Some soldiers were shot by Confederate troops firing down from the top of the bluff. Still others were captured on the beach at nightfall and marched into Leesburg. The Battle of Ball's Bluff was small in terms of the number of soldiers involved, but the repercussions proved significant. The Union forces suffered a large number of casualties. This, coupled with the Confederate victory three months earlier at First Manassas, helped bolster the South's hope for a strong Confederacy and shattered the Union's goal for a quick end to the war.
Union soldiers retreat into the treacherous Potomac River.
Bodies floating downriver to Washington brought the shocking reality of this war to the public's attention. In the North, these defeats evoked a harsh public outcry. Compounding the situation were reports of Union dead floating downriver to Washington. One incident held that a body floated past Washington and was recovered at Mount Vernon. As a result of the battle, Congress created a committee on the conduct of the war to appease the volatile, angry public.