Battle of Arlington Mills 1861
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 1 June 1861 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1861 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | 19th century (1800–1913) | derived from year |
| Location | United States | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | North America | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | American Civil War | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 38.8608, -77.1164 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Arlington Mills was one of the first military engagements of the American Civil War, a week after the Union occupation of that part of Virginia opposite Washington, D.C. It occurred on June 1, 1861, at about 11:00 p.m., a few hours after the Battle of Fairfax Court House.
Under cover of darkness, a squad of just nine Virginia soldier fired at troops of the 1st Michigan Volunteer Infantry and the 11th New York Volunteer Infantry, who were performing picket duty at Arlington Mills, Virginia. The Virginians were technically still Virginia militiamen although Virginia forces had been acting under the direction of Confederate President Jefferson Davis after an agreement on April 24, 1861, between Virginia and the Confederate States as well as after approval on May 23, 1861, by Virginia voters of the ordinance of secession enacted by the Virginia legislature on April 19, 1861.
During a brief and confused exchange of fire, one Union soldier was killed and another was wounded, while one Virginian was wounded. It demonstrated that Union forces were vulnerable to enemy attacks, even when close to the capital.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Arlington Mills (revision 1373619936), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- 1974 White House helicopter incident 1974 · 8 km
- Battle of Lewinsville · 10 km
- Battle of Vienna, Virginia 1861 · 13 km
- Battle of Fort Stevens 1864 · 14 km
- Bog Wallow Ambush 1861 · 14 km
- Battle of Fairfax Court House (1863) 1863 · 16 km
Other battles of the American Civil War
- Battle of Aquia Creek 1861
- Battle of Athens (1861) 1861
- Battle of Ball's Bluff 1861
- Battle of Barbourville 1861
- Battle of Big Bethel 1861
- Battle of Blackburn's Ford 1861
- Battle of Bolivar Heights 1861
- Battle of Boonville 1861
- Battle of Camp Allegheny 1861
- Battle of Camp Wildcat 1861
All 498 battles of the American Civil War →
Browse more: battles in United States · North America · 19th century battles