[
105]
excepting
Warren's corps, which was not then in sight of the
Confederates.
The Third Corps, in the rear of the troops that had passed, was just crossing
Broad Run, and
Hill pushed forward to attack it. At about noon, when he was preparing to charge, he was startled by the apparition of
Warren's corps coming upon his rear.
This had outstripped
Ewell's, whose advance it had encountered in the morning near
Auburn, and was now pushing forward expecting to meet
Sykes's at Bristow Station.
Warren was again in a critical situation.
Hill quickly turned upon him, and almost instantly brought his batteries in full play upon this unexpected foe.
Warren was ,surprised for a moment, but in the space of ten minutes the batteries of
Brown and
Arnold were playing upon
Hill in response, and these, assisted by the infantry divisions of
Hayes and
Webb,
1 soon drove the
Confederates, and captured six of their guns, which were instantly turned upon the fugitives.
A flank attack by
Heth's (formerly
Pettigrew's
2) was repulsed, with a Confederate loss of four hundred and fifty men made prisoners, with two battle-flags.
This was an effectual check upon
Hill's advance, yet
Warren was in great danger, for he found it unsafe to attempt to resume his march, and he stood at bay, skirmishing and maneuvering all the remainder of the afternoon.
Just at sunset
Ewell came up, and the Second Corps was actually confronted by nearly the whole of
Lee's army; but before the latter was ready for an attack,
Warren skillfully withdrew under cover of darkness, and joined the main army in the morning
on the heights of
Centreville.
Warren's loss in the
battle of Bristow Station was about two hundred in killed and wounded.
Among the former was
Colonel James F. Mallon, of the Forty-second New York.
General Posey, of
Hill's corps, was mortally wounded.
At Bristow Station the great race ended.
Lee was beaten.
Meade was strongly posted on the
Heights of Centreville, and was too near the defenses of Washington
3 to allow his competitor to gain his rear; so
Lee, after pushing a thin line to
Bull's Run to mask his designs, effectually destroyed the Orange and Alexandria railway, from
Bristow to the
Rappahannock, and then began a retreat
with his whole army.
Meade followed him the next day, but could not touch him, excepting with his cavalry.
These were almost continually engaged in spirited but not serious skirmishing, excepting in an encounter
on
Broad Run, near Buckland's Mills, between the divisions of
Kilpatrick and
Hampton, the latter under the personal directions of
Stuart.
Kilpatrick was defeated by a stratagem.
Stuart allowed him to flank
Hampton, when the latter fell back, making way for
Fitzhugh Lee to come down from
Auburn, and fall on
Kilpatrick's flank.
This was done.
At the same moment
Stuart pressed his front, and
Kilpatrick was driven back in some confusion, and a loss of over one hundred men made prisoners.
The brunt of this heavy skirmish was borne by
General Custer's brigade.
On the following day,
Lee crossed the
Rappahannock, while
Meade, in consequence of the destruction of the Orange and Alexandria railway, over which his supplies must pass, was unable to follow him further than
Warrenton, for about three weeks.
