History of The Battle of Ball’s Bluff 7 The Comanches 21 _By John Divine_ Confederate Monument in Leesburg 25 Short History of The Society of Friends in Loudoun County 29 _By Asa Moore Janney_ The Uses of History 43 _By Col. Trevor N. Dupuy_ The Skirmish at Mile Hill 53 _By Col. A. B. Johnson, U.S. Army_ (_Ret._) Members of The Loudoun County Historical Society 57 Copyright 1965 By The Loudoun County Historical Society Leesburg, Virginia Printed in Leesburg, Loudoun County, Commonwealth of Virginia BY POTOMAC PRESS History Of The Battle Of Ball’s Bluff Fought on the 21st of October, 1861 Personal Memories of Col. E. V. White Dedicated By Him To the Loudoun Chapter of U. D. C., Leesburg, Va. For Benefit of Monument to be erected in Leesburg to the Confederate Soldiers of Loudoun “THE WASHINGTONIAN” PRINT Leesburg, Va. History of The Battle of Ball’s Bluff The popular idea at the time, and which has continued until now, is that the battle of Ball’s Bluff was a blunder, brought about by the Federal commander without proper (although easily to be obtained) information as to the force and position of the Confederates in the vicinity of Leesburg, and almost without purpose, or prospect of advantage, worth the venture, resulting from success should he win, and that the Confederate commander permitted his troops to engage, in a rather haphazard way, by companies and regiments, pretty much as they pleased. But in the light of subsequent events, and by aid of the Official Records of the so-called “War of the Rebellion,” we learn that both commanders, Gen. Charles P. Stone, of the Federals and[1] Gen. N. G. Evans, of the Confederates, had really well-defined purposes and plans, and played the game with skill and intelligence on both sides.