Dranesville was a Civil War engagement fought in Virginia, 1861. It was a Union victory.
Brig. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart led a brigade-sized mixed force of cavalry, infantry, and artillery to protect a foraging expedition in the vicinity of Dranesville. Union Brig. Gen. E.O.C. Ord, advancing on the Georgetown Pike, encountered Stuart's cavalry. Both sides deployed as more units arrived on the field, and a sharp firefight developed. Stuart withdrew in the mid-afternoon after ensuring that his wagons were safely in the rear.
On December 20, 1861, a limited engagement unfolded in Fairfax County, Virginia, pitting Confederate troops commanded by Brigadier General J. E. B. Stuart against Union soldiers led by Brigadier General Edward O. C. Ord. This clash, known as the Battle of Dranesville, formed part of the broader campaign Major General George B. McClellan was conducting in the northern part of the state. Both sides had set out on routine winter patrols when they crossed paths in the small crossroads settlement of Dranesville, sparking a confrontation. When the fighting ended, Union forces had come away with the win.
After the fighting at Ball's Bluff on October 21, the eastern theater settled into a lull, with both sides retreating into winter quarters and holding off on any large campaigns. Even so, commanders occasionally dispatched small parties to test the enemy's lines or gather forage for their animals. One such mission unfolded in the early hours of December 20, when Stuart moved north from his position near Centreville. He commanded a mixed brigade of infantry drawn from the 6th South Carolina, 1st Kentucky, 10th Alabama, and 11th Virginia regiments, along with 150 cavalry troopers and Allen S. Cutts's Georgia battery of four guns. His purpose was to guard the army's wagon trains during a foraging run into Loudoun County. At roughly the same time, Ord marched west out of Langley at the head of the 3rd Brigade of Pennsylvania Reserves, a force numbering 10,000, tasked with sweeping Confederate pickets and partisan fighters from the Potomac's south bank across Fairfax and Loudoun. Upon reaching Colvin Run Mill, Ord split his command, stationing half his men there to secure his rear and keep his line back to Langley from being severed.
Near midday, Ord's column reached Dranesville, at the junction where the Georgetown Pike meets the Leesburg Pike, and there ran into a screen of Stuart's cavalry pickets. Union troops pushed these riders back without much trouble, and Ord continued westward along the Leesburg Pike with his men. Roughly an hour later, Stuart brought the bulk of his force up from the south and struck the tail end of the Federal column near the village.
Reacting to this threat, Ord stopped his infantry and turned it to face south, arranging his line along the north edge of the Leesburg Pike while placing his artillery on high ground close to the intersection. For his part, Stuart positioned his infantry south of the road and set his guns roughly 300 yards (300 m) from where the Federals stood. During this deployment, confusion struck the Confederate ranks when the 1st Kentucky fired on the 6th South Carolina, believing them to be Union soldiers; the South Carolinians answered immediately. The 11th Virginia then pushed forward with the 10th Alabama backing them up, but a wall of fire halted their advance. Among the Alabama regiment's officers, Colonel John Forney suffered a wound and Lieutenant Colonel James B. Martin lost his life in the fighting.
Drawn by the noise of battle, the 9th Pennsylvania Reserve Regiment rushed across the turnpike, only to be repelled almost immediately. Both sides' cannons then exchanged fire, though the Confederate battery could not hold up long against the well positioned Union guns and was silenced. Ord answered by throwing a skirmish line of infantry across the pike toward Stuart's position, and the opposing forces remained locked in this standoff for close to two hours. By three o'clock, having gotten his supply wagons safely out of harm's way, Stuart pulled his men back. Ord followed for about half a mile to confirm his own retreat route remained clear, then called off the pursuit and marched his command back to Langley.
Stuart came back the next day with additional troops, but by then the fighting had already concluded.
While this engagement was minor, carried no real strategic weight, and produced few losses on either side, it stood out as the first eastern instance in which Union troops got the better of their Confederate opponents. They pushed their enemy off the field entirely, doing so while inflicting 230 casualties and absorbing just 71 of their own.
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