Nov. 5, 1861 - Shootout at Oak Hill Mansion

Nov. 5, 1861

Shootout at Oak Hill Mansion

Annandale, VA

* Like Ravnesworth, this was a home of the Fitzhughs, and the only one still standing. It is the oldest one too, built in 1779

* Pretty much just a private home with zero signage, so it was tricky but rewarding to track down in the middle of suburban NOVA

* The two sides here have a rematch at the Bog Wallow Ambush, a month later

The view from the street, with a small warning to keep out

The best I could get until they open it for tours.

"On the night of November 5, 1861, a shootout occurred between three Union scouts and four Confederate cavalrymen at Oak Hill. It was seven months after the start of the Civil War and four months after the Confederate victory in the First Battle of Bull Run/Manassas. Confederate forces occupied Fairfax Courthouse (today's City of Fairfax) and Union Army camps were within 10 miles near Alexandria. Located between the lines of the two armies, Oak Hill was in an area where they tested each other and probed with frequent patrols.

Private Edward S. E. Newbury of the Third Regiment New Jersey Infantry was a principal figure in the event and probably the most reliable source of what occurred. Photographs of Newbury, who later advanced to the rank of Captain, show him in his Union Army uniform and as a much older man after 1900."

The Ravensworth Mansions:

Oak Hill, Ossian Hall and Ravensworth

Three great homes were built at Ravensworth during the eighteenth century, one of which still stands as a monument to the past.

In 1779, Major Henry Fitzhugh built "Oak Hill" for his land agent, Lund Washington. At the time of construction, the home consisted of only four huge rooms, two on each floor. It was not until 1936 that the home was refurbished and expanded to resemble another of the Ravensworth mansions, "Ossian Hall." Oak Hill, the oldest of the three great homes, stands majestically on a plot of land of approximately four acres. It is privately owned and is located off Wakefield Chapel Road, hidden by trees on every side."

Sources:

https://annandale.va.us/history.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oak_Hill_(Annandale,_Virginia)

Thanks to researcher and author Michael Mitchel, born and raised in Annandale, who published one of the only summaries of this skirmish online, and provides the primary source evidence:

https://braddockheritage.org/items/show/256.html