In October 1861, to quiet his critics, Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan ordered Union troops stationed along the Potomac between Edwards Ferry and Harper's Ferry to make "a slight demonstration" and draw out the Confederate force based in Leesburg. The resultant Union defeat here on October 21, 1861, led to the creation of the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, the first major exercise of Congressional authority to oversee and investigate operations of the Federal Executive Branch.

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