Northern Virginia campaign
Northern Virginia campaign | |||||||
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Part of the John Pope and Robert E. Lee, commanding generals of the northern Virginia campaign | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
United States of America | Confederate States of America | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
John Pope | Robert E. Lee | ||||||
Units involved | |||||||
Army of Northern Virginia | |||||||
Strength | |||||||
75,000[1] | 48,500[1] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
16,843 |
9,197 (1,481 killed; 7,627 wounded; 89 missing/captured) Northern Virginia Campaign | ||||||
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The Northern Virginia Campaign, also known as the Second Bull Run Campaign or Second Manassas Campaign, was a series of battles fought in
Concerned that Pope's army would combine forces with Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac and overwhelm him, Lee sent Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson north to intercept Pope's advance toward Gordonsville. The two forces initially clashed at Cedar Mountain on August 9, a Confederate victory. Lee determined that McClellan's army on the Virginia Peninsula was no longer a threat to Richmond and sent most of the rest of his army, Maj. Gen. James Longstreet's command, following Jackson. Jackson conducted a wide-ranging maneuver around Pope's right flank, seizing the large supply depot in Pope's rear, at Manassas Junction, placing his force between Pope and Washington, D.C. Moving to a very defensible position near the battleground of the 1861 First Battle of Bull Run (First Manassas), Jackson successfully repulsed Union assaults on August 29 as Lee and Longstreet's command arrived on the battlefield. On August 30, Pope attacked again, but was surprised to be caught between attacks by Longstreet and Jackson, and was forced to withdraw with heavy losses. The campaign concluded with another flanking maneuver by Jackson, which Pope engaged at the Battle of Chantilly on September 1.
Lee's maneuvering of the Army of Northern Virginia against Pope is considered a military masterpiece. Historian John J. Hennessy wrote that "Lee may have fought cleverer battles, but this was his greatest campaign."[4]
Background
I have come to you from the West, where we have always seen the backs of our enemies, from an army whose business it has been to seek the adversary, and to beat him to when he was found; whose policy has been to attack and not defense.... Let us look before us, and not behind. Success and glory are in the advance; disaster and shame lurk in the rear.
— John Pope, order to the "Officers and Soldiers of the Army of Virginia", July 14[5]
Military situation
After the collapse of McClellan's Peninsula campaign in the Seven Days Battles of June,
The Union Army of Virginia was constituted on June 26, from existing departments operating around Virginia, most of which had recently been outmaneuvered in
On the Confederate side, General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia was organized into two "wings" or "commands" (the designation of these units as "corps" would not be authorized under Confederate law until November 1862) of about 55,000 men. The "right wing" was commanded by Maj. Gen. James Longstreet, the left by Maj. Gen. Stonewall Jackson. The Cavalry Division under Maj. Gen.
Plans
Pope's mission was to fulfill a few objectives: protect Washington and the Shenandoah Valley, and draw Confederate forces away from McClellan by moving in the direction of Gordonsville.[9] Pope started on the latter by dispatching cavalry to break the Virginia Central Railroad connecting Gordonsville, Charlottesville, and Lynchburg. The cavalry under Hatch got off to a slow start and found that Stonewall Jackson had already occupied Gordonsville on July 19 with over 14,000 men. (After a subsequent second failure to cut the railroad on July 22, Pope removed Hatch from his cavalry command and reassigned him to command an infantry brigade in Brig. Gen. Rufus King's division of the III Corps.)[10]
Pope had an additional, broader objective, encouraged by Abraham Lincoln. For the first time, the Union intended to pressure the civilian population of the Confederacy by bringing some of the hardships of war directly to them. Pope issued three general orders on the subject to his army. General Order No. 5 directed the army to "subsist upon the country," reimbursing farmers with vouchers that were payable after the war only to "loyal citizens of the United States." To some soldiers, this became an informal license to pillage and steal. General Orders 7 and 11 dealt with persistent problems of Confederate
Based on his experiences in the Seven Days, Lee concluded that McClellan would not attack, and he could thus move most of his army away from Richmond. This allowed him to relocate Jackson to Gordonsville to block Pope and protect the Virginia Central. Lee had larger plans in mind. Since the Union Army was split between McClellan and Pope and they were widely separated, Lee saw an opportunity to destroy Pope before returning his attention to McClellan.[12]
Initial movements
On July 26, Lee met with cavalry commander and partisan fighter
Opposing forces
Union
Confederate
Battles and movements
On July 29, Pope moved his headquarters from Washington to the field. He was informed by Halleck of the plan to link up with McClellan's army, but rather than waiting for this to occur, he moved some of his forces to a position near Cedar Mountain, from whence he could launch cavalry raids on Gordonsville. Jackson advanced to Culpeper Court House on August 7, hoping to attack one of Pope's corps before the rest of the army could be concentrated.[14]
Cedar Mountain
On August 9, Nathaniel Banks's corps attacked Jackson at Cedar Mountain, gaining an early advantage. Confederate Brig. Gen.
