Battle of Chantilly
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The Battle of Chantilly happened on September 1, 1862, in Fairfax County, Virginia. It was the last battle of the Northern Virginia Campaign during the American Civil War. The battle had two names: the Union side called it the "Battle of Chantilly" and the Confederates called it the "Battle of Ox Hill".
Background
Confederate General Robert E. Lee had just won the Second Battle of Bull Run on August 29. The Union Army, commanded by John Pope, started retreating north towards Washington, D.C. Lee wanted to destroy Pope's army. He sent Thomas J. Jackson's corps to march around Pope's army in order to capture the road to Washington. If the Confederates captured the road, Pope would have been surrounded and be forced to surrender.
On September 1, Pope found out where Jackson was. He sent Jesse L. Reno with two divisions to attack Jackson. Jackson had stopped on Ox Hill, which was near the Chantilly Plantation. He decided to stop there because he found Pope's army was farther north than he expected.
The battle
The first Union commander to arrive at Ox Hill was Isaac Stevens. He decided to attack Jackson's men about 5 p.m. At the same time, a thunderstorm broke out and made some of the solders's ammunition too wet to fire. Many men had to fight with bayonets. Stevens's division made part of the Confederate army retreat. But the Confederates counterattacked and forced Steven's division retreat. During the attack, Stevens was killed.
After Stevens' s attack failed, Philip Kearny's division arrived. Kearny tried to attack the Confederates but he was killed too. After sunset, the Union soldiers retreated from the battlefield.
Aftermath
The Union army lost about 1,000 casaulties in the battle. The Confederates lost about 500 to 600 casualties. Pope continued retreating to Washington on September 2.
Battle Of Chantilly Media
Map of the Battle of Chantilly (also known as the Battle of Ox Hill) on September 1, 1862, depicting events from 5 to 10 PM.
Ox Hill Battlefield Park, with monuments to Stevens and Kearny
Sources
- Hennessy, John J. Return to Bull Run: The Campaign and Battle of Second Manassas. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1993. ISBN 0-671-79368-3.
- Taylor, Paul. He Hath Loosed the Fateful Lightening: The Battle of Ox Hill (Chantilly) September 1, 1862. Shippensburg, Pennsylvania: White Mane Books, 2003. ISBN 1-57249-329-1.