Mosby at Lewinsville: August-September 1861

A few notable figures passed through the tiny village of Lewinsville, Virginia during the first year of the Civil War. At the Battle of Lewinsville on September 11, 1861, Col. Jeb Stuart led a small Confederate force against a much larger contingent of Union soldiers under Col. Isaac Stevens. Stuart, who won a brigadier's commission in part because of his actions at Lewinsville, rode on to become one of the most celebrated Confederate cavalry commanders of the war. Stevens, who later commanded a division in the Army of the Potomac, lost his life at the Battle of Chantilly the following September while leading his men against Stonewall Jackson's troops. Other well-known generals also have a connection to the village of Lewinsville and environs, including Winfield S. Hancock, George McClellan, and "Baldy" Smith.

All of this got me thinking. I had heard somewhere that partisan ranger John S. Mosby also fought at Battle of Lewinsville in the days before he became the famed "Gray Ghost of the Confederacy." This story always seemed the stuff of local legend to me, so I recently set out to discover whether Mosby actually participated in the engagement.

John S. Mosby rose to command the 43rd Battalion, Virginia Cavalry, better known as "Mosby's Rangers" (courtesy of Wikipedia)

Before the Civil War, Mosby practiced law in Bristol, Virginia. During the winter of 1861, he volunteered for a militia company known as the Washington Mounted Guard. At the outset of hostilities, Mosby, then a private, and his fellow troopers joined other Virginians preparing for the fight in the Shenandoah Valley. The Washington Mounted Guard was assigned to the 1st Virginia Cavalry as Company D under Capt. William E. "Grumble" Jones. Stuart was given overall command of the regiment.

A Brush with Death Near Lewinsville

The 1st Virginia Cavalry saw action at First Manassas in July 1861 and spent the remainder of the year on outpost duty along the Confederate lines in Northern Virginia. Mosby later recalled his time as a mounted sentinel:

We had to go on picket duty three times a week and remain twenty-four hours. The work was pretty hard; but still, soldiers liked it better than the irksome life of the camp. I have often sat alone on my horse from midnight to daybreak, keeping watch over the sleeping army.  (Mosby, Reminiscences, 14.)

At the end of August 1861, Mosby was assigned picket duty on the road running from Falls Church to Lewinsville with one or two other troopers.* The men were under orders from Capt. Jones to fire on anyone making an approach from outside the Confederate lines. Unbeknownst to the pickets, a second Confederate detachment had galloped down a different road towards Lewinsville on a mission to arrest an alleged spy. The group made the mistake of returning by the same road where Mosby was stationed without alerting the pickets in advance.

Awakened from his slumber by the sound of approaching hoof beats, Mosby mounted his horse and opened fire into the rainy night. Alarmed by the flash of the carbine, Mosby's horse bolted away, tripped over a sleeping cow, and fell on top of him. As Mosby remembered his injuries, "I was bruised from head to foot, and felt like every bone in my body had been broken." (Mosby, Reminiscences, 15.) The Confederate cavalrymen carried Mosby to Falls Church and eventually sent him in an ambulance to Fairfax Court House. As Mosby lay unconscious, Capt. Jones apparently looked at him and "swore harder than the army in Flanders." (Mosby, Reminiscences, 15.) The following week, Mosby recounted the episode in a letter to his wife Pauline, telling her that the accident "came near killing me." (in Mosby, Memoirs, 88.)

Mosby at the Battle of Lewinsville

Not long after his unfortunate spill, Mosby joined Stuart in the attack on Stevens at Lewinsville. On September 11, cavalry pickets alerted Stuart to the presence of enemy soldiers in and around the village. Stuart advanced towards Lewinsville with 305 soldiers of the 13th Virginia, a detachment of the 1st Virginia Cavalry, and two guns of Thomas Rosser's Washington Artillery. (OR, 1:5, 183.) Stuart pounced on Stevens and harassed his retiring column with artillery fire. The Union troops eventually reached the safety of their own camp near Chain Bridge.

