Battle of Blackburn’s Ford

Thursday, July 18, 1861

Though minor in comparison to the clash that would erupt at Bull Run days later, the fight at Blackburn’s Ford rattled Union confidence and emboldened Confederate troops. With McDowell now seeking another route forward, the war’s first major battle loomed just beyond the horizon.

Photo by M.A. Kleen, Spirit61.info — *Click to expand gallery*.

Narrative

The Battle of Blackburn’s Ford was fought on Thursday, 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. The battle was a Confederate victory and resulted in 165 total casualties.

By mid-July 1861, Union and Confederate forces in northeastern Virginia remained locked in a stalemate, much as they had been since the initial invasion seven weeks earlier. Both sides maneuvered cautiously, reinforcing their ranks and searching for weaknesses while struggling to shape eager but inexperienced recruits into effective armies. Though skirmishes flared along the front, none proved decisive.

Forced into a defensive stance by Confederate high command, 43-year-old Brig. Gen. Pierre Gustave Toutant-Beauregard prepared for a potential advance by Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell’s Union Army of Northeastern Virginia. His plan called for a strategic withdrawal to defend the vital junction of the Orange and Alexandria Railroad and the Manassas Gap Railroad along Bull Run. If needed, Brig. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston’s Army of the Shenandoah could be rapidly transported to the area via the Manassas Gap Railroad. Beauregard’s strategy relied on 21,000 infantry and cavalry to guard multiple crossing points along Bull Run, from the Warrenton Pike to Union Mills.

On June 29, McDowell met in Washington, D.C., with President Abraham Lincoln and Lieutenant General Winfield Scott to plan a march on Richmond, Virginia, the newly established Confederate capital. McDowell doubted that his small, inexperienced army was ready, but Lincoln pressured him to act, as many of the 90-day volunteer enlistments would expire by the end of July. The initial plan called for 30,000 men to advance around Beauregard’s right flank, beginning on July 8, but McDowell did not start moving until July 16. By then, he had approximately 34,000 infantry and cavalry present for duty.

As soon as McDowell’s men left their camps, his meticulous plan began to unravel. The inexperience and lack of discipline among his troops, combined with a shortage of cavalry and a poor understanding of the terrain beyond his immediate front, turned an 18-mile march into a two-day slog. Col. Orlando B. Willcox’s brigade reached Fairfax Station at noon on July 17. The following morning, Col. Israel B. Richardson’s brigade arrived in Centreville, only to find it eerily quiet and devoid of Confederates, with abandoned earthworks and scattered military accoutrements marking their former presence.

At Centreville, McDowell ordered Brig. Gen. Daniel Tyler’s division to search for a crossing over Bull Run about three miles south at Blackburn or Mitchell’s Fords. Tyler advanced along the road with two companies from Richardson’s brigade and a squadron of cavalry. At Blackburn’s Ford, he spotted only a few Confederate artillery pieces. However, Brig. Gen. James Longstreet’s brigade, consisting of three Virginia regiments, was concealed in the woods on the opposite shore. Capt. Delaware Kemper’s four 6-pounder guns from the Alexandria Artillery were positioned about half a mile west on the north side of Bull Run at Mitchell’s Ford, supported by the 7th and 2nd South Carolina Regiments on the south side.

Despite orders to avoid engagement, Tyler directed two long-range rifled guns from Captain Romeyn B. Ayres’ 3rd U.S. Artillery, Company E, to open fire. Kemper’s battery, unable to match their range, withdrew across the creek. Tyler then shifted focus to Blackburn’s Ford, where artillery bombardment damaged Wilmer McLean’s house, kitchen, and barn about a mile south. He ordered Richardson’s brigade forward, led by a mixed 160-man battalion under Capt. Robert Brethschneider.

Longstreet’s Virginians displayed remarkable restraint for inexperienced troops, lulling the attackers into a false sense of security. Tyler, overconfident, believed he could force a crossing of Bull Run, seize Manassas Junction, and end the campaign in one stroke. Instead, his troops charged headlong into a well-prepared Confederate position. Around 1 p.m., the 12th New York Infantry, led by Col. Ezra L. Walrath, advanced but quickly took cover under a “murderous” volley. Both sides called for reinforcements. The remainder of Richardson’s brigade, comprising the 1st Massachusetts and the 2nd and 3rd Michigan regiments, moved up to assist, while Longstreet received support from the 7th Louisiana and 7th and 24th Virginia.

The 12th New York broke and fled in the heat and confusion. Sensing an opportunity, Longstreet ordered the 17th and 1st Virginia regiments to pursue across the creek, but the inexperienced troops became disorganized on the opposite bank. Both sides suffered from friendly fire incidents, with Longstreet himself narrowly escaping shots from the 7th Virginia. Assessing the situation, Tyler ordered Richardson’s brigade to withdraw. After several hours of fighting, 83 Union and 78 Confederate soldiers lay dead or wounded. The engagement concluded with an inconsequential artillery duel, serving only to add more names to the casualty lists.

The casualties were minor compared to the First Battle of Bull Run, which would take place nearby just days later, but the skirmish set the stage for what was to come. The Confederate victory boosted the morale of their inexperienced troops while discouraging their Union counterparts. Bruised by the setback at Blackburn’s Ford, McDowell chose to shift west and flank the Confederate army at Stone Bridge over Bull Run, setting the stage for the war’s first major battle.

