Date:    November 1-3, 1862
Result:    Inconclusive
Troops Engaged:    Estimated 5,000
Casualties:    Estimated 200

The Battle of Unison consisted of a series of brief engagements that took place over a three-day period between Philomont in Loudoun County, south to Upperville in Fauquier County.  Lead by Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart and Union General George B. McLellan, the Battle of Unison engaged an estimated 5,000 combined Union and Confederate troops at its peak.  The number of troops killed, wounded or captured is estimated to be 200.

In the end, Stuart’s effort to delay the passage of Federal forces through the lower Loudoun Valley and the Unison Road corridor, effectively pushed the Federal advance southward so that the Confederate forces could reach Culpeper Court House in time to Block the Union initiative to sever Lee’s communication with Richmond, as Lincoln directed McClellan.  The Confederate’s success led to the dismissal of General McClellan and his replacement by Major General Ambrose E. Burnside.

The eight-mile long battlefield district stretches from Philomont and Unison in Loudoun County, south to Upperville in Fauquier. The Unison battlefield area has changed little over the past 150 years.  This rural countryside remains untouched by housing subdivisions and commercial development.  The dirt roads and stone walls of this rolling land are still intact, including a stream ford that Union and Confederate cavalry fought across during the first two days of the Battle of Unison.