Second Battle of Bull Run The Second Battle of Bull Run or Second Manassas was fought August 28 – 30 , 1862 , as part of the American Civil War . It was the culmination of an offensive campaign waged by Confederate Gen . Robert E . Lee ' s Army of Northern Virginia against Union Maj . Gen . John Pope ' s Army of Virginia , and a battle of much larger scale and numbers than the First Battle of Bull Run ( First Manassas ) fought in 1861 on the same ground . Following a wide - ranging flanking march , Confederate Maj . Gen . Thomas J . " Stonewall " Jackson captured the Union supply depot at Manassas Junction , threatening Pope ' s line of communications with Washington , D . C . Withdrawing a few miles to the northwest , Jackson took up defensive positions on Stony Ridge . On August 28 , 1862 , Jackson attacked a Union column just east of Gainesville , at Brawner ' s Farm , resulting in a stalemate . On that same day , the wing of Lee ' s army commanded by Maj . Gen . James Longstreet broke through light Union resistance in the Battle of Thoroughfare Gap and approached the battlefield . Pope became convinced that he had trapped Jackson and concentrated the bulk of his army against him . On August 29 , Pope launched a series of assaults against Jackson ' s position along an unfinished railroad grade . The attacks were repulsed with heavy casualties on both sides . At noon , Longstreet arrived on the field from Thoroughfare Gap and took position on Jackson ' s right flank . On August 30 , Pope renewed his attacks , seemingly unaware that Longstreet was on the field . When massed Confederate artillery devastated a Union assault by Maj . Gen . Fitz John Porter ' s V Corps , Longstreet ' s wing of 25 , 000 men in five divisions counterattacked in the largest , simultaneous mass assault of the war . The Union left flank was crushed and the army was driven back to Bull Run . Only an effective Union rear guard action prevented a replay of the First Manassas disaster . Pope ' s retreat to Centreville was nonetheless precipitous . Background and opposing forces . After the collapse of Maj . Gen . George B . McClellan ' s Peninsula Campaign in the Seven Days Battles of June 1862 , President Abraham Lincoln appointed John Pope to command the newly formed Army of Virginia . Pope had achieved some success in the Western Theater , and Lincoln sought a more aggressive general than McClellan . The Union Army of Virginia was divided into three corps of 51 , 000 men , under Maj . Gen . Franz Sigel ( I Corps ) ; Maj . Gen . Nathaniel P . Banks ( II Corps ) ; and Maj . Gen . Irvin McDowell , who had led the losing Union army at First Bull Run ( III Corps ) . Parts of three corps ( III , V , and VI ) of McClellan ' s Army of the Potomac and Maj . Gen . Ambrose Burnside ' s IX Corps ( commanded by Maj . Gen . Jesse L . Reno ) , eventually joined Pope for combat operations , raising his strength to 77 , 000 . On the Confederate side , Gen . Robert E . Lee ' s Army of Northern Virginia was organized into two " wings " or " commands " totaling about 55 , 000 men . The " right wing " was commanded by Maj . Gen . James Longstreet , the left by Maj . Gen . Stonewall Jackson . The Cavalry Division under Maj . Gen . J . E . B . Stuart was attached to Jackson ' s wing . Pope ' s mission was to fulfill two basic objectives : protect Washington and the Shenandoah Valley ; and draw Confederate forces away from McClellan by moving in the direction of Gordonsville . Based on his experience fighting McClellan in the Seven Days , Robert E . Lee perceived that McClellan was no further threat to him on the Virginia Peninsula , so he felt no compulsion to keep all of his forces in direct defense of Richmond . This allowed him to relocate Jackson to Gordonsville to block Pope and protect the Virginia Central Railroad . Lee had larger plans in mind . Since the Union Army was split between McClellan and Pope and they were widely separated , Lee saw an opportunity to destroy Pope before returning his attention to McClellan . He committed Maj . Gen . A . P . Hill to join Jackson with 12 , 000 men . On August 3 , General - in - Chief Henry W . Halleck directed McClellan to begin his final withdrawal from the Peninsula and to return to Northern Virginia to support Pope . McClellan protested and did not begin his redeployment until August 14 . On August 9 , Nathaniel Banks ' s corps attacked Jackson at Cedar Mountain , gaining an early advantage , but a Confederate counterattack led by A . P . Hill drove Banks back across Cedar Creek . Jackson ' s advance was stopped , however , by the Union division of Brig . Gen . James B . Ricketts . By now Jackson had learned that Pope ' s corps were all together , foiling his plan of defeating each in separate actions . He remained in position until August 12 , then withdrew to Gordonsville . On August 13 , Lee sent Longstreet to reinforce Jackson . From August 22 to August 25 , the two armies fought a series of minor actions along the Rappahannock