Following their defeat at the Battle of Gettysburg, Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia retreated across the Potomac River at Williamsport, Maryland, and withdrew into the Shenandoah Valley.

To this end, on July 23, Meade ordered the III Corps, under Maj. Gen. William H. French, to cut off the retreating Confederate columns at Front Royal, Virginia, by forcing passage through Manassas Gap.

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 and Rapidan rivers, setting the stage for the Bristoe and Mine Run campaigns in the fall.