UNION OFFICERS
Gen. John Pope, Army of Virginia (AV): “Just before sunset on the 1st the enemy attacked us on our right, but was met by Hooker, McDowell, Reno, and Kearny’s divisions of Heintzelman’s corps. A very severe action occurred in the midst of a terrific thunderstorm, and was terminated shortly after dark. The enemy was driven back entirely from our front, but during the engagement we lost two of the best and one of the most distinguished of our general officers – Major General Kearny and Brigadier General Stevens – who were both killed while gallantly leading their commands and in front of their line of battle.” OR, Series 1, Vol. 12, Part II, p. 45
Maj. Gen. Samuel P. Heintzelman, III Corps, Army of the Potomac (AP): “General Kearny rode forward alone to reconnoiter in his usual gallant, not to say reckless, manner, and came upon a rebel regiment. In attempting to escape, he was killed. The country has to mourn one of her most gallant defenders.” OR, Series 1, Vol. 12, Part II, p. 414.
Brig. Gen. David B. Birney, Second Brigade (Bde.), First Division (Div.), III Corps AP: “[Kearny] rode from me to examine the ground, and dashing past our lines into those of the enemy, fell a victim to his gallant daring.” OR, Series 1, Vol. 12, Part II, p. 418
Capt. George E. Randolph, Battery E, 1st Rhode Island Light Artillery: “…under direction of General Kearny, I took position on a knoll directly in rear of Gen. Birney’s line, and commenced a regular fire of solid shot into the woods occupied by the enemy. My position was such that I could not fire with much accuracy of effect for fear of injuring our own line of infantry, over which I was firing. What effect my firing was I am unable to say. My only loss was 1 horse killed, and my expenditure of ammunition about 100 rounds, mostly of solid shot.” OR, Series 1, Vol. 12, Part II, p. 420.
Capt. Charles F. Walcott, 21st Mass. Volunteers (Vols.), Second Div., IX Corps, AP: “Then, while most of our poor fellows were standing with their guns at the shoulder, one of the deadliest volleys ever fired rolled upon us from our right and front. In the sudden anguish and despair of the moment, the whole regiment seemed to be lying bleeding on the ground.” Walcott, Charles F., History of the Twenty-First Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers, 1882
Capt. Hazard Stevens, Adjutant General to Gen. Isaac Stevens, First Div., IX Corps, AP: “The column now advanced, Benjamin’s guns firing shells into the woods in front. We descended a long, general slope, crossed a slight hollow, and swept steadily up the easy ascent in three firm, regular lines with fixed bayonets glistening above them. Not a sight or sound betrayed the presence of the enemy. There was nothing to be seen but the open field, extending two hundred yards in front and closed by a wall of woods with an old zigzag rail fence at the edge. ‘There is no enemy there,’ exclaimed Capt. Lusk, ‘they have fallen back; we shall find nothing there.’ Even as he spoke, the enemy poured a terrific volley from behind the rail fence. Captain Stevens struck the ground with great force and suddenness, shot in the arm and hip, and as he struggled to his feet saw the even battle line of the Highlanders pressing firmly and steadily on.”
