Highlanders Follow Your General

Union Brigadier General Isaac Ingalls Stevens was killed in the Battle of Chantilly September 1^st 1862.

Isaac Ingalls Stevens was born in Andover, Massachusetts March 25^th 1818.  He graduated 1839 from the United States Military Academy at West Point at the top of his class.  He entered the Army Corps of Engineers and was promoted to First Lieutenant by 1840.  During the Mexican American War Stevens saw action at the Battles of Cerro Gordo, Vera Cruz, Churubusco, Chapultepec and others.  He would write a book about his experiences in 1851.  On March 17^th 1853 Stevens was named the Governor of the newly created Washington Territory.  On his way to his new post Stevens made a survey across the prairie for a possible railroad route.  He was elected to and served the Territory in the United States Congress from 1857 to 1858.

When the Union was defeated at the First Battle of Bull Run [First Manassas] Stevens accepted a commission as the Colonel of the 79^th New York Infantry, which was known as “the Cameron Highlanders”.  He was appointed Brigadier General September 28^th 1861 and led men at the Battles of Port Royal and Secessionville.  Stevens’ men were transferred to the IX Corps and made part of Union Major General John Pope’s Army, where they fought in the Second Battle of Bull Run [Second Manassas].  At the Battle of Chantilly on September 1^st 1862 Stevens raised the fallen regimental colors of his old 79^th New York and shouted at the men, "Highlanders, my Highlanders, follow your general!"  As he charged ahead of his troops Stevens was hit by a bullet in the temple and died instantly.  His body was brought to Newport, Rhode Island and buried in the Island Cemetery there.

Always A Colonel

Confederate Colonel John Mercer Brockenbrough resigned his commission on January 21^st 1864.

John Mercer Brockenbrough was born August 1^st 1830 in Richmond County, Virginia, the son of Moore Fauntleroy and Sarah Waller (Smith) Brockenbrough.  He attended and graduated from the Virginia Military Institute in 1850.

Brockenbrough was appointed the Colonel of the 40^th Virginia at the start of the Civil War.  They were a part of Confederate Major General A P Hill’s Light Division.  Brockenbrough led his men during the Seven Days Battles seeing casualties of about 50%.  At the Battle of Chantilly he moved up to Brigade command, and continued there through the battles of Harpers Ferry, Sharpsburg, and Fredericksburg.  In the early part of the 1863 Confederate Brigadier General Henry Heth replaced Brockenbrough as the brigade commander.  But, when A P Hill was wounded at the Battle of Chancellorsville, Heth moved up and Brockenbrough got his brigade back.  His men saw action at Gettysburg on the afternoon of July 1^st 1863, fighting against Union Colonel Roy Stone’s Pennsylvania Buck Tails, and as part of Pickett’s Charge on the 3^rd.

Following a reckless charge on Union troops at the Battle of Falling Waters on July 14^th 1863; a part of the Confederate retreat from Gettysburg, Brockenbrough was removed from Brigade command and he resumed command of the 40^th Virginia.  He led the 40^th the Battles of Bristoe and Mine Run, before resigning his command January 21^st 1864 still as a Colonel.

Brockenbrough lived in Norfolk and Richmond, Virginia following the war.  He died August 25^th 1892 in Richmond, Virginia and is buried in the Hollywood Cemetery there.

Covering The Retreat To Washington

The Battle of Ox Hill; also known as the Battle of Chantilly was an attempt by the Confederates to cut off the Union retreat following the their loss at Second Manassas, and was fought September 1^st 1862.

After losing at the Second Battle of Manassas on August 30^th 1862 Union Major General John Pope ordered his Army of Virginia to retreat.  By the next morning it was becoming clear that Pope had lost control of his army and was afraid that another attack by Lee would destroy the army and leave Washington, DC unprotected.  While Pope was trying to regroup his army, Confederate Major General Thomas J Stonewall Jackson began to move on Pope’s right flank.  Jackson was moving for Germantown, Virginia where Pope’s only two routes into Washington were located, but his men were worn out and were moving slowly.

During the night Pope learned of the Confederate force that was advancing on him.  He ordered the army to retreat from their location at Centerville to Washington.  Pope sent out troops from several Corps to cover the roads they would be using to retreat.  Jackson’s force reached Ox Hill near the Chantilly Plantation on the morning of September 1^st 1862 were Confederate Cavalry spent the morning skirmishing with Union infantry and cavalry.  About 3 pm Union Brigadier General Isaac Ingalls Stevens’ division arrived, and despite being outnumbered, attacked Confederate Brigadier General Alexander Robert Lawton’s division.  Although the Union troops were initially successful; routing Confederate Colonel Henry Strong’s Brigade, they were shortly driven back by a counterattack made by Confederate Brigadier General Jubal Anderson Early.  Stevens was killed during this attack.

About this time; around 5 pm, a thunderstorm hit the field limiting visibility and soaking ammunition.  Union Major General Philip Kearny arrived in the storm and deployed on Steven’s left, ordering an attack by Brigadier General David Bell Birney, which stalled in hand to hand fighting with men of Confederate Major General Ambrose Powell Hill’s division.  Kearny road into the Confederate lines and was killed as his other two brigades arrived on the field.  Using these last two brigades as rear guard Birney withdrew, bringing the battle to an end.  The Union Army withdrew during the night to Germantown and Fairfax Court House.

They Lost 35% Of The Unit

The 21st Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was organized in Worchester, Massachusetts and mustered into Union service August 23rd 1861.


The 21st Massachusetts Infantry was garrisoned at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland after being mustered into service on August 23rd 1861. The regiment was part of the Coastal Division under the command of Union Major General Ambrose E Burnside. They saw action in the Battle of Roanoke Island and the Battle of New Bern, before being attached to the Army of the Potomac in July 1862. The 21st took part in many of the big battles in the east including the Battle of Chantilly, where they lost at least 35% of the unit on September 1st 1862. They moved to the Department of the Ohio from March 1863 to January 1864. The 21st rejoined the Army of the Potomac in early May 1864, and took part in Union Lieutenant General Ulysses S Grant’s Overland Campaign.

After three years of service the 21st had 152 men killed, 400 were discharged because of wounds, 69 were prisoner of war, and 300 had left because disease. Their numbers had been reduced from 1000 to about 100 men.

A recommended web site for further reading is Twenty-First Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Three Years

To The Top Of Mount Rainier

Union General Hazard Stevens, who received the Medal of Honor for service at the Battle of Fort Huger died October 11th 1918.


Hazard Stevens was born June 9th 1842 in Newport, Rhode Island the son of Isaac I and Margaret [Hazard] Stevens. The family moved to Olympia, Washington in 1854, when Stevens father become governor of the Washington Territory. At the beginning of the Civil War Stevens volunteered in the 79th New York Highlanders and received a Captain’s commission. He was wounded September 1st 1862 at the Battle of Chantilly. After recovering Stevens was promoted to Colonel, with command in the Third Division of the 9th Corps. He received the Medal of Honor for his contribution to the capture of the Confederate held Fort Huger on April 19th 1863 in Virginia. He was brevetted to Brigadier General in the United States Volunteers.

Following the war Stevens returned to Washington, where he worked for the Oregon Steam Navigation Company. On August 17th 1870 he and Marshall F Moore were the first documented men to ever climb Mount Rainier. Steven joined the bar in 1871. He moved to Dorchester, Massachusetts in 1874 becoming a member of the MA State Legislature, and running unsuccessfully for the Congress. In latter life he become a writer. Stevens died in 1819 and is buried in Island Cemetery in Newport, Rhode Island.