River . Heavy rains had swollen the river and Lee was unable to force a crossing . By this time , reinforcements from the Army of the Potomac were arriving from the Peninsula . Lee ' s new plan in the face of all these additional forces outnumbering him was to send Jackson and Stuart with half of the army on a flanking march to cut Pope ' s line of communication , the Orange & Alexandria Railroad . Pope would be forced to retreat and could be defeated while moving and vulnerable . Jackson departed on August 25 and reached Salem ( present - day Marshall ) that night . On the evening of August 26 , after passing around Pope ' s right flank via Thoroughfare Gap , Jackson ' s wing of the army struck the Orange & Alexandria Railroad at Bristoe Station and before daybreak August 27 marched to capture and destroy the massive Union supply depot at Manassas Junction . This surprise movement forced Pope into an abrupt retreat from his defensive line along the Rappahannock . During the night of August 27 – 28 , Jackson marched his divisions north to the First Bull Run ( Manassas ) battlefield , where he took position behind an unfinished railroad grade below Stony Ridge . The defensive position was a good one . The heavy woods allowed the Confederates to conceal themselves , while maintaining good observation points of the Warrenton Turnpike , the likely avenue of Union movement , only a few hundred yards to the south . There were good approach roads for Longstreet to join Jackson , or for Jackson to retreat to the Bull Run Mountains if he could not be reinforced in time . Finally , the unfinished railroad grade offered cuts and fills that could be used as ready - made entrenchments . In the Battle of Thoroughfare Gap on August 28 , Longstreet ' s wing broke through light Union resistance and marched through the gap to join Jackson . This seemingly inconsequential action virtually ensured Pope ' s defeat during the coming battles because it allowed the two wings of Lee ' s army to unite on the Manassas battlefield . Battle . August 28 : Brawner ' s Farm ( Groveton ) . The Second Battle of Bull Run began on August 28 as a Federal column , under Jackson ' s observation just outside of Gainesville , near the farm of the John Brawner family , moved along the 29 . It consisted of units from Brig . Gen . Rufus King ' s division : the brigades of Brig . Gens . John P . Hatch , John Gibbon , Abner Doubleday , and Marsena R . Patrick , marching eastward to concentrate with the rest of Pope ' s army at Centreville . King was not with his division because he had suffered a serious epileptic attack earlier that day . Jackson , who had been relieved to hear earlier that Longstreet ' s men were on their way to join him , displayed himself prominently to the Union troops , but his presence was disregarded . Concerned that Pope might be withdrawing his army behind Bull Run to link up with McClellan ' s arriving forces , Jackson determined to attack . Returning to his position behind the tree line , he told his subordinates , " Bring out your men , gentlemen . " At about 6 : 30 p . m . , Confederate artillery began shelling the portion of the column to their front , John Gibbon ' s Black Hat Brigade ( later to be named the Iron Brigade ) . Gibbon , a former artilleryman , responded with fire from Battery B , 4th U . S . Artillery . The artillery exchange halted King ' s column . Hatch ' s brigade had proceeded past the area and Patrick ' s men , in the rear of the column , sought cover , leaving Gibbon and Doubleday to respond to Jackson ' s attack . Gibbon assumed that , since Jackson was supposedly at Centreville ( according to Pope ) , and having just seen the 14th Brooklyn of Hatch ' s Brigade reconnoiter the position , that these were merely horse artillery cannons from Jeb Stuart ' s cavalry . Gibbon sent aides out to the other brigades with requests for reinforcements , and sent his staff officer Frank A . Haskell to bring the veteran 2nd Wisconsin Infantry up the hill to disperse the harassing cannons . Gibbon met the 2nd in the woods saying , " If we can get you up there quietly , we can capture those guns . " The 2nd Wisconsin , under the command of Col . Edgar O ' Connor , advanced obliquely back through the woods the Federal column was passing through . When the 430 men emerged from the woods on John Brawner ' s farm they were quietly formed and advanced up the hill . Upon reaching the plateau , they deployed skirmishers who drove back Confederate skirmishers . They soon received a heavy volley into their right flank by 800 men of the fabled Stonewall Brigade , commanded by Col . William S . Baylor . Absorbing the volley from , the 2nd Wisconsin did not waver , but replied with a devastating volley at the Virginians in Brawner ' s orchard . The Confederates returned fire when the lines were only apart . As units were added by both sides , the battle lines remained close together , a standup fight with little cover , trading mass volleys for over two