Rappahannock Station | Aug 22-25, 1862

Convinced that Gen. George B McClellan’s Union army was being withdrawn from the Peninsula to reinforce the newly organized Federal army under Gen. John Pope, Gen. Robert E. Lee sent Gen. James Longstreet’s wing of the Army of Northern Virginia from Richmond to join Gen. Thomas J. Jackson’s in the vicinity of Gordonsville.   Following his defeat Cedar Mountain, Pope's Yankees withdrew to a new defensive line on the Rappahannock River. A Confederate cavalry raid by Gen. J.E.B. Stuart demonstrated the vulnerability of the Union right flank. Over the course of several days Longstreet's men engaged Pope's men in a few minor actions along the Rappahannock.  Though they only produced a few hundred casualties, these skirmishes held the Federals in place, allowing Jackson to capture Bristoe Station and destroy Union supplies at Manassas Junction.