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The Battle of Haymarket was a minor battle of the American Civil War which was fought on 15 June 1861 near Manassas Junction, Virginia ahead of the First Battle of Bull Run. The Army of the Potomac's I Corps, commanded by Lieutenant-General Gabriel Milliner, succeeded in defending two supply bases from Joseph E. Johnston's Confederate army and inflicting heavy losses on the rebels.

Background[]

Following the Battle of Philippi, Lieutenant-General Gabriel Milliner marched his new I Corps of the Army of the Potomac, which included Stockton's 1st Division (including Adam Loomis and Anthony Early's infantry brigades and Bobby Woods and Lance Henry's artillery batteries) and Jamie Hays' newly-created 2nd Division (including Lonnie Leasure and Dennis Watson's infantry brigades and Justin Carr's cavalry brigade), from West Virginia through northern Virginia and towards Washington DC. Along the way, however, he received a distress call from the Union supply station near the Manassas railroad junction. The region was very supportive of the Confederacy, and the local Union forces began to evacuate the depot, although they needed help with securing their supplies, arms, and ammunition. The Confederate States Army was desperate to get its hands on more weapons, and Joseph E. Johnston was sent to attack the supply depot. The garrison was not enough to stop them, so Milliner's I Corps was sent south to protect the depots, located at Haymarket and Gainesville in Prince William County.

Battle[]

The vanguard of Milliner's army moved quickly to reinforce the two supply depots, and he sent skirmishers to delay the Confederate forces which advanced from the north and the east. Colonel Richards commanded the 663-strong brigade which defended the Haymarket supply depot, while Colonel Daryl Woods' 655-strong brigade held the Gainesville depot to the south.

Confederates attacking Haymarket from the north

The Confederates attacking Haymarket from the north

The skirmisher battalions sent to the north and west clashed with the sizable Confederate brigades which marched onto the battlefield starting at 8:56 AM, and Colonel Jimmy Hamish was wounded while skirmishing with the advancing Confederates. To the southeast, Colonel Adam Loomis' brigade aided the skirmisher battalion in holding back Evans and Bartow's CSA brigades, while Colonel Anthony Early's brigade aided the northern skirmishers in clashing with Ransom and Law's CSA brigades. Even after being joined by Edwin's carbine cavalry, Early's brigade and the skirmishers were gradually pushed back as Daniel's CSA brigade closed in from the skirmishers' rear, pushing the skirmishers towards the Haymarket depot as Early and Edwin's forces withdrew into the woods to the west.

Woods fighting off Whitehead's attack

Daryl Woods fighting off Whitehead's attack

Just then, Dennis Watson and Lonnie Leasure's Union infantry brigades arrived from the west, soon followed by Justin Carr's cavalry and Bobby Woods and Lance Henry's artillery batteries. They arrived too late to save the Haymarket depot, which was overwhelmed by Daniel and Bee's Confederate brigades. As the Union reinforcements formed up in the woods to the west of the depots, Colonel Woods' brigade held off Whitehead's Confederate cavalry attacks on the Gainesville depot, ensuring that the Gainesville depot never left Union hands. At the same time, Loomis' brigade and its attached skirmishers held the Confederate brigades of Evans and Bartow at bay in the southeastern woods, preventing them from reinforcing the main Confederate army. When his men ran low on ammunition, Loomis ordered a bayonet charge which forced Bartow's men to temporarily fall back.

Union counterattack at Haymarket

The Union counterattack at Haymarket

At the same time, the Union forces in the northwest initiated a counterattack against the Haymarket depot, with Leasure's brigade attacking Haymarket from the south, Richards from the west, and Watson and Early from the north. In their path was Ransom's brigade just outside the western walls and Walker and Daniel's brigades inside the depot walls. Ransom's brigade was shot to pieces from multiple sides, and Leasure and Early's brigades recaptured the depot after a bayonet charge. Johnston, who had transformed Haymarket into his forward base, was forced to flee with his bodyguards.

Union brigades routing Walker's brigade

The Union brigades routing Walker's brigade

Walker's brigade proceeded to advance south to launch a diversionary attack on Gainesville, but Woods - who was wounded - led his men in another successful defense of the depot. Daniel and Walker's brigades soon withdrew to the east, but the Union brigades formed up in an arc which enabled them to fire on the Confederates from multiple sides. At the same time, Carr's Union cavalry captured a Confederate supply convoy and chased Whitehead's cavalry from the field. The Confederates withdrew at 1:46 PM, having suffered heavy losses. The Union army had succeeded in holding onto both of the supply depots and capturing some of Johnston's own supplies in the process; Majors Bobby Woods and Adam Lewis were both promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, while Brigadier-General William Brooks formed a fourth brigade (an infantry brigade) within the 2th Division after the battle.

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