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1 Sept. 1862: The Battle of Chantilly
As Maj. Gen. George Pope withdrew his Army of Virginia back to Washington to link up with Maj. Gen. George McClellan’s Army of the Potomac, he got word that Confederate forces were massing for an attack on his left flank.
General Lee had sent Maj. Gen. Stonewall Jackson to conduct a flank attack and ordered Maj. Gen. J. E. B. Stuart to take his Cavalry Corps and cut off Pope’s retreat. Although the latter failed to accomplish his mission, Jackson’s maneuver made Pope realize he needed to act quickly to keep from getting rolled up. He thus ordered a brigade from Maj. Gen. Edward Sumner’s II Corps to reconnoiter to the north and sent two brigades from Maj. Gen. Jesse Reno’s IX Corps under Brig. Gen. Isaac Stevens to block Jackson while Maj. Gen. Philip Kearny’s III Corps division followed. Meanwhile, it had begun to rain heavily, reducing visibility and making movement difficult.
Those maneuvers set the stage for a clash between Brig. Gen. Alexander Lawton’s rebel division on Ox Hill near the Chantilly plantation and General Stevens’ division. After his men arrived on the scene, Stevens launched an attack across a grassy field.
The attack was initially successful, but a counterattack by Brig, Gen. Jubal Early’s brigade restored the initiative to the rebels. At about 5 p.m. a bullet struck General Stevens in the temple killing him instantly. At about the same time, a severe thunderstorm broke over the battlefield forcing the men to rely on bayonets as their powder was damp.
General Kearny’s division arrived on the scene and, seeing what appeared to be a gap in the line, he deployed Brig. Gen. David Birney’s brigade on his left and ordered him to attack across the field. Birney’s men approached the line of Brig. Gen. A. P. Hill’s division and quickly stalled in hand-to-hand combat. General Kearny then mistakenly rode into the Confederate ranks and was killed.
As the rest of Kearny’s division arrived, General Birney deployed the men as a rear guard and ordered the engaged units to fall back to the southern side of the plantation’s fields, thus ending the battle.
The union lost some 1,200 men killed or wounded–including both commanding generals–and the rebels lost about 800 killed or wounded.
General Pope completed his army’s withdrawal to Washington, where he was relieved of commanded and his corps were absorbed into the Army of the Potomac.
General Lee canceled the rest of his northern Virginia campaign and ordered the Army of Northern Virginia into Maryland to rest and refit and prepare for a new campaign on northern soil.
ILLUSTRATIONS: (1) The death of Brig. Gen. Isaac Stevens at the Battle of Chantilly. (2) The death of Maj. Gen. Stephen Kearny.
As Maj. Gen. George Pope withdrew his Army of Virginia back to Washington to link up with Maj. Gen. George McClellan’s Army of the Potomac, he got word that Confederate forces were massing for an attack on his left flank.
General Lee had sent Maj. Gen. Stonewall Jackson to conduct a flank attack and ordered Maj. Gen. J. E. B. Stuart to take his Cavalry Corps and cut off Pope’s retreat. Although the latter failed to accomplish his mission, Jackson’s maneuver made Pope realize he needed to act quickly to keep from getting rolled up. He thus ordered a brigade from Maj. Gen. Edward Sumner’s II Corps to reconnoiter to the north and sent two brigades from Maj. Gen. Jesse Reno’s IX Corps under Brig. Gen. Isaac Stevens to block Jackson while Maj. Gen. Philip Kearny’s III Corps division followed. Meanwhile, it had begun to rain heavily, reducing visibility and making movement difficult.
Those maneuvers set the stage for a clash between Brig. Gen. Alexander Lawton’s rebel division on Ox Hill near the Chantilly plantation and General Stevens’ division. After his men arrived on the scene, Stevens launched an attack across a grassy field.
The attack was initially successful, but a counterattack by Brig, Gen. Jubal Early’s brigade restored the initiative to the rebels. At about 5 p.m. a bullet struck General Stevens in the temple killing him instantly. At about the same time, a severe thunderstorm broke over the battlefield forcing the men to rely on bayonets as their powder was damp.
General Kearny’s division arrived on the scene and, seeing what appeared to be a gap in the line, he deployed Brig. Gen. David Birney’s brigade on his left and ordered him to attack across the field. Birney’s men approached the line of Brig. Gen. A. P. Hill’s division and quickly stalled in hand-to-hand combat. General Kearny then mistakenly rode into the Confederate ranks and was killed.
As the rest of Kearny’s division arrived, General Birney deployed the men as a rear guard and ordered the engaged units to fall back to the southern side of the plantation’s fields, thus ending the battle.
The union lost some 1,200 men killed or wounded–including both commanding generals–and the rebels lost about 800 killed or wounded.
General Pope completed his army’s withdrawal to Washington, where he was relieved of commanded and his corps were absorbed into the Army of the Potomac.
General Lee canceled the rest of his northern Virginia campaign and ordered the Army of Northern Virginia into Maryland to rest and refit and prepare for a new campaign on northern soil.
ILLUSTRATIONS: (1) The death of Brig. Gen. Isaac Stevens at the Battle of Chantilly. (2) The death of Maj. Gen. Stephen Kearny.
Edited 18 d ago
Posted 18 d ago
Responses: 5
Posted 18 d ago
Thanks for this share. You're making me break out my history book as I know next to nothing about this battle. And that's a good thing.
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MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D.
17 d
Same for me. It always gets glossed over. How many battles can you think where both commanding generals on one side got killed? Great trivia question . . .
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Posted 18 d ago
The only reason I know about this battle is because I was a counselor at JEB Stewart HS in Virginia before they changed the name of it.
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Posted 17 d ago
If you're looking for Chantilly on a map, just search for Dulles International Airport. During construction it was referred to as Chantilly Airport.
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