The Battle of Second Manassas

by Captivating History Book 7 in the Battles of the Civil War series.

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3.8(59)

The Second Battle of Manassas, or Second Bull Run, was fought from 28 to 30 August 1862 during Robert E. Lee’s northern Virginia campaign. Confederate forces under Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson drew John Pope’s Army of Virginia onto ground close to the battlefield of First Manassas, while James Longstreet’s wing approached to deliver a major counterattack.

The book reconstructs the manoeuvres, command decisions and intelligence failures that produced a decisive Union defeat. Pope repeatedly misread the location and intentions of Lee’s forces, while Confederate coordination allowed Jackson to hold his position until Longstreet struck the Union flank. The victory opened the way for Lee’s first invasion of the North and the Maryland Campaign that culminated at Antietam. The battle therefore marked both the rise of Lee’s offensive strategy and the collapse of Pope’s brief command in Virginia.