“The enemy was smiting the column with a terrible and deadly musketry. The men were falling fast… The troops, under the withering hail of bullets, were now wavering and almost at a standstill… At this crisis, General Stevens stepped to the front, seized the falling colors from the hands of the wounded bearer…and calling aloud upon his old regiment, ‘Highlanders, my Highlanders, follow your general!’ rushed forward with the uplifted flag. The regiment responded nobly. They rushed forward, reached the edge of the woods, and hurled themselves with fury upon the fence and the rebel line behind it, and the enemy [Louisiana regiments] broke and fled in disorder. At this moment a sudden and severe thunderstorm, with a furious gale, burst over the field and the rain fell in torrents…”
“General Stevens fell dead in the moment of victory. A bullet entered at the temple and pierced his brain. He still firmly grasped the flagstaff, and the colors lay fallen upon his head and shoulders.” Stevens, Hazard, The Life of Isaac Ingalls Stevens, Vol. II, 1900
Lt. George C. Parker, 21st Mass., Second Div., IX Corps, AP (captured in the cornfield): “When I got back to [Capt. Kelton], the whole spot was under rebel guard…After stating to them that I wished to see my captain safely to some place where his leg could be amputated they furnished me with a stretcher and four men and we passed on through their lines and halted just in the rear and laid the Captain down on the grass. He was suffering intensely for the knee pan was blown to slivers and they stuck out like a bunch of asparagus from a tumbler. While I lay there waiting for more help, the General of the Rebel Brigade came and wanted me to go look at a general they had killed and tell him if it was a Brigadier or a Major General—I went and found poor Kearney (sic) laid out on a stretcher with coat and boots gone—but the Rebel Gen’l showing them to me said ‘They shall be put on again—our boys didn’t know who it was and thought it a nice thing to get hold of his clothes.’” Letter of George C. Parker to his mother-in-law, Oct. 15, 1862, Civil War Times Illustrated, April, 1977
UNION SOLDIERS
Ford, Dennis, Co. H, 28th Mass. Vols., First Div., IX Corps, AP: “When we got into the woods, we ran through what we did not shoot. We bayoneted them. One man begged and got no mercy, a Yankee ran him through. Thank God it was not an Irishman did it.” Letter of Dennis Ford, Sept. 6, 1862, Welker, David A., Tempest at Ox Hill, 2002
“B”, 4th Maine Regt., Second Bde., First Div., III Corps, AP: We filed off into the woods to the left of the [Fairfax-Centreville] road and our brigade immediately formed in line of battle and moved up at double-quick till we reached the battleground where a portion of another brigade had been, with fearful loss, repelling the advance of the enemy. We immediately took their place and commenced firing, the rebels being on the edge of the woods and we in an open field. Their bullets made terrible havoc in our ranks yet the men, although seeing comrades drop beside them every minute, did not flinch, even when the order was given to retire to the shelter of a fence, a few rods in the rear. Under cover of the fence our fire was equally effective, and our loss much less. After nearly two hours of firing…our ammunition being nearly exhausted, we retired in good order, carrying off our wounded." Letter of “B”, Sept. 3, 1862, published in the Bangor Daily Whig & Courier, Sept. 10, 1862
Sgt. Daniel C. Fletcher, Co. H, 40th NY, Second Bde., First Div., III Corps, AP: “We were in the thickest of the fight. After we reached the cornfield, we commenced firing. I was well to the front… I was kneeling down on my right leg, making a rest for my rifle with my left hand, my left elbow on my left knee… I was putting a cap on my rifle, to fire for the third time, when a ball struck my knee that was on the ground on the inside. It entered the crack of the joint diagonally, striking the knee pan, which turned it, so that it made a half circle, cracking the bone nearly to the hip, and stopping just outside the bone… The wound was very painful. It seemed to shake me all over… With the aid of my rifle, I managed to hop to the rear…”
“They [ambulance corpsmen] got me on a stretcher and carried me away. They cut my trousers open and tied a bandage tightly above the wounded knee. This lessened the pain. I saw a great many of our wounded going to the rear. Some had help; others hobbled along as best they could. I saw a brigadier general with two men helping [carrying?] him… It was General Stevens I suppose…I was carried to some buildings consisting of a house [Millan house], barn and an old mule house made of logs. The mule house was full of wounded men… After dark, some surgeons came with lanterns and took the ball from my leg... Sometime in the night, some of our officers came and said that everyone who could possibly get away must leave. We knew then that we were to be left to the tender mercies of the rebels. We were a sober set of men that night, for we knew we should be prisoners in the morning. I myself was wet, for there had been a heavy shower before the fight. There was a fire outside the cabin, but I did not feel able to drag myself to it.”
“The next morning about nine o’clock, we saw a rebel cavalryman come to a knoll, a few rods from us. Soon he was joined by five or six more. Then one of them came down where we were and looked all about the buildings, finding nothing but wounded men. Soon afterwards, he was joined by the men he left on the knoll and also by some infantry that had come up in the meantime. Having placed a guard around the buildings, they proceeded to the battlefield where they took everything they could find—even stripping the dead. All the rebel soldiers I saw looked well and were well armed. The cavalry rode good horses, and were armed with sabres, five shooting carbines, and large Colts’ revolvers, the same as our cavalry. A rebel colonel came into the building where we were and took all our names, to be exchanged. He said he could do nothing for us, the commissary stores not having arrived… The rebels told us that they had killed that one-armed devil, General Kearney (sic). We told them we did not believe it.”