Opposing Forces

Confederate

Brig. Gen. Pierre Gustave Toutant-Beauregard, Commanding

Brig. Gen. Milledge L. Bonham, Commanding First Brigade

Unit	Commander(s)	Strength	Killed	Wounded	Missing/Captured
Alexandria Light Artillery	Capt. Delaware Kemper	4 guns	0	0	0

Brig. Gen. James Longstreet, Commanding Fourth Brigade

Unit	Commander(s)	Strength	Killed	Wounded
1st Virginia Infantry Regiment	Maj. Frederick G. Skinner		13	27
11th Virginia Infantry Regiment	Col. Samuel Garland, Jr.		1	5
17th Virginia Infantry Regiment	Col. Montgomery D. Corse	745	1	14
Washington (Louisiana) Artillery, 3rd Company	Lt. John J. Garnett	2 guns	0	2
			15	48

Col. Jubal A. Early, Commanding Sixth Brigade

Unit	Commander(s)	Strength	Killed	Wounded
7th Virginia Infantry Regiment	Col. James L. Kemper		0	7
7th Louisiana Infantry Regiment	Col. Harry T. Hays		2	2
24th Virginia Infantry Regiment	Lt. Col. Peter Hairston, Jr.		0	0
Washington (Louisiana) Artillery, 1st and 4th Companies	Lt. Charles W. Squires	5 guns	1	3
			3	12

Union

Brig. Gen. Daniel Tyler, Commanding First Division

Col. Israel B. Richardson, Commanding Fourth Brigade, First Division

Unit	Commander(s)	Strength	Killed	Wounded	Missing/Captured
1st Massachusetts Infantry Regiment	Col. Robert Cowdin		10	8	14
2nd Michigan Infantry Regiment	Maj. Adolphus W. Williams		0	1	0
3rd Michigan Infantry Regiment	Col. Daniel McConnell		0	1	0
12th New York Infantry Regiment	Col. Ezra L. Walrath		5	19	10
Light Battalion	Capt. Robert Brethschneider	160	2	4	2
1st United States Artillery, Light Company G	Lt. John R. Edwards, Jr.	2 guns	0	0	0
			17	33	26

Col. William T. Sherman, Commanding Third Brigade, First Division

Unit	Commander(s)	Strength	Killed	Wounded	Missing/Captured
3rd United States Artillery, Company E	Capt. Romeyn B. Ayres	2 guns	2	2	0

Maj. Innis N. Palmer, Second U.S. Cavalry, Commanding Cavalry Battalion

Unit	Commander(s)	Strength	Killed	Wounded	Missing/Captured
2nd United States Cavalry, Company I	Capt. Albert G. Brackett	75	0	3	0

Timeline

June 2, 1861: Confederate Brig. Gen. Pierre Gustave Toutant-Beauregard arrives at Manassas Junction to take command of the Alexandria Line.
June 6, 1861: Governor John Letcher signed General Orders, No. 25, transferring control of Virginia’s Provisional Army and Navy to the Confederate government.
June 29, 1861: Union Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell meets in Washington, D.C., with President Abraham Lincoln and General Winfield Scott to plan a march on Richmond.
July 4, 1861: Confederate Col. Joseph B. Kershaw conducts a reconnaissance-in-force toward Falls Church that ends in a deadly friendly fire incident.
July 16, 1861: The Union Army of Northeastern Virginia begins its offensive toward Manassas Junction.

Battlefield

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.

Blackburn’s Ford Civil War Trails historical markers are located at the Bull Run-Occoquan Trail Parking Lot on the north bank of Bull Run Creek near 7152 Centreville Road, south of Comptons Corner (GPS coordinates 38.803493, -77.449756). The McDonald’s where the six Union soldiers’ bodies were discovered is located at 5931 Fort Drive in Centreville, Virginia. Six blue rectangles mark their former burial spots.

Location

GPS Coordinates — 38.80348, -77.44975

Battle of Blackburn’s Ford

Primary Sources

Reports and Letters

Secondary Sources

Andrus, Michael J. The Brooke, Fauquier, Loudoun and Alexandria Artillery. Lynchburg: H.E. Howard, Inc., 1990.

Bell, Robert T. 11th Virginia Infantry. Lynchburg: H.E. Howard, Inc., 1985.

Davis, William C. Battle at Bull Run: A History of the First Major Campaign of the Civil War. Mechanicsburg: Stackpole Books, 1977, 1995.

Detzer, David. Donnybrook: The Battle of Bull Run, 1861. Orlando: Harcourt, Inc., 2004.

Fry, James B. “McDowell’s Advance to Bull Run” in Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, Vol. I. New York: The Century Co., 1887.

Gottfried, Bradley M. The Maps of First Bull Run: An Atlas of the First Bull Run (Manassas) Campaign, Including the Battle of Ball’s Bluff, June – October 1861. New York: Savas Beatie, 2009.

Gunn, Ralph White. 24th Virginia Infantry. Lynchburg: H.E. Howard, Inc., 1987.

Longacre, Edward G. The Early Morning of War: Bull Run, 1861. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2014.

Riggs, David F. 7th Virginia Infantry. Lynchburg: H.E. Howard, Inc., 1982.

Wallace, Lee A., Jr. 1st Virginia Infantry. Lynchburg: H.E. Howard, Inc., 1984.

Wallace, Lee A., Jr. 17th Virginia Infantry. Lynchburg: H.E. Howard, Inc., 1990.

Wallace, Lee A., Jr. The Richmond Howitzers. Lynchburg: H.E. Howard, Inc., 1993.

Updated: 20 May 2025
Created: 17 March 2021

	Accomplishments in 2… on Policy on Academic Integrity a…
	Accomplishments in 2… on Spirit of 61 Project Char…
	Accomplishments in 2… on Battlelog 1.4 is Now Avai…
	Accomplishments in 2… on Battle Page Update!
	Accomplishments in 2… on Fort Pocahontas: Jamestown Isl…
	Accomplishments in 2… on Redoubt at Farr’s Cross…