Marker Logo HMdb.org THE HISTORICAL
MARKER DATABASE
“Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”
“Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”
Near Fairfax in Fairfax County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
 

Attack of General Birney’s Brigade

★ The Battle of Ox Hill ★

 
 
Attack of General Birney's Brigade Marker image. Click for full size.
September 1, 2008
1. Attack of General Birney's Brigade Marker
Inscription.
A courier with an urgent request galloped up to 1st Division, III Corps commander Major General Philip Kearny on the Warrenton Turnpike. General Stevens’ division had intercepted Stonewall Jackson’s column on the Little River Turnpike and was in desperate need of support.

“By God, I’ll support Stevens anywhere!” exclaimed Kearny. He ordered General David Birney’s brigade to hasten forward. General John Robinson’s and Colonel Orlando Poe’s brigades were directed to follow.

Marching in heavy rain, Birney formed his line facing the cornfield, 450 yards west of here. Birney pushed forward five regiments of Maine and New York troops while holding two regiments in reserve near the Reid orchard.

Birney’s lead regiments entered the cornfield and wheeled northward to engage the North Carolina brigades of generals Branch and Pender at the edge of the woods behind a double fence. Minie balls ripped through the corn as the Confederates poured a heavy fire into the Union ranks. As Birney’s attack shifted westward in the woods, Branch extended his line accordingly to keep from being flanked. Wet ammunition ultimately caused the fight to degenerate into a vicious brawl of bayonets and clubbed muskets in the dim twilight.

Meanwhile, Kearny arrived and posted Battery E, 1st Rhode Island Light Artillery,
Paid Advertisement
Click on the ad for more information.
Please report objectionable advertising to the Editor.
Click or scan to see
this page online
on a knoll in the rear. The battery fired 100 rounds of solid shot into the woods. Birney informed Kearny that Stevens’ troops had withdrawn, leaving his right flank uncovered, and requested that Poe’s brigade fill the gap. Shocked by this news, Kearny rode off to the right to investigate.
 
Erected 2008 by Fairfax County Park Authority.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil.
 
Location. 38° 51.883′ N, 77° 22.252′ W. Marker is near Fairfax, Virginia, in Fairfax County. Marker can be reached from West Ox Road (Virginia Route 608). Located at the third trail stop wayside at the Ox Hill Battlefield Park Interpretive Trail. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 4134 West Ox Road, Fairfax VA 22033, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. The Battle of "Chantilly" (Ox Hill) — Then & Now (here, next to this marker); The Death of General Kearny (a few steps from this marker); The Attack and Death of General Stevens (within shouting distance of this marker); Boulders and Quartz Stone (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Major General Philip Kearny (about 300 feet away); The Battle of Ox Hill (about 300 feet
Marker on the Ox Hill Battlefield image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, April 19, 2014
2. Marker on the Ox Hill Battlefield
away); a different marker also named Battle of Ox Hill (about 300 feet away); Maryland (Antietam / Sharpsburg) Campaign (about 300 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Fairfax.
 
More about this marker. On the upper left of the marker are two portraits captioned, Gen David B. Birney, USA and Gen. Lawrence O'Bryan Branch, CSA. On the right side of the marker is a battle map.
 
Also see . . .  The Battle of Chantilly. Civil War Preservation Trust (Submitted on January 10, 2009.) 
 
Attack of General Birney's Brigade Marker image. Click for full size.
January 10, 2009
3. Attack of General Birney's Brigade Marker
Is on the right side of the bench.
Attack of General Birney’s Brigade Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Adam Margolis, December 21, 2022
4. Attack of General Birney’s Brigade Marker
Marker is to the right of the bench and is the middle of the three markers in the image.
Battle Map on Marker image. Click for full size.
September 1, 2008
5. Battle Map on Marker
September 1, 1862 • 5:30 - 6:15 pm
David Bell Birney image. Click for full size.
Library of Congress
6. David Bell Birney
Lawrence O'Bryan Branch image. Click for full size.
Internet Archive
7. Lawrence O'Bryan Branch
From Memoirs of a Southern Woman “within the Lines,” by Mrs Mary Jones Polk Branch, 1912.
David Bell Birney Photo image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, September 22, 2018
8. David Bell Birney Photo
David Bell Birney Photo can be seen at Huntsville Train Depot Museum Huntsville, Al
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on August 17, 2023. It was originally submitted on January 10, 2009. This page has been viewed 1,153 times since then and 13 times this year. Photos:   1. submitted on January 10, 2009.   2. submitted on April 19, 2014, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey.   3. submitted on January 10, 2009.   4. submitted on December 22, 2022, by Adam Margolis of Mission Viejo, California.   5. submitted on January 10, 2009.   6, 7. submitted on September 13, 2020, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland.   8. submitted on September 26, 2018, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.

Share this page.  
Share on Tumblr
m=15163

CeraNet Cloud Computing sponsors the Historical Marker Database.
This website earns income from purchases you make after using our links to Amazon.com. We appreciate your support.
Paid Advertisements
Mar. 28, 2024