Battle of Chantilly
Battle of Chantilly (Battle of Ox Hill) | |||||||
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Part of the American Civil War | |||||||
Death of General Isaac Stevens | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
United States (Union) | CSA (Confederacy) | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Philip Kearny † Isaac Stevens † |
J.E.B. Stuart | ||||||
Units involved | |||||||
Strength | |||||||
6,000[1] | 20,000[1] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
1,300[2] |
800 Northern Virginia Campaign | ||||||
The Battle of Chantilly (or Ox Hill, the Confederate name) took place on September 1, 1862, in
Background
Defeated in the
By the morning of August 31, Pope began to lose his grasp on command of his army. The defeat at Second Bull Run seemed to have shattered his nerve and Pope was unsure what to do next; he knew
Lee, however, had already set in motion his own plan that would rob Pope of the initiative to attack. Lee directed Maj. Gen.
During the night two events occurred that forced Pope to change his mind. A staff officer arrived from the Germantown position to report that a heavy force of cavalry had shelled the intersection before retreating. Pope initially dismissed the cavalry as little more than a patrol. But when, hours later, two Union cavalrymen reported seeing a large mass of infantry marching east down the Little River Turnpike, Pope realized that his army was in danger. He countermanded actions preparing for an attack and directed the army to retreat from Centreville to Washington; he also sent out a series of infantry probes up the roads that Lee might use to reach his troops as they pulled back.[6]
Opposing forces
Union
Confederate
Battle
On the morning of September 1, Pope ordered Maj. Gen.
Jackson resumed his march to the south, but his troops were tired and hungry and made poor progress as the rain continued. They marched only three miles and occupied Ox Hill, southeast of
A severe thunderstorm erupted about this time, resulting in limited visibility and an increased dependence on the bayonet, as the rain soaked the ammunition of the infantry and made it useless. Kearny arrived about this time with his division to find Stevens' units disorganized. Perceiving a gap in the line he deployed Brig. Gen.
Aftermath
That night, Longstreet arrived to relieve Jackson's troops and to renew the battle in the morning. The lines were so close that some soldiers accidentally stumbled into the camps of the opposing army. The Union army withdrew to Germantown and Fairfax Court House that night, followed over the next few days by retreating to the defenses of Washington. The Confederate cavalry attempted a pursuit but failed to cause significant damage to the Union army.[10]
The fighting was tactically inconclusive. Although Jackson's turning movement was foiled and he was unable to block the Union retreat or destroy Pope's army, National Park Service historians count Chantilly as a strategic Confederate victory because it neutralized any threat from Pope's army and cleared the way for Lee to begin his
Battlefield today
The site of the battle, once rural farmland, is now surrounded by suburban development in
A small yard located within the nearby Fairfax Towne Center has been preserved to mark the area crossed by Confederate troops to get to the Ox Hill battlefield.[14]
Notes
- ^ a b c CWSAC Report Update
- ^ a b Salmon, p. 154.
- ^ Hennessy, pp. 436–38.
- ^ Hennessy, pp. 440–41.
- ^ Hennessy, pp. 441–43.
- ^ Hennessy, pp. 446–48.
- ^ Taylor, pp. 33, 47–49.
- ^ Taylor, pp. 39–40, 51–53, 63–69.
- ^ Taylor, pp. 70, 77–87, 90.
- ^ Taylor, pp. 90–91, 93.
- ^ Taylor, pp. 109–111; Hennessy, pp. 453–55.
- ^ "Fairfax County Park Authority plan" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-10-11. Retrieved 2005-03-28.
- ^ Taylor, pp. 125–28.
- ^ Taylor, p. 128.
References
- Esposito, Vincent J. West Point Atlas of American Wars. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1959. OCLC 5890637. A copy is available online at the Library of Congress.
- Hennessy, John J. Return to Bull Run: The Campaign and Battle of Second Manassas. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1993. ISBN 0-671-79368-3.
- Ropes, John Codman. The Army in the Civil War. Vol. 4, The Army under Pope. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1881. OCLC 458186269.
- Salmon, John S. The Official Virginia Civil War Battlefield Guide. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2001. ISBN 0-8117-2868-4.
- Taylor, Paul. He Hath Loosed the Fateful Lightning: The Battle of Ox Hill (Chantilly), September 1, 1862. Shippensburg, PA: White Mane Publishers, 2003. ISBN 1-57249-329-1.
- National Park Service battle description
- CWSAC Report Update
- Welker, David A. "Tempest at Ox Hill: The Battle of Chantilly." New York: DaCapo, 2002. ISBN 978-0-306-81118-0.
Further reading
- Mauro, Charles V. The Battle of Chantilly (Ox Hill): A Monumental Storm. Fairfax, VA: Fairfax County History Commission, 2002. ISBN 0-914927-35-3.
- Welker, David. Tempest at Ox Hill: The Battle of Chantilly. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 2002. ISBN 978-0-306-81118-0.
External links
- The Battle of Chantilly: Animated maps, histories, photos, and preservation news. (Civil War Trust)
- The Battle of Chantilly (Ox Hill), a docudrama about the battle