Mosby described his experience at Lewinsville in a letter to Pauline dated September 1861.**  He wrote:

The Enemy had come up with three thousand men, artillery, etc. to Lewisville [sic], one of our picket stations; when we got there they were still there.*** Three men of our Company (including myself) were detached to go forward to reconnoitre. Col. Stewart [sic] was with us. While standing near the opening of a wood a whole regiment of Yankees came up in full view, within a hundred yards of me. Their Colonel was mounted on a splendid horse and was very gaily dressed.**** I was in the act of shooting him, which I could have done with ease with my carbine, when Col. Stewart told me not to shoot, — fearing they were our men. . . .  I never regretted anything so much in my life as the glorious opportunity I missed of winging their Colonel. We went back and brought up our artillery, which scattered them at the first shot. I never enjoyed anything so much in my life as standing by the cannon and watching our shells when they burst over them.  (in Mosby, Memoirs, 90.)

If Mosby is to be believed, Stevens came close to losing his life almost a year before he was fatally shot at Chantilly! In any event, Mosby's contemporaneous account demonstrates that he was present at Lewinsville during the fight. Now when I drive by the site of the skirmish, I can't help but think that before he rode to fame and glory with his Rangers, Mosby was engaged in more conventional warfare just around the corner from my house.

Notes

*This road was likely current-day Great Falls Street, which runs from VA-29 (Lee Highway) in Falls Church to the intersection with VA-123 (Dolley Madison Blvd.) in McLean. In a September 2, 1861 letter to his wife, Mosby stated that "there were only three of us at our post."  (in Mosby, Memoirs, 88.)  However, in his Reminiscences, Mosby noted that he was on picket duty "with one other."  (Mosby, Reminiscences, 15.)

**The exact date is missing from the transcription.

***Mosby exaggerated the Federal strength.  Stevens' force consisted of around 1,800 men.  (OR, 1:5, 169.)

****Mosby presumably means Col. Stevens.

Sources

John S. Mosby, The Memoirs of Colonel John S. Mosby (1917); John S. Mosby, Mosby's War Reminiscences and Stuart's Cavalry Campaigns (1887); James Ramage, Gray Ghost: The Life of Colonel John Singleton Mosby (1999); Jeffy D. Wert, Mosby's Rangers (1991); James Joseph Williamson, Mosby's Rangers: A Record of the Operations of the Forty-Third Battalion of Virginia Cavalry from Its Organization to the Surrender (1909 ed.)

Lewinsville, Round 2: The Confederates Encounter "Baldy" Smith's Men Once Again

Last year I wrote about a skirmish that occurred in Lewinsville a couple weeks after the better-known encounter there on September 11, 1861. (See here.)  While researching the September 25 engagement, I noticed the lack of sources telling the Confederate side of the story. In fact, the OR does not appear to contain any official Confederate reports on the skirmish. I was left wondering about the identity of the Confederate units who attacked Brig. Gen. "Baldy" Smith's men near the tiny Northern Virginian hamlet. Following additional research, I recently uncovered more about Confederate involvement in this minor and relatively bloodless action. So, for my 150th anniversary post, I'd like to take a closer look at the Confederates who participated in the skirmish at Lewinsville.

Around nine in the morning of September 25, Smith led a Union force of 5,100 infantry, 16 guns, and 150 cavalry on a reconnaissance and foraging mission to Lewinsville. Smith deployed his men and guns along the road from Langley to Lewinsville and directed the quartermaster to start loading his wagons with forage. Not long afterwards, a body of Confederate cavalry appeared just east of Lewinsville. Capt. Thaddeus Mott's artillery opened fire on the troopers and drove them away.  In all likelihood, the cavalry scouts returned to the Confederate advanced line near Falls Church to warn of the Federal expedition.

