Union Major
General John Pope had a new army under his command, which he christened the
Army of Virginia. Pope moved on Culpeper
Court House and Confederate General Robert E Lee sent the order to General
Thomas J Jackson that he wanted “Pope to be suppressed.”
Jackson was
outnumbered, but Pope helped him with the numbers, when he divided his troops
along the Rapidan River. Jackson moved
on the part of Pope’s army that was near Culpeper. Moving on the main road toward Culpeper in extreme
heat on bad roads Jackson’s exhausted troops encountered Union cavalry near
Cedar Run on August 9th 1862.
Confederate Brigadier General Jubal A Early formed a line along the road,
he anchored it on Cedar Mountain. The
Confederate artillery posted along the mountain, a small knoll known as the
Cedars and near the Crittenden House beginning a duel with Union artillery on
the Mitchell Station Road. During the
artillery bombardment Confederate Brigadier General Charles S Winder was
mortally wounded. Around 5pm Union Major
General Nathaniel P Banks launched an attack on the Confederate line. Union troops led by Union Brigadier General
Samuel W Crawford attacked the Confederate left in what became hand to hand
combat, while other Union troops under Brigadier General Christopher C Auger
hit the other end of the line near the guns on the knoll.
The
Confederate troops began to show signs of a rout, but Jackson road into the
middle of his men and rallied the troops.
With Jackson holding his men in place and restoring order, Confederate
General A P Hill arrived in time to strengthen the line and push the Union
troops back across the field. A
battalion of the 1st Pennsylvania Cavalry held the Confederate
counterattack long enough so that most of the Union men could retreat.
Two days
after this battle Jackson began his move to join up with Robert E Lee for what
would lead up to Second Manassas.
Jackson said that the Battle of Cedar Mountain was “the most successful
of his exploits.”
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