[1][2][3] In early August, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee determined that Union Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan's army was being withdrawn from the Virginia Peninsula to reinforce Maj. Gen. John Pope.

Stuart's cavalry crossed the Rappahannock at the northern end of Jackson's line and made a daring raid on Pope's headquarters at Catlett Station, thus showing that the Union right flank was vulnerable to a turning movement.

About noon some of the Union artillery units on the north bank moved slightly upriver in order to be able to fire on the bottomland where the Confederate infantry brigades were concealed.

At mid-afternoon additional Confederate artillery units arrived to shell the Union forces, which then set fire to the buildings in the small town and retreated.

[5] On August 25 Jackson's wing rose at 3 am to begin marching further upriver to cross the Rappahannock at Hinson's Mill Ford, flanking Pope on his right.

On the 26th he marched via Thoroughfare Gap to capture Bristoe Station and destroy Federal supplies at Manassas Junction, far in the rear of Pope's army.

A Smithsonian Institution archaeological team uncovered the remains of a Confederate soldier in 1989 while excavating the ruins of St. James Episcopal Church to access the site's eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places.