Battle of 2nd Manassas – Day 3

The Deep Cut of the Unfinished Railroad, Jackson's position

The battle was renewed on August 30th. The last of Longstreets' men arrived early in the morning, and the Confederates remained in their strong position, prepared to defend against an attack. On this hill between the two corps of Jackson and Longstreet, the Confederates positioned 18 cannon under Stephen D. Lee. Here they were in a position to be able to have a clean field of fire on the Federals attacking Jackson. John Pope held a council of war at 8 am. His subordinates attempted to convince him to be more cautious than on the preceding days. The first reconnaissance in the morning told them Jackson was still in position. However, somehow later groups had failed to find Jackson. Pope decided to attack again, clinging onto the belief that the Confederate army was retreating. He hoped to catch them with Porter attacking on the left and Ricketts, Kearny, and Hooker on the right.

Throughout the morning the battlefield was calm, as the Federal troops were not prepared to attack. The Confederates began to think that there would be no battle that day, but after noon Pope's troops moved forward. It took a long time to maneuver 10,000 men into the proper position. They faced a difficult assignment. They had to march across several hundred yards of open fields, and then attack the Confederates in the unfinished railroad. Although they took heavy casualties in the advance, their attack achieved some success. Charging across the field they drove back the Confederate infantry holding the line. Troops including the Stonewall Brigade were rushed forward to stem the breech, and the fighting was very fierce around the unfinished railroad. The Confederates in several units fired all their ammunition, but they still clung to their line, throwing down stones on the Federals rather than give up their position. A soldier of the Stonewall Brigade wrote:

It was one continuous roar from right to left. My brigade was in a small cut, with a field in front sloping down about four hundred yards to a piece of wood. The enemy would form in the woods and come up the slope in three lines as regular as if on drill, and we would pour volley after volley into them as they came; but they would still advance until within a few yards of us, when they would break and fall back to the woods, where they would rally and come again.

Although they were holding for the moment, their position was far from safe. Lee sent a message to Longstreet ordering him to send a division to reinforce Jackson. Instead, Longstreet ordered that the artillery be opened. Firing into the Federal flank, they soon decimated their formations and sent them running to the rear. They day was saved. Longstreet ordered his men forward, and with a rebel yell they charged, their left guarded by Jackson's tired men. Driving through the Federal troops, they encountered stiffer resistance from McLean's brigade on Chinn Ridge. McLean had only 1200 men, but he held out against two assaults. However, on the third charge he was overpowered and his men were forced to fall back.

Although they had been forced back, Pope had been given more time to organize a defense. The Confederates continued their assaults, and were able to drive back the Federals from their positions, although at a large cost of blood and time. Lee ordered the reserve, Richard Anderson's division, in an attempt to finish off the battle. Anderson's attack created a gap in the Federal battle line, but he did not exploit it, possibly because of the coming darkness. During the night Pope ordered the Federals to fall back. Unlike First Manassas, they retreated in an orderly fashion.

Lee's army had failed to achieve a complete destruction of Pope's army, but he had still won a great victory. The Confederates had defeated Pope decisively. He had been soundly out generaled by Lee. He blamed the failure on Fitz-John Porter, who was courtmarshaled and found guilty of disobedience. However, fifteen years later he was exonerated of all charges, and it was acknowledged that by his reluctance to attack he prevented an even worse defeat. Pope himself should have borne the blame for his defeat. He lost 1,716 killed, 8,215 wounded and 3,893 missing. Lee had lost 1,305 killed and 7,048 wounded.

Battle of 2nd Manassas – Day 2

Pope

Jackson was successful in luring John Pope into battle by his attack at Brawner Farm. On the morning of August 29th, Pope brought his army up to the old fields of Manassas and prepared to attack Jackson. He had received news of Longstreet's advance, however, he did not act on that information. He missed his opportunity to keep Lee's army divided. Jackson was positioned along an unfinished railroad cut, with A. P. Hill on the left, Lawton in the center and Starke on the right. Pope planned for Sigel to strike the Confederate left and Porter the right. However, the assaults were uncoordinated. Sigel attacked along a wide front but was unable to break through A. P. Hill and Lawton's line. Pope's order to Porter and McDowell on the left was not given clearly, for it did not specifically order an attack. Porter was deceived by Stuart's cavalry into thinking that Longstreet had already arrived, and when Pope finally gave a peremptory to attack, the aide carrying the message got lost.

