Battle of Thoroughfare Gap
Battle of Thoroughfare Gap | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the American Civil War | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
United States (Union) | CSA (Confederacy) | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
James B. Ricketts | James Longstreet | ||||||
Units involved | |||||||
Union Army of Virginia | Confederate Army of Northern Virginia | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
5,000 | 28,000 | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
100 Northern Virginia Campaign | |||||||
|
The Battle of Thoroughfare Gap, also known as Chapman's Mill, took place on August 28, 1862, in
Background
On August 26, Maj. Gen.
Battle
At 9:30 a.m. on August 28, Wyndham's troopers encountered Longstreet's vanguard while attempting to fell trees across the road on the east side of the gap. Wyndham immediately dispatched a courier to Ricketts at Gainesville. Ricketts's advance was slow, however, and he had only reached Haymarket, 3 miles (4.8 km) to the east, by 2 p.m. By that point, Wyndham had been driven from the Gap and Longstreet took possession of it. The Federal position was still strong though, as a series of low-lying ridges east of the gap provided an excellent ground for defending the road to Gainesville, and the Confederates had not occupied the hills to the north and south of the gap.[4]
In order to meet this Union threat, Longstreet developed a plan, whereby he would command the gap from the high ground on either side and then outflank the Union position on the eastern ridge. The 9th Georgia from Col.
With the gap firmly in Confederate control, Col. Evander M. Law's brigade was ordered up and over the ridge to the north of the gap to attack the Federal right. At the same time, Brig. Gen. Cadmus M. Wilcox was sent with three brigades 6 miles (9.7 km) to the north, through Hopewell Gap, to outflank the Federal position and attack its rear. When Law's brigade came down the eastern slope of the mountain and attacked the Federal right, Ricketts sent the 84th New York against them, temporarily checking Law's advance. The 2nd and 20th Georgia, however, pressed down the slopes to the south and soon attacked the Federal left. With his position rapidly becoming untenable, Ricketts decided to fall back on Gainesville, leaving the gap to the Confederates before Wilcox could cut off his line of retreat.[6]
Aftermath
In terms of casualties, the battle was small, with only 100 casualties on both sides combined, but had major strategic consequences. Ricketts failed to fully comprehend the importance of keeping the two wings of the Confederate army apart. Rather than entrenching his force in a strong defensive position at the gap, the easiest and quickest crossing of the Bull Run Range, he left only cavalry there while he sat a half-day's march away at Gainesville, protecting the railroad, a job much more suited for his cavalry. As such, he lost the advantage and the only hope his small force had in seriously hindering Longstreet's advance. His failure to do so allowed the two wings of the Confederate army to unite at Manassas and virtually ensured Pope's defeat during the Second Battle of Bull Run on August 29.[7]
Battlefield preservation
The
Notes
- ^ NPS Thoroughfare Gap.
- ^ Salmon (2001), p. 142.
- ^ Hennessy (1993), pp. 148, 153–154.
- ^ Hennessy (1993), pp. 154–155.
- ^ Hennessy (1993), pp. 155–158.
- ^ Hennessy (1993), pp. 158–160.
- ^ Hennessy (1993), pp. 160–161.
- ^ ABT Saved Land.
- ^ NPS CWSAC Thoroughfare Gap.
- ^ ABT Thoroughfare Gap Battlefield.
References
- Hennessy, John J. (1993). Return to Bull Run: The Campaign and Battle of Second Manassas (PDF) (1st ed.). New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. p. 636. OCLC 26095816. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
- Salmon, John S. (2001). The Official Virginia Civil War Battlefield Guide (PDF) (1st ed.). Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. pp. 142–145. OCLC 1285748045. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
- "Saved Land". www.battlefields.org. American Battlefield Trust. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
- "Thoroughfare Gap Battlefield". www.battlefields.org. American Battlefield Trust. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
- "Thoroughfare Gap". nps.gov. U.S. National Park Service. 2006. Archived from the originalon July 14, 2012.
- "Update to the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission, Commonwealth of Virginia" (PDF). nps.gov. U.S. National Park Service. 2012. Archived from the original(PDF) on November 8, 2012.
External links
- The Battle of Thoroughfare Gap: Maps, facts, photos, and preservation news (Civil War Trust)