Lee advances to the Rappahannock
On August 13, Lee sent Longstreet to reinforce Jackson, and on the following day Lee sent all of his remaining forces (except for two brigades) after he was certain that McClellan was leaving the Peninsula. Lee arrived at Gordonsville to take command on August 15. He massed the Army of Northern Virginia south of Clark's Mountain and planned a turning movement to defeat Pope before McClellan's army could arrive to reinforce it. His plan was to send his cavalry under Stuart, followed by his entire army, north to the Rapidan River on August 18, screened from view by Clark's Mountain. Stuart would cross and destroy the railroad bridge at Somerville Ford and then move around Pope's left flank into the Federal rear, destroying supplies and blocking their possible avenues of retreat. Logistical difficulties and cavalry movement delays caused the plan to be abandoned.[16]
On August 20–21, Pope withdrew to the line of the Rappahannock River. He was aware of Lee's plan because a Union cavalry raid captured a copy of the written order. Stuart was almost captured during this raid; his cloak and plumed hat did not escape, however, and Stuart retaliated on August 22 with a raid on Pope's headquarters at Catlett's Station, capturing the Union commander's dress coat. Stuart's raid demonstrated that the Union right flank was vulnerable to a turning movement, although river flooding brought on by heavy rains would make this difficult. It also revealed the plans for reinforcing Pope's army, which would eventually bring it to the strength of 130,000 men, more than twice the size of the Army of Northern Virginia.[17]
Skirmishing on the Rappahannock
The two armies fought a series of minor actions August 22–25 along the Rappahannock River, including Waterloo Bridge, Lee Springs, Freeman's Ford, and Sulphur Springs, resulting in a few hundred casualties.
Raiding Manassas Station
On the evening of August 26, after passing around Pope's right flank via Thoroughfare Gap, Jackson's wing of the army struck the Orange & Alexandria Railroad at
Thoroughfare Gap
After skirmishing near Chapman's Mill in Thoroughfare Gap, Ricketts's Union division was flanked on August 28 by a Confederate column passing through Hopewell Gap several miles to the north and by troops securing the high ground at Thoroughfare Gap. Ricketts retired, and Longstreet's wing of the army marched through the gap to join Jackson. This seemingly inconsequential action virtually ensured Pope's defeat during the battles of August 29–30 because it allowed the two wings of Lee's army to unite on the Manassas battlefield. Ricketts withdrew via Gainesville to Manassas Junction.[23]
Second Bull Run (Manassas)
The most significant battle of the campaign, Second Bull Run (Second Manassas), was fought August 28–30.[24] In order to draw Pope's army into battle, Jackson ordered an attack on a Federal column that was passing across his front on the Warrenton Turnpike on August 28, alerting Pope to his position. The fighting at Brawner's Farm lasted several hours and resulted in a stalemate.
Pope became convinced that he had trapped Jackson and concentrated the bulk of his army against him. On August 29, Pope launched a series of assaults against Jackson's position along the unfinished railroad grade. The attacks were repulsed with heavy casualties on both sides. At noon, Longstreet arrived on the field from Thoroughfare Gap and took position on Jackson's right flank.