The Confederates quickly prepared for battle. Gen. James Longstreet assembled a force consisting of the 1st Georgia, 9th Georgia, 2nd South Carolina, 13th Virginia, 17th Virginia, 1st Virginia Cavalry, and Capt. Thomas Rosser's Washington Artillery of New Orleans. (Gernand 94-95; see also Wallace 21.)*  Three of these units -- the 1st Virginia Cavalry, 13th Virginia, and Washington Artillery -- had fought Smith's men only a few weeks earlier at the first "Battle of Lewinsville."  The soldiers organized around The Falls Church and set out on the road to Lewinsville (likely today's Great Falls Street). The Confederates also loaded all of their wagons and sent them to Fairfax Court House, presumably to avoid capture of supplies in the event of a Union victory.  As Longstreet's aide, Tom Goree, told his mother a couple days later, the Confederates were "expecting to have a very severe fight."  (in Cutrer 45.)

By three in the afternoon, Smith had gathered an incredible 90 wagon loads of forage.  The general recalled his skirmishers and sent the wagons back to the Federal lines.  At about 4 p.m., just as Smith's men were preparing for their return to camp, the Confederates struck.  Smith described the opening of the skirmish in his official report:

[W]e could see advancing over the hills from the Falls Church road what seemed to be a large regiment, marching rapidly in close column and others deployed as skirmishers, with the apparent intention of turning our flank. At the same time they opened fire with seemingly one gun on our extreme left, but at too great distance for any effect, which ceased entirely. . . . Their cavalry was seen in small bodies, moving through the corn fields and woods to our left and on the Lewinsville road. (OR, 1:5, 216.)

Rosser, likely realizing that his guns were having little impact, moved them into position to the right of the Union force "at about 2,500 yards," where he opened fire on Mott's section at Mackall's House. (OR, 1:5, 216.)  Federal artillery under Mott and Capt. Charles Griffin answered the Confederate guns.  Some of the Union rounds fell among the infantry gathered at the graveyard of the Lewinsville Presbyterian Church.  The two sides exchanged about 30 rounds before the skirmish ended with little, if any, participation by the infantry.  Smith recalled that "we could see their dust as they retreated on the Falls Church road."  (OR, 1:5, 216.)  Smith's men moved slowly back to camp, where they arrived about seven that evening. 

Thomas L. Rosser, commander of the Confederate artillery at Lewinsville, who rose to become a cavalry general (courtesy of Wikipedia).

The Confederates, however, had not left the scene entirely. Rosser hauled one gun to a hill overlooking the crossroads at Langley and around dusk fired four or five shots.  Smith sent a scout to investigate, but by the time he arrived, the Confederates were gone.  First Sergeant W.H. Andrews of the 1st Georgia remembered that the Confederates returned to Falls Church "as proud as if we had really been in a battle of some consequence."  (in Gernand 95.)

Smith reported that one man was wounded "slightly in the arm" by a bursting shell.  (OR, 1:5, 217.)  Tom Goree wrote to his mother on September 27 that the Union Army "got some of the best of this fight, as they killed one of our men, and took another prisoner, who rode up to them mistaking them for friends."  (in Cutrer 45.)  Andrews' account differs in that he recalled that two men, both from the 2nd South Carolina, were killed during the skirmish.  In all, casualties had been light, just as in the encounter of September 11.

Clearly the armies were restless, and many soldiers must have felt the anticipation of a big battle approaching. Within a period of just two weeks, Confederate and Union forces had clashed at Lewinsville, a village not far from Longstreet's advanced line. The second skirmish involved even greater numbers than the first. As Goree wrote on September 27, "I think, Mother, that the fight will come off somewhere in a very few days. We will either advance or the enemy will." (in Cutrer 45.) The young aide was probably not alone in his sentiments as the two armies headed into the first autumn of the war.

Notes
*According to a first-hand account by First Sergeant W.H. Andrews, his regiment, the 1st Georgia, marched to Lewinsville with the 9th Georgia, 2nd South Carolina,13th Virginia, "Col. [Jeb] Stuart's Regiment of Black Horse Cavalry" (1st Virginia Cavalry), and Rosser's battery.  (Gernand 95.)  Wallace's history of the 17th Virginia places the 17th at Lewinsville along with the 2nd South Carolina and two guns of the Washington Artillery.  (Wallace 21.)

