1996 Satellite Photo of the Ox Hill (Chantilly) Civil War Battlefield

1996 Satellite Photograph of the Ox Hill Battlefield

Troop positions were based on the original deed for the Reid Farm, the historical record and from the artifacts that were recovered during the archeological salvage survey of the battlefield.

Since Jackson's Division did not occupy their positions along the ridge for very long, not many artifacts were left behind. Luckily, because of the violent storm, some of the paper cartridges had become wet and were discarded, leaving a "bread trail" of unfired lead bullets that clearly outlined the Confederate positions.

In those areas of the battleline where fired bullets were recovered, an increased number of unfired bullets and small brass percussion caps were also found. What this indicated was that the troops who were being fired on, were also returning fire. By retracing the range of a musket backwards from the impact zones, I was then able to locate the opposing battleline. Uniform buttons with the state seal, along with other recovered artifacts, also helped to identity where the 21st Massachusetts and 51st New York were positioned during the fighting on the east side of the battlefield.