August 28, 1862---The Second Battle of Bull Run (Second Manassas): Day One

AUGUST 28, 1862:     

The Second Battle of Bull Run (Second Manassas)  (Day One): 

With 50,000 troops and a retreating enemy in the form of General John “A Pinch of Owl Dung” Pope, Robert E. Lee decides to destroy the Union Army of Virginia, which is occupying middle northern Virginia and is separated from McClellan’s Army of the Potomac, now on the coast. Given the animosity between Pope and McClellan (both prima donnas who felt they should both be in command of both armies) Lee takes a calculated risk believing he can deal with them piecemeal. He is proven correct, as McClellan refuses to move.

Several engagements make up the larger Battle of Second Manassas:

1.       The Battle of Thoroughfare Gap (The Battle of Chapman’s Mill). The “Right Wing” of the Army of Northern Virginia under General James Longstreet seizes control of Thoroughfare Gap in a small but critical engagement which allows him to link his army up with Stonewall Jackson’s army. 

2.       The Battle of Brawner’s Farm (The Battle of Grovetown).    The “Left Wing” under Stonewall Jackson came up against stiffer resistance than had Longstreet. In literal face-to-face combat, Billy Yank and Johnny Reb duked it out with rifles and bayonets “in a fierce and sanguinary struggle” (according to Jackson) that incurred a heavy cost, with over 1,150 Union and 1,250 Confederate casualties. Although night fell with just a narrow No-Man’s Land between the lines and no decisive victory, General John Pope U.S.A. determined to attack Jackson in the morning. Unfortunately, again, he had no Intelligence, and was without knowledge of troop dispositions on the field.