The Battle of Manassas Gap, also known as the Battle of Wapping Heights, took place on July 23, 1863, in Warren County, Virginia

Warren County, Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 31,584 people, 12,087 households, and 8,521 families residing in the county. The population density was 148 people per square mile . There were 13,299 housing units at an average density of 62 per square mile...

, at the conclusion of General Robert E. Lee

Robert E. Lee

Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....

's retreat back to Virginia

Retreat from Gettysburg

The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia began its Retreat from Gettysburg on July 4, 1863. Following General Robert E. Lee's failure to defeat the Union Army at the Battle of Gettysburg , he ordered a retreat through Maryland and over the Potomac River to relative safety in Virginia. The Union...

 in the final days of the Gettysburg Campaign

Gettysburg Campaign

The Gettysburg Campaign was a series of battles fought in June and July 1863, during the American Civil War. After his victory in the Battle of Chancellorsville, Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia moved north for offensive operations in Maryland and Pennsylvania. The...

 of the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. Union

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 forces attempted to force passage across the Blue Ridge Mountains

Blue Ridge Mountains

The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. This province consists of northern and southern physiographic regions, which divide near the Roanoke River gap. The mountain range is located in the eastern United States, starting at its southern-most...

 and attack the Confederate

Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...

 rear as it formed a defensive position in the upper Shenandoah Valley

Shenandoah Valley

The Shenandoah Valley is both a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians , to the north by the Potomac River...

. Despite successfully forcing the passage at Manassas Gap

Manassas Gap

Manassas Gap is a wind gap of the Blue Ridge Mountains on the border of Fauquier County and Warren County in Virginia. At an elevation of 887 feet above sea level, it is the lowest crossing of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the state....

, the Union force was unable to do so before Lee retreated further up the valley to safety, resulting in an inconclusive battle.

Background

Following the defeat of the Confederates at the Battle of Gettysburg

Battle of Gettysburg

The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...

, Lee's Army of Northern Virginia

Army of Northern Virginia

The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, as well as the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed against the Union Army of the Potomac...

 retreated across the Potomac River

Potomac River

The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...

 at Williamsport, Maryland

Williamsport, Maryland

Williamsport is a town in Washington County, Maryland, United States. The population was 1,868 at the 2000 census and 2,278 as of July 2008.-Geography: Williamsport is located at ....

, and withdrew into the Shenandoah Valley

Shenandoah Valley

The Shenandoah Valley is both a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians , to the north by the Potomac River...

. Maj. Gen.

Major general (United States)

In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...

 George G. Meade's Army of the Potomac

Army of the Potomac

The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...

, in pursuit of the Lee's broken army, decided to try to flank the Confederate army by crossing the river east of the Blue Ridge Mountains

Blue Ridge Mountains

The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. This province consists of northern and southern physiographic regions, which divide near the Roanoke River gap. The mountain range is located in the eastern United States, starting at its southern-most...

 at Harpers Ferry and Berlin, Maryland

Brunswick, Maryland

Brunswick is a city in Frederick County, Maryland, United States. The population was 5,870 at the 2010 census.- History :The area now known as Brunswick was originally home to the Susquehanna Indians. In 1728 the first settlement was built, and the region became known as Eel Town, because the...

, into the Loudoun Valley

Loudoun Valley

The Loudoun Valley is a small, but historically significant valley in the Blue Ridge Mountains located in Loudoun County in northwestern Virginia in the United States.-Geography:...

 and then forcing a passage across the Blue Ridge in Lee's rear. To this end, on July 23, Meade ordered the III Corps, under Maj. Gen. William H. French

William H. French

William Henry French was a career United States Army officer and a Union Army General in the American Civil War. He rose to temporarily command a corps within the Army of the Potomac, but was relieved of active field duty following poor performance during the Mine Run Campaign in late 1863.-Early...

, to cut off the retreating Confederate columns at Front Royal, Virginia

Front Royal, Virginia

Front Royal is a town in Warren County, Virginia, United States. The population was 13,589 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Warren County.-Geography:Front Royal is roughly west of Washington, D.C....

, by forcing passage through Manassas Gap

Manassas Gap

Manassas Gap is a wind gap of the Blue Ridge Mountains on the border of Fauquier County and Warren County in Virginia. At an elevation of 887 feet above sea level, it is the lowest crossing of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the state....

.

Battle

At dawn, French began his attack on Brig. Gen. James A. Walker

James A. Walker

James Alexander Walker was a Virginia lawyer, politician, and Confederate general during the American Civil War, later serving as a United States Congressman for two terms...

's Confederate brigade (the Stonewall Brigade

Stonewall Brigade

The Stonewall Brigade of the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, was a famous combat unit in United States military history. It was trained and first led by General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, a professor from Virginia Military Institute...

, part of Maj. Gen. Richard H. Anderson

Richard H. Anderson

Richard Heron Anderson was a career U.S. Army officer, fighting with distinction in the Mexican-American War. He also served as a Confederate general during the American Civil War, fighting in the Eastern Theater of the conflict and most notably during the 1864 Battle of Spotsylvania Court House...

's division) defending the pass. The fight was slow at first, with the superior Union force using its numbers to push Walker from his defensive position back through the gap. In the late afternoon, around 4:30 p.m., French made a concerted assault on Walker's division, driving them from the gap. The Confederates were quickly reinforced by Maj. Gen. Robert E. Rodes

Robert E. Rodes

Robert Emmett Rodes was a railroad civil engineer and a promising young Confederate general in the American Civil War, killed in battle in the Shenandoah Valley.-Education, antebellum career:...

's division and artillery, stalling the Union advance. By dusk, the Union attack became uncoordinated and was abandoned. During the night, Confederate forces withdrew into the Luray Valley

Page Valley

The Page Valley is a small valley geographically and culturally associated with the Shenandoah Valley. The valley is located between the Massanutten and Blue Ridge mountain ranges in western Virginia.-Geography:The valley is approximately long...

. On July 24, the Union army occupied Front Royal, but Lee's army was safely beyond pursuit.

Aftermath

The small fight was inconclusive. The Union army was able to successfully gain passage through the gap in the Blue Ridge and occupy Front Royal, but not before Lee was able to withdraw further up the valley to safety. By failing to cut off the Confederate retreat and bring Lee into battle, the Army of Northern Virginia was allowed to reorganize and regroup. By the end of the summer both armies had taken their familiar positions opposite the Rappahannock

Rappahannock River

The Rappahannock River is a river in eastern Virginia, in the United States, approximately in length. It traverses the entire northern part of the state, from the Blue Ridge Mountains in the west, across the Piedmont, to the Chesapeake Bay, south of the Potomac River.An important river in American...

 and Rapidan

Rapidan River

The Rapidan River, flowing through north-central Virginia in the United States, is the largest tributary of the Rappahannock River. The two rivers converge just west of the city of Fredericksburg...

 rivers, setting the stage for the Bristoe

Bristoe Campaign

The Bristoe Campaign was a series of minor battles fought in Virginia during October and November 1863, in the American Civil War. Maj. Gen. George G. Meade, commanding the Union Army of the Potomac, began to maneuver in an unsuccessful attempt to defeat Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern...

 and Mine Run campaigns in the fall.