Sigel launched four attacks on Jackson throughout the day, but they were not followed up with the forces necessary to break through. Jackson's men fought hard in defense of the railroad cut. When they were pushed back, they responded by charging in counterattacks which drove back the Federals. An attack by Grover's brigade struck a gap in the Confederate line between Thomas and Gregg. In the confused wooded section along A. P. Hill's section of the line, Grover at first gained some success, but Pender's brigade moved forward and threw him back. One Confederate soldier vividly remembered the fighting:

[W]e remained at the railroad, and, after a short halt, the announcement 'Here they come!' was heard. A line of battle marched out of the far end of the east wood into the field, halted, dressed the line, and moved forward. They were allowed to come within about one hundred yards of us, when we opened fire. We could see them stagger, halt, stand a short time, break, and run. At this this time another line made its appearance, coming from the same point. It came a little nearer. They too broke and ran. Still another line came nearer, broke and ran. The whole field seemed to be full of Yankees and some of them advanced nearly to the railroad. We went over the bank at them, the remainder of the brigade following our example.

Longstreet's men finally arrived and came into position at around 1 PM. His corps was placed almost at right angles to Jackson's line, the two lines meeting at Brawner's Farm. Lee wished to make an attack on the Federals, but Longstreet convinced him to wait until the next day. The bloody day finally came to an end, with Lee's army reunited, and unbroken by Federal attacks.

Battle of 2nd Manassas – Brawner's Farm

On the morning of August 28th, Jackson was concentrating his scattered forces northward around the old battlefield of Bull Run, where the Confederates had won a grand victory in the first battle of the war. Pope, who by now knew of Jackson's presence in his rear, was advancing north towards Jackson at Manassas, but he had neglected to scout for the position of the rest of the Confederate army. Lee had moved with Longstreet's Corps two days before, and they were marching to join Jackson, along the same route, a few days behind. On this very day Longstreet captured Thoroughfare Gap, driving off the Federals and clearing the way for his union with Jackson. Jackson had to hold out against Pope until the army was reunited when Longstreet arrived. However, this did not stop his usual aggressiveness. He wanted to strike a blow at Pope, and lure him to assault him, and so formed his men in an old railroad cut, and waited for an opportunity. Around sunset, a Union column was sighted moving across the Confederate front. A Confederate staff officer vividly remembered the occurrence:

Jackson rode out to examine the approaching foe, trotting backwards and forwards along the line of their handsome parade marching by, and in easy musket range of their skirmish, but they did not seem to think that a single horsemen was worthy of their attention-how little they thought that this single, plainly dressed horseman was the great Stonewall himself, who was then deliberating in his own mind the question of hurling his eager troops upon their devoted heads. ... Sometimes he would halt, then trot on briskly, halt again, wheel his horse and bass again along the front of the march column, or rather along its flank. About a quarter of a mile off, troops were now opposite us. All felt sure Jackson could never resist that temptation, and that the order to attack would come soon, even if Longstreet was beyond the mountain. Presently General Jackson pulled up suddenly, wheeled and galloped toward us. ... [T]ouching his hat in military salute, said in as soft a voice as if he had been talking to a friend in ordinary conversation, 'Bring up your men gentlemen.' Every officer whirled around and scurried back to the woods at full gallop. The men had been watching their officers with much interest and when they wheeled and dashed toward them they knew what it meant, and from the woods arose a hoarse roar like that from cages of wild animals at the scent of blood.

The divisions of Ewell and Taliaferro charged toward the Federals, which proved to be the division of Rufus King, commanded in his absence by Abner Doubleday, one of the officers at Fort Sumter. The unit the Confederates hit first was the Iron Brigade under John B. Gibbon, one of the few Western Units in the army. It was also known as the Black Hat Brigade because of their distinctive headgear. They did not take to the heels, but instead stood and fought hard against the superior numbers facing them. Major Rufus Dawes of the 6th Wisconsin remembered:

Dawes

Our men on the left loaded and fired with the energy of madmen, and the 6th worked with equal desperation. This stopped the rush of the enemy and they halted and fired upon us their deadly musketry. During a few awful moments, I could see by the lurid light of the powder flashes, the whole of both lines. I saw a rebel mounted officer shot from his horse at the very front of the battle line. It was evident that were were being overpowered and that our men were giving ground. The two crowds, they could hardly be called lines, were were within ... fifty yards of each other pouring musketry into each other as fast as men could load and shoot. Two of General Doubleday's regiments ... now came suddenly into the gap on the left of our regiment, and they fired a crashing volley. Hurrah! They have come at the very nick of time. The low ground saved our regiment, as the enemy overshot us in the darkness.

The fighting continued fiercely for two and a half hours around Brawner's Farm. Both sides fought hard and many men fell. Confederate General Taliaferro remembered:

Taliaferro

A farm-house, an orchard, a few stacks of hay, and a rotten "worm" fence were the only cover afforded to the opposing lines of infantry; it was a stand-up combat, dogged and unflinching, in a field almost bare. There were no wounds from spent balls; the confronting lines looked into each other's faces at deadly range, less than one hundred yards apart, and they stood as immovable as the painted heroes in a battle-piece. There was cover of woods not very far in rear of the lines on both sides, and brave men--- with that instinct of self-preservation which is exhibited in the veteran soldier, who seizes every advantage of ground or obstacle---might have been justified in slowly seeking this shelter from the iron hail that smote them; but out in the sunlight, in the dying daylight, and under the stars, they stood, and although they could not advance, they would not retire. There was some discipline in this, but there was much more of true valor. In this fight there was no maneuvering, and very little tactics---it was a question of endurance, and both endured.

