The Arlington Mill during the early Civil War. Courtesy University of Maryland
Just after midnight on June 2, 1861, a Confederate scouting party attacked a Union outpost at Arlington Mill on Columbia Pike. The 1st Michigan Volunteer Infantry was guarding the mill while the 11th New York Volunteers – about to relieve them for the evening – were nearby. Shots were fired, including some accidental friendly fire from the New York regiment who thought they were aiming at the Virginians and not Union troops. The Virginians were driven off or withdrew after the brief exchange of fire. The Union forces suffered one killed and one wounded among the New York men while the Virginians (soon-to-be Confederates) suffered one man wounded.
The attack was one of the first military engagements of the Civil War, only a week after the Union took charge of Virginia opposite Washington. Union regiments established camps, performed picket duty, and later built part of Washington’s defenses on high ground near the Potomac River.
It showed that, despite the Union Army’s presence in northern Virginia, Confederates could still operate in that area and strike the Union forces close to the capital city. As a result, the Union Army tried to move farther into northern Virginia on June 17, when a Union reconnaissance in force led to the Battle of Vienna, Virginia. These minor engagements were precursors of a significant battle in July: The First Battle of Bull Run, or Manassas.
The Arlington Mill was a grist mill built in 1836 by George Washington Parke Custis, the stepson of George Washington, where the turnpike crossed Four Mill Run. Destroyed during the Civil War, it was rebuilt in 1880 and continued operation until 1906. Fire destroyed it in 1920. The location of the skirmish is where the Arlington Mill Community Center stands today.
