Battle of Chantilly

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Battle of Chantilly

General Kearny's gallant charge

Date	September 1, 1862
Location	Fairfax County, Virginia
Result	Inconclusive (Union tactical victory)

Combatants

United States of America

Confederate States of America

Commanders

Jesse L. Reno
Philip Kearny
Isaac Stevens

Thomas J. Jackson

Strength

Reno's IX Corps

Jackson's Corps (20,000)

Casualties

1,300

800

Northern Virginia Campaign
Cedar Mountain – 1st Rappahannock Station – Manassas Station Ops. – Thoroughfare Gap – 2nd Bull Run – Chantilly

The Battle of Chantilly (or Ox Hill, the Confederate name) took place on September 1, 1862, in Fairfax County, Virginia, as the concluding battle of the Northern Virginia Campaign of the American Civil War.

1 Background
2 Battle
3 Battlefield today
4 See also
5 References
6 Notes
7 Further reading
8 External links

[edit] Background

Defeated in the Second Battle of Bull Run, at 7 p.m. August 30, Union Major General John Pope ordered his Army of Virginia to retreat about 5 miles to the northeast to Centreville. The movement began after dark, with Irvin McDowell's III Corps providing cover. The army crossed Bull Run and the last troops across, Franz Sigel's I Corps, destroyed Stone Bridge behind them. It would have been unusual for a Civil War army to pursue and attack at night, and Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia had the added burden of fatigue from the battle, so the retreat went unmolested. Lee also allowed the II Corps of Nathaniel P. Banks to consolidate with the remainder of Pope's army, marching in from Bristoe Station, where they had been guarding the army's trains.

Although the entire campaign had gone badly for Pope, he first began to show signs of discouragement on the morning of August 31, when he sent a message to General-in-Chief Henry W. Halleck that implied he expected Lee to attack again, which might mean the destruction of the Union army. Lee, however, had no intention of crossing Bull Run, swollen by rains, and attacking frontally. Instead, he sent Lieutenant General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson to get behind the Union position at Centreville. Lt. Gen. James Longstreet's corps remained in place for the day to deceive Pope while Jackson's corps made a wide flanking march, north and then east, attempting to block the Warrenton Turnpike and Pope's escape route. The corps moved slowly over muddy roads and bivouacked for the night at Pleasant Valley, 3 miles northeast of Centreville. Pope anticipated this maneuver and telegraphed Halleck that he could deal with it.

[edit] Battle

Map of the battle

On the morning of September 1, Pope ordered Edwin V. Sumner to send a brigade north to reconnoiter; the army's cavalry was too exhausted for the mission. But at the same time, he continued his movement in the direction of Washington, sending McDowell's corps to Germantown (on the western border of modern day Fairfax City), where it could protect an important intersection the army needed for the retreat. And he sent two brigades of Major General Jesse L. Reno's IX Corps, under the command of Brigadier General Isaac Stevens, to block Jackson. Maj. Gen. Philip Kearny's division followed later that afternoon.

Jackson resumed his march to the south, but his troops were tired and hungry and made poor progress as the rain continued. They marched only 3 miles and occupied Ox Hill, southeast of Chantilly Plantation, where they encountered Stevens's two brigades about 3 p.m. The Confederates attacked several times during a fierce thunderstorm: on the right flank, A.P. Hill against Stevens; on the left, Richard S. Ewell against Kearny. Despite having numerical superiority over the Union defenders, the attacks were repulsed until they petered out by 6:30 p.m. Kearny, one the Union's most aggressive and respected generals, mistakenly rode into the Confederate lines during the battle and was killed. Stevens was also killed on his front, while bravely waving the colors to rally his men. That night, Longstreet arrived to relieve Jackson's troops. The Union army withdrew to Germantown and Fairfax Court House.

The fighting was tactically inconclusive, but Jackson's turning movement was foiled and he was unable to block the Union retreat or destroy Pope's army. Two key Union generals were killed. Pope, recognizing the attack as an indication of continued danger to his army, continued his retreat to the fortifications around Washington, D.C.. Lee began the Maryland Campaign, including the Battle of Antietam, after Pope retreated out of Virginia. The Army of the Potomac, under Major General George B. McClellan, absorbed the forces of Pope's Army of Virginia, which was disbanded as a separate army.

Ox Hill Battlefield Park, with monuments to Stevens and Kearny

[edit] Battlefield today

The site of the battle, once rural farmland, is now surrounded by suburban development in Fairfax County. The intersection of the modern thoroughfares of Route 50 (also known as Lee-Jackson Memorial Highway) and State Route 7100 (also known as Fairfax County Parkway) intersect near the location of the battle. A 4.8 acre (19,000 m²) memorial park, the Ox Hill Battlefield Park, lies adjacent to the Fairfax Towne Center shopping area, and includes the site of the battle. The park is under the jurisdiction of the Fairfax County Park Authority; in January 2005, the Authority approved a General Management Plan and Conceptual Development Plan^[1] that sets forth a detailed history and future management framework for the site.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

Esposito, Vincent J., West Point Atlas of American Wars, Frederick A. Praeger, 1959.
Ropes, John Codman, The Battle of Chantilly from The Army Under Pope
National Park Service battle description

[edit] Notes

^ Fairfax County Park Authority plan (PDF format)

[edit] Further reading

Mauro, Charles V., The Battle of Chantilly (Ox Hill): A Monumental Storm, Fairfax, Virginia: Fairfax County History Commission, 2002, ISBN 0-91492-735-3.
Taylor, Paul, He Hath Loosed the Fateful Lightning: The Battle of Ox Hill (Chantilly), September 1, 1862, Shippensburg, Pa.: White Mane Publishers, 2003, ISBN 1-57249-329-1.
Welker, David, Tempest at Ox Hill: The Battle of Chantilly, Da Capo Press, 2001.