The Battle of Bristoe Station was fought on October 14, 1863, at Bristoe Station,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, between Union forces under Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren and

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

forces under Lt. Gen.

A. P. Hill Ambrose Powell Hill Jr. (November 9, 1825April 2, 1865) was a Confederate States Army, Confederate General officer, general who was killed in the American Civil War. He is usually referred to as A. P. Hill to differentiate him from Confederate ge ...

during the Bristoe Campaign of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. The Union II Corps under Warren was able to surprise and repel the Confederate attack by Hill on the Union rearguard, resulting in a Union victory.

Background

The Union army was led by Maj. Gen. George G. Meade, the Confederates by General

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...

. Lee had stolen a march, passing around Cedar Mountain, the site of a battle in 1862. This forced Meade to retreat toward

Centreville Centreville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. It is a suburb of Washington, D.C., the nation's capital. It had a population of 73,518, making it the most-populous community in Fairfax County as of t ...

. By withdrawing, Meade prevented Lee from falling on an exposed flank of the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the primary field army of the Union army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the Battle of ...

. Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren, commanding II Corps in Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock's absence, was following

V Corps 5th Corps, Fifth Corps, or V Corps may refer to: France * 5th Army Corps (France) * V Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * V Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Arm ...

on this retreat. On October 13, II Corps fought an encounter with Maj. Gen.

J. E. B. Stuart James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart (February 6, 1833May 12, 1864) was a Confederate cavalry general during the American Civil War. He was known to his friends as "Jeb,” from the initials of his given names. Stuart was a cavalry commander known f ...

's cavalry near Auburn, Virginia, the

First Battle of Auburn The First Battle of Auburn was fought on October 13, 1863, between Union infantry and Confederate cavalry forces at the start of the Bristoe Campaign during the American Civil War. A Union infantry column stumbled upon a Confederate cavalry re ...

, nicknamed "Coffee Hill" (Confederate shells interrupted Federals who were boiling coffee). Warren had to push Stuart aside and, at the same time, retreat before the advance of the Confederate corps of Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell. On October 14, as Warren moved toward Bristoe Station, Stuart's cavalry harassed the rear guard at the

Second Battle of Auburn The Second Battle of Auburn was fought on October 14, 1863, in Fauquier County, Virginia, Fauquier County, Virginia, between Union Army, Union and Confederate States Army, Confederate forces in the American Civil War. Confederate forces led by L ...

. Lt. Gen.

, leading the Confederate Third Corps, was advancing on Ewell's left. He reached Bristoe Station on October 14. (The town is variously called Bristoe, Bristow, and Bristo in contemporary newspapers.) Hill tried to harass the rearguard of

just across Broad Run, but he missed the presence of II Corps just coming up from Auburn. Seeing Heth's advance, Warren rapidly deployed his forces behind an embankment of the

Orange and Alexandria Railroad The Orange and Alexandria Railroad (O&A) was a railroad in Virginia, United States. Chartered in 1848, it eventually extended from Alexandria, Virginia, Alexandria to Gordonsville, Virginia, Gordonsville, with another section from Charlottesville ...

near Bristoe Station. The result was a powerful ambush as Hill's corps moved to attack the Union rear guard across Broad Run.Jordan, p. 108.

Battle

Maj. Gen.

Henry Heth Henry Heth ( not ) (December 16, 1825 – September 27, 1899) was a senior Officer (armed forces), officer of the Confederate States Army who commanded infantry in the Eastern theater of the American Civil War, Eastern Theater of the American ...

's division moved to attack V Corps, but it was redirected to attack II Corps. Union artillery, including the battery of Capt. R. Bruce Ricketts, opened fire on the Confederates; and infantry fire soon was added. Despite this, Heth's men briefly secured a foothold in the lines of Col. James E. Mallon in the second division under Brig. Gen. Alexander S. Webb. The Confederates were driven back, and five guns of a Confederate battery were captured in a federal counterattack. Col. Mallon was killed in the fighting. The Confederate division of Maj. Gen. Richard H. Anderson attacked the lines of Brig. Gen.

Alexander Hays Alexander Hays (July 8, 1819 – May 5, 1864) was a Union Army general in the American Civil War who was killed at the Battle of the Wilderness in 1864. Early life and career Hays was born in Franklin, Pennsylvania, the son of Samuel Hays, a m ...

's division and was also repelled. Brig. Gen.

Carnot Posey Carnot Posey (August 5, 1818 – November 13, 1863) was a Mississippi planter and lawyer, and a Confederate general in the American Civil War. He was mortally wounded at the Battle of Bristoe Station. He was transported for care to the Universi ...

was mortally wounded in that attack. Two of Heth's brigade commanders,

William Whedbee Kirkland William Whedbee Kirkland (February 13, 1833 – May 12, 1915) was a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He was the only former US Marine to serve as a Confederate general. Early life Kirkland was b ...

and John Rogers Cooke, were badly wounded.

Aftermath

Union casualties were 540, Confederate about 1,380. Warren, seeing Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell's Second Corps coming up on his left, eventually had to withdraw. Lee is said to have cut off Hill's excuses for this defeat by saying, "Well, well, general, bury these poor men and let us say no more about it." The Union forces won the battle, but they had to retreat to

Centreville, Virginia Centreville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. It is a suburb of Washington, D.C., the nation's capital. It had a population of 73,518, making it the most-populous community in Fairfax County as of t ...

, before standing their ground. When they pulled back, starting on October 18, the Confederates destroyed much of the

. Meade had to rebuild the railroad when he reoccupied the area around Bristoe Station. Warren won such reputation as a corps commander that he was given V Corps as a regular assignment after Hancock returned to the Army of the Potomac in 1864.

Battlefield preservation

The

American Battlefield Trust The American Battlefield Trust is a charitable organization (501(c)(3)) whose primary focus is in the preservation of battlefields of the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the American Civil War, through the acquisition of battlefield lan ...

and its partners have acquired and preserved more than of the battlefield through mid-2023. However, the Prince William County Board of Supervisors approved the development of the remaining 1,500 acres on which the Battle of Bristoe Station occurred. Centex Homes allowed the Civil War Trust 90 days to find and exhume all of the remains that they could find before they converted the battlefield into a residential housing development."Trust, developer strike deal to preserve battlefield core." https://fredericksburg.com/civil_war/trust-developer-strike-deal-to-preserve-battlefields-core/article_c1d8e2db-c6cc-5f82-8de2-963603d3ec8d.html Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, March 22, 2002 and updated May 5, 2013. Accessed November 30, 2021.

Notes

References

National Park Service battle descriptionCWSAC Report Update
* Freeman, Douglas S. ''Lee's Lieutenants: A Study in Command''. 3 vols. New York: Scribner, 1946. . *Jordan, David M. ''Happiness Is Not My Companion: The Life of General G. K. Warren''. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2001. . * Walker, Francis A.br>''History of the Second Army Corps in the Army of the Potomac''
New York: C. Scribner's Sons, 1886. . * Warner, Ezra J. ''Generals in Blue: Lives of the Union Commanders''. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1964. .

External links

Battle of Bristoe Station in ''Encyclopedia Virginia''

Prince William County Historic Preservation / Bristoe Station Battlefield
* * * {{authority control Bristoe Station Bristoe Station Bristoe Station Bristoe Station Bristoe Station Bristoe Station 1863 in Virginia October 1863