Ball's Bluff Battlefield & National Cemetery

History: Confederates scored a decisive victory on Oct. 21, 1861, driving Union forces over the bluff and into the Potomac River. Many were drowned, and more than 700 were captured.

More to Explore: Nearby Leesburg is home to a charming, historic downtown. Historic Morven Park has a foxhunting museum, while the 260-acre Oatlands Plantation features a Greek Revival Home built in 1803, one of 18 national properties on the National Trust for Historic Preservation. On the Maryland side, the C&O Canal National Historical Park is a favorite for hikers, bikers and paddlers.

Photo Credits: “Ball’s Bluff Death”; “The Civil War in America: the fight at Ball’s Bluff, upper Potomac” – desperate effort made by the 15th Massachusetts Regiment to clear the woods by a bayonet charge; “The Civil War in America—retreat of the Federalists after the fight at Ball’s Bluff, upper Potomac, Virginia” Images courtesy of Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division