergone significant development in the intervening decades, and there are no monuments to mark the skirmish at Blackburn’s Ford, prelude to the first major battle of the war. A Civil War Trail marker was installed sometime in the last decade or so overlooking the Centreville Road bridge crossing Bull Run.
In 1994, Kevin Ambrose was metal-detecting in the woods north of the battlefield and discovered the unmarked graves of six soldiers from the 1st Massachusetts Infantry who were killed during the battle. An investigation by the Smithsonian Institution determined their likely identities and the remains were repatriated to Massachusetts and buried with honors. A McDonald’s now stands at the location, but the graves of the men are marked with boxes on the asphalt.
The page is just a skeleton right now, but soon I’ll be adding pictures, order of battle, and other pertinent information. Check back for updates!
Spirit of '61 