Battles of Manassas • Tour the Battlefield • Monuments • Facts • The Armies
The Confederate Counterattack wayside marker is at Stop 9 of the Manassas Battlefield Driving Tour at the far need of the parking area.
From the wayside marker:
Confederate Counterattack
Generals Robert E. Lee and James Longstreet both concluded the moment had arrived to launch a massive Confederate offensive at Second Manassas. Longstreet’s wing of the army – nearly 30,000 troops – stood primed to sweep forward and sever the Union army’s line of retreat. Their goal, ironically, was Henry Hill – the key terrain of the First Battle of Manassas.
Only three Federal brigades – fewer than 5,000 men – stood in their path. Following the bloody repulse at Deep Cut, other Federal troops had shifted north of the turnpike to restore order. This tactical blunder weakened the Union left, against which the Confederates now struck. John Pope’s blindness to Longstreet’s arrival had led to disaster.
Painting by Don Troiani
Second Battle of Manassas
Day Three
August 30, 1862 4 p.m.
