Lincoln Reviews Troops at Bailey's Cross Roads

Fairfax (County) County · dedicated 2018 · Leesburg Pike, at intersection with Crossroads Circle

After the Union defeat on 21 July 1861 at the First Battle of Manassas, Pres. Abraham Lincoln appointed Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan as commander of the demoralized army. McClellan organized, trained, and equipped the troops, building a force known after August as the Army of the Potomac. On 20 Nov. 1861, McClellan staged a formal military review here, between Munson's Hill and Bailey's Cross Roads. Lincoln and members of his cabinet attended. Occupying about 200 acres, some 65,000 troops—including artillery, cavalry, and infantry units organized into seven divisions—took part in the review, at that time the largest ever held in America.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Example

under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s

what this marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years here

From one family's 77-marker roster

Upload your family tree and TreeAlive finds the markers near where your own ancestors lived.

See your family's markers

Start with a tree file, a FamilySearch sign in, or a WikiTree ID.

Report a problem with this page

The marker isn't at this spotOur pin may be off. If you know where it stands, tell us.I couldn't find the markerWe record what the source recorded. We have not been to look.The sign reads differentlyThat would be an error, and we can pass it to the program.The historical map looks wrongThe period map behind the pin, not the marker itself.Something else

We may pass what you report to the state's marker program. Please don't include personal details.

Marker program managed by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.

More markers nearby

Bailey's Crossroads Civil War Engagementsunder 1 mi
Dr. Lilli Vincenz (1937-2023)under 1 mi
J. E. B. Stuart at Munson's Hillunder 1 mi
Fort Buffalo2 mi