hours . Jackson described the action as " fierce and sanguinary . " Gibbon added his 19th Indiana . Jackson , personally directing the actions of his regiments instead of passing orders to the division commander , Maj . Gen . Richard S . Ewell , sent in three Georgia regiments belonging to Brig . Gen . Alexander R . Lawton ' s brigade . Gibbon countered this advance with the 7th Wisconsin . Jackson ordered Brig . Gen . Isaac R . Trimble ' s brigade to support Lawton , which met the last of Gibbon ' s regiments , the 6th Wisconsin . After Trimble ' s brigade entered the action , Gibbon needed to fill a gap in his line between the 6th Wisconsin and the rest of the Iron Brigade regiments . Doubleday sent in the 56th Pennsylvania and the 76th New York , who advanced through the woods and checked the new Confederate advance . These men arrived at the scene after dark and both Trimble and Lawton launched uncoordinated assaults against them . Horse artillery under Captain John Pelham was ordered forward by Jackson and fired at the 19th Indiana from less than . The engagement ended around 9 p . m . , with Gibbon ' s men slowly retreating backwards still firing , making their line at the edge of the woods . Doubleday ' s regiments retired to the turnpike in an orderly fashion . The fight was essentially a stalemate , but at a heavy cost , with over 1 , 150 Union and 1 , 250 Confederate casualties . The 2nd Wisconsin lost 276 of 430 engaged . The Stonewall brigade lost 340 out of 800 . Two Georgia regiments — Trimble ' s 21st and Lawton ' s 26th — each lost more than 70 % . In all , one of every three men engaged in the fight was shot . Confederate Brig . Gen . William B . Taliaferro wrote , " In this fight there was no maneuvering and very little tactics . It was a question of endurance and both endured . " Taliaferro was wounded , as was Ewell , whose left leg was shattered by a Minié ball and had to be amputated , removing him from action for the next 10 months . Jackson had not been able to achieve a decisive victory with his superior force ( about 6 , 200 men against Gibbon ' s 2 , 100 ) , due to darkness , his piecemeal deployment of forces , the wounding of two of his key generals , and the tenacity of the enemy . But he had achieved his strategic intent , attracting the attention of John Pope . Pope wrongly assumed that the fight at the Brawner Farm occurred as Jackson was retreating from Centreville . Pope believed he had " bagged " Jackson and sought to capture him before he could be reinforced by Longstreet . Pope ' s dispatch sent that evening to Maj . Gen . Philip Kearny stated , in part , " General McDowell has intercepted the retreat of the enemy and is now in his front . . . Unless he can escape by by - paths leading to the north to - night , he must be captured . " Gibbon conferred with King , Patrick , and Doubleday as to the next move , because McDowell was " lost in the woods . " Per Gibbon ' s recommendation , the only remaining Federal force still between Lee and Jackson moved out at 1 a . m . heading east on the pike towards Centreville . Pope issued orders to his subordinates to surround Jackson and attack him in the morning , but he made several erroneous assumptions . He assumed that McDowell and Sigel were blocking Jackson ' s retreat routes toward the Bull Run Mountains , but the bulk of both units were southeast of Jackson along the Manassas - Sudley Road . Pope ' s assumption that Jackson was attempting to retreat was completely wrong ; Jackson was in a good defensive position , anxiously awaiting the arrival of Longstreet to begin attacking Pope . Despite receiving intelligence of Longstreet ' s movements , Pope inexplicably discounted his effect on the battle to come . August 29 : Jackson defends Stony Ridge . Jackson had initiated the battle at Brawner ' s farm with the intent of holding Pope until Longstreet arrived with the remainder of the Army of Northern Virginia . Longstreet ' s 25 , 000 men began their march from Thoroughfare Gap at 6 a . m . on August 29 ; Jackson sent Stuart to guide the initial elements of Longstreet ' s column into positions that Jackson had preselected . While he waited for their arrival , Jackson reorganized his defense in case Pope attacked him that morning , positioning 20 , 000 men in a line to the south of Stony Ridge . Noticing the build up of I Corps ( Sigel ' s ) troops along the Manassas - Sudley Road , he ordered A . P . Hill ' s brigades behind the railroad grade near Sudley Church on his left flank . Aware that his position was geographically weak ( because the heavy woods in the area prevented effective deployment of artillery ) , Hill placed his brigades in two lines , with Brig . Gen . Maxcy Gregg ' s South Carolina brigade and Brig . Gen . Edward L . Thomas ' s Georgia brigade in the front . In the center of the line , Jackson placed two brigades from Ewell ' s division ( now under the command of Brig . Gen . Alexander Lawton following Ewell ' s leg amputation ) , and