 Although not an Ox Hill artifact, this brass Virginia waist belt plate was recovered by Kevin Ambrose near the Millan property. This was where General J.E.B. Stuart's "Camp Qui Vive" was located in 1861.
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Reverse side - Note the solder marks in the upper and lower right hand corners that held the adjustment bar. |
Maj. General J.E.B. Stuart |
| J.E.B. Stuart's
men were well known for their brash cavalier attitude while encamped at
the Millan house during the fall and early winter of 1861. A few miles west, behind Stuart's camp, the Confederate army occupied the very
same fortifications that General Pope would use a year later during the
Battles of Second Manassas and Ox Hill.
These well outfitted troopers of Stuart's newly formed cavalry brigade were assigned the task of patrolling the eastern front lines of Fairfax, Virginia. In an ironic twist of fate, they must have certainly traveled the same cart road General Stevens used to outflank Jackson as a shortcut to the Confederate fortifications in Centreville. This intimate knowledge of the Ox Hill area and Stuart's lack of using his advantage to screen Jackson's flank is puzzling. Maybe it was arrogance, perhaps a calculated gamble, or just a breakdown in communication, we can only guess. The end result was that Stevens surprised Jackson and was able to choose the ground to fight on. |
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