United States - Civil War - Manassas

Manassas Campaign

 [July 1861]

Summary tables of the 1st Manassas Campaign

Hoke’s Run   

Other Names: Falling Waters, Hainesville

Location: Berkeley County

Campaign: Manassas Campaign (July 1861)

Date(s): July 2, 1861

Principal Commanders:Maj. Gen. Robert Patterson [US]; Brig. Gen. Thomas J. Jackson [CS]

Forces Engaged: Brigades

Estimated Casualties:114 total (US 23; CS 91)

Description: On July 2, regiments of Thomas J. Jackson's brigade were slowly driven back by Abercrombie’s and Thomas’s brigades.   Maj. Gen. Robert Patterson’s division had crossed the Potomac River near Williamsport and pushed on towards to Martinsburg. Near Hoke’s Run, when Jackson's men were encountered. Since Jackson’s orders were to delay the Federal advance he withdrew before Patterson’s superior force. The following day, Patterson occupied Martinsburg but then made no other aggressive moves for almost 2 weeks.  On July 15, Patterson  declined to move forward but instead withdrew to Harpers Ferry.  Such retrograde movement took pressure off Confederate forces in the Shenandoah Valley and thus allowed Johnston’s army to march in  support of Brig. Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard who was at Manassas. Patterson’s inactivity contributed to the Union defeat at First Manassas.

Blackburn’s Ford  

Other Names: Bull Run

Location: Prince William County and Fairfax County

Campaign: Manassas Campaign (July 1861)

Date(s): July 18, 1861

Principal Commanders: Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell [US]; Brig. Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard [CS]

Forces Engaged: Brigades

Estimated Casualties: 151 total (US 83; CS 68)

Description: On 16 July, 1862, the untried Union army under Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell, 35,000 strong, marched out of the Washington defenses to give battle to the Confederate army, which was concentrated around the vital railroad junction at Manassas. The Confederate army, about 22,000 men, under the command of Brig. Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard, guarded the fords of Bull Run. On July 18, McDowell reached Centreville and pushed southwest, attempting to cross at Blackburn’s Ford. He was repulsed. This action was a reconnaissance-in-force prior to the main event at Manassas/Bull Run. Because of this action, Union commander McDowell decided on the flanking maneuver he employed at First Manassas.

Result(s): Confederate victory

.

Manassas, First  

Other Names: First Bull Run

Location: Fairfax County and Prince William County

Campaign: Manassas Campaign (July 1861)

Date(s): July 21, 1861

Principal Commanders: Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell [US]; Brig. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston and Brig. Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard [CS]

Forces Engaged: 60,680 total (US 28,450; CS 32,230)

Estimated Casualties: 4,700 total (US 2,950; CS 1,750)

Description: This was the first major land battle of the armies in Virginia.  On July 16, 1861, the untried Union army under Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell marched from Washington against the Confederate army, which was drawn up behind Bull Run beyond Centreville. On the 21st, McDowell crossed at Sudley Ford and attacked the Confederate left flank on Matthews Hill. Fighting raged throughout the day as Confederate forces were driven back to Henry Hill.  Late in the afternoon, Confederate reinforcements (one brigade arriving by rail from the Shenandoah Valley) extended and broke the Union right flank. The Federal retreat rapidly deteriorated into a rout. Although victorious, Confederate forces were too disorganized to pursue. Confederate Gen. Bee and Col. Bartow were killed. Thomas J. Jackson earned the nom de guerre “Stonewall.” By July 22, the shattered Union army reached the safety of Washington. This battle convinced the Lincoln administration that the war would be a long and costly affair. McDowell was relieved of command of the Union army and replaced by Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, who set about reorganizing and training the troops.

Result(s): Confederate victory

Click on the image to find full sized images with details

Northern Virginia Campaign

 [August 1862]

Summary tables of the 1st Manassas Campaign

Cedar Mountain  

Other Names: Slaughter’s Mountain, Cedar Run

Location: Culpeper County

Campaign: Northern Virginia Campaign (June-September 1862)

Date(s): August 9, 1862

Principal Commanders: Maj. Gen. Nathaniel Banks [US]; Maj. Gen. Thomas J. Jackson [CS]

Forces Engaged: 24,898 total (US 8,030; CS 16,868)

Estimated Casualties: 2,707 total (US 1,400; CS 1,307)

Description: Maj. Gen. John Pope was placed in command of the newly constituted Army of Virginia on June 26. Gen. Robert E. Lee responded to Pope’s dispositions by dispatching Maj. Gen. T.J. Jackson with 14,000 men to Gordonsville in July. Jackson was later reinforced by A.P. Hill’s division. In early August, Pope marched his forces south into Culpeper County with the objective of capturing the rail junction at Gordonsville. On August 9, Jackson and Maj. Gen. Nathaniel Banks’s corps tangled at Cedar Mountain with the Federals gaining an early advantage. A Confederate counterattack led by A.P. Hill repulsed the Federals and won the day. Confederate general William Winder was killed. This battle shifted fighting in Virginia from the Peninsula to Northern Virginia, giving Lee the initiative.

