Battle of Ball’s Bluff

On 21 October 1861, Union troops crossed the Potomac near Leesburg, Virginia, after an uncertain reconnaissance was mistaken for an opportunity to attack. The crossing was made with too few boats, leaving soldiers crowded against the river beneath high ground held by Confederate forces.

Confederate pressure drove the Union line back over the bluff, and many men were killed, captured or drowned while attempting to recross the river. The death of United States senator and colonel Edward D. Baker intensified public anger and contributed to congressional scrutiny of the conduct of the war.

This context supports fiction about inexperienced armies, confused orders and the dangerous Potomac front during the first year of the Civil War. Copperhead opens the next phase of Starbuck’s service around the consequences of Ball’s Bluff.