Battle of the Cedar Mountain

On June 26, Major General John Pope was appointed commander of the newly created Federal Virginia Army. Pope turned his army in an arc across Northern Virginia, Franz Siegel stood on the right flank in Sperreville, Nathaniel Banks in the center, and Irwin MacDowell on the left flank in Falmouth. Part of Banks’s corps, Samuel Crawford’s brigade and John Hatch’s cavalry, stood 32 kilometers south of the main federal forces in Culpeper .

In response, General Lee sent Jackson's Stone Wall with 14,000 to Gordonsville on July 13. On July 27, another 10,000 from Ambrose Hill Division joined him. On August 6, Pope moved south to Culpeper County to occupy the railway junction in Gordonsville. This was necessary in order to divert the Confederate army to the north and prevent them from pursuing McClellan's retreating army on the Virginian Peninsula.

At this time, the Seven-Day Battle had just ended and General Lee risked throwing Jackson's army north, warning, however, that he was ready to return if necessary ^[1] .

Jackson decided to act offensively, attacking the vanguard (Banks' squad) before the entire federal army was concentrated at Gordonsville. Having defeated Banks, he expected to move to Culpeper (42 km to the north) and try to defeat Pope’s army in parts, about the same as before in the Valley campaign . Lee recommended that Jackson avoid the mistakes of the Seven-Day Battle and, if possible, not attack the enemy in strong positions.

On August 7, Jackson moved to Culpeper. Beverly Robertson 's cavalry was sent forward to prevent the feds from taking fords across Rapidan. Robertson completed this task on August 8th. The advancement of Jackson's army was greatly hindered by the unusual heat of those days, as well as the excessive secrecy in which Jackson kept his plans as usual. As a result, the division commanders did not always clearly imagine the route of movement and from time to time even interfered with each other. As a result, Jackson's advanced units traveled only 13 kilometers by the evening of August 8. Jackson blamed the delay on Ambrose Hill - perhaps that was when their conflict began.

The Federal Cavalry, though stopped by Robertson, quickly returned and warned the command of Jackson's advance.

In response, Pope ordered Siegel to join Banks, and Banks to erect a defensive line along the Cedar River, 11 kilometers south of Culpeper.

Jackson had 23,000 against 8,000, almost threefold numerical superiority, although Henderson wrote that: “Confederate regiments were, as a rule, very weak. Losses in the Seven Day, under Winchester, with Cross Case and Port Republic were not yet made up. The brigade was approximately equal to the full battalion, and the regiment commander could rejoice if he managed to collect 200 muskets. ^[1] "

Union Army

First building

• Alpheus Williams Division

1. Samuel Crawford Brigade (4 regiments)
2. George Gordon Brigade (4 regiments)

• Christopher Ogur Division

1. John Geary Brigade (4 Ohio Regiments)
2. Henry Prince Brigade (5 regiments)
3. George Green Brigade (2 regiments)

• 9 artillery batteries

Second building

• James Ricketts Division

1. Ebram Dury Brigade
2. The Zealus Tower Brigade
3. George Hartsuff Brigade
4. Samuel Carroll Brigade

• George Bayard Cavbrigade

Confederate Army

• Ewell Division

1. Jubal Airlie Brigade (6 regiments)
2. Henry Forno Brigade (5 Louisiana Regiments)
3. Isaac Trimble Brigade (3 regiments)
4. 5 artillery batteries

• Ambrose Hill Division

1. Lawrence Branch Brigade (5 North Carolina Regiments)
2. James Archer Brigade (5 regiments)
3. Edward Thomas Brigade (4 Georgian Regiments)
4. Maxi Gregg Brigade (5 South Carolina Regiments)
5. William Stark Brigade (5 Louisiana Regiments)
6. Charles Field Brigade (3 Virginia Regiments + 1 Battalion)
7. William Pender Brigade (4 North Carolina Regiments)
8. 6 artillery batteries

• Charles Winder Division

1. Stone Wall Brigade (Charles Ronald) (5 Virginia Regiments)
2. Thomas Garnett Brigade (4 Virginia Regiments)
3. Alexander Tagliaferro Brigade (3 Virginia + 2 Alabama Regiments)
4. Alexander Lawton Brigade (6 Georgian Regiments)
5. 3 artillery batteries

On the morning of August 9, Jackson's army crossed Rapidan and entered Culpeper County. Ahead was the division of Richard Ewell , followed by the division of Ambrose Hill . Around noon, the avant-garde brigade of Jubal Earley met with the federal cavalry at the Cedar River, northwest of Cedar Mountain. Airlie mounted the guns and an artillery duel began. Earley's infantry deployed in line on the eastern side of the Culpeper-Orange road (currently Federal Highway 15), on a hill on the opposite bank of the Cedar River. Gradually, the remaining brigades of the division arrived and joined Earley on the right. Windler’s division stood to the left of Airlie, on the west side of the road; the Tagliaferro brigade adjoined the Earley brigade, and the Thomas Garnett brigade occupied the extreme left flank on the outskirts of the forest. Windler’s artillery was located between two divisions, and the “ Stone Wall Brigade ” (under the Comrade Charles Ronald) stood behind them as a cover. Hill's division stood on the left as a reserve - or rather, was on the way.

