Canada -- Description and travel; United States -- Description and travel
Thirteen months later, after McClellan's retreat from Richmond, was
fought in almost the same place, on August 29 and 30, 1862, the second
battle of Bull Run. General Pope had a considerable force in Northern
Virginia, and when McClellan, whom Pope superseded, retreated from
before Richmond, and started on his return from James River, Lee moved
nearly his whole army up from Richmond, hoping to fall upon Pope
before McClellan could join him. On August 22d the opposing forces
confronted each other along the Rappahannock, when General Stuart,
with the Confederate cavalry, made a raid around Pope's lines to the
rear, reaching that general's headquarters and capturing his personal
baggage, in which was his despatch book describing the position of
the whole Northern army. This gave Lee such valuable information that
on the 25th he sent Stonewall Jackson with thirty thousand men, who,
by a forced march, went around the western side of the Bull Run
Mountains, came east again by the Thoroughfare Gap, and on the night
of the 27th was in Pope's rear, and had cut his railroad connections
and captured his supplies at Manassas. Pope, discovering the flanking
movement, began falling back towards Manassas, and Jackson then
withdrew towards the Gap, waiting for Lee to come up. There were
various strategic movements afterwards, with fighting on the 29th; and
on the 30th the Confederate wings had enclosed as in a vise Pope's
forces to the west of Bull Run, when, after some terrific combats,
Pope retreated across Bull Run towards Washington. Pope had about
thirty-five thousand men and Lee forty-six thousand engaged in this
battle. During the night of September 2d Jackson made a reconnoissance
towards Washington, in which the Union Generals Stevens and Kearney
were killed at Chantilly, and the authorities became so apprehensive
of an attack upon the Capital that they ordered the whole army to fall
back behind the Washington defenses. Pope was then relieved, at his
own request, and the command restored to McClellan. The Confederates
marched northward across the Potomac and McClellan followed, ending
with the battles of South Mountain and Antietam, later in September,
when Lee retreated and recrossed the Potomac into Virginia on the
18th. The significant result of this conflict and withdrawal was the
issue of the famous Emancipation Proclamation. President Lincoln had
made a vow that if Lee was driven back from Maryland he would issue a
proclamation abolishing slavery, which was done September 22, 1862.
FREDERICKSBURG AND THE WILDERNESS.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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