Second Battle of Dranesville
Part of the American Civil War
Date February 22, 1864 Location Loudoun County, Virginia 39°01′N 77°22′W / 39.01°N 77.37°W / 39.01; -77.37 Result Confederate Victory
Belligerents
United States of America	Confederate States of America
Commanders and leaders
James Sewall Reed †	John S. Mosby
Units involved
2nd Massachusetts Cavalry 16th New York Cavalry	43rd Battalion Virginia Cavalry
Strength
167	160
Casualties and losses
107 (12 killed, 25 wounded, 70 captured)	6 (1 killed, 5 wounded)
Location of the battle in Virginia

The Second Battle of Dranesville, also known as the Ambush at Anker's Shop, was a small cavalry skirmish that took place between Confederate forces under Colonel John Mosby and Union forces under Captain James Sewall Reed east of Dranesville, Virginia in Loudoun County near present-day Sterling on February 22, 1864, as part of Mosby's operations in Northern Virginia in the American Civil War. After successfully defending a raid into "Mosby's Confederacy" by Cole's Maryland Cavalry, the following day Mosby led his Rangers against a second raid by Reed. The action resulted in a Confederate victory.

Background

The battle

The following morning, 160 Rangers gathered to bury McCobb. At the same time Maj. Charles Russell Lowell dispatched 167 troopers of the 2nd Massachusetts Cavalry and 16th New York Cavalry under Capt. James Sewall Reed, on a raid into Loudoun. At the funeral near Middleburg, Mosby learned of the Federal raid and mounted the Rangers in pursuit, sending the bulk of the force under William Henry Chapman to Ball's Mill, south of Leesburg, while he and a small party shadowed the Federals. At Leesburg, Reed, not finding any sign of Confederates, set out east on the Leesburg-Alexandria Turnpike, camping 6 miles (9.7 km) east of the town that night. As the Federals bivouacked, Mosby rejoined his main body, who he had since directed to Guilford Station (present day Sterling) on the Alexandria, Loudoun and Hampshire Railroad. Upon rejoining the Rangers Mosby led them to the pike, 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Dranesville and deployed them in three wings; a dismounted squad on the Pike and two companies on each flank concealed in the woods to the sides of the road. A skirmish party was sent west on the Pike as bait for the ambush.

At 10 a.m. the Federals broke camp and came upon Mosby's skirmishers an hour later. As the Federal vanguard, in pursuit of the fleeing skirmishers, came into sight the flank wings sprung the trap, missing the main Federal force. Reed took advantage of the mistake and ordered a counterattack. The two force collided in heavy hand-to-hand combat. At one point in the fighting Ranger John Munson captured a Federal trooper but failed to take his sidearm and when he turned to rejoin the fight the Yankee shot him in the back. Moments later, Ranger Baron Robert von Massow captured Reed, but he too failed to take his side arm and was also shot in the back. William Chapman wasted no time in killing Reed in retaliation. With Reed dead, the Federal resistance gave way and the Rangers chased them north towards the Potomac river. Several of the Federal troopers jumped into the river in their haste to flee and drowned.

Results

In the action, known to the Rangers as 2nd Dranesville, the Rangers killed 12, wounded 25 and captured 70 along with 100 horse while losing only 5 wounded and 1 killed.

References

• Wert, Jeffry D. Mosby's Rangers. Simon & Schuster Paperbacks; New York, Ny. 1990. pp. 144–149.