The New Student's Reference Work/Ball's Bluff

Ball’s Bluff, a bluff on the Virginia side of the Potomac, thirty miles from Washington, was the scene of a battle in the Civil War, October 22, 1861. A small force of Federal troops was surrounded by a larger Confederate force. The Federals were defeated, and a large number were killed or captured, among the killed being the commander, Col. E. D. Baker. See.