Earl approaches: remember 148 years ago when storm struck Ox Hill

by YankeeJim | September 2, 2010 at 05:20 pm

95 views | 0 Recommendations | 0 comments

Just as the weather drove the British from Washington in the War of 1812, fierce rain put a damper on the Battle at Ox Hill in the Civil War.

“The thunderstorm and the Battle of Ox Hill

In the rain, the Union Army retreats to Washington the day after the Battle of Second Manassas, Aug. 31, 1862. The Confederate Army was in pursuit, chasing the Union troops eastward toward Washington. On the following day, the Battle of Ox Hill occurred just northwest of Fairfax, Va., during an intense thunderstorm that made the soldier's black powder weapons unserviceable, helping turn the fierce battle into a muddy stalemate. Source: Washington Weather

Earlier this summer, I wrote a post about a thunderstorm that helped save Washington from fires that were set by an invading British army in 1814. The storm's heavy rains extinguished the flames and prevented the British from lighting more fires in the city.

There is one more example of a thunderstorm that thwarted the efforts of an attacking army with plans to conquer Washington. Fast forward from the year 1814 to 1862, exchange the British Army with the Confederate Army, and exchange one drenching thunderstorm for another. It was a severe thunderstorm on Sept. 1, 1862, which played a very important role in changing the course of a major Civil War battle that occurred near Fairfax, Va. This is the story of the thunderstorm and the Battle of Ox Hill...

The battlefield is not well-known and it does not have the volume of visitors like Gettysburg or Manassas. Nevertheless, the battle and the thunderstorm played a very important role in shaping the outcome of the Civil War.

On a high hill west of Fairfax, a fierce Civil War battle was fought in a blinding thunderstorm on Sept. 1, 1862. Two well-known Union generals were killed, and over 2,000 casualties occurred in the dramatic fight that was greatly influenced by a line of thunderstorms associated with a strong cold front. The Battle of Ox Hill, also known as the Battle of Chantilly, is the only major Civil War battle to have been fought during a storm. To explain the Battle of Ox Hill, we need to start with the Battle of Second Manassas.”