Virginia voted to secede from the Union on May 23, 1861. Fairfax County's northern-born residents—many of whom were its most prominent and prosperous citizens—now felt very uncomfortable. Their southern neighbors looked upon them with suspicion. In July 1861 the Union Army met with catastrophic defeat during the First Battle of Manassas. The army retreated all the way to Washington, with the Confederate Army advancing quickly behind it. The Confederates occupied Falls Church and Munson's Hill, overlooking Bailey's Crossroads, and the crossroads' northern-born residents fled for the safety of Washington.