Pope's belief that the Confederate army was in retreat was reinforced by this movement, which came after the withdrawal of Hood's troops the night before. [60], The first two Union brigades to arrive were from Ricketts's division, commanded by Brig.

Martin, pp. The Stonewall Brigade lost 340 out of 800. They let loose multiple volleys of musket fire that sent Krzyzanowski's men running in panic. As night fell, Hood pulled back from this exposed position. Grover's men got all the way to the railroad embankment and unleashed a volley of near point-blank fire on Thomas's regiments, followed by a bayonet charge. [28] Gibbon sent aides out to the other brigades with requests for reinforcements, and sent his staff officer Frank A. Haskell to bring the veteran 2nd Wisconsin Infantry up the hill to disperse the harassing cannons. HistoryNet.com is brought to you by Historynet LLC, the world's largest publisher of history magazines.

Gen. John Buford, who reported that 17 regiments of infantry, one battery, and 500 cavalry were moving through Gainesville at 8:15 a.m. Longstreet, p. 181; Greene, pp. Concerned that Pope might be withdrawing his army behind Bull Run to link up with McClellan's arriving forces, Jackson determined to attack. McDowell, who was in charge of the pursuit, soon recognized Pope’s error and attempted to secure his exposed flank by occupying the Bald and Henry House hills. Although McDowell had been active on the battlefield, he had expended most of his energy maneuvering nearby regiments and brigades, instead of controlling and co-ordinating the movements of his army as a whole.

A private with the 15th Alabama Infantry Regiment said of the ensuing encounter, “If I had held up an iron hat I could have caught it full of bullets in a short time.” The brief but brutal engagement left the Union attackers bloodied, and Ewell retired to Manassas. Jackson was now prepared for battle, on the ground of his choosing. Kearny however did not move forward. To the north, Schimmelfennig's three regiments, the 61st Ohio, 74th Pennsylvania, and 8th West Virginia, engaged part of Gregg and Branch's brigades, but were forced to retreat. 183–84; Martin, pp. Martin, pp.

The final significant action of the battle occurred around 7:00 PM as Lee directed J.E.B. Jackson departed on August 25 and reached Salem (present-day Marshall) that night. Lee was still waiting for an opportunity to counterattack with Longstreet's force. As one line was repulsed another took its place and pressed forward as if determined by force of numbers and fury of assault to drive us from our positions. 127–28; Eicher, pp. Meanwhile, Sigel and McDowell alone remained to face Jackson until such time as Pope could bring up the rest of his scattered forces. He would spend the remainder of the war on the Western frontier, fighting the Sioux. Suffice to say ... that more insolence, superciliousness, ignorance, and pretentiousness were never combined in one man. Jackson had no intention of awaiting Pope at Manassas.

The total strength of the Army of Northern Virginia, cavalry and artillery included, was slightly less than 55,000 men. At this stage of the war, both sided practiced prisoner exchanges, allowing many of the captured to eventually return to the ranks. 91–92; Hennessy, pp. Jesse Reno ordered a IX Corps brigade under Col. James Nagle to attack the center of Jackson's line again. By now Jackson had learned that Pope's corps were all together, foiling his plan of defeating each in separate actions. Beauregard's men defended the strategic railroad junction at Manassas, just west of the creek. The Second Battle of Bull Run, like the First (July 21, 1861), was a significant tactical victory for the Confederates and was another blow to Union morale. Aware that his position was geographically weak (because the heavy woods in the area prevented effective deployment of artillery), Hill placed his brigades in two lines, with Brig. (Longstreet later remembered that Lee "was inclined to engage as soon as practicable, but did not order".) Shortly after 4:00 pm Lee ordered the entire Confederate army forward in a grand counterattack. Gen. Robert H. Milroy's independent brigade in the center, and Brig. 313–16. Butterfield's division had to cross 600 yards (550 m) of open pasture, land owned by widow Lucinda Dogan, the final 150 yards (140 m) of which were steeply uphill, to attack a strong position behind the unfinished railroad. Anderson's division was held in reserve. Exasperated, Pope repeated his order for Hatch to advance on the Confederate right, but was soon distracted by actions going on the other side of the line. Located north of Manassas, in Prince William County, Virginia, it preserves the site of two major American Civil War battles: the First Battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861, and the Second Battle of Bull Run which was fought between August 28 and August 30, 1862 (also known as the First Battle of Manassas and the Second Battle of Manassas, respectively). On August 9, Nathaniel Banks's corps attacked Jackson at Cedar Mountain, gaining an early advantage, but a Confederate counterattack led by A.P. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/event/Second-Battle-of-Bull-Run-1862, America's Story from America's Library - The Second Battle of Manassas, HistoryNet.com - Second Battle of Bull Run, United States History - Second Battle of Bull Run, The Civil War - Second Battle of Bull Run. Reynolds protested the order to move to Chinn Ridge, arguing that his division was needed to prevent a Confederate attack from the woods. Returning to his position behind the tree line, he told his subordinates, "Bring out your men, gentlemen." [68], James Longstreet was criticized for his performance during the battle and the postbellum advocates of the Lost Cause claimed that his slowness, reluctance to attack, and disobedience to Gen. Lee on August 29 were a harbinger of his controversial performance to come on July 2, 1863, at the Battle of Gettysburg. 26,000 (Army of the Potomac: III, V, VI, IX Corps; Kanawha Division); Woodworth, Steven E., and Kenneth J. Winkle. Since General Morell was not present, command of the remaining troops fell to Brig. The brunt of the attack fell on Maxcy Gregg's brigade, which had defended against two major assaults over eight hours that day and was nearly out of ammunition in addition to having lost most of its officers. This seemingly inconsequential action virtually ensured Pope's defeat during the coming battles because it allowed the two wings of Lee's army to unite on the Manassas battlefield.[25]. Just before the attack, Lee signaled to Jackson: "General Longstreet is advancing; look out for and protect his left flank.