Sources
"Another Important Reconnoissance [sic] Near Washington," New York Times, Sept. 26, 1861; Thomas W. Cutrer, Longstreet's Aide: The Civil War Letters of Thomas J. Goree (1995); Bradley E. Gernand, A Virginia Village Goes to War: Falls Church During the Civil War (2002); Lee A. Wallace, Jr., 17th Virginia Infantry, from the Virginia Regimental History Series (1990).

Addendum, September 26, 2011
Thanks to reader Dudley Bokoski for pointing out a reference to the September 25 skirmish at Lewinsville in a report from Gen. James Longstreet in which he blamed Col. Joseph Kershaw of the 2nd S.C. for not striking a decisive blow.  (See OR, 1:51:2, 314.)  As Longstreet said, "I am inclined to think that the failure of the effort is due entirely to Colonel Kershaw's getting on a different road from the one I intended he should have taken. Had he been up to time there is no doubt but there would have been one more Bull Run affair.  As things miscarried, the enemy discovered us in time to get a good start."  Unfortunately, neither Kershaw's nor Stuart's reports of the skirmish survive.

The 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Lewinsville

This upcoming Sunday marks the 150th anniversary of the so-called "Battle of Lewinsville." Living right down the street from Lewinsville, which is now a part of McLean, Virginia, I have taken a particular interest in the minor fight that occurred there on September 11, 1861. Not long after starting this blog, I began to research the Battle of Lewinsville and wrote a few posts about some interesting aspects of the engagement.

As a quick recap, on September 11, Union Brig. Gen. William F. "Baldy" Smith sent a force of about 1,800 men, accompanied by four guns, to conduct reconnaissance at Lewinsville. The soldiers, under the immediate command of Col. Isaac Stevens, left Camp Advance around 7:30 a.m. and arrived in the village about two and a half hours later. Around 2 p.m., the mission was complete, and recall was sounded. As the Union soldiers prepared for their return to camp, over 300 Confederates under the command of Col. J.E.B. Stuart launched an attack from the direction of Falls Church. Heavy artillery dueling ensued as the Union force fell back towards Washington.  Smith himself arrived on the scene with two additional artillery pieces. Both sides claimed victory, and casualties were light.

As we approach the anniversary of the Battle of Lewinsville, I thought I would direct readers to a few posts that I have done on the subject:

*Last summer, I looked at the role the 79th New York "Highlanders" played at Lewinsville. The regiment's story is one of redemption following a disgraceful mutiny in August 1861. See here for a post on how the 79th lost its colors, and see here for a detailed account of the 79th in action at Lewinsville. 

*Jeb Stuart won accolades for his performance at Lewinsville, where he led a small force of the 1st Virgina Cavalry, 13th Virginia Infantry, and two guns of the Washington Artillery of New Orleans against far superior Union numbers.  Stuart apparently lost no men.  Check out this post on how Stuart was promoted to brigadier general in part because of his bold (and some may say reckless) leadership at Lewinsville.

*Gen. George McClellan, commander of the Army of the Potomac, reacted very favorably to the Union Army's performance at Lewinsville.  In June of last year, I discussed McClellan's boast to President Lincoln on the day of the skirmish.

A few books discuss the Battle of Lewinsville, but I have found some inaccuracies. One book, for example, places the engagement in Vienna, Virginia at the same site as the Confederate attack on the 1st Ohio in June 1861! (See Russel H. Beatie, Army of the Potomac: McClellan Takes Command: September 1861-February 1862, p. 7 (2002)). The best and most accurate account I have read so far is "A Civil War Action in Lewinsville, Virginia, 11 September 1861," by Edgar R. Hon in the Yearbook of the Historical Society of Fairfax County, Vol. 29 (2003-04). 