“The rebels did not take anything from us as far as I know. We felt safe as long as the guard was there, but when this was removed, we could not help feeling uneasy. Still we were not molested—and we stayed there a week… Corporal Flynn of our company (acting as a corpsman) told us that all our commissioned officers and sergeants had been killed or disabled and a corporal had commanded the company. Besides many of the privates were killed. Chantilly was a Gettysburg for our company, and a most severe fight for all engaged… When we had been prisoners a few days, our rations gave out. Flynn dug the garden over two or three times and cooked for us all the potatoes, beets, turnips or other eatables he could find.”
“There were about 150 wounded in the buildings where we were; five or six died of their wounds every 24 hours. Flynn and the other well men buried them. Two surgeons were left to take charge of us, but we did not have our wounds dressed until the fourth day after the fight. The surgeons told us they had been busy day and night since the battle. The last few days we had very little to eat except coffee. The agents of the Sanitary Commission were the first to find us; then we had bread in abundance.”
“The next morning an ambulance came and stood by the door…I crawled to the door, and with assistance…managed to get into the ambulance. There were some thirty ambulances in the train, each drawn by two horses… The agent of the Sanitary Commission accompanied us to Washington, and very kindly furnished us with wine, brandy and water. We started from the prison pen about four o’clock in the afternoon, and arrived in Washington about dawn the next day. I was placed in the Cliffborn Hospital.” [Fletcher’s leg was amputated on September 18. He was discharged on December 31, 1862.] Fletcher, Daniel C., Reminiscences of California and the Civil War, 1894
CONFEDERATE OFFICERS
General Robert E. Lee, Army of Northern Virginia (ANV): “A cold and drenching rain rain-storm drove in the faces of our troops as they advanced and gallantly engaged the enemy…The conflict was obstinately maintained by the enemy until dark, when he retreated, having lost two general officers, one of whom, Major General Kearny, was left dead on the field.” OR, Series 1, Vol. 12, Part II, p. 558
Maj. Gen. Thomas J. Jackson, Left Wing, ANV: “Give my compliments to Gen. Hill and tell him that the Yankee ammunition is just as wet as his; to stay where he is.” Jackson’s words to Gen. Hill’s aide, as told by Hunter Holmes McGuire (Jackson’s Medical Director), address at VMI, 1897
“A cold and drenching thunder-shower swept over the field at this time, striking directly into the faces of our troops… so severe was the fire in front and flank of Branch’s Brigade as to produce in it some disorder and falling back… The conflict now raged with great fury, the enemy obstinately and desperately contesting the ground until their generals (Kearny and Stevens) fell in [our] front… after which they retired from the field.” OR, Series 1, Vol. 12, Part II, p. 647 (report found in Jackson’s trunk at Lexington following his mortal wounding at Chancellorsville)
Maj. Gen. A. P. Hill, Light Div., ANV: “The battle commenced under the most unfavorable circumstances – a heavy, blinding rain storm directly in the faces of my men…The enemy obstinately contested the ground, and it was not until the Federal Generals Kearny and Stevens had fallen…that they were driven from the ground.” OR, Series 1, Vol. 12, Part II, p. 672
Brig. Gen. William Dorsey Pender, Pender’s Bde., Light Div., ANV: “We had another fight yesterday in the midst of the most pelting rain I was ever in. The Yankees had rather the best of it as they maintained their ground and accomplished the object that was to cover their retreat. …I have but little to say, but that none of us seemed anxious for the fight or did ourselves much credit.” Letter of Gen. Pender to his wife, Sept. 2, 1862 from Hassler, William, editor, The General to His Lady, 1962
Brig. Gen. Jubal A. Early, Early’s Bde., Ewell’s Div. (Lawton), ANV: “On reaching Ox Hill in the afternoon, where the Ox Road crosses the turnpike, the approach of the enemy on the [road] from Centreville having been observed, Trimble’s and Hays’ brigades were moved to the right and placed in line of battle on the right of Jackson’s division... Lawton’s brigade and my own were moved across the turnpike and placed in line in the woods in rear of Trimble and Hays…As we moved into position the enemy opened with artillery, firing into the woods where we were posted, and in a short time afterward infantry firing commenced in front." OR, Series 1, Vol. 12, Pt. II, p 714
"After quite a severe action, in which the enemy lost two general officers, Kearney (sic) and Stevens, he was repulsed at all points, and continued his retreat during the night.” Jubal Anderson Early, Jubal Early’s Memoirs, 1912
Capt. William C. Oates, 15th Alabama, Trimble’s Bde., (Brown), ANV: “Captain Brown, our brigade commander, seeing the retrograde movement of his regiment, with his conspicuous black plume in his hat, his long sabre in hand, his face aglow with excitement and indignation, looked like Goliath with his weaver’s beam. His tall form was conspicuous along the line among the retreating men, trying to halt them and cursing like a trooper when a Federal bullet struck him in the head and killed him instantly.” Oates, William C., The War Between the Union and the Confederacy:History of the 15th Alabama Regiment, 1905 (describing the panic in Trimble’s brigade during the encounter with the 21st Mass.)