[47], At 4:30 p.m., Pope finally sent an explicit order to Porter to attack, but his aide (his nephew) lost his way and did not deliver the message until 6:30 p.m. Fitz Lee's cavalry along with a battery of horse artillery were anchoring the left flank of the Confederate line, in case any Union troops attempted to cross Sudley Ford (as McDowell had done during the battle here 13 months earlier) and get in Jackson's rear. 22–23; Salmon, p. 147. Meanwhile, Tower was shot from his horse and carried off the field unconscious. To support Jackson's exhausted defense, which was stretched to the breaking point, Longstreet's artillery added to the barrage against Union reinforcements attempting to move in, cutting them to pieces. On the Confederate side, Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia was organized into two "wings" or "commands" totaling about 55,000 men: An exact estimate of both armies' strength at the battle is not possible as different reports and returns provide differing figures. Following a wide-ranging flanking march, Confederate Maj. Gen. Thomas J. Jackson thus placed the brigades of Early and Forno on the right end of the line, both large brigades that had not been engaged the previous evening and were fresh. But in anticipation of the attack that would not come, Pope ordered Kearny to attack Jackson's far left flank, intending to put strong pressure on both ends of the line. Donald R. Jermann 2008 pp. Herdegen, p. 91; Greene, pp. Webster lined up his four regiments to face the Confederate attackers, but was struck by an artillery shell and collapsed dead on the field. VIDEO: Battery H Of The 3rd Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery At Gettysburg, Dan Bullock: The youngest American killed in the Vietnam War. On the night of the 29th, Lee reunited the wings of his army on the field of battle. I won't undertake it unless I have full & entire control." Horse artillery under Captain John Pelham was ordered forward by Jackson and fired at the 19th Indiana from less than 100 yards (91 m). There Longstreet engaged a hopelessly outnumbered Union division under Brig. [21] On August 13, Lee sent Longstreet to reinforce Jackson. At dawn, they realized they were in an isolated position too close to the enemy and fell back. In a few moments our entire line was engaged in a fierce and sanguinary struggle with the enemy. The total Union strength with Banks added in was approximately 70,000 men. Reynolds' division was stationed near Henry House Hill, with King's division on its right. To the south, John Hood's division had just arrived on the field, forcing back Milroy and Nagle. In the end Bull Run arguably did more harm to the victors than to the defeated. 39–40; Eicher, p. 329; Hennessy, pp. There he received fresh reinforcements, but Jackson was already marching around his new right. Gens. Gen. Alexander Schimmelfennig and Col. Włodzimierz Krzyżanowski) skirmished heavily with Gregg and Thomas, with both sides committing their forces piecemeal. Hatch's division had only 300 yards (270 m) to traverse, but was required to perform a complex right wheel maneuver under fire to hit the Confederate position squarely in its front. 90–93. Jackson's advance was stopped, however, by the Union division of Brig. On Tuesday, the Army announced it is poised to open the... Homepage Featured Top Stories, Homepage Hero. There was some ground for his suppositions, because Jackson had retired a short distance and Longstreet’s advance guard also had fallen back. Pope countered the move and the two forces clashed a final time at the Battle of Chantilly (also known as Ox Hill) on September 1. He believed that McDowell and Sigel were blocking Jackson's retreat west across the Bull Run Mountains when in fact King and Ricketts had both retreated southward, while Sigel and Reynolds were south and east of Jackson, who had no intention at all of retreating and was well dug-in and awaiting Longstreet's arrival, which Pope refused to believe was a possibility.

Eicher, p. 318; Martin, pp. Henry Forno's Louisiana brigade counterattacked and drove Nagle back. Gen. Isaac R. Trimble's brigade to support Lawton, which met the last of Gibbon's regiments, the 6th Wisconsin.