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Return to Bull Run: The Campaign and Battle of Second Manassas
"This comprehensively researched, well-written book represents the definitive account of Robert E. Lee’s triumph over Union leader John Pope in the summer of 1862. . . . Lee’s strategic skills, and the capabilities of his principal subordinates James Longstreet and Stonewall Jackson, brought the Confederates onto the field of Second Manassas at the right places and times against a Union army that knew how to fight, but not yet how to win."– Publishers Weekly
624 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
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December 30, 2011
Hennessy’s Return to Bull Run is an outstanding chronicle of the of the Second Manassas campaign. I was disturbed by Union mismanagement that resulted in the death of so many brave men. As the author Hennessy explains, the first problem is that the Lincoln administration insisted on making the army a refuge for political patrons. In Virginia, the administration gave commands to political favorites that acted independently and were jealous of each other. Pope was an effort to coordinate and unify these union forces in Virginia. They were supposed to be reinforced by the Army of the Potomac which was redeploying after the close of McClellan’s Peninsular Campaign.
Pope turned out to be a poor choice for the job. He was hated by both the enemy and his own men from the lowest drummer boy to the highest general officer. He was a poor strategist, incapable of coordinating an offensive or seeing the big picture. He failed to conduct a proper reconnaissance and did not use his cavalry correctly. Very much like Douglass MacArthur’s push to the Yula River in The Korean War, John Pope insisted that the Army of Northern Virginia was in full retreat and he demanded his army to pursue. He ignored all intelligence to the contrary until it was too late. In fact, when Pope finally realized that the Rebels weren’t in full retreat but in attack mode, he refused to retreat to link up with the bulk of McClellan forces which almost caused the destruction of the Army of Virginia. Meanwhile, McClellan was more worried about retaining command then helping to save the Army. His efforts to help Pope were at best half hearted and at worst criminal. I found McClellan’s actions despicable.
In Contrast, Lee shines in his first full campaign as the Commander of the army of Northern Virginia. The coordinated efforts of the confederates led by Longstreet and Jackson, was too much for the Union. The confederates followed up attacks with reinforcements while the Union committed troops by piecemeal. For Lee, this is the closest he would come to destroying a major portion of the Union armies of the east in one felled swoop.
Try it you'll like it
Pope turned out to be a poor choice for the job. He was hated by both the enemy and his own men from the lowest drummer boy to the highest general officer. He was a poor strategist, incapable of coordinating an offensive or seeing the big picture. He failed to conduct a proper reconnaissance and did not use his cavalry correctly. Very much like Douglass MacArthur’s push to the Yula River in The Korean War, John Pope insisted that the Army of Northern Virginia was in full retreat and he demanded his army to pursue. He ignored all intelligence to the contrary until it was too late. In fact, when Pope finally realized that the Rebels weren’t in full retreat but in attack mode, he refused to retreat to link up with the bulk of McClellan forces which almost caused the destruction of the Army of Virginia. Meanwhile, McClellan was more worried about retaining command then helping to save the Army. His efforts to help Pope were at best half hearted and at worst criminal. I found McClellan’s actions despicable.
In Contrast, Lee shines in his first full campaign as the Commander of the army of Northern Virginia. The coordinated efforts of the confederates led by Longstreet and Jackson, was too much for the Union. The confederates followed up attacks with reinforcements while the Union committed troops by piecemeal. For Lee, this is the closest he would come to destroying a major portion of the Union armies of the east in one felled swoop.
Try it you'll like it
October 4, 2023
Hennessy doesn’t say outright that the Second Battle of Bull Run/Battle of Second Manassas is one of the most overlooked and underappreciated battles of the Civil War, as many who write about a less-studied subject tend to do. But he doesn’t have to, because instead of simply declaring it to be so, he shows us why.
Second Bull Run is where General Lee found his footing as leader of the Army of Northern Virginia. It’s where he, Stonewall Jackson and James Longstreet were firing on all cylinders, complementing each other like participants in a well-choreographed dance. It’s where Lee gained the confidence and the opportunity to bring the fight to the North for the first time. And it’s where Union disarray was arguably at its worst.
Hennessy is at his best when focusing on the above events. He’s at his most thorough, if not his most riveting, when offering extremely detailed descriptions of battle tactics and maneuvers. Some might appreciate reading how "Harman's 12th headed straight for Brodhead's 1st Michigan. Major Meyers's 7th charged toward the right flank of the 4th New York…" I tend to be more interested in both larger-scale strategy and individual experiences in battle, as opposed to detailed regimental movements that are too dryly factual to allow for much compelling storytelling.
