The commanders at the Battle of Ball's Bluff were Brigadier General Charles P. Stone for the Union and Colonel Nathan G. "Shanks" Evans for the Confederacy.
Neither one was actually present at the battle, however. Evans was known as a hard-drinking man. Stone had some 12,000 soldiers in his command.
The battle grew out of what was initially going to be a slight demonstration. Evans was moving his troops around in response to Union movements. The Union forces determined to have a reconnaissance in force.
Problems on both sides arose from inexperience, difficult terrain and shortage of boats led to a military disaster. There were also steep bluffs.
The Union troops were starting to retreat down the bluff. Some accounts had them jumping off the bluffs, but that is not true. The big problem was that there was just a narrow road descending to the Potomac River and that led to a real mess.
--Old Secesh
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