The Civil War transformed the Bristoe Station area between 1861 and 1865, as thousands of Federal and Confederate soldiers passed through this region using local roads and especially the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, the crucial artery that enabled large forces to operate here. The village of Bristoe Station grew where the Valley Road met the railroad, and because the roads were little more than dirt paths, the railroad moved men and supplies far more efficiently. Beginning in August 1861, Confederate soldiers established Camp Jones around Bristoe Station, and nearly 1,000 soldiers died during this period and were buried nearby. Although the Confederates left within a few months, Federal soldiers built numerous camps here between 1862 and 1864. The railroad also drew two battles to this place: on August 26-27, 1862, Confederate forces under Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson raided the railroad and repelled Federal forces under Gen. John Pope at the Battle of Kettle Run, and on October 14, 1863, the last major battle in Northern Virginia was fought here when Confederate soldiers attacked the rear of the withdrawing Union army. The Battle of Bristoe Station became Gen. Robert E. Lee's last operational offensive of the Civil War.