on the right , William B . Taliaferro ' s division , now commanded by Brig . Gen . William E . Starke . Pope ' s intention was to move against Jackson on both flanks . He ordered Fitz John Porter to move toward Gainesville and attack what he considered to be the Confederate right flank . He ordered Sigel to attack Jackson ' s left at daybreak . Sigel , unsure of Jackson ' s dispositions , chose to advance along a broad front , with Brig . Gen . Robert C . Schenck ' s division , supported by Brig . Gen . John F . Reynolds ' s division ( Heintzelman ' s III Corps ) on the left , Brig . Gen . Robert H . Milroy ' s independent brigade in the center , and Brig . Gen . Carl Schurz ' s division on the right . Schurz ' s two brigades , moving north on the Manassas - Sudley Road , were the first to contact Jackson ' s men , at about 7 a . m . The actions in Sigel ' s attack against A . P . Hill ' s division was typical of all the battles near Stony Ridge that day . Although the unfinished railroad grade provided natural defensive positions in some places , in general the Confederates eschewed a static defense , absorbing the Union blows and following up with vigorous counterattacks . ( These were the same tactics that Jackson would employ at the Battle of Antietam a few weeks later . ) Schurz ' s two brigades ( under Brig . Gen . Alexander Schimmelfennig and Col . Włodzimierz Krzyżanowski ) skirmished heavily with Gregg and Thomas , with both sides committing their forces piecemeal . As Milroy heard the sound of battle to his right , he ordered two of his regiments to assist Schurz . They achieved some success , and the 82nd Ohio breached the Confederate lines in a ground depression known as the Dump , but were eventually repulsed . Schenck and Reynolds , subjected to a heavy artillery barrage , answered with counterbattery fire , but did not advance their infantry . Assuming that Kearny ' s division of the III Corps was poised to support him , Schurz ordered another assault against Hill around 10 a . m . Kearny did not move forward and the second assault failed . Historians have faulted Kearny for his actions that day , blaming a personal grudge that Kearny held against Sigel . By 1 p . m . , Sigel ' s sector was reinforced by the division of Maj . Gen . Joseph Hooker ( III Corps ) and the brigade of Brig . Gen . Isaac Stevens ( IX Corps ) . Pope also arrived on the battlefield , expecting to see the culmination of his victory . By this time , Longstreet ' s initial units were in position to Jackson ' s right . Brig . Gen . John Bell Hood ' s division straddled the turnpike , loosely connected with Jackson ' s right flank . To Hood ' s right were the divisions of Brig . Gens . James L . Kemper and David R . " Neighbor " Jones . Brig . Gen . Cadmus M . Wilcox ' s division arrived last and was placed into reserve . Stuart ' s cavalry encountered Porter , Hatch , and McDowell moving up the Manassas - Gainesville Road and a brief firefight halted the Union column . Then a courier arrived with a message for Porter and McDowell , a controversial document from Pope that has become known as the " Joint Order " . Historian John J . Hennessy described the order as a " masterpiece of contradiction and obfuscation that would become the focal point of decades of wrangling . " It described the attacks on Jackson ' s left , which were already underway , but was unclear about what Porter and McDowell were supposed to do . Rather than moving " to " Gainesville and striking Jackson ' s supposedly unprotected right flank , it described a move " toward " Gainesville and " as soon as communication is established [ with the other divisions ] the whole command shall halt . It may be necessary to fall back behind Bull Run to Centreville tonight . " Nowhere in the order did Pope explicitly direct Porter and McDowell to attack and he concluded the order with " If any considerable advantages are to be gained from departing from this order it will not be strictly carried out , " rendering the document virtually useless as a military order . Meanwhile , Stuart ' s cavalry under Col . Thomas Rosser deceived the Union generals by dragging tree branches behind a regiment of horses to simulate great clouds of dust from large columns of marching soldiers . At this time , McDowell received a report from his cavalry commander , Brig . Gen . John Buford , who reported that 17 regiments of infantry , one battery , and 500 cavalry were moving through Gainesville at 8 : 15 a . m . This was Longstreet ' s wing arriving from Thoroughfare Gap , and it warned the two Union generals that trouble lay to their front . The Union advance was again halted . For some reason , McDowell neglected to forward Buford ' s report to Pope until about 7 p . m . , so the army commander was operating under two severe misconceptions : that Longstreet was not near the battlefield and that Porter and McDowell were marching to attack Jackson ' s right flank . As Longstreet ' s men were placed into their final