Maybe that’s just me; I can’t really fault him for being comprehensive. But what I did appreciate were Hennessy’s efforts to place this battle into the context of the wider war, where what happened before influenced what happened here, and what happened here influenced what happened next. This is where Hennessy’s writing and analysis stood out. Early on, he sets the scene by contrasting Second Bull Run with the first, a year earlier. During the interim, “the war had lost its luster. It had become a brutal affair,” he writes. Unlike during those early, more innocent days of the war, “civilians were no longer spectators bouncing along in frilly surreys packed with picnic lunches, but rather victims of personal loss, pillage or destruction."
The centerpiece of the book, and the battle, is Union General John Pope facing off against Stonewall Jackson. Each aimed to destroy the other before their respective reinforcements arrived. Hennessy examines their actions, as well as their interactions with others in their respective high commands, as Jackson coordinated with Lee and Longstreet "to rid central Virginia of Pope and clear the way for a move north," while Pope, in contrast, failed in his own efforts and in efforts to coordinate with General George McClellan.
Both Pope and McClellan come under a lot of criticism throughout the book. Pope is faulted for playing into Jackson's hands, fighting him "on Jackson's ground and on Jackson's terms." McClellan, having been relieved of overall command after the Peninsula Campaign, dithered in coming to Pope's aid. "He clearly reveled in the thought of Pope's defeat, and in the thought of again taking overall command," Hennessy writes, taking an even harsher tone against McClellan than those who fault him mainly for being hesitant and unaggressive. While he disputes that McClellan actively resisted helping in order to ensure that Pope would fail, Hennessy concludes that he was still "more motivated by self-interest than by the cause he supposedly served."
The ultimate tragedy for the North after Pope’s resounding defeat and banishment to the Western theater, was that President Lincoln found himself with little choice but to restore McClellan to overall command. Hennessy criticizes Pope for his haplessness, but reserves his sharpest criticism for McClellan. “He regained command at the campaign's conclusion simply because he was the only man available," he writes, concluding that McClellan’s plodding failure to swiftly come to Pope's aid "represented one of the sorriest chapters in the history of the war.”
The Confederate commanders, meanwhile, don’t emerge from Hennessy’s book unscathed. While they were victorious here, the subsequent misfortune for the South was that Lee became overconfident after the victory, pushing on to Antietam with a tired and diminished force unable to strike the decisive blow against the North that an ambitious and aggressive Lee had envisioned.
While the battle descriptions seemed overly long and technical to me, and were lacking in the kind of “you are there” drama and tension that more riveting campaign histories provide, it’s Hennessy’s analysis of the generals, their interactions, their strategies and their motivations that makes this a worthwhile read. It thoroughly sets the stage for the Battle of Antietam that followed, as Hennessy successfully makes the case that the Second Battle of Bull Run was not an insignificant event sandwiched between the better-known Peninsula Campaign and Antietam, but an important moment that impacted the trajectory of the war for years to come.
Second Bull Run is where General Lee found his footing as leader of the Army of Northern Virginia. It’s where he, Stonewall Jackson and James Longstreet were firing on all cylinders, complementing each other like participants in a well-choreographed dance. It’s where Lee gained the confidence and the opportunity to bring the fight to the North for the first time. And it’s where Union disarray was arguably at its worst.
Hennessy is at his best when focusing on the above events. He’s at his most thorough, if not his most riveting, when offering extremely detailed descriptions of battle tactics and maneuvers. Some might appreciate reading how "Harman's 12th headed straight for Brodhead's 1st Michigan. Major Meyers's 7th charged toward the right flank of the 4th New York…" I tend to be more interested in both larger-scale strategy and individual experiences in battle, as opposed to detailed regimental movements that are too dryly factual to allow for much compelling storytelling.
Maybe that’s just me; I can’t really fault him for being comprehensive. But what I did appreciate were Hennessy’s efforts to place this battle into the context of the wider war, where what happened before influenced what happened here, and what happened here influenced what happened next. This is where Hennessy’s writing and analysis stood out. Early on, he sets the scene by contrasting Second Bull Run with the first, a year earlier. During the interim, “the war had lost its luster. It had become a brutal affair,” he writes. Unlike during those early, more innocent days of the war, “civilians were no longer spectators bouncing along in frilly surreys packed with picnic lunches, but rather victims of personal loss, pillage or destruction."
The centerpiece of the book, and the battle, is Union General John Pope facing off against Stonewall Jackson. Each aimed to destroy the other before their respective reinforcements arrived. Hennessy examines their actions, as well as their interactions with others in their respective high commands, as Jackson coordinated with Lee and Longstreet "to rid central Virginia of Pope and clear the way for a move north," while Pope, in contrast, failed in his own efforts and in efforts to coordinate with General George McClellan.
