ORDER OF BATTLE // October 21, 1861
Battle of Ball's Bluff
Estimated force strength by side, with confidence labels per surviving record.
Forces engaged
2 sides catalogued · combined 3,429 estimated
United States
1,720
Medium-confidence figure
Confederate States (Confederacy)
1,709
Medium-confidence figure
Battle context
Ball's Bluff resulted in a humiliating defeat for Union forces under Major General George B. McClellan early in the American Civil War. With Union casualties of 1,002 out of a force of 1,720 engaged against a roughly equal Confederate force of 1,709, the engagement represented a severe loss in both men and prestige. Occurring in the war's opening phase, the defeat underscored the difficulties facing Union commanders in translating numerical parity into battlefield success and contributed to broader Northern anxieties about the conduct of the war in the Eastern Theater.
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