Not long after withdrawing from Richmond, Union General George McClellan was ordered to move his army north to Manassas and join the new Army of Virginia commanded by General John Pope. But viewing Pope as a rival and angered by his own subordination to General Henry Halleck, McClellan dragged his feet and took almost two weeks to begin moving his troops.
And in that, Confederate General Robert E Lee saw an opportunity. Moving quickly, Lee intended to attack Pope and defeat him before McClellan could arrive. On August 25, 1862, Lee sent half of his army, under General Stonewall Jackson, to circle around behind Pope’s lines and attack the Federal supply depot at Manassas Junction (the same site as the first Battle of Bull Run). When Pope turned to deal with the threat, Lee planned to attack with the other half of his troops, under General James Longstreet. He hoped to surround and crush Pope’s entire army.
The initial move began on August 25, when Jackson’s 24,000 troops marched an incredible 50 miles in just 24 hours, placing them about 25 miles behind Pope’s force of 66,000 men. On the morning of August 26, 6000 Confederate cavalry swept into the poorly-protected Federal supply depot at Manassas Junction, burning it. Jackson then took up a defensive position on Stony Ridge, just west of the site of the 1861 battlefield.
As Lee expected, Pope turned his army to face the threat. On the afternoon of August 28, fighting broke out around Brawner Farm as the Federals reached Jackson’s position. By the time night fell, Jackson had fought off the Union assaults and held his ground.
The next morning, the Union attacks resumed, and again Jackson fended them off, until Longstreet’s troops joined the fight and pushed the Federals back. The Confederates established a line along an unfinished railroad cut, which gave them a good defensive position.
As night fell again, Pope was now caught between two Confederate forces; seemingly unconcerned with the danger and thinking he had Jackson trapped, he telegraphed Lincoln to report that he had “pushed the enemy off the field” and expected to defeat him the next day. McClellan, meanwhile, was not far away with 25,000 men, but in the absence of a request from Pope for reinforcement he did not move to join the fight, preferring to keep his troops in a position to defend Washington DC if it became necessary.
On the afternoon of August 30, Pope launched a large assault at the Confederates, who held their ground with an intense artillery barrage and then counterattacked towards Chinn Ridge with 25,000 troops—one of the largest charges in the entire war. The Federals were driven back to Henry Hill, the scene of heavy fighting in the First Battle of Manassas, and then were driven back to a stone bridge over Bull Run Creek, where they held until nightfall and withdrew to Washington DC the next morning.
Pope had lost about 15,000 men, roughly one-fifth of his army. He was relieved of command and sent to a minor post. McClellan was nearly fired too, but Lincoln decided to keep him, recognizing that despite his battlefield flaws his organizational skills were needed to rebuild the beaten Federal army.
Lee, meanwhile, had won the battle but failed in his strategic objective to destroy Pope’s army. But he was already planning his next campaign.
Today, the battleground is contained within the Manassas National Battlefield Park, established in 1933. The Park preserves the sites of the First and Second Battles of Manassas, which were fought largely on the same ground. There is a driving tour that reaches the key sites of the Second Battle.
Some photos.