positions , General Lee ordered an offensive against the Union left . ( Longstreet later remembered that Lee " was inclined to engage as soon as practicable , but did not order . " ) Longstreet , however , saw that the divisions of Reynolds and Schenck extended south of the Warrenton Turnpike , overlapping half of his line , and he argued against making the attack at that time . Lee eventually relented when Jeb Stuart reported that the force on the Gainesville – Manassas Road ( Porter and McDowell ) was formidable . Pope , assuming that the attack on Jackson ' s right would proceed as he thought he had ordered , authorized four separate attacks against Jackson ' s front with the intent of diverging the Confederates ' attention until Porter delivered the fatal blow . Brig . Gen . Cuvier Grover ' s brigade attacked at 3 p . m . , expecting to be supported by Kearny ' s division . Grover was fortunate to accidentally strike through a gap in a line that opened between Thomas and Gregg . His spirited bayonet charge was successful temporarily , but Kearny once again did not move forward as ordered and Pope did not intend to support a major attack . Brig . Gen . Dorsey Pender ' s brigade beat back the attack . Reynolds was ordered to conduct a spoiling attack south of the turnpike and encountered Longstreet ' s men , causing him to call off his demonstration . Pope dismissed Reynolds ' s concern as a case of mistaken identity , insisting that Reynolds had run into Porter ' s V Corps , preparing to attack Jackson ' s flank . Jesse Reno ordered a IX Corps brigade under Col . James Nagle to attack the center of Jackson ' s line again . This time Brig . Gen . Isaac R . Trimble ' s brigade was driven back from the railroad embankment , but Confederate counterattacks restored the line and pursued Nagle ' s troops back into the open fields until Union artillery halted their advance . At 4 : 30 p . m . , Pope finally sent an explicit order to Porter to attack , but his aide ( his nephew ) lost his way and did not deliver the message until 6 : 30 p . m . In any event , Porter was in no better position to attack then than he was earlier in the day . But in anticipation of the attack that would not come , Pope ordered Kearny to attack Jackson ' s far left flank , intending to put strong pressure on both ends of the line . At 5 p . m . , for the first time in the battle , Kearny ' s fierce offensive reputation was realized and he surged forward with ten regiments , striking A . P . Hill ' s depleted division . The brunt of the attack fell on Maxcy Gregg ' s brigade , which had defended against two major assaults over eight hours that day and was nearly out of ammunition in addition to having lost most of its officers . As they fell back onto the edge of a hillside , Gregg lopped some wildflowers with his old Revolutionary War scimitar and remarked , " Let us die here my men , let us die here . " A . P . Hill sent a message to Jackson calling for help . Jubal Early ' s brigade ( which began the day on the extreme right of the Confederate line ) and Lawrence O ' Bryan Branch ' s brigade ( held in reserve so far ) counterattacked and drove back Kearny ' s division . On the Confederate right , Longstreet observed a movement of McDowell ' s force away from his front ; the I Corps was moving divisions to Henry House Hill to support Reynolds . This report caused Lee to revive his plan for an offensive in that sector . Longstreet once again argued against it , this time due to inadequate time before dusk . He suggested instead that a reconnaissance in force could feel the position of the enemy and set up the Confederates for a morning attack . Lee agreed and Hood ' s division was sent forward . At the same time , Pope , who maintained his delusion that the Confederates were retreating , sent the division of John P . Hatch west on the turnpike to pursue . Hood and Hatch collided briefly at the Groveton crossroads , but the short , violent confrontation ended at darkness and both sides withdrew . Longstreet and his subordinates again argued to Lee that they should not be attacking a force they considered to be placed in a strong defensive position , and for the third time , Lee canceled the planned assault . When Pope learned from McDowell about Buford ' s report , he finally acknowledged that Longstreet was on the field , but he optimistically assumed that Longstreet was there only to reinforce Jackson while the entire Confederate army withdrew ; Hood ' s division had in fact just done that . Pope issued explicit orders for Porter ' s corps to rejoin the main body of the army and planned for another offensive on August 30 . Historian A . Wilson Greene argues that this was Pope ' s worst decision of the battle . Since he no longer had numerical superiority over the Confederates and did not possess any geographical advantage , the most prudent course would have been to withdraw his army over Bull Run and unite with McClellan ' s Army of the Potomac , which had 25 , 000 men nearby . One of the historical controversies of the battle involves George B . McClellan ' s cooperation with John Pope . In late August , two full corps of the Army of the Potomac ( William B . Franklin ' s VI Corps and Edwin V . Sumner ' s II Corps ) had arrived in Alexandria , but McClellan would not allow them to advance to Manassas because of what he considered inadequate artillery , cavalry , and transportation support . He was accused by his political opponents of deliberately undermining Pope ' s position , and he did not help his case in history when he wrote to his wife on August 10 , " Pope will be badly thrashed within two days & . . . they will be very glad to turn over the redemption of their affairs to me . I won ' t undertake it unless I have full & entire control . " He told Abraham Lincoln on August 29 that it might be wise " to leave Pope to get out of his scrape , and at once use all our means to make the capital perfectly safe . " August 30 : Longstreet counterattack , Union retreat . The final element of Longstreet ' s command , the division of Maj . Gen . Richard H . Anderson , marched and arrived on the battlefield at 3 a . m . , August 30 . Exhausted and unfamiliar with the area , they halted on a ridge east of Groveton . At dawn , they realized they were in an isolated position too close to the enemy and fell back . Pope ' s belief that the Confederate army was in retreat was reinforced by this movement , which came after the withdrawal of Hood ' s troops the night before . At an 8 a . m . council of war at Pope ' s headquarters , his subordinates attempted to convince their commander to move cautiously . Probes of the Confederate line on Stony Ridge around 10 a . m . indicated that Stonewall Jackson ' s men were still firmly in their defensive positions . John F . Reynolds indicated that the Confederates were in great strength south of the turnpike . Fitz John Porter arrived later with similar intelligence . However , Heintzelman and McDowell conducted a personal reconnaissance that somehow failed to find Jackson ' s defensive line , and Pope finally made up his mind to attack the retreating Southerners . Shortly after noon , Pope issued orders for Porter ' s corps , supported by Hatch and Reynolds , to advance west along the turnpike . At the same time , Ricketts , Kearny , and Hooker were to advance on the Union right . This dual movement would potentially crush the retreating Confederates . But the Confederates were not retreating , and were in fact hoping to be attacked . Lee was still waiting for an opportunity to counterattack with Longstreet ' s force . Although he was not certain that Pope would attack that day , Lee positioned 18 artillery pieces under Col . Stephen D . Lee on high ground northeast of the Brawner Farm , ideally situated to bombard the open fields in front of Jackson ' s position . Porter ' s corps was actually not in position to pursue west on the turnpike , but was in the woods north of the turnpike near Groveton . It took about two hours for the 10 , 000 men to organize themselves for the assault against Jackson ' s line to their front , which would be focused on Jackson ' s old division , now led by Brig . Gen . William E . Starke . The lead division in the Union assault was commanded by Brig . Gen . Daniel Butterfield , replacing Maj . Gen . George W . Morell : Col . Henry Weeks ' s brigade was on the left , Col . Charles W . Roberts ' s brigade in the center . Hatch ' s division came in on the right of the corps line . Two brigades of regular army troops under Brig . Gen . George Sykes were in reserve . The Union men faced a formidable task . Butterfield ' s division had to cross of open pasture land owned by widow Lucinda Dogan , the final of which were steeply uphill , to attack a strong position behind the unfinished railroad ; Hatch ' s division had only to traverse , but was required to perform a complex right wheel maneuver under fire to hit the Confederate position squarely in its front . They experienced devastating fire from Stephen Lee ' s batteries and then withering volleys from the infantrymen in the line . Nevertheless , they were able to break the Confederate line , routing the 48th Virginia Infantry . The Stonewall Brigade rushed in to restore the line , taking heavy casualties , including its commander , Col . Baylor . In what was arguably the most famous incident of the battle , Confederates in Col . Bradley T . Johnson ' s and Col . Leroy A . Stafford ' s brigades fired so much that they ran out of ammunition and resorted to throwing large rocks at the 24th New York , causing occasional damage , and prompting some of the surprised New Yorkers to throw them back . To support Jackson ' s exhausted defense , which was stretched to the breaking point , Longstreet ' s artillery added to the barrage against Union reinforcements attempting to move in , cutting them to pieces . Having suffered significant casualties , Porter did not engage Sykes ' s reserve