Unfortunately, current visitors to Lewinsville have little way of knowing what occurred there 150 years ago. I understand that a Civil War Trails marker or a Fairfax County historical marker commemorating the Battle of Lewinsville is going to be installed in McLean. I will let readers know when I find out more, but such a marker would be a welcome sight. 


A current view of  the Gilbert house, where the Confederate attack on pickets of the 79th New York unfolded at Lewinsville.  Jeb Stuart placed his guns to the right of the house and opened fire on the retiring Union soldiers.  Known today as "Meadowbrook," the home is located in Lewinsville Park off Chain Bridge Road in McLean. The Fairfax County Inventory of Historic Sites lists the date of construction as circa 1860, although according to Carole Herrick's history of McLean, the farmhouse dates to 1847.  The house was damaged during the Civil War, and in 1941, the owners made  numerous additions. Fairfax Country acquired the property in 1973. 


A Word About 9/11

The Battle of Lewinsville, which has always lived in the shadows of the larger engagements of the Civil War, now shares an anniversary date with the tragedy of 9/11.  It is sometimes difficult for us to imagine a battle occurring in a place that has been so transformed since the mid-19th century.  But think how hard it would have been for a soldier at Lewinsville to grasp that in 140 years to the day, a united America would experience one of the most violent and traumatic attacks in the nation's history.  That horrible day ten years ago is still very much with us, both individually and collectively as a country.  I remember distinctly standing on the top floor of my law firm in downtown DC, looking out at the smoking Pentagon across the Potomac.  I remember too not knowing whether the White House, right next door, would be a target for the terrorists.  The fear gripped me, and like hundreds, if not thousands, of others in Washington, I joined the exodus out of town by foot.  I still get choked up just thinking about it all.  As I conclude this post, I'd like to remember all those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks of a decade ago.  You are in our thoughts and prayers.  America, and the world, will never forget.

Longstreet Advances Closer to Washington: The Occupation of Mason's Hill & Munson's Hill

As I have discussed in previous posts, General James Longstreet stood at the vanguard of the Confederate advance through Northern Virginia in late summer of 1861.  During the end of August, Longstreet pushed a force of infantry beyond his picket line at Falls Church, Virginia and closer to the Union capital.*  Assisted by Col. J.E.B. Stuart's 1st Virginia Cavalry, the soldiers drove in Federal pickets and seized two prominences that dominated the surrounding countryside -- Mason's Hill and Munson's Hill.  The newly captured territory was only a handful of miles from the nation's capital.  As Longstreet later recalled, "[w]e were provokingly near Washington, with orders not to attempt to advance even to Alexandria."  (Longstreet, 59.)  From their new position, the Confederates had a full view of Washington, including the unfinished Capitol dome rising in the distance.  They also could observe the Union lines in Northern Virginia as far as Alexandria.

The soldiers set to work digging earthworks on Mason's and Munson's Hills. The heights swept the plains around Bailey's Crossroads, where the Leesburg & Alexandria Turnpike met the Colombia Turnpike.** As long as the Confederate forces were dug in atop these two hills, the Union Army dare not occupy territory closer to Falls Church and Annandale.

A view of Mason's Hill and Munson's Hill from an 1862 Union Army map, showing their proximity to Falls Church and Bailey's Crossroads (courtesy of Library of Congress).  Washington sits to the northeast (upper right of the map), about nine miles away.  The Leesburg & Alexandria Turnpike runs past Munson's Hill to Falls Church and beyond.  At the time this map was drawn, the Union was in control of this area and had erected forts, which are shown here. Today, historical markers are located near the site of  the Confederate positions on Mason's and Munson's Hills (see here and here).