On August 30, Pope renewed his attacks, seemingly unaware that Longstreet was on the field. When massed Confederate artillery devastated a Union assault by Porter's corps, Longstreet's wing of 28,000 men counterattacked in the largest simultaneous mass assault of the war. The Union left flank was crushed and the army driven back to Bull Run. Only an effective Union rearguard action prevented a replay of the
Chantilly
Making a wide flanking march, Jackson hoped to cut off the Union retreat from Bull Run. On September 1, beyond Chantilly Plantation on the
Aftermath
The northern Virginia campaign had been expensive for both sides, although Lee's smaller army spent its resources more carefully. Union casualties were 16,054 (1,724 killed, 8,372 wounded, 5,958 missing/captured) out of about 75,000 engaged, roughly comparable to the losses two months earlier in the Seven Days Battles; Confederate losses were 9,197 (1,481 killed, 7,627 wounded, 89 missing/captured) of 48,500.[1]
Edward Porter Alexander wrote:
- The [Army of Northern Virginia] acquired that magnificent morale which made them equal to twice their numbers, & which they never lost even to the surrender at Appomattox. And [Lee's] confidence in them, & theirs in him, were so equal that no man can yet say which was greatest[27]
The campaign was a triumph for Lee and his two principal subordinates. Military historian John J. Hennessy described it as Lee's greatest campaign, the "happiest marriage of strategy and tactics he would ever attain." He balanced audacious actions with proper caution and chose his subordinates' roles to best effect. Jackson's flank march—54 miles in 36 hours into the rear of the Union Army—was "the boldest maneuver of its kind during the war, and Jackson executed it flawlessly." Longstreet's attack on August 30, "timely, powerful, and swift, would come as close to destroying a Union army as any ever would."[28]
Pope, outmaneuvered by Lee, was virtually besieged in Washington. If it were not for his close political and personal ties to President Lincoln, his military career might have been completely ruined. Instead, he was transferred to
With Pope no longer a threat and McClellan reorganizing his command, Lee turned his army north on September 4 to cross the Potomac River and invade Maryland, initiating the Maryland campaign and the battles of Harpers Ferry, South Mountain, and Antietam.[30]
The Bull Run battlefields are preserved by the National Park Service in Manassas National Battlefield Park.
Notes/References
- ^ a b c d Eicher, McPherson & McPherson (2001), p. 334.
- ^ U.S. War Dept., Official Records, Vol. 12/1, pp. 139, 262.
- ^ Eicher, McPherson & McPherson (2001), pp. 334–335
16,054 (1,724 killed; 8,372 wounded; 5,958 missing/captured) according to Eicher. - ^ Hennessy (1992), p. 458.
- ^ Hennessy (1992), p. 12.
- ^ Eicher, McPherson & McPherson (2001), p. 318; Hennessy (1992), p. 12; Martin (1996), p. 24, 32-33.
- ^ Eicher, McPherson & McPherson (2001), p. 318; Hennessy (1992), p. 6; Martin (1996), p. 280.
- ^ Freeman (1946), p. 610-614; Glatthaar (2008), p. 157-158; Harsh (1998), p. 106; Hennessy (1992), p. 561-567; Langellier (2002), p. 90-93.
- ^ Esposito (1959), p. 54
Esposito's Map 54 - ^ Esposito (1959), p. 55; Martin (1996), p. 45-46
Esposito's Map 55 - ^ Hennessy (1992), p. 14-21; Martin (1996), p. 36-37.
- ^ Harsh (1998), p. 119-123.
- ^ Esposito (1959), p. 56; Hennessy (1992), p. 157-158; Sears (1992), p. 106; Welcher (1989), p. 835-36
Esposito's Map 56 - ^ Esposito (1959), p. 56
Map 56 - ^ NPS Cedar Mountain.
- ^ Eicher, McPherson & McPherson (2001), p. 322; Esposito (1959), p. 57; Hennessy (1992), p. 35-51
Esposito's Map 57 - ^ Eicher, McPherson & McPherson (2001), p. 322; Esposito (1959), p. 57; Martin (1996), p. 92, 101-02
Esposito's Map 57 - ^ NPS First Rappahannock Station (White Sulphur Springs).
- ^ Collie. MilitaryHistoryOnline.com, 2017.
- ^ Hotchkiss (1973), p. 117-118; Robertson (1997), p. 547, 887.
- ^ Eicher, McPherson & McPherson (2001), p. 322-323; Esposito (1959), p. 58; Salmon (2001), p. 127-128
Esposito's Map 58 - ^ NPS Manassas Station Operations.
- ^ NPS Thoroughfare Gap.
- ^ NPS Second Bull Run,
The NPS has established these dates for the battle. The references by Greene, Hennessy, Salmon, and Kennedy, whose works are closely aligned with the NPS, adopt these dates as well. However, all of the other references to this article specify that the action on August 28 was a prelude to, but separate from, the Second Battle of Bull Run. Some of these authors name the action on August 28 the Battle of Groveton or Brawner's Farm. - ^ NPS Second Bull Run.