division and halted his assault , essentially leaving his lead brigades to extricate themselves without support . The withdrawal was also a costly operation . Some of the jubilant Confederates in Starke ' s brigade attempted a pursuit , but were beaten back by the Union reserves posted along the Groveton - Sudley Road . Overall , Jackson ' s command was too depleted to counterattack , allowing Porter to stabilize the situation north of the turnpike . Concerned about Porter ' s situation , however , Irvin McDowell ordered Reynolds ' s division to leave Chinn Ridge and come to Porter ' s support . This may have been the worst tactical decision of the day because it left only 2 , 200 Union troops south of the turnpike , where they would soon face ten times their number of Confederates . Lee and Longstreet agreed that the time was right for the long awaited assault and that the objective would be Henry House Hill , which had been the key terrain in the First Battle of Bull Run , and which , if captured , would dominate the potential Union line of retreat . Longstreet ' s command of 25 , 000 men in five divisions stretched nearly a mile and a half from the Brawner Farm in the north to the Manassas Gap Railroad in the south . To reach the hill , they would have to traverse 1 . 5 to of ground containing ridges , streams , and some heavily wooded areas . Longstreet knew that he would not be able to project a well coordinated battle line across this terrain , so he had to rely on the drive and initiative of his division commanders . The lead division , on the left , closest to the turnpike , was John Bell Hood ' s Texans , supported by Brig . Gen . Nathan G . " Shanks " Evans ' s South Carolinians . On Hood ' s right were Kemper ' s and Jones ' s divisions . Anderson ' s division was held as a ready reserve . Just before the attack , Lee signaled to Jackson : " General Longstreet is advancing ; look out for and protect his left flank . " The Union defenders south of the turnpike consisted of only two brigades , commanded by Cols . Nathaniel C . McLean ( Schenck ' s division , Sigel ' s I Corps ) and Gouverneur K . Warren ( Sykes ' s division , Porter ' s V Corps ) . McLean held Chinn Ridge , Warren was near Groveton , about further west . Hood ' s men began the assault at 4 p . m . , immediately overwhelming Warren ' s two regiments , the 5th New York ( Duryée ' s Zouave s ) and 10th New York ( the National Zouaves ) . Within the first 10 minutes of contact , the 500 men of the 5th New York lost almost 300 shot , 120 of them mortally wounded . This was the largest loss of life of any infantry regiment in a single battle during the entire war . The Zouave regiments had been wearing bright red and blue uniforms , and one of Hood ' s officers wrote that the bodies lying on the hill reminded him of the Texas countryside when the wildflowers were in bloom . As Pope and McDowell realized the danger of their situation , they ordered units to occupy Henry House Hill , but until that could occur , McLean ' s brigade was the only obstacle to the Confederate onslaught . His 1 , 200 Ohioans in four regiments lined up , facing west on Chinn Ridge , with one artillery battery in support , and were able to repulse two assaults , first by Hood and then by Shanks Evans ' s brigade ( Kemper ' s division ) . The third assault , by Col . Montgomery D . Corse ' s brigade ( also Kemper ' s division ) , was successful . McLean ' s men mistakenly believed the men approaching the southern tip of the ridge were friendly and withheld their fire . When they realized their mistake , a fierce firefight ensued for over 10 minutes at virtually point - blank range . Added fire from a Louisiana artillery battery caused the Union line to collapse . The Ohio brigade suffered 33 % casualties , but they gave Pope an additional 30 minutes to bring up reinforcements . The first two Union brigades to arrive were from Ricketts ' s division , commanded by Brig . Gen . Zealous B . Tower and Col . John W . Stiles . ( James Ricketts had been at the same battlefield a year earlier , at First Bull Run ; he commanded a regular gun battery and was captured at the fight for Henry Hill . ) Tower ' s brigade was overwhelmed by attacks from three sides . His artillery battery was captured and he was seriously wounded . Stiles ' s brigade , following Tower , fell victim to two newly arrived brigades from Kemper ' s division , commanded by Brig . Gen . Micah Jenkins and Col . Eppa Hunton . During this intense fighting , the commander of the 12th Massachusetts , Col . Fletcher Webster ( son of the statesman Daniel Webster ) , was mortally wounded . Two more Union brigades poured into the battle from Sigel ' s I Corps , commanded by Cols . John Koltes and Włodzimierz Krzyżanowski , but had no more success than their predecessors . Both brigades were routed and Koltes was killed . The lead elements of Jones ' s division , the brigades of Cols . George T . Anderson and Henry L . Benning , swept all Union