The position at Mason's and Munson's Hills was normally held by a couple regiments of infantry, a battery, and Stuart's cavalry.  The infantry and artillery units rotated every few days, but Stuart's men remained a permanent fixture.  Longstreet remembered in his memoirs that because "the authorities allowed me but one battery. . . we collected a number of old wagon-wheels and mounted on them stove-pipes of different calibre, till we had formidable-looking batteries, some large enough of calibre to threaten Alexandria, and even the National Capitol and Executive Mansion."  (Longstreet, 60.)  According to Private Edgar Warfield of the 17th Virginia, Co.H, the soldiers had some fun with the stovepipe gun at the Union Army's expense.  As he related in his memoirs, "[i]t was a favorite trick to run it out into the center of the road and go through the motions of loading a gun and pointing it at the enemy, who promptly stampeded, under the impression that we had a piece of artillery with us." (Warfield, 60.)

The Confederates, taking full advantage of their position on the high ground, erected signal stations on Mason's and Munson's Hills. Officers from General Wade Hampton's Legion sent messages at night from across the Potomac to Munson's Hill. The Confederates also hatched a clever scheme to relay messages to Munson's Hill from Washington. An ex-Maryland legislator, E. Pliny Bryan, was sent to rent a room in Washington from which Munson's Hill could be seen. As described by E.P. Alexander, who at the time was active in Confederate intelligence gathering and signal work:

[Bryan] was to take the bearing of the hill by compass from his window, and communicate it to us by an agreed-upon advertisement in a daily paper, which we received regularly. This would give us the bearing on which to turn our powerful telescope, loaned for the purpose by a Charleston gentleman, and in position on Munson's Hill. Then we would identify his window by finding a coffee-pot in it, and by motions of the coffee-pot, and opening and shutting the blinds, etc., he would send his messages, and we would reply, if necessary, by a large flag and by firing guns. (Cummins 93.)

The plan was on the verge of being executed in September 1861, when the Confederates abandoned their advanced positions.

Looking at the Confederate earthworks on Munson's Hill down the Leesburg & Alexandria Turnpike from Bailey's Crossroads, September 1861 (courtesy of Virginia Historical Society).  The Confederate flag atop Munson's Hill was seen from as far away as Washington.  This sketch was drawn by Union soldier Robert Knox Sneden. 

At the end of August, the Confederates raised the Stars and Bars on Munson's Hill.  The New York Times informed its readers that the large flag "was visible with a glass from the top of the shiphouse at the Navy-yard" in Washington.  A similar flag was raised from Mason's Hill.  The presence of the Confederates so close to Washington, flying their flag defiantly and in plain view from the capital, caused consternation among Washingtonians and in the Union ranks. 

In September 1861, Longstreet moved the headquarters of his advanced forces to Home Hill  in Falls Church.  At the time of the Civil War, Home Hill was owned by John Bartlett, a transplant from New York.  The property is now called the Lawton House and is located on Lawton Street, just off of VA-7.  The photograph above shows Home Hill today.

Historical marker in front of Home Hill, recalling Longstreet's stay at the property. 

During this time, the Union Army relied on aerial reconnaissance by Professor Thaddeus S.C. Lowe, who ascended in his balloon from Ft. Corcoran, Ball's Cross Roads, and Chain Bridge to observe the Confederate positions on the two hills.  According to Confederate General Jubal Early, Lowe kept a balloon up "almost constantly." (Early, 49.)  Confederate gunners atop Munson's Hill found Lowe an inviting target and fired shots at his balloon. Luckily for Lowe, they missed their mark. 

With the armies so close to one another, and tensions running high, fighting was bound to erupt in the no-man's land between the lines. In the next installment, I examine the skirmishing that took place around Munson's Hill and Bailey's Crossroads at the end of August and start of September 1861.

Notes

*According to an August 29, 1861 letter from Longstreet's aid, Tom Goree, to his uncle and sister, this advance likely took place around August 27.
**Bailey's Crossroads was spelled "Bailey's Cross Roads" at the time of the Civil War.

Sources

Edmund H. Cummins, "The Signal Corps in the Confederate States Army," Southern Historical Society Papers, Vol. XVI, at 93 (1888).

Thomas W. Cutrer, Longstreet's Aide: The Civil War Letters of Thomas J. Goree (1995).

Jubal Anderson Early & R.H. Early (ed.), Autobiographical Sketch and Narrative of the War Between the States (1912).

