In the fall of 1861, Fairfax County lay between two large armies as Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston occupied the Centreville area and the Union Army manned a growing line of fortifications protecting Washington D.C. after its devastating defeat at the first Battle of Manassas. With Union morale low and a battlefield victory badly needed, Union Gen. George McCall on Dec. 19 ordered Gen. Edward O.C. Ord and his Pennsylvania infantry and artillery to move forward to Dranesville after learning that Confederates were harassing Union soldiers there. At the same time, Confederate Gen. J.E.B. Stuart was ordered to protect foraging parties gathering winter supplies and marched toward Dranesville on Centreville Road. Ord's troops arrived the next day at the intersection of Georgetown and Leesburg Turnpikes, where they took up defensive positions on a ridge facing south with the intersection at their center. When Stuart and his Confederate infantry and cavalry arrived, they quickly recognized the strength of the Union position. After repeated attacks and heavy losses from artillery fire, Stuart ordered a retreat southward. Casualties totaled 68 for the Union and 194 for the Confederates. Ord returned to the Union lines, and Stuart came back the next day to recover his dead and wounded. Although each side claimed victory, the Union Army gained its first tactical success against the Confederates in Virginia, and the small battle helped raise Union morale.
