Ball's Bluff Masked Battery

Nearby is the likely site of the Confederate "masked battery" (concealed artillery) that was an object of Federal concern early in the Civil War. On 21 Oct. 1861, elements of the 13th Mississippi Infantry near there engaged 35 horsemen of the 3rd New York Cavalry sent to draw attention from the Union force upriver at Ball's Bluff and to reconnoiter Confederate positions in the direction of Leesburg. After a brief firefight, the New Yorkers withdrew to Edwards Ferry. The Confederate victor at the Battle of Ball's Bluff, Col. Nathan G. "Shanks" Evans, was later promoted to brigadier general, while the Union commander, Brig. Gen. Charles P. Stone, was imprisoned as the scapegoat for the Federal defeat.