Chantilly: Animated Battle Map

[Music] in the final days of August 1862 general robert e lee's army of northern virginia delivered a crushing blow to his adversary Major General John Pope's army of Virginia at the Second Battle of Manassas however the aggressively was not satisfied with merely defeating Pope he wanted Pope's army destroyed in order to do so Lee directed Major General Thomas Stonewall Jackson to position his command between Pope's retreating army and the fortifications of Washington Jackson's immediate goal was to occupy Germantown a strategic road junction through which Pope's demoralized army had to pass on August 31st one day after the fighting at second Manassas Jackson led his command northward along the gum Springs Road turned east on the Little River Turnpike and stopped for the night at Pleasant Valley by 7:00 a.m. on September 1st Jackson's column was on the move again throughout the day a screen of Confederate cavalry on the Little River Turnpike skirmished with its Union counterparts alerting Pope to the threat on his right flank to counter this threat Pope ordered a Major General Joseph Hooker to establish a defensive position at Germantown hookers movement caused Jackson to halt his command just four miles from the Germantown intersection where he awaited the remainder of Lee's army Pope still uncertain of Jackson's plans put brigadier general Isaac Stevens division on the March his objective was to establish a defensive line across the Little River Turnpike two miles west of hookers Germantown position by 1:00 p.m. Stevenson's division had begun its march east on the Warrenton Turnpike together with Major General Jesse Reno's division Jaxon's wing continued to await Longstreet's arrival near ox hill around 4 p.m. patrols reported the presence of Union troops just to their south Jackson sent two brigades under major-general ap Hill to investigate the strength and intention of the nearby Union troops soon after Jackson began to ploy the rest of his wing for the upcoming battle Stevens observed a thin line of Confederates advancing out of the woods north of the reed farm to accomplish his orders and keep open the Union line of retreat Stevens needed to drive the Confederates from his front he deployed two companies of the 79th New York his skirmishers sending them down the slopes of the big rocky run and across the unfinished railroad bed against the Confederate skirmishers shortly before 4:30 p.m. Colonel Edward Ferrero's Brigade arrived on the scene together with Major General Jesse Reno the overall commander of the Union force Reno however was rather ill and content to lead the tactical direction of the battle in Stevenson's hands without seriously altering the plan of attack instead Reno directed Ferraro to cover Stephens flank by moving into the woods east of the Ox Road the 51st New York and the 21st Massachusetts disappeared into the woods while the 51st Pennsylvania's stayed to protect Darrell's Pennsylvania battery as it came onto the battlefield with what began as a constant drizzle now turning into a steady downpour general Stevens could wait no more as he and his staff dismounted their horses Stevens called out to his men division guide center forward march with the commander's word still ringing in the air Lieutenant Colonel David Morrison's Brigade stepped off toward the Hidden Confederate positions to their front Stevens ordered his newly adjusted lines to advance toward the trees but as they marched the thunderstorm broke into its full fury the pelting rain turned the bare earth of the cornfield into a muddy quagmire and soaked through the Gunpowder making many weapons useless despite worsening conditions and lowered visibility Stevens continued to press his division forward with his attack stalling general Stevens grabbed the colors of the 79th New York and urged his men forward shouting Highlanders my Highlanders follow your general as he stepped over the remains of a snake rail fence a single Confederate shot slammed into the general's temple killing him instantly incensed by their loss the Union forces surged toward the rebels just inside the woods after Stevens death the Union command fell to Colonel Benjamin Crist that his heart in 29th Massachusetts and 79th New York began to virtually disintegrate and to make matters worse the entire division was running low on ammunition with the tide of battle shifting Stevens division began a slow withdraw back across the fields they had fought so hard to secure prior to his ill-fated assault Stevens sent his aide lieutenant Horatio Belcher to look for additional support coming upon Major General Philip Kearney Belcher requested that Carney and his troops come to the rescue of Stevenson's battered division Carney exclaimed by God I will support Stevens anywhere Carney along with Brigadier General David B Bernie's Brigade arrived on the field at 5:15 p.m. as Bernie's Brigade moved into position he was assured by Reno that Stevens reformed division would support his advance with Stevens attacked now repulsed Jackson wisely made use of his lull in the battle to readjust Confederate lines in the cornfield by strengthening his lines to better cope with any new Union threat Jackson's position was greatly improved now in position opposite the Confederate right flank Burnie began to his oversized brigade forward seeing that his right flank was not being supported by Steven's battered division as Reno promised Burnie requested that Colonel Orlin pose Brigade be placed on his exposed flank Kearney wrote off in search of more support for his assault general Kearney came across the 79th New York and boomed out Scotsman you must follow me finding the 79th out of ammunition Kearney wrote on just about that time the 21st Massachusetts emerged from the woods east of ox Road Kearney ordered them to reinforce Bernie's right brushing aside the protests of the regiment's commanding officer Kearney repeated his order Kearney infuriated with the hesitation of the 21st Massachusetts Road forward to determine the cause of their slow advance dismissing reports of nearby Confederates he been tchard into the cornfield for a personal reconnaissance of the front suddenly Kearney was surprised by Confederates under the command of Colonel Edward Thomas wheeling his horse in a desperate attempt to avoid capture Kearney was gunned down by the Georgians and Thomas's Brigade the dishearten 29th Massachusetts and 79th New York began to virtually disintegrate and to make matters worse the entire division was running low on ammunition with the tide of battle shifting Stevens division began a slow withdraw back across the fields they had fought so hard to secure by nightfall the Battle of Chantilly was over Jackson having failed and his objective to cut off the Union retreat began pulling back from OC's Hill around 11:00 p.m. the last remnants of his command withdrew early on the morning of September 2nd Union forces remained on the field until ordered to resume the Army's march toward Washington around 2:30 a.m. both armies began more than two weeks of marching and maneuvers that culminated along Antietam Creek in Maryland on September 17th [Music] you

Channel: American Battlefield Trust

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Keywords: American Battlefield Trust, Civil War Trust, Battle of Chantilly, Northern Virginia Civil War, Battlefield Preservation, Philip Kearny, Isaac Stevens, Stonewall Jackson, J.E.B. Stuart, Civil War Trust Animated Map

Id: 8lBlCo24eBQ

Length: 8min 58sec (538 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 13 2019