resistance off Chinn Ridge by 6 p . m . However , the successful Confederate assault came at a high cost , both in men ( Hood ' s and Kemper ' s divisions suffered heavy losses and were at least temporarily incapable of further offensive action ) and in time . Henry House Hill was still several hundred yards away and there was only an hour of daylight remaining . During the first two hours of the Confederate assault , Pope had been able to place four brigades in defense of Henry House Hill : two from Reynolds ' s division , one from Sykes ' s , and Brig . Gen . Robert H . Milroy ' s independent brigade . Lee realized that additional combat power would be required to complete his assault , so he ordered Richard Anderson ' s division from its reserve position . While these troops were moving up , D . R . Jones launched an attack on the hill with the brigades of Benning and G . T . Anderson . With 3 , 000 men , this was the largest concentrated attack of the afternoon , but it was poorly coordinated and the four Union brigades held their ground . Additional pressure was applied with the arrival of two brigades from Anderson ' s division : Brig . Gens . William Mahone and Ambrose R . Wright . The regulars from Sykes ' s division had no natural defensive advantage on the end of the line and they were driven back toward the Henry House . Inexplicably , Anderson declined to exploit his opening , perhaps because of the growing darkness . The hill remained in Union hands . Stonewall Jackson , under relatively ambiguous orders from Lee to support Longstreet , launched an attack north of the turnpike at 6 p . m . , probably as soon as his exhausted forces could be mustered . Historian John J . Hennessy called Jackson ' s delays " one of the battle ' s great puzzles " and " one of the most significant Confederate failures " of the battle , greatly reducing the value of his advance . The attack coincided with Pope ' s ordered withdrawal of units north of the turnpike to assist in the Henry House Hill defense and the Confederates were able to overrun a number of artillery and infantry units in their fierce assault . By 7 p . m . , however , Pope had established a strong defensive line that aligned with the units on Henry House Hill . At 8 p . m . , he ordered a general withdrawal on the turnpike to Centreville . Unlike the calamitous retreat at the First Battle of Bull Run , the Union movement was quiet and orderly . The Confederates , weary from battle and low on ammunition , did not pursue in the darkness . Although Lee had won a great victory , he had not achieved his objective of destroying Pope ' s army . Aftermath . The Second battle of Bull Run had little strategic outcome , but like the first it was a smashing tactical victory for the Confederates and caused a rapid drop in Union morale . Union casualties were about 10 , 000 killed and wounded out of 62 , 000 engaged ; the Confederates lost about 1 , 300 killed and 7 , 000 wounded out of 50 , 000 . As the Union Army concentrated on Centreville , Lee planned his next move . He sent Jackson on another flanking march in an attempt to interpose his army between Pope and Washington . Pope countered the move and the two forces clashed a final time at the Battle of Chantilly ( also known as Ox Hill ) on September 1 . Lee immediately began his next campaign on September 3 , when the vanguard of the Army of Northern Virginia crossed the Potomac River , marching toward a fateful encounter with the Army of the Potomac in the Maryland Campaign and the Battle of Antietam . Pope was relieved of command on September 12 , 1862 , and his army was merged into the Army of the Potomac as it marched into Maryland under McClellan . He spent the remainder of the war in the Department of the Northwest in Minnesota , dealing with the Dakota War of 1862 . Pope sought scapegoats to spread the blame for his defeat . On November 25 , 1862 , Fitz John Porter was arrested and court - martialed for his actions on August 29 . Porter was found guilty on January 10 , 1863 , of disobedience and misconduct , and he was dismissed from the Army on January 21 . He spent most of the remainder of his life fighting against the verdict . In 1878 , a special commission under General John M . Schofield exonerated Porter by finding that his reluctance to attack Longstreet probably saved Pope ' s Army of Virginia from an even greater defeat . Eight years later , President Chester A . Arthur reversed Porter ' s sentence . James Longstreet was criticized for his performance during the battle and the postbellum advocates of the Lost Cause claimed that his slowness , reluctance to attack , and disobedience to Gen . Lee on August 29 were a harbinger of his controversial performance to come on July 2 , 1863 , at the Battle of Gettysburg . Lee ' s biographer , Douglas Southall Freeman , wrote : " The seeds of much of the disaster at Gettysburg were sown in that instant — when Lee yielded to Longstreet and Longstreet discovered that he would . "