Result(s): Confederate victory

Rappahannock Station  

Other Names: Waterloo Bridge, White Sulphur Springs, Lee Springs, Freeman’s Ford

Location: Culpeper County and Fauquier County

Campaign: Northern Virginia Campaign (June-September 1862)

Date(s): August 22-25, 1862

Principal Commanders: Maj. Gen. John Pope [US]; Maj. Gen. Thomas J. Jackson [CS]

Forces Engaged: Brigades

Estimated Casualties: 225 total

Description: Early August, Lee determined that McClellan’s army was being withdrawn from the Peninsula to reinforce John Pope.  He sent Longstreet from Richmond to join Jackson’s wing of the army near Gordonsville and arrived to take command himself on August 15. August 20-21, Pope withdrew to the line of the Rappahannock River. On August 23, Stuart’s cavalry made a daring raid on Pope’s headquarters at Catlett Station, showing that the Union right flank was vulnerable to a turning movement. Over the next several days, August 22-25, the two armies fought a series of minor actions along the Rappahannock River, including Waterloo Bridge, Lee Springs, Freeman’s Ford, and Sulphur Springs, resulting in a few hundred casualties. Together, these skirmishes primed Pope’s army along the river, while Jackson’s wing marched via Thoroughfare Gap to capture Bristoe Station and destroy Federal supplies at Manassas Junction, far in the rear of Pope’s army.

Result(s): Inconclusive

Manassas Station Operations  

Other Names: None

Battles Associated with the Operations: Bristoe Station, Kettle Run, Bull Run Bridge, Union Mills

Location: Prince William County

Campaign: Northern Virginia Campaign (June-September 1862)

Date(s): August 25-27,1862

Principal Commanders: Brig. Gen. G.W. Taylor [US]; Maj. Gen. Thomas J. Jackson [CS]

Forces Engaged: Divisions

Estimated Casualties: 1,100 total

Description: 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 Bristoe Station and before daybreak August 27 marched to capture and destroy the massive Union supply depot at Manassas Junction. This surprise movement forced Pope into an abrupt retreat from his defensive line along the Rappahannock River. On August 27, Jackson routed a Union brigade near Union Mills (Bull Run Bridge), inflicting several hundred casualties and mortally wounding Union Brig. Gen. G.W. Taylor. Ewell’s Division fought a brisk rearguard action against Hooker’s division at Kettle Run, resulting in about 600 casualties. Ewell held back Union forces until dark. During the night of August 27-28, Jackson marched his divisions north to the First Manassas battlefield, where he took position behind an unfinished railroad grade.

Result(s): Confederate victory

Thoroughfare Gap  

Other Names: Chapman’s Mill

Location: Fauquier County and Prince William County

Campaign: Northern Virginia Campaign (June-September 1862)

Date(s): August 28, 1862

Principal Commanders: Brig. Gen. James Ricketts [US]; Lt. Gen. James Longstreet [CS]

Forces Engaged: Divisions

Estimated Casualties: 100 total

Description: After skirmishing near Chapman’s Mill in Thoroughfare Gap, Brig. Gen. James Ricketts’s Union division was flanked 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 Aug. 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.

Result(s): Confederate victory

Manassas, Second  

Other Names: Manassas, Second Bull Run, Manassas Plains, Groveton, Gainesville, Brawner's Farm

Location: Prince William County

Campaign: Northern Virginia Campaign (June-September 1862)

Date(s): August 28-30, 1862

Principal Commanders: Maj. Gen. John Pope [US]; Gen. Robert E. Lee and Maj. Gen. Thomas J. Jackson [CS]

Forces Engaged: Armies

Estimated Casualties: 22,180 total (US 13,830; CS 8,350)

Description: 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. The fighting at Brawner 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 an 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 Fitz John Porter’s command, 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 First Manassas disaster. Pope’s retreat to Centreville was precipitous, nonetheless.  The next day, Lee ordered his army in pursuit. This was the decisive battle of the Northern Virginia Campaign.

Result(s): Confederate victory

Chantilly  

Other Names: Ox Hill

Location: Fairfax County

Campaign: Northern Virginia Campaign (June-September 1862)

Date(s): September 1, 1862

Principal Commanders: Maj. Gen. Philip Kearny and Maj. Gen. Isaac Stevens [US]; Maj. Gen. Thomas J. Jackson [CS]

Forces Engaged: Divisions

Estimated Casualties: 2,100 total (US 1,300; CS 800)

Description: Making a wide flank march, Jackson hoped to cut off the Union retreat from Bull Run. On September 1, beyond Chantilly Plantation on the Little River Turnpike near Ox Hill, Jackson sent his divisions against two Union divisions under Kearny and Stevens. Confederate attacks were stopped by fierce fighting during a severe thunderstorm. Union generals Stevens and Kearny were both killed. Recognizing that his army was still in danger at Fairfax Courthouse, Maj. Gen. Pope ordered the retreat to continue to Washington. With Pope no longer a threat, Lee turned his army west and north to invade Maryland, initiating the Maryland Campaign and the battles of South Mountain and Antietam. Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan assumed command of Union forces around Washington.

Result(s): Inconclusive (Confederate strategic victory.)