The fighting finally wound to a close around 9:00 pm. Neither side was able to drive the other from the field. The Federals had held their own, and Jackson had been unable to crush them. Casualties had been high on both sides. Especially important to Jackson was the loss of two of his division commanders, Taliaferro and Ewell were both wounded. Many units were now mere shadows of their former selves, the famed Stonewall Brigade for example, left 340 on the field of the 800 men with which they entered the battle.

Pope was now alerted to Jackson's exact position, and doubtless a battle would follow the next day. Jackson however, had reason to be confident of his position. He occupied a strong defensive position, and Longstreet was marching fast to join him.

Brawner Farm. Source.

Jackson's Great Flanking March

Lee and his generals, disappointed at the failure to destroy Pope between the Rapidan and Rappohannock Rivers, turned to other plans. On August 23rd, J.E.B. Stuart rode around Pope's flank in a cavalry intelligence raid, and on the way he raided Pope's headquarters in retribution for the Union cavalry raid which captured Stuart's headquarters the day before. He captured 300 prisoners, the army dispatch book, and Pope's hat and uniform. Stuart, having lost his hat to the Yankees, proposed an exchange of prisoners, but when he was refused he sent the hat and coat to Richmond to be displayed.

John Pope

More importantly, the captured dispatches told Lee that he had to move quickly, because McClellan's army was on its way to join Pope. He had to strike before these reinforcements arrived. He also did not want to try a head on attack across the river, so instead he planned to cross upstream. Stonewall Jackson would move around Pope's right with his entire corps and cut communications with Washington, while Longstreet kept him occupied on the front. Then the two corps would reunited, crushing Pope between. It was a daring plan, as if Pope knew what was happening he could easily turn and destroy one part of the divided army. Lee knew he was violating the rules of warfare, but he had no other choice if he was going to make an offensive effort to destroy Pope.

On August 25th, Jackson set out on his dangerous march. He moved carefully, as one false step could expose the plan and give up the army to destruction. His “foot cavalry,” as they were called, marched hard and fast without luggage, the orders, "Close up men, close up," traveling up and down the line. When the troops saw Jackson, they refrained from the usual cheers to prevent disclosing their position, and instead tossed their hats high in the air. "Who could not conquer," Jackson said, "with such troops as these?

Thoroughfare Gap via Civil War Trust

The corps camped at night having made good time, and resumed their marching the next day. They found Thoroughfare Gap left unguarded, and continued to push on towards the railroad supply line. Jackson's tired men reached Bristoe Station in the afternoon, at the time the supply trains were coming through. They made efforts to stop the trains, but the first one got through, carrying word of Confederates on the railroad. The next one however was derailed, and it was found that it was named the President, and a Confederate bullet had gone right through a picture of Lincoln on the side. Another train was wrecked as well, but the fourth train however saw the wreck and was able to reverse the train to prevent its capture. Word of Jackson's movement was now traveling both North and South of Bristoe Station.

The train the rebels derailed

Confederate forces also pushed to Manassas Station, where they found a huge depot of Union supplies. They captured tons of stores, and two compete batteries. "A scene around the storehouses was not witnessed, but cannot be described" a hungry rebel later wrote:

Only those who participated can ever appreciate it. Remember, that many of those men were hurried off on the march ... with nothing to eat ... Now here are vast storehouses filled with everything to eat, and sutler's stores filled with all the delicacies, potted ham, lobster, tongue, candy, cakes, nuts, oranges, lemons, pickles, catsup, mustard, etc. It makes an old soldier's mouth water now to think of the good things captured there. A guard was placed over everything in the early part of the day. .. A package or two of each article was given to each company. ... Gen. Jackson's idea was that they could care for the stores until Gen. Lee came up, and turn the remainder over to him, hence he placed a guard over them. The enemy began to make such demonstrations that he decided he could not hold the place, therefore the houses were thrown open, and every man was told to help himself. Our kettle of soup was left to take care of itself. Men who were starving a few hours before, and did not know when they would get another mouthful, were told to help themselves. ... It was hard to decide to take, some filled their haversacks with cakes, some with candy, others oranges, lemons, canned goods, etc. I know one who took nothing but French mustard, filled his haversack and was so greedy that he put one more bottle in his pocket. This was his four day's rations, and it turned out to be the best thing taken, because he traded it for meat and bread ..."