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“Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”
Centreville in Fairfax County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
REMOVED
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Blackburn’s Ford

Bullets “Humming Like a Bee-hive”

 
 
Blackburn's Ford Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Craig Swain, September 2, 2007
1. Blackburn's Ford Marker
Inscription.
On July 18, 1861, Gen. Irvin McDowell, the Union army commander, learned that the Confederate army had withdrawn from its Centreville earthworks to a strong defensive position behind Bull Run. McDowell ordered Gen. Daniel Tyler to reconnoiter the stream but not bring on an engagement. Tyler accompanied Col. Israel Richardson’s brigade to Blackburn’s Ford. Arriving about noon, Tyler and Richardson found a cleared field sloping down from woods to the creek’s banks, which were thick with underbrush and trees. Tyler decided to test the Confederate position after seeing enemy artillery in the distance.

Two Federal cannon opened fire, and a brief artillery duel was followed by a Union infantry attack as the novice soldiers of the 1st Massachusetts Infantry swept down the hillside toward the ford. Suddenly a volley of Confederate musketry erupted from the woods across the creek. Repeated attempts to take the ford failed when volley after volley of bullets “humming like a bee-hive” force the New Englanders back. The contest ended about 4:00 when the Federals withdrew. Each side had engaged about 3,000 men; the thick vegetation helped reduce the casualties (68 Confederates and 83 Federals).

The clash at Blackburn’s Ford proved a moral victory for the Southerners, who celebrated the Union repulse as a major battle. It demoralized
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the Federals, who experienced their first combat and learned that the Bull Run fords would be fiercely contested. Two Union soldiers received the Medal of Honor for their bravery.

(Sidebar): Three days later, on July 21, there again was action at Blackburn’s Ford when Confederates approached it to flank the Federals. The 5th South Carolina and the 17th and 18th Mississippi under command of Gen. D.R. Jones attacked Col. Thomas Davies’ New York regiments at Grigsby’s Hill and were repulsed. During the Federal retreat, Confederate forces under command of Gen. Milledge Bonham and Col. James Longstreet moved across the fords to break the Union line of retreat, but Federal forces had established a new line of defense on the outskirts of Centreville.
 
Erected by Civil War Trails.
 
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Virginia Civil War Trails series list. A significant historical month for this entry is July 1859.
 
Location. This marker has been replaced by another marker nearby. It was located near 38° 48.204′ N, 77° 26.977′ W. Marker was in Centreville, Virginia, in Fairfax County. Marker was on Centreville Road (Virginia Route 28), on the right when traveling south
Two Civil War Trails Markers at Blackburn's Ford image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Craig Swain, September 2, 2007
2. Two Civil War Trails Markers at Blackburn's Ford
. Off the southbound side of the road, on the north side of the bridge over Bull Run. Touch for map. Marker was at or near this postal address: 7128 Centreville Rd, Centreville VA 20121, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this location, measured as the crow flies. A different marker also named Blackburn’s Ford (here, next to this marker); a different marker also named Blackburn's Ford (here, next to this marker); The Centreville Confederate Military Railroad (approx. 0.6 miles away); McLean Farm (approx. 0.7 miles away); Wilmer McLean’s Yorkshire (approx. 0.7 miles away); Wilmer McLean after the Civil War (approx. ¾ mile away); Mitchell's Ford (approx. one mile away); Union Mills Historic Site (approx. 1.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Centreville.
 
More about this marker. The marker has a map of the tactical situation described in the text and portraits of U.S. Col. Israel Richardson and C.S. Col. James Longstreet.
 
Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker. This marker has been replaced with the linked marker which has a different subtitle and slightly different formatting.
 
Blackburn's Ford image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Craig Swain, September 2, 2007
3. Blackburn's Ford
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on July 7, 2021. It was originally submitted on September 2, 2007, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia. This page has been viewed 3,323 times since then and 24 times this year. Last updated on May 22, 2011. Photos:   1, 2, 3. submitted on September 2, 2007, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia.

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Mar. 29, 2024