Battle of Arlington Mills

Part of the American Civil War

Date	June 1, 1861
Location	Arlington Mills, Virginia Arlington County, Virginia Coordinates: 38°51′39″N 77°6′59″W / 38.86083°N 77.11639°W / 38.86083; -77.11639
Result	Inconclusive

Belligerents

United States (Union)

CSA (Confederacy)

Commanders and leaders

Irvin McDowell

Milledge Luke Bonham

Strength

two companies, as many as 200

squad, as few as 9

Casualties and losses

1 killed
1 wounded

1 wounded

The Battle of Arlington Mills, Virginia, 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 soldiers 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. During a brief and confused exchange of fire, one Union soldier was killed and another was wounded, while one Virginian soldier was wounded. It demonstrated that Union forces were vulnerable to enemy attacks, even when close to the capital.

The U.S. Army surrendered Fort Sumter in the harbor Charleston, South Carolina to Confederate forces on April 14, 1861. The next day, President Abraham Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers to serve for 90 days in order to reclaim federal property and to suppress the rebellion begun by the seven Deep South states which had formed the Confederate States of America (Confederacy). Four Upper South States, including Virginia, refused to furnish troops for this purpose. Instead, political leaders in these states began the process of secession from the Union with the intent of joining the Confederacy. On April 17, 1861, a convention for the purpose of considering the secession of Virginia began in Richmond, Virginia. The convention immediately passed an ordinance of secession and authorized the governor to call for volunteers to join the military forces of Virginia to defend the state against Federal military action. Despite scheduling a popular vote to ultimately determine whether Virginia would secede from the Union, the actions of the Virginia Secession Convention and of the state government, especially Virginia Governor John Letcher, effectively took Virginia out of the Union. Governor Letcher appointed Robert E. Lee, who had just resigned as a colonel in the U.S. Army, as commander in chief of Virginia’s army and navy forces on April 22, 1861 at the grade of major general. On April 24, 1861, Virginia and the Confederate States agreed that the Virginia forces would be under the overall direction of the Confederate President, Jefferson Davis, pending completion of the process of Virginia joining the Confederate States.

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