Cuvier Grover		Maxcey Gregg

courtesy General Officers of the Civil War

While it seemed nothing could stop them, Grover realized his 1500 men could not defeat the entire Jackson Corps, and he needed support quickly. But none came. Pender to Thomas' rear, seeing the dire situation, sent his brigades forward to stop Grover's advance. Unsupported, and their forward momentum now checked, Grover's men put up a strong fight. Regiments now only yards apart, fired volleys into one another. Outnumbered, and their flanks under serious attack by Pender's men on the left, and Gregg's on the right, the 30 minute assault was checked and Grover's men streamed back to the shelter of the trees. They left behind them nearly 1/3 of their force, dead or wounded. Their departure was not a pleasant one. Recrossing the railroad cut they were hit with flanking fire and profane demands for surrender. Lt Henry Blake of the 11th Mass wrote of this battle "The rebel skirmishers were driven in upon their reserve behind the bank of an unfinished railroad. The awful volleys did not impede the storming party that pressed on over the bodies of the dead and dying; while the thousands of bullets which flew through the air seemed to create a breeze that made the leaves upon the trees rustle, and a shower of small boughs and twigs fell upon the ground. The railroad bank was gained, and the column, with cheers, passed over it and advanced over the groups of slain and mangled rebels who had rolled down the declivity when they had lost their strength. The second line was broken; scattered through the woods; and victory appeared to be certain, until the last support, that had rested upon their breasts on the ground, suddenly rose up and delivered a destructive volley, which forced the brigade, that had already lost more than one third of its number in killed and wounded, to retreat.

Compliments "Return to Bull Run" by John J Hennessy
(author's opinion, the best written book on Second Manassas)

Hot on their heels in pursuit was Pender's men. It was now the pursuer being pursued as Pender's North Carolinian's followed Grover's men into the woods. This was a risky move, because the woods were filled with Union regiments. The few that were met though, among them the 4th Maine, seemed to collapse quickly under the pressure of Grover's frightened men running through them, followed closely by the yelling forces of Pender. Some simply got out of the way themselves, and other regiments lined up perpendicular to the railroad cut, which allowed Pender's pursuit to continue. Finally breaking clear of the trees, Pender's men were turned back by the sight of superior Union forces bearing down on them, and Union artillery fire that raked them. Creeping back through the enemy infested woods, Pender's men made their way back to the Confederate line.

It was now late afternoon and many of the Union forces were just arriving on the scene. To the right, Longstreet's Corps had arrived and was positioning itself. Hill's men on the left of Jackson's line, had bore the brunt of the action so far. Gregg's brigade on the farthest left flank was badly beaten up, having lost approximately a third of its men. They had faced, and beaten back two separate large scale attacks, including the last by Grover, which hit them on their right flank. The Georgian's, of Thomas' brigade, were bloodied and shaken from the last surprise assault. Pender's men were exhausted and bruised from their defense from and assault on Grover's men.

Grover had pulled off a spectacular military feat, and with the proper support could have put Jackson's entire force in serious jeopardy. Hand to hand combat was rare during the Civil War, and this was one time the bayonet had proved worth more than the candleholder, it was mostly used for. Thanks to a lack of reinforcements, and the skill of Hill's men, the attack had been repelled. But the day still had much action to see, and Hill's men had little time to rest. Running desperately low on ammunition, some ventured over the railroad bern and searched amongst the Union dead and wounded.

To the right, a strong force smacked into the Confederate line, but skirmish fire was the only trouble Thomas' men endured as they returned to their original position at the rail line, scavenging for ammunition as they went. Pender's men had moved to the right of Thomas' regiment, who had moved to their left to protect the gap, but were soon advised Archer's men would relieve them.

It was now about 5 pm. Pender's men had moved back, and Archer was assembling his men to the right of Thomas' Georgians, when he noticed Federals in strength in his front. For some reason, Archer did not advise his troops, deciding instead to let them complete their formation. This would prove to be a serious mistake, as troops during manuevers were seriously vulnerable to attack. Opposing him, were division forces under Union General Phillip Kearney. Kearney was not about to wait for Archer to get set, and ordered Gen David Bell Birney to shift his 63rd Pennsylvanian's to his left, and called for a charge. Archer, caught off guard, successfully beat off the initial attack, but the issue was in doubt for a time. At about the same time, the 105th Pennsylvania and 3rd Michigan hit the extreme left flank of Gregg's men. Under heavy fire, Gregg's men fell back. As Gregg's left appeared to be crumbling, more forces appeared in front of Thomas' brigade and Gregg's right. In front of Gregg's forces advanced the 40th New York, and against Thomas came Birney's 101st New York and the 4th Maine, with the 20th Indiana behind them as support. The Maine regiment, having recovered from Pender's earlier charge, were looking for some pay back and had attached themselves to the far left of Kearney's forces.

Phillip Kearney		David Birney

courtesy General Officers of the Civil War

The advancing Union forces attacked and volley's from both sides ripped through the air. Gregg's forces, already suffering a severe shortage of manpower, and losing their left flank began to fall back gradually. Many, completely out of ammunition met their attackers with rocks. The Union forces made charge after charge. Thomas' men, now with their left flank exposed, also fell back, but successfully beat off one near breakthrough when the 49th Georgia rushed to their aide. The situation became serious on Gregg's far left flank as the onslaught threatened to break the line completely. A division from Branch's brigade was dispatched to help, but the question became, would they arrive in time. With Gregg's forces crumbling, in some places in a panic, and Thomas' men now slowly being pushed back, Kearney put in new forces against Thomas' right and Archer. Smashing into Archer's position, part of the brigade broke and the Union forces piled through the hole. Fearing that pushing in too far would expose his flanks, the Union regiment leader held his men at the railroad cut, and fired volley after volley into Archer's men. Branch, who had held his brigade in relief all day, now responded to the emergency. More division's were sent to Gregg's assistance, and two regiments were sent to bolster Archer's forces.