Both Pope and McClellan come under a lot of criticism throughout the book. Pope is faulted for playing into Jackson's hands, fighting him "on Jackson's ground and on Jackson's terms." McClellan, having been relieved of overall command after the Peninsula Campaign, dithered in coming to Pope's aid. "He clearly reveled in the thought of Pope's defeat, and in the thought of again taking overall command," Hennessy writes, taking an even harsher tone against McClellan than those who fault him mainly for being hesitant and unaggressive. While he disputes that McClellan actively resisted helping in order to ensure that Pope would fail, Hennessy concludes that he was still "more motivated by self-interest than by the cause he supposedly served."
The ultimate tragedy for the North after Pope’s resounding defeat and banishment to the Western theater, was that President Lincoln found himself with little choice but to restore McClellan to overall command. Hennessy criticizes Pope for his haplessness, but reserves his sharpest criticism for McClellan. “He regained command at the campaign's conclusion simply because he was the only man available," he writes, concluding that McClellan’s plodding failure to swiftly come to Pope's aid "represented one of the sorriest chapters in the history of the war.”
The Confederate commanders, meanwhile, don’t emerge from Hennessy’s book unscathed. While they were victorious here, the subsequent misfortune for the South was that Lee became overconfident after the victory, pushing on to Antietam with a tired and diminished force unable to strike the decisive blow against the North that an ambitious and aggressive Lee had envisioned.
While the battle descriptions seemed overly long and technical to me, and were lacking in the kind of “you are there” drama and tension that more riveting campaign histories provide, it’s Hennessy’s analysis of the generals, their interactions, their strategies and their motivations that makes this a worthwhile read. It thoroughly sets the stage for the Battle of Antietam that followed, as Hennessy successfully makes the case that the Second Battle of Bull Run was not an insignificant event sandwiched between the better-known Peninsula Campaign and Antietam, but an important moment that impacted the trajectory of the war for years to come.
September 25, 2025
John Hennessy's Return to Bull Run recommended to me by the park rangers at the Manassas battlefield park, and after finishing the book, I have to say that I think it has some of the best battle descriptions of any military history book I have read thus far. The campaign is described in a straightforward manner that quickly places the campaign into the context of previous events from the war. Hennessy distinguishes the most important commanders of the campaign and does a good job of objectively analyzing their successes and failures. Battle maps for the campaign are also really well done and allowed me to more easily picture the campaign and battle geographically. Hennessy ultimately ties the campaign together by showing how Lee engineered a strategically genius campaign and coordinated mostly sound tactics with his generals while Pope mired himself in Union politics, prejudice against his subordinates, and his own glory-seeking arrogance.
January 16, 2016
This is a top shelf account of the battle, well written and argued. My quibbles are minor. Hennessy is not hard enough on Halleck. He repeats the lie that rifled muskets made Napoleonic tactics obsolete, right before discussing Grover's attack which was successful because he used such tactics. There is nothing on why Pope never again held a major command. Plenty of generals who fared as badly would hold future commands so why no more Pope? If I recall it was because he started to blame Lincoln and Stanton for his troubles.
None of this warrants taking off a star. The reason I did is the battles of Cedar Mountain and Chantilly are discussed in only one page. Makes the idea of this as a campaign history seem a little silly.
Still, if you want to know about the maneuvers before and after the battle and most of all the course of the actual battle, there is no better book. I highly recommend it.
None of this warrants taking off a star. The reason I did is the battles of Cedar Mountain and Chantilly are discussed in only one page. Makes the idea of this as a campaign history seem a little silly.
Still, if you want to know about the maneuvers before and after the battle and most of all the course of the actual battle, there is no better book. I highly recommend it.
August 24, 2012
If you want a well-written and detailed account of the campaign and battle of Second Manassas look no further.
June 20, 2022
Hands down the best book on the Second Manassas Campaign and an example of what a great Civil War book should be. Well-written, well-argued, and it has stood the test of time. Highly recommended.
February 24, 2019
I enjoyed this book and thought it approached the subject matter well. What was lacking were the details. I wanted more maps and more information on organization level.
July 9, 2020
Second Bull Run ranks as one of the lesser-known battles of the Civil War, lost in the cavity between the much-ballyhooed Peninsula Campaign and the historically bloody carnage of Antietam. Hennessy's "Return to Bull Run" paints the full picture of this "lost" battle, down to the tactical movements of the Confederates and Union throughout July and August of 1862. The book is very much a minute military history: the movements of companies and regiments are painstakingly traced and the viewpoint shifts from commander down to captain. However, Hennessy is able to pull back from the microscopic details to the big picture of the battle, demonstrating the movements of Jackson, Longstreet and Lee with enough narrative (and accessible) detail to make the reader into an armchair military expert on the battle at the book's conclusion.
