Ox Hill vs. Chantilly
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As romantic as the name Chantilly may sound, the last battle fought between Pope and Lee did not occur at Chantilly. It was fought a mile further to the east on the southern slopes of Ox Hill. The misconception that the battle was fought around the Chantilly tavern has also contributed to it being commonly referred to as the Battle of Chantilly instead of Ox Hill. Largely because of this confusion, the actual battlefield at Ox Hill was never documented or surveyed until just before it was destroyed at the end of this century. To better understand how this happened, it is important to know the history and topography of the area along with the military tradition of how a battlefield is named... The Chantilly of 1862 was a tavern/post office located about a mile west of the battlefield on Little River Turnpike (Rt. 50). The name Chantilly, and the area it applies to, has continued to drift westward over the last 130 or so years. It now encompasses the intersection of Rt. 50 and Rt. 28, some three miles further to the west of where the original 1862 Chantilly tavern had been located. As a general rule of thumb, Union commanders would name a battle after it's geographic location, whereas their Confederate counterparts would use the name of the nearest populated area. Since General Lee ordered Jackson to advance on Germantown, then the "Battle of Germantown" would would have been a more appropriate name in every regard. This is especially true since there weren't any Union troops at Chantilly and Jackson was attacking the Union positions guarding the vital crossroads at Germantown. However the main battle was not fought at Germantown or Chantilly... it was fought on the southern slope of Ox Hill when the Union IX Corps attacked Jackson's southern flank (just after the Confederates had opened fire on the Germantown defenses). The actual battlefield at Ox Hill was also equidistant to both Germantown and the Chantilly tavern/post office. Therefore, if any name other than Ox Hill was to be applied, it should have been Germantown and not Chantilly. The crossroads at Germantown was of considerable tactical value whereas Chantilly had no value at all and was in the rear of Jackson's army. Traditionally, if a hill is being assaulted, the battle would usually bear the name of that hill as was the case with Bunker Hill, San Juan Hill, Pork Chop Hill, Hamburger Hill, etc... Ox Hill not only fits that definition but is also the second highest elevation in Fairfax County and is exactly where the forces deployed and the battle was fought. Even though the original 1862 map used by General Pope was updated one month prior to the battle, it was not complete. What the map failed to show, was that Ox Hill was the highest part of a prominent north/south ridgeline that ran parallel to the ridgeline held by the Union forces at Germantown. The main reason Union commanders named the battle after Chantilly, was simply because Ox Hill did not exist on their maps! They were by all accounts, strangers in a strange land. On the other hand... Confederate commanders were keenly aware of the topography, especially the ridgeline that Ox Hill was part of.A Confederate map drawn by Jed Hotchkiss after the battle, correctly identifies Ox Hill and refers to the battle as the "Battle of Ox Hill". As previously noted, the Confederates would normally name a battle after the closest populated area. However in this case, they applied the tradition of naming the battle after the hill that was being assaulted. It should also be pointed out that at the beginning of the war most of the United States had not been mapped but by wars end, there was a basic detailed map of the entire country. Since we failed in our duty to preserve this hallowed ground, we should at least help future generations find the two granite memorials commemorating the deaths of Generals Stevens and Kearny. The battlefield was difficult enough to find when it was several hundred acres! Perhaps, if past historians had properly referred to the battle as the "Battle of Ox Hill" instead of the "Battle of Chantilly", we would have been more aware of the battlefield's location and had a better chance to save it. Finally, since Stonewall Jackson had possession of the battlefield and General Pope continued his retreat, Jackson has the honor of naming the battlefield. His after-action report to General Lee clearly shows his choice.
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