Finding truth in any military disaster is often an impossible task. One of the great truisms of war is that the glaring spotlight of blame and recrimination almost always finds it way to the losing commander, no matter justified or not. For John Pope, the 1862 campaign of 2nd Manassas began to go wrong at a small and somewhat insignificant stop on the Orange & Alexandria Railroad in Prince William County, Virginia named Bristoe Station. His tactical decisions on the evening of August 26 through the morning of August 28 resulted in a downward spiral, ending in the crushing defeat of his army and a retreat to the gates of Washington, D.C.

Soon to become more famous in the Virginia campaign of October 1863, Bristoe Station was one of those locations which the gods of war seem to favor. Like the nearby battles at Manassas (Bull Run) in 1861 and 1862, Bristoe figured prominently in the grand maneuvers of Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia in both 1862 and 1863. In truth, the 1862 fighting has been one of the most overlooked yet significant fights in the Virginia theater, ignored by historians, little visited by battlefield trekkers, and even misnamed by those who fought there as the Battle of Kettle Run. With the recent acquisition of 130 acres of battlefield, for the first time visitors can now walk the ground at Bristoe Station and better understand the unraveling of John Pope in 1862, and visit the scene of the 1863 engagement sometimes called “A. P. Hill’s Gambit.”

The 1862 Battle

On the afternoon of August 26, 1862, a long line of freight trains covered with dusty Union infantrymen passed from the marshalling yards of Alexandria through Bristoe on their way to the Federal supply base at Warrenton Junction, 14 miles beyond. Although tired and dirty, the men of Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker’s division in the III Corps, Army of the Potomac, enjoyed the chance to ride toward battle packed on top of freight cars instead of the usual march. These veteran regiments were part of the reinforcements to the Army of Virginia under John Pope, which was facing Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia across the Rappahannock River.

Only a few hours later, at dusk, the lead elements of Maj. Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson’s Left Wing of the Army of Northern Virginia arrived at Bristoe Station, completing a two-day march designed to cut the Union supply line and force Pope from his Rappahannock River line of defense (see Pg. 9). Maj. Gen. James E. B. “Jeb” Stuart’s cavalry arrived first, crossing Broad Run above the station and screening the Confederate juggernaut nearing Bristoe. (For the progression of movements that led to the action at Bristoe Station on August 26-27, refer to the Maps on Pp. 11 & 12.)