The Battle of Second Manassas:
August
28-30, 1862
In August 1862, Union and Confederate armies converged
for a second time on the plains of Manassas. The naive enthusiasm
that preceded the earlier encounter was gone. War was not the holiday
outing or grand adventure envisioned by the young recruits of 1861.
The contending forces, now made up of seasoned veterans, knew well
the realities of war. The Battle of Second Manassas, covering three
days, produced far greater carnage-3,300 killed-and brought the
Confederacy to the height of its power. Still the battle did not
weaken Northern resolve. The war's final outcome was yet unknown,
and it would be left to other battles to decide whether the sacrifice
at Manassas was part of the high price of Southern independence,
or the cost of one country again united under the national standard.
Before
Manassas >>
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