Thoroughfare Gap (Chapman’s Mill )

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Thoroughfare Gap (1862)

War:

American Civil War

Also known as:

Chapman’s Mill

Date(s):

28 Aug 1862

Location:

Fauquier & Prince William Counties, Virginia, US

Outcome:

Confederate victory

Description:

Brig. Gen. James Ricketts, USA
Lt. Gen. James Longstreet , CSA

Each side engaged about a division.

There were only about 100 casualties.

After skirmishing near Chapman’s Mill in Thoroughfare Gap, Brig. Gen. James Ricketts’s Union division was flanked by a Confederate column passing through Hopewell Gap several miles to the north and by troops securing the high ground at Thoroughfare Gap. Ricketts pulled back, and Longstreet’s wing of the army marched through the gap to join Jackson. This seemingly inconsequential action virtually ensured Pope’s defeat during the battles of Aug. 29-30 because it allowed the two wings of Lee’s army to unite on the Manassas battlefield. Ricketts withdrew via Gainesville to Manassas Junction.

Content provided by:
eHistory Staff

Selected sources:
American Battlefield Protection Program, Heritage Preservation Services, National Park Service.

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