Capt. Joseph J. Norton, 1st South Carolina Rifles, Gregg’s Bde., ANV: “The regiment rose, delivered a volley, and charged up the fence, and continued to fire upon the enemy, who kept up a brisk and well directed fire with musketry and a battery. In the meantime a heavy shower of rain fell, which wet and prevented two-thirds of our guns from firing.” OR, Series 1, Vol. 12, Part II, p. 692
CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS
Regarding Pvt. Charles Behan, 5th LA Infantry, Hays’ Bde., (Strong), ANV: “After a short, sharp clash the Federals withdrew and left the field to the rebels. For the Tigers the humiliating encounter was as gory as a major battle. The 5th, 6th, 8th, and 14th Louisiana suffered the highest number of causalities in Jackson’s corps. Strong’s brigade (Hays) lost a total of 39 dead, 99 wounded, and 3 missing. The balls flew so thick in the fight that many men wondered how they came out of the battle uninjured. Charles Behan of the 5th LA had a bullet splinter his musket stock as he took aim, four balls rip through his clothing, and most of his pants blown off by a shell. Nevertheless, he emerged unscathed—only to be killed a short time later at Antietam.” Jones, Terry L., Lee’s Tigers, 1987 (paraphrasing a letter of William Behan to his father, October 14, 1862)
Regarding Sgt. John McCrimmon, 49th GA Infantry, Thomas’ Bde., ANV: “Near Chantilly the regiment was deployed into a cornfield, and were soon engaged in the Battle of Ox Hill during a severe storm of rain. The enemy kept up a furious shelling of our line which continued until long after dark. The opposing forces became engaged in an almost hand to hand fight at this point, during which Major General Kearney (sic) of the United States Army was killed by Sergeant McCrimmon of Company B of this regiment, who succeeded in capturing his horse and accoutrements. The horse was subsequently sent to the family of General Kearney by order of General Lee.”
Folsom, James M., Heroes and Martyrs of Georgia, 1864
CIVILIANS
Dr. Spencer Glasgow Welsh, Surgeon, 13th SC Vols.: “The next morning (September 1) we continued our march towards Fairfax Court House and had a battle late that afternoon at Ox Hill during a violent thunderstorm. Shells were thrown at us and one struck in the road and burst three or four feet from me… There were flashes and keen cracks of lightning nearby and hard showers of rain fell. The Yankees [were] on the right side of the road but our men left the road and I could see them hurrying up the hill with skirmishers in advance of the line.”
“I went into a horse lot and established a field infirmary, and saw an old lady and her daughter fleeing from a cottage and crossing the lot in the rain… The bullets were striking all about the yard of their house. Lt. Leppard from Lexington was brought back to me with both of his legs torn off below the knees by a shell, and another man with part of his arm torn off, but neither Dr. Kenedy (sic), Dr. Kilgore nor our medical wagon was with us, and I had nothing to give them but morphine. They both died during the night. The battle continued till night came on and stopped it. We filled the carriage house, barn and stable with our wounded, but I could do little for them.”