Bradley E. Gernand, A Virginia Village Goes to War: Falls Church During the Civil War (2002).

Frederick Stansbury Haydon, Military Ballooning During the Early Civil War (1941).

James Longstreet, From Manassas to Appomattox (1896).

Charles P. Poland, Jr., The Glories of War: Small Battles and Early Heroes of 1861 (2004).

"Special Dispatch from Washington," dated Aug. 31, 1861, New York Times, Sept. 1, 1861 edition.

Lee A. Wallace, Jr., 17th Virginia Infantry, from the Virginia Regimental History Series (1990).

Edgar Warfield, Manassas to Appomattox: The Civil War Memoirs of Pvt. Edgar Warfield, 17th Virginia Infantry (1996 ed.).

Jeffry D. Wert, General James Longstreet: The Confederacy's Most Controversial Solider (1994).

J.E.B. Stuart Makes a Name for Himself

Since starting this blog, I have written a few times about the "Battle of Lewinsville" on September 11, 1861.  (See here, here and here.)  This small skirmish interests me for a number of reasons.  The clash at Lewinsville took place right in the middle of present-day McLean, not far from my home, but is hardly known to local residents.  Lewinsville also involves a cast of characters who became prominent figures during the Civil War, including J.E.B. Stuart, Charles Griffin, and "Baldy" Smith.  In fact, one of the best stories to come out of Lewinsville  involves then-Colonel J.E.B. Stuart, commander of Confederate forces, whose performance led to recognition and promotion.

General J.E.B. Stuart (courtesy of Wikipedia Commons)

On the afternoon of September 11, as the recall was sounded and the Union reconnaissance force of around 1,800 assembled to return to camp near Chain Bridge, Stuart led over 300 men of the 1st Virginia Cavalry, the 13th Virgina Infantry, and the Washington Artillery of Louisiana in a surprise attack.  The skirmish mostly involved an exchange of artillery fire, and the Union retreat was orderly and involved few casualties.  However limited the engagement, Stuart impressed his superiors with his conduct during the fight.  In forwarding Stuart's official report of the skirmish to General Joseph E. Johnston, commander of the Confederate Army of the Potomac, General James Longstreet, wrote:

The affair of yesterday was handsomely conducted and well executed. . . .  Colonel Stuart has, I think, fairly won his claim to brigadier, and I hope the commanding generals will unite with me in recommending him for that promotion.



General James Longstreet, Stuart's immediate commander based at Falls Church, VA (courtesy of Wikipedia Commons)



General Joseph E. Johnston (courtesy of Wikipedia Commons)



General Johnston and General P.G.T. Beauregard, the other top Southern commander in Northern Virginia, endorsed Longstreet's recommendation, and added:



We think with Brigadier-General Longstreet that Colonel Stuart's laborious and valuable services, unintermitted since the war began on this frontier, entitle him to a brigadier generally. His calm and daring courage, sagacity, zeal, and activity qualify him admirably for the command of our three regiments of cavalry, by which the outpost duty of the Army is performed. The Government would gain greatly by promoting him.

Johnston wrote separately to General Samuel Cooper, Adjutant General and Inspector General of the Confederate Army in Richmond:

Connected with this communication and these reports is a recommendation form General Longstreet, General Beauregard, and myself for forming a cavalry brigade and putting Colonel Stuart at is head. A new organization of the cavalry arm of our service is greatly needed, and greater strength as well as an effective organization.



General P.G.T. Beauregard (courtesy of Wikipedia Commons)

Immediately after Lewinsville, Johnston and Beauregard had considered Stuart's use of the artillery overly brash; he had put the guns too close to the Union lines and risked capture of precious weaponry.  Longstreet came to Stuart's defense, and obviously won the day.  In the end, Stuart was made a brigadier general and given an independent command of cavalry.  Lewinsville had helped to put Stuart on the road to fame as the head of one of the best-known cavalry commands of the entire Civil War.