But the left continued to barely hold on under the repeated Union charges. Hill, seeing the seriousness of the situation, asked for help from Early. Jubal Early's Virginia troops had started the morning on Jackson's far right, but when Longstreet had moved in next to Jackson's forces, Early's men had been pulled back to act as reserve's. When he received the plea for assistance at about 5:30 pm, he quickly responded. With his seven division's, and picking up two additional on the way, he formed his brigade behind Gregg's, Thomas' and Archer's battle line, who were too busy fighting to notice them. At the command of forward, the nine regiments let out a Rebel yell, that frightened the embattled Confederate forces to their front as much as it worried their Union aggressors. Streaming through the three battered brigades, Early's men charged the Union aggressors. Running low on ammunition, having been in constant battle for nearly an hour, and with their ranks seriously depleted, Kearney's men could not handle this attack and fell back. In some places they moved back slowly and paid a heavy cost. In most though, it was running as fast as one could. Early's men followed the Union troops into the woods, but fell back to the railroad embankment, as darkness was falling and the woods were thick with Union regiments. One Georgia soldier, farther down Jackson's line, would later describe "Such a contest with rocks and butt ends of muskets I have never seen or read of before or since. The maddened men, the flying stones, the clubbed muskets, the shouts, yells, smoke, dust, din, and rattle of that scene passes description."("Two Boys in the Civil War and After" by WR & MB Houghton 1912)

Compliments "Return to Bull Run" by John J Hennessy

Hill's men were devastated. Gregg's brigade, on the far right, was nearly non-existant. His casualties ran 3 to 1 of that of other Hill regiment's. Thomas', Branch's, and Archer's brigade had been hit hard so far. Field's was still in fighting order, and Pender's, having been in reserve during the last battle, was bloodied but in fair shape. But they had given as good as they got. The Union had paid for their last assault dearly. The 101st New York, that had faced Thomas' Georgian's, would suffer nearly 74% casualties. This would go down in the records as the third highest casualty percentile in one Union regiment during a single engagement. One member of this NY regiment, Private John Mahay, wounded in the charge, would suffer for over a year in a hospital. Walt Whitman, one of those that visited him in the hospital, wrote "One scene at his bedside will suffice for the agonies of nearly two years. The bladder had been perforated by a bullet going entirely through him. The water ran out of his eyes from the intense pain, and the muscles of his face were distorted, but he utter'd nothing except a low groan now and then. Poor Mahay, a mere boy in age, but old in misfortune. He never knew the love of parents, was placed in infancy in one of the New York charitable institutions, and subsequently bound out to a tyrannical master in Sullivan county, (the scars of whose cowhide and club remain'd yet on his back.) His wound here was a most disagreeable one, for he was a gentle, cleanly, and affectionate boy."

As dusk began to fall, Hill's men, now completely out of ammunition and running low on rocks, prayed for darkness to come. It finally did, and the fighting was silenced except for occasional firing by frightened skirmisher's, stuck out in the woods to warn of any attack.

Thomas' men got little sleep that night, as Hill rotated his forces, allowing them to visit the rear and restock their ammunition for the next day. Dead and wounded were thick, and men scurried into the darkness to pull moaning wounded to cover. The men of the 35th Georgia were becoming accustomed to the horrible sounds of the night on a battlefield. Wounded men moaned and cried out in pain, some pleding for assistance, while others, delirious from injuries, spoke softly in self conversation, trying to avoid the loneliness and horror of laying wounded amongst so many dead. Some comforted themselves by praying aloud, and others hummed old songs until they could sing no more. Young men wept, knowing their short life would soon be over. If these sounds weren't enough for those alive to endure, the woods crackled as Union troops were re-shuffled. Night attacks were extremely rare during the war, but the possibility kept the Confederate troops on alert late into the night.

The following morning, everything remained quiet except for sporadic fire from forward skirmisher's. It seemed as if their would be no further fighting, and Hill relieved some of his troops of the front line to got o the rear and eat. Amongst these were Archer's brigade on Thomas' right, and Early's left. Suddenly an attack was made on Early's men about 2 PM, and Archer's brigade rushed back to fill the void. This assault was followed by an even stronger assault on Jackson's right. Thomas' men were not involved in this engagement, as it raged to their right. This would be the final major Union assault. In one of quickest flip flop battles in Civil War history, the tide suddenly turned against Pope's Army, when Longstreet's Corps, whom Pope had seemingly forgotten about, decided to take the offensive. In what would follow during the remainder of the day, like a huge door opening, the entire Confederate Army would swing out and send Pope's Army running. Thomas' regiment's, would be one of the final brigades to join this chase, as Hill's position held the hinge to the door swinging out from their right.

For two days, Pope had slammed against the outnumbered Confederates in seemingly uncoordinated and unsupported attacks. On two occasions the previous day, he appeared to have let prime opportunities slip through his hands, when momentary breakthrough's had been made on the left against Hill's men. But the tenacious troops of the Light Division had held strong, and with support, had beaten off these attacks. Now a day later, Pope's Army was fleeing for its life. That night, in heavy rains, Lee's exhausted and victorious Army slept among the dead of what would be known as Second Manassas, or the Second Bull Run.

For further reading on Jackson's flanking movement, official reports of the Second Manassas battle, and Chantilly, visit here.

Thomas Jackson's Report

Manassas National Battlefield

35th Georgia Index