Welsh, Spencer Glasgow, A Confederate Surgeon’s Letters to his Wife, 1911
Rev. Robert A. Browne, D.D., Chaplain, 100th PA Roundheads”: “The line of Stevens was formed under a withering fire and the no less confusing uproar of the thunderstorm, and under his immediate orders makes the charge. The movement was so rapid that the mounted officers had barely time to dismount… and repeat the proper commands. Gen. Stevens was near me and dismounted. I did the same, and after tying my horse, took my place in the line. It was less than five minutes afterwards that the General hailed me from the right to say that his son, Capt. Hazard Stevens, was wounded, and wished me to conduct him to the surgeon which I did.” Bates, Samuel P., Martial Deeds of Pennsylvania, 1876. (Account of Rev. Robert Audley Browne)
“About half of the 100th PA joined with the leading brigade, being deployed as skirmishers. When some of the Roundheads began to waver, Chaplain Browne passed along their line in the midst of heavy fire, exhorting and encouraging the men. ‘Boys, remember Cromwell. Trust in God and keep your powder dry.’" Gavin, William, Campaigning with the Roundheads, 1989
Father James Sheeran, Catholic Diocese of New Orleans, Volunteer Chaplain, 14th Louisiana, Hays’ Brigade (1st LA Brigade), ANV: “I took the road from Sudley’s Mills toward Middlebury (sic) until I came to the Fairfax and Alexandria pike (Rt. 50) at which I turned to the right… On this road I met many wagons loaded with provisions which the good people of the surrounding country were sending to our wounded soldiers. This unsolicited act showed how deeply interested the people were in the cause for which our patriots were fighting…”
“About 2 P.M. I reached our regiment…and heard from it the account of the engagement of the previous evening in which our regiment…had lost two killed and twenty wounded [6 K and 14 W]. It was in this battle that the Yankee Gen. Kearney (sic) and another Federal Gen. were killed. I was sorry to hear that in this engagement some of our regiments did not do as well as usual. About 5 o’clock on Mon. afternoon, we had just formed a line of battle with the 1st La. Brig. on our right [“Hays’ Brigade” of which the 14th La. was on the far left] and some Georgia regiments on our left [in Trimble’s Brigade]…when suddenly the Yankees concealed in the woods poured a heavy fire on our ranks.”
“This fire our boys returned with their usual spirit... Here some Greenhorn, acting as Adjutant, came running along our lines, crying out that the Yankee’s were advancing in three heavy columns and endeavoring to flank and turn our right. This information…caused a panic among some of our regiments, for we had a small force present to oppose the enemy’s advance. The Ga. regt. broke and retreated… There were also two of the La. regiments that did not display their usual valor. But the 14th and the 5th La. manfully stood their ground…and finally succeeded in driving them from the field…” September 2, 1862 (diary entry) from Durkin, Joseph T., Confederate Chaplain: A War Journal, 1960; Jones, Terry L., Lee’s Tigers, 1987; OR, Vol 12, Pt. II, p 717
John N. Ballard (speaking of his home (Reid/Thrift/Ballard house): “…this house was used as a Union hospital in the fight, and the blood stains can still be seen on its floors.” Said to Charles F. Walcott in 1883. Former Capt. Walcott of the 21st Mass. Regiment, visited the Ballard farm in search of the ground on which he fought and where General Stevens fell. Walcott, Charles F., “A Revisit to the Fields of Manassas and Chantilly,” 1883, in The Virginia Campaign of 1862 Under General Pope, Vol. II, edited by Theodore F. Dwight, 1895
John and Mary Ballard (in their deed of conveyance for the monument lot): “This conveyance is made for the specific purpose of allowing any person or persons the privilege of erecting on said lot or parcel of land appropriate monuments or markers commemorating the death of Confederate or Federal soldier who fell in the battle fought on the Fruit Vale Farm, this battle was fought on the 1st day of September, 1862, being known as the Battle of Ox Hill or Chantilly.” Fairfax County Deed Book X-7, page 570-571, July 7, 1915
James W. Ballard (Mayor of Fairfax C. H. and son of John Ballard): “On this field [Ox Hill battlefield] as on many others, foes of one flesh and blood faced each other, each fighting for that side that seemed right in his own mind, each following the cause that he deemed just.…[A]n ex-Confederate [John Ballard] maimed in that great struggle, with weak hands but with a heart strong in its respect for a brave fallen foeman, planted that stone to mark that spot…with no services other than the reverence one brave man has for another.” Reference to the original quartz stone set by John Ballard to mark where Gen. Isaac Stevens fell, September 1. 1862. Spoken to citizens assembled at the Kearny and Stevens Monuments dedication on the Ballard farm, October 2, 1915. Fairfax Herald, October 8, 1915