In the fall of 1861, Fairfax County lay between two large armies as Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston occupied the Centreville area and the Federal army, regrouping after defeat at the First Battle of Manassas, manned the fortifications protecting Washington, D.C. With Union morale low and a victory badly needed, Gen. George McCall sent Gen. Edward O. C. Ord with Pennsylvania infantry and artillery toward Dranesville on December 19 after learning Confederates were harassing Unionists there, while Confederate Gen. J.E.B. Stuart was ordered to protect foraging parties gathering winter supplies and marched toward Dranesville on Centreville Road. On December 20, Ord’s troops reached the intersection of the Georgetown and Leesburg Turnpikes and took defensive positions on a ridge facing south. When Stuart’s infantry and cavalry arrived, he found the Federal position strong, and after repeated attacks and significant artillery losses, he ordered a retreat southward. Casualties were 68 Federals and 194 Confederates. Ord returned to the Union lines, and Stuart came back the next day to recover his dead and wounded. Although both sides claimed victory, the Federals won their first tactical success against the Confederates in Virginia, and the small engagement lifted Union morale.