The federal army deployed on the banks of the Cedar River. The Samuel Crawford brigade was on the right (opposite Garnett), the Christopher Auger brigade was on the left flank. John Gary’s brigade was opposite Tagliafero, and Henry Prince’s brigade was on the far left opposite Ewell. George Green’s team was in reserve. Rickett’s division did not have time to start the battle.

Attack of the Northerners

Shortly before 5:00 p.m., as soon as the exchange of fire began, General Winder was mortally wounded by a shell fragment. His brigades had not yet completed deployment, the Garnett brigade was on the side of the main forces with an open flank. And before control of the division was restored, the federal brigades of Geary and Prince moved to the right wing of the confederate line. Their swift attack nearly knocked over the enemy line; Airlie rushed there from Cedar Mountain and personally took up command and control. His competent actions and intense cannon fire stopped the federal attack on the right flank. However, the federal units acted more successfully on the left flank: Crawford attacked Winder’s division, sending one brigade to a frontal attack and the second to bypass the flank. The feds went just on the flank of the 1st Virginia Regiment, which could not stand the double attack and began to retreat. Crawford's men moved on, hit the 42nd Virginia Regiment from the flank and went to the rear of the Tagliaferro Brigade and artillery batteries. Jackson ordered the batteries to be removed, but Tagliaferro and Earley did not have time to do so.

Counterattack

At this critical moment, Jackson personally went to the breakout site to clean up the units. To inspire his former brigade, he tried to pull out his sword, but due to infrequent use, it rusted and could not be removed from the sheath - then he began to swing it right in the scabbard. He grabbed the banner from the hands of the retreating standard bearer and shouted: “Jackson is with you! Get together, brave guys, and go! ^[2] "This scene is captured by the artist Troyani in the painting" Jackson is with you ".

The Stone Wall Brigade launched a counterattack against the federal brigades, the 21st Virginia Regiment was the first to rush forward, followed by the others. Northerners who did not receive support were forced to retreat. She was so carried away by the persecution that she soon found herself far ahead of the main forces, in turn lacking support. The northerners regrouped and attacked again, dropping the 4th and 27th Virgin regiments, but as a result of the “stone wall brigade” actions, the southerners gained time for regrouping. Hill's division replaced the broken regiments of Windler. Jackson ordered Hill and Ewell to advance. The right flank of the Federal Army immediately collapsed. Ewell could not support the attack in time, but the federal brigades wavered at the sight of Crawford's retreat, and were finally broken when the Isaac Trimble brigade rushed at them from the Cedar Mountain.

Harassment

The federal command threw Green’s federal brigade into battle, but it did not save the situation and by 19:00 the northerners were already retreating along the entire front. With his last attempt to cover up the infantry retreat, Banks threw two cavalry squadrons into the confederate battle formations. The cavalry attack was met by a powerful rifle salvo, which placed more than half of the attackers - only 71 out of 174 managed to escape. Jackson's infantry and the 7th Virginia Cavalry Regiment (William Jones) chased the retreating feds and nearly captured Banks and Pope, who were at headquarters just a mile from the battlefield.

At nightfall, Jackson stopped the chase. He did not know the exact location of the federal army, but he learned from the prisoners that Pope had sent Siegel’s corps to join Banks. Jackson ordered the chase to end and at about 10 p.m. the battle ended.

Jackson stood at the position south of the Cedar River for two days in anticipation of enemy attacks, but they never happened. On August 12, he learned that Pope’s army had arrived in Culpeper and retreated to Gordonsville to a more convenient position beyond Rapidan.

Weather and poor communications with the divisions seriously complicated the management of the army to Jackson. Dealing with his old Campaign rival in the Valley , he was nearly taken aback and was very close to defeat. The situation was saved by competent leadership at a critical moment and the timely arrival of the Hill Division, which finally made it possible to realize numerical superiority. Meanwhile, Banks, already defeated several times by Jackson, struggled to take revenge: instead of giving a defensive battle in a fortified position, he decided to take the initiative in his own hands and attack the enemy before he completes the deployment of troops. He was not even embarrassed by the double numerical superiority of the enemy. This bold move almost brought him victory, and yet this battle against Jackson ended just like all the previous ones.

Now, having Jackson's army nearby, and having suffered tangible damage in the battle, the northerners felt in danger: General Henry Halleck canceled Pope’s offensive on Gordonsville and, thus, Lee was able to seize the initiative and move the fighting from the Virginian Peninsula to Northern Virginia. Jackson went to the Rappahanok River, then went around the flank of Pope’s army and at the end of August imposed on him the Second Battle of Bull Run .

• Gordon, George H. Brook Farm to Cedar Mountain in the War of the Great Rebellion. - Boston: James R. Osgood and Company, 1883. - 426 p.

• Virginia Encyclopedia Article
• Battle of Cedar Mountain, description
• reports - reports of E.P. Hill and his brigadier generals.