Fairfax

B-26 Mosby's Midnight Raid
Col. John Singleton Mosby formed the 43d Battalion Virginia Cavalry "to weaken the armies invading Virginia by harassing their rear." Near midnight on 8 March 1863, he led his horsemen undetected through Union lines to disrupt communications between Dranesville and Alexandria. Without losing a man or firing a shot, Mosby and his Rangers rode into and out of the garrisoned village at Fairfax Court House and captured Union Brig. General Stoughton in his bed, as well as two captains, thirty enlisted men, and fifty-eight horses. It was Mosby's most famous raid.

BW-2 Burke's Station Raid

Burke's Station, four miles south, was raided by Stuart's cavalry, December, 1862. Stuart telegraphed to Washington complaining of the bad quality of the mules he had captured--a famous joke.

B-29 Maryland (Antietam/Sharpsburg) Campaign

Following the Battle of Ox Hill (Chantilly) on 1 Sept. 1862, Gen. Robert E. Lee pondered his options and strategy. Encouraged by Confederate victories and Federal disorganization, Lee acted quickly to continue the offensive. On 3 Sept., Lee's Army of Northern Virginia marched north toward Leesburg, from where it could cross into Maryland, flank the Washington fortifications, and draw the Union army out of Virginia. The troops of Maj. Gens. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson and James Longstreet moved north on Ox Road past Frying Pan and Herndon Station to Dranesville. The army concentrated around Leesburg and forded the Potomac into Maryland Sept. 4-7.

B-13 Battle of Ox Hill (Chantilly)

Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's wing of the Army of Northern Virginia reached here 1 Sept. 1862. Jackson's march from the battlefield of Second Manassas turned the position of Maj. Gen. John Pope's army at Centreville and threatened the Union line of retreat near Fairfax Court House. Here at Ox Hill, the Confederates encountered Federal troops of the IX and III Corps and a fierce battle was fought amid storm and darkness. Union generals Isaac Stevens and Philip Kearny were killed. Pope retreated to Alexandria and the defenses of Washington. Thus ended the Second Manassas campaign.

B-11 Battle of Chantilly (Ox Hill)
The Battle of Chantilly (Ox Hill) took place here 1 September, 1862. Union General John Pope's Army, retreating after defeat by Lee at Second Manassas, clashed with Jackson's divisions which were attempting to prevent Pope from reaching Washington. Although Union generals Kearny and Stevens were killed, Jackson's men were held off by the smaller Union forces. The battle ended the Second Manassas campaign and led to Lee's invasion of Maryland.