VA-B29 Maryland (Antietam Sharpsburg) Campaign

Marker text: MARYLAND (ANTIETAM/SHARPSBURG) CAMPAIGN

Following the Battle of Ox Hill (Chantilly) on 1 Sept. 1862, Gen. Robert E. Lee pondered his options and strategy. Encouraged by Confederate victories and Federal disorganization, Lee acted quickly to continue the offensive. On 3 Sept., Lee's Army of Northern Virginia marched north toward Leesburg, from where it could cross into Maryland, flank the Washington fortifications, and draw the Union army out of Virginia. The troops of Maj. Gens. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson and James Longstreet moved north on Ox Road past Frying Pan and Herndon Station to Dranesville. The army concentrated around Leesburg and forded the Potomac into Maryland Sept 4-7.

Department of Historic Resources, 2000.