Cedar Mountain
N 38° 24.305 W 078° 04.111
17S E 755979 N 4254831
Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson narrowly escaped defeat when his troops encountered an isolated Union division in the Battle of Cedar Mountain.
Waymark Code: WMF73H
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 09/03/2012
Views: 4
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, sending Gen. Stonewall Jackson ahead with orders, "I want Pope to be suppressed."
Pope had divided his army and left a division under Gen. Nathaniel Banks on the other side of the Rappahannock near Culpeper. Jackson and his Confederate troops advanced towards Culpeper and crossed the Rapidan River when they encountered Banks' isolated position near Cedar Mountain (also known as Slaughter Mountain) on August 9. With artillery stationed at Cedar Mountain, the Confederate infantry and artillery formed a line from Cedar Run to Culpeper Rd. At 5 PM, the Federals launched two attacks against the Confederate line. The overwhelmed Confederate infantry started to pull back, when Jackson rode into the thick of the battle waving his sword rusted tight in its scabbard rallying his troops who counterattacked successfully driving back the Union troops.
With Banks' men in retreat, Jackson left to join Gen. Lee two days later.
There is a walking tour at Cedar Mountain
with interpretive CWPT markers along a trail of approximately ½ mile.
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