Kettle Run - Bristoe Station VA - Battlefields on Waymarking.com

During the Civil War, in August 1862, Union General John Pope and his army were on the Rappahannock River south of Manassas, Virginia waiting for Gen. George McClellan to join them after McClellan's failed attempt to capture Richmond in the Peninsula Campaign. Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee decided to try and defeat Pope's forces before McClellan could reinforce him. With the Union withdrawing from Richmond, Lee pulled most of his army north. He split his forces with Gen. James Longstreet in charge of the Right Wing and Gen. Stonewall Jackson in command of the Left Wing.

Lee sent Jackson's Wing with 24,000 men north to circle around Pope's right flank to the rear with the intention of cutting off the Union supply lines, while Lee and Longstreet's Wing held the line at the Rappahannock and created diversions to mask Jackson's sneak attack. After a hard, 2-day march of more than 50 miles, Jackson's Wing arrived at Bristoe Station on the Orange & Alexandria Railroad on August 26. They had succeeded in derailing and burning two Union supply trains, tearing up the tracks, cutting telegraph lines, and taken possession of a supply depot at Manassas Junction. Lee and Longstreet quickly followed Jackson's path.

The next day, Pope moved his forces north to respond to Jackson's threat on his rearguard. Jackson took two brigades and headed for Manassas. He left Gen. Richard Ewell and his brigade at Bristoe Station to cover any attack. Meanwhile, Union Gen. Joseph Hooker's division moved to Bristoe Station and engaged Ewell's forces in what is known as the Battle of Kettle Run. Fighting began on the afternoon of the 27th with the Confederates destroying the railroad bridge over Kettle Run. After a couple of hours of skirmishing, the Federals were gaining the upper hand and Ewell, under orders from Jackson, withdrew across Broad Run under cover of artillery and destroyed the railroad bridge there. Hooker's army did not pursue them. The Battle of Kettle Run was a prelude to the Second Battle of Manassas.

The Kettle Run battlefield is part of the 133-acre Bristoe Station Battlefield Heritage Park in Bristow, Virginia. A 1-mile self-guided walking trail identifies Federal and Confederate positions and maneuvers that took place on August 27, 1862. There is a visitor kiosk in the parking lot with battle maps and guides. The grounds and trails are open every day from sunrise to sunset free of charge. Guided tours are offered at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. on the second and fourth weekend of the month from May through October.

References:

• The Second Battle of Manassas According To Shotgun
• Civil War Animated: Second Manassas
• On-site information

Additional Link:

• Bristoe Station Battlefield

Note: The photo gallery contains pictures of stops along the walking tour. Only the titles have been included in the description. For the full text, a guide can be downloaded here.

Name of Battle: Battle of Kettle Run Name of War: Civil War Entrance Fee: 0.00 (listed in local currency) Parking: N 38° 43.618 W 077° 32.656 Date(s) of Battle (Beginning): 08/27/1862 Date of Battle (End): 08/27/1862

Visit Instructions:
Post a photo of you in front of a sign or marker posted at the site of the battle (or some other way to indicate you have personally visited the site.

In addition it is encouraged to take a few photos of the surrounding area and interesting features at the site.

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.