Confederate Strongpoint
Here on the south bank of Bull Run, Confederate forces constructed log-and-earth trenches to defend Mitchell's Ford, a strategically important crossing point. On July 17, 1861, as Union Gen. Irvin McDowell's army approached Centreville, Confederate Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard's forces withdrew south to defensive positions such as this one along Bull Run. Confederate Gen. Milledge L. Bonham's brigade guarded the approaches to Mitchell's Ford and manned the trenches here. The next morning, Union Gen. Daniel Tyler's artillery fired at Mitchell's and Blackburn's Fords from the Old Centreville Road. Because open fields lay between Tyler's and Bonham's forces, Tyler probed the more wooded approaches to Blackburn's Ford defended by Longstreet's Brigade. Mitchell's Ford received a steady barrage "of the enemy's missiles" for the next five hours but suffered little damage and loss of life.HM Number | HMNFL |
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Series | This marker is part of the Virginia Civil War Trails series |
Tags | |
Year Placed | 2010 |
Placed By | Virginia Civil War Trails |
Marker Condition | No reports yet |
Date Added | Saturday, October 4th, 2014 at 4:51pm PDT -07:00 |
UTM (WGS84 Datum) | 18S E 286488 N 4296373 |
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Decimal Degrees | 38.79026667, -77.45831667 |
Degrees and Decimal Minutes | N 38° 47.416', W 77° 27.499' |
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds | 38° 47' 24.96" N, 77° 27' 29.94" W |
Driving Directions | Google Maps |
Area Code(s) | 703, 571 |
Closest Postal Address | At or near 7608-7630 Old Centreville Rd, Manassas VA 20111, US |
Alternative Maps | Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap |
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