- ^ NPS Battle of Chantilly.
- ^ Alexander (1989), p. 139.
- ^ Hennessy (1992), p. 457-61.
- ^ Martin (1996), p. 33.
- ^ Eicher, McPherson & McPherson (2001), p. 336-37.
Bibliography
- OCLC 1053980665.
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- Esposito, Vincent J. (1959). West Point Atlas of American Wars. New York City: OCLC 60298522.
- OCLC 1035890441.
- Glatthaar, Joseph T. (2008). General Lee's Army: From Victory to Collapse (1st edition (March 18, 2008) ed.). New York, NY: Free Press. p. 624. OCLC 144767946.
- Harsh, Joseph L. (1998). Confederate Tide Rising: Robert E. Lee and the Making of Southern Strategy, 1861–1862 (Reprint edition (March 19, 2019) ed.). Kent, OH: Kent State University Press. p. 278. OCLC 1089908147.
- Hennessy, John J. (1992). Return to Bull Run: The Campaign and Battle of Second Manassas (First Edition (November 1, 1992) ed.). New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. p. 448. OCLC 26095816.
- OCLC 562307122. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
- Langellier, John (2002). Second Manassas 1862: Robert E. Lee's Greatest Victory. Osprey Campaign (1st edition (February 25, 2002) ed.). Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. p. 96. OCLC 843344073.
- Martin, David George (1996). The Second Bull Run Campaign: July–August 1862. Great Campaigns (1st ed. (November 21, 1996) ed.). New York, NY: Da Capo Press. p. 299. OCLC 35198720.
- OCLC 1151321680. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
- Salmon, John S. (2001). The Official Virginia Civil War Battlefield Guide. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. ISBN 0811728684.
- OCLC 34006957.
- OCLC 427057.
- Welcher, Frank J. (1989). The Eastern Theater. The Union Army, 1861-1865: Organization and Operations. Vol. 1 (1st, (October 1, 1989) ed.). Bloomington: Indiana University Press. p. 1084. OCLC 799063447.
- Collie, Michael (2017). "Origin of the Movement Around Pope's Army of Virginia, August 1862". militaryhistoryonline.com. MilitaryHistoryOnline.com, LLC. Archived from the original on September 28, 2017. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
- "Cedar Mountain". nps.gov. U.S. National Park Service. 2012. Archived from the originalon July 14, 2012.
- "Chantilly". nps.gov. U.S. National Park Service. 2012. Archived from the originalon July 14, 2012.
- "Manassas, Second". nps.gov. U.S. National Park Service. 2005. Archived from the originalon November 26, 2005.
- "Manassas Station Operations". nps.gov. U.S. National Park Service. 2012. Archived from the originalon July 14, 2012.
- "Rappahannock Station". nps.gov. U.S. National Park Service. 2012. Archived from the originalon July 14, 2012.
- "Thoroughfare Gap". nps.gov. U.S. National Park Service. 2012. Archived from the originalon July 14, 2012.
Further reading
- Anthony, Nicholas J. (1984). Lee Takes Command: From Seven Days to Second Bull Run. The Civil War (1st edition (January 1, 1984) ed.). Alexandria, VA: Time Life Books. OCLC 733726003.
- Dyer, Frederick H (1908). A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion (PDF). Des Moines, IA: Dyer Pub. Co. OCLC 8697590.
- OCLC 33147466.
- Hattaway, Herman; Jones, Archer (1983). How the North Won: A Military History of the Civil War. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press. p. 762. OCLC 924976443.
- OCLC 1085324715.
- Kennedy, Frances H., ed. (1998). The Civil War Battlefield Guide (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Co. ISBN 0395740126.
- Sauers, Richard Allen (2000). David Stephen Heidler; Jeanne T. Heidler; OCLC 1001976604.
- OCLC 814411747.
- Whitehorne, Joseph W. A. (1990). The Battle of Second Manassas: Self-Guided Tour. Washington, DC: United States Army Center of Military History. p. 70. OCLC 644264587. Archived from the originalon 2011-04-08. Retrieved 2010-08-04.
- Wood, William J. (1997). Civil War Generalship: The Art of Command (PDF) (Praeger Illustrated edition (April 9, 1997) ed.). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. p. 288. OCLC 1193365637.
- Woodworth, Steven E.; Winkle, Kenneth J.; OCLC 1136147162.