Chantilly Main Page * Battle of Chantilly * Ox Hill Battlefield Park * The Armies
There are two Virginia historical markers and a wayside marker at the north entrance to Ox Hill Battlefield Park. These are at a small pull off along Monument Drive and connect the the interpretive walking trail that loops around the park.
B29
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 towards 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.
Department of Historic Resources. 2000
B13
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.
Department of Historic Resources. 2000
Death of Generals Stephens and Kearney wayside marker
The Battle of Ox Hill
Death of Generals Stephens and Kearney
The Battle of Ox Hill (or Chantilly) was fought here, in rain and storm, on September 1, 1862. It was a bloody aftermath following the Second Battle of Manassas (August 28-30) where the Union Army under Gen. John Pope was defeated and driven across Bull Run by the Confederate forces of Robert E. Lee.
Pope retreated to Centreville seven miles west of here. To turn Pope’s position, Lee sent Stonewall Jackson moving around Pope via the Little River Turnpike (Route 50) in order to cut the Union line of retreat near Fairfax. Pope learned of this movement, ordered troops to Germantown, and sent the IX Corps, including Gen. Issac Stevens’ division, to block Jackson at the Turnpike.
About 4 p.m. September 1, as storm clouds gathered, Stevens attacked Jackson’s column at Ox Hill. A fierce battle ensued as a violent thunderstorm lashed the combatants with high winds and rain. Stevens was shot through the head and killed. As Stevens’s troops fell back, Gen. Philip Kearny brought up several brigades of III Corps troops and attacked Jackson’s right. The attack faltering, Kearny rode forward in the rain and gloom to reconnoiter, found himself in the Confederate lines, was shot from his horse and killed. Darkness halted further fighting.
About 500 Confederate troops and perhaps 1,000 Union troops were killed or wounded. The Union army retreated during the night to Alexandria and the defenses of Washington. On September 3, Lee’s army moved towards Leesburg and the Potomac River fords. Lee’s army entered Maryland September 4-7. The Battle of Sharpsburg (Antietam) was fought September 17, ending Lee’s Maryland adventure.
Location of the Virginia State Markers and the Death of Generals Stephens and Kearney wayside marker
The three markers are at the intersection of Monument Drive and Monument Court, about 600 feet west of the intersection with West Ox Road (County Route 608). There are on the south side of Monument Drive, where there is a small pull off. They can also be reached by a wheelchair accessible paved walkway about 500 feet from the Ox Hill Battlefield Park parking area off West Ox Road.