Wolf Run Shoals was an important crossing point on the Occoquan River in northern Virginia between Alexandria and Richmond during the 18th and 19th centuries. It consisted of three islands and a mill, now submerged under the Occoquan due to higher water levels following damming for flood control, water supply, and power generation. [1] It is located near the unincorporated communities of Butts Corner, Makleys Corner, and Farrs Corner in southern Fairfax County, Virginia.
During the American Revolutionary War on September 27, 1781, Wolf Run Shoals was the site of the southerly crossing of a combined American-French force under General George Washington and Count Rochambeau on their way to the Siege of Yorktown. It was also the site of multiple Civil War crossings by both Union and Confederate forces. Confederate General Wade Hampton's regiments encamped and picketed on the south side during the winter of 1861-2 until March 1863, while the Army of the Potomac's Second, Twelfth, and Sixth Corps forded north here in June 1863 en route to what became the Battle of Gettysburg. Shortly thereafter, Confederate General JEB Stuart's Army of Northern Virginia cavalry also crossed when the 2nd Vermont Brigade withdrew on orders and left the ford unguarded. [2] [3] [4]
Today Wolf Run Shoals is only an historical and recreational site located in Fountainhead Regional Park, accessible on the northern side from Wolf Run Shoals Road in Fairfax County. An historical marker was dedicated in Clifton, Virginia on June 21, 2014. [5]
Clifton is an incorporated town located in southwestern Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, with a population of 282 at the time of the 2010 census, up from 185 at the 2000 census.
Vienna is a town in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, Vienna has a population of 16,473. Significantly more people live in ZIP codes with the Vienna postal addresses, bordered approximately by Interstate 66 on the south, Interstate 495 on the east, Route 7 to the north, and Hunter Mill Road to the west, than in the town itself.
The Battle of Blackburn's Ford took place on July 18, 1861, in the Confederate state of Virginia, as part of the Manassas campaign of the American Civil War. Union general Irvin McDowell's Army of Northeastern Virginia was marching south towards the Confederate capital of Richmond, and encountered the Confederate Army of the Potomac under the command of P. G. T. Beauregard. McDowell sent troops from Daniel Tyler's division to probe the Confederate defenses along Bull Run Creek to locate the Confederate left flank. At Blackburn's Ford, the Union troops attempted to cross but Confederate fire broke up the attack. The repulse at Blackburn's Ford led McDowell to seek to attack the Confederates at a different point along their line, leading to the First Battle of Bull Run three days later.
The First Battle of Rappahannock Station, as took place on August 23, 1862, at present-day Remington, Virginia, as part of the Northern Virginia Campaign of the American Civil War.
The Battle of Mine Run, also known as Payne's Farm, or New Hope Church, or the Mine Run campaign, was conducted in Orange County, Virginia, in the American Civil War.
NOVA Parks is an inter-jurisdictional organization that owns and operates more than 10,000 acres of woodlands, streams, parks, trails, nature reserves, countryside and historic sites in Northern Virginia in the United States. The Authority was organized in 1959. NOVA Parks presently operates 34 regional parks.
Blackburn's Ford was the crossing of Bull Run by Centreville Road between Manassas and Centreville, Virginia, in the United States. It was named after the original owner of the Yorkshire Plantation, Col. Richard Blackburn, formerly of Yorkshire, England. The land was acquired in 1854 by Wilmer McLean who owned it until 1867.
Bull Run is a 32.8-mile-long (52.8 km) tributary of the Occoquan River that originates from a spring in the Bull Run Mountains in Loudoun County, Virginia, and flows south to the Occoquan River. Bull Run serves as the boundary between Loudoun County and Prince William County, and between Fairfax County and Prince William County.
The 2nd Vermont Brigade was an infantry brigade in the Union Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War.
The 14th Vermont Infantry Regiment was a nine months' infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It served in the eastern theater, predominantly in the Defenses of Washington, from October 1862 to August 1863. It was a member of the 2nd Vermont Brigade.
The Washington–Rochambeau Revolutionary Route is a 680-mile (1,090 km) series of roads used in 1781 by the Continental Army under the command of George Washington and the Expédition Particulière under the command of Jean-Baptiste de Rochambeau during their 14-week march from Newport, Rhode Island to Yorktown, Virginia. 4,000 French and 3,000 American soldiers began the march.
Fort Willard is a former Union Army installation now located in the Belle Haven area of Fairfax County in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is currently undergoing preservation treatment to protect its earthen walls and trenches.
State Route 612 in Fairfax and Prince William Counties, Virginia is a secondary state highway. The two counties are separated by water, so SR 612 contains a bridge that is one of only eight crossings between the counties. Because of this, SR 612 is heavily traveled during rush hour.
Bull Run Regional Park is a 1,568-acre (635 ha) multi-use facility located in Centreville, Virginia, owned and operated by the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority.
Fort O'Rourke is a former Union Army installation now located in the Belle Haven area of Fairfax County in the U.S. state of Virginia. It was the southernmost fort built to defend Washington, D.C. in the American Civil War.
The Occoquan River is a tributary of the Potomac River in Northern Virginia, where it serves as part of the boundary between Fairfax and Prince William counties. The river is a scenic area, and several local high schools and colleges use the river for the sport of rowing.
Gum Springs is a community in Fairfax County in Hybla Valley along Route 1. The African American community, the oldest in the county, was established in 1833 by West Ford, a freedman who had been manumitted by Hannah Bushrod Washington, in 1805. A historical marker was erected by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources in 1991.