More important than the battle's movements, though, are its characters. John Pope, a braggadocious general emerging from the Western Theatre with a sparkling, though thin, resume, fills the plot as the tragic hero. Assuming command of the Army of Virginia, and pulling together remnants of McClellan's Army of the Potomac, Pope makes about every blunder a military chief can make: hyper-confidence; strategic tunnel vision; an unwillingness to listen to intelligence or subordinates; and a shattered sense of confidence as the enemy closes in. Hennessy makes it clear that the Union army was chock-full of less-than-mediocre talents during Second Bull Run; Pope, though, is the party primarily to blame for the defeat.
On the other side, Hennessy makes a convincing case that Second Bull Run is Lee's most magnificent campaign. Lee shows the audacity that will define his career in the Civil War: sending Jackson on a flanking movement, and thereby splitting up his army (contrary to military maxims of the day); positioning Longstreet in a perpendicular line that came very close to swinging the metaphorical door shut on Pope's army; and sticking to a plan patiently and thoughtfully, not allowing the enemy to disrupt his objectives.
Second Bull Run is many things: a missed opportunity for the Union; further glory gained by the Confederates. Its essence, though, is a tragic failure, brought on by Union generals more concerned about appearing great than acting great.
A few minor criticisms of the book: (i) Hennessy mostly neglects the political aspects of the campaign, with few mentions of Lincoln and Davis, and (ii) the maps (at least on the Kindle version of the book) are far too small to view and, more importantly, not plentiful. Books on Antietam and Gettysburg may not have to rely on maps, as those battlefields are more well-known to readers; however, Second Bull Run, with its long marches and flanking movements, is a book calling for frequent maps and illustrations.
More important than the battle's movements, though, are its characters. John Pope, a braggadocious general emerging from the Western Theatre with a sparkling, though thin, resume, fills the plot as the tragic hero. Assuming command of the Army of Virginia, and pulling together remnants of McClellan's Army of the Potomac, Pope makes about every blunder a military chief can make: hyper-confidence; strategic tunnel vision; an unwillingness to listen to intelligence or subordinates; and a shattered sense of confidence as the enemy closes in. Hennessy makes it clear that the Union army was chock-full of less-than-mediocre talents during Second Bull Run; Pope, though, is the party primarily to blame for the defeat.
On the other side, Hennessy makes a convincing case that Second Bull Run is Lee's most magnificent campaign. Lee shows the audacity that will define his career in the Civil War: sending Jackson on a flanking movement, and thereby splitting up his army (contrary to military maxims of the day); positioning Longstreet in a perpendicular line that came very close to swinging the metaphorical door shut on Pope's army; and sticking to a plan patiently and thoughtfully, not allowing the enemy to disrupt his objectives.
Second Bull Run is many things: a missed opportunity for the Union; further glory gained by the Confederates. Its essence, though, is a tragic failure, brought on by Union generals more concerned about appearing great than acting great.
A few minor criticisms of the book: (i) Hennessy mostly neglects the political aspects of the campaign, with few mentions of Lincoln and Davis, and (ii) the maps (at least on the Kindle version of the book) are far too small to view and, more importantly, not plentiful. Books on Antietam and Gettysburg may not have to rely on maps, as those battlefields are more well-known to readers; however, Second Bull Run, with its long marches and flanking movements, is a book calling for frequent maps and illustrations.
February 3, 2023
I almost taught a Civil War and Reconstruction elective at my previous school. I shared with a colleague some of my lessons, which included Second Bull Run aka Manassas. My colleague asked me why I would waste my time on this battle? If he had read this book, he would not have asked me this question. The problem with this campaign it is overlooked by the Peninsula Campaign and Antietam. This was a brutal battle and John Hennessy, a former park ranger at Manassas, excels at describing this battle. John Pope was extremely arrogant and really shot himself in the foot because of it. This is the only battle where Robert E. Lee almost destroyed a Union army because Pope did not listen to his subordinates and thought he had Stonewall Jackson trapped whereas Jackson was just buying time for the rest of the Army of Northern Virginia to arrive to destroy the Yankees. My two favorite books of the book were reading about the fighting at Brawner's Farm where the Iron Brigade and the Stonewall Brigade fought each other in an intense evening battle. Grover's surprise attack was also very well written and exciting. If Pope had supported Grover's attack on Jackson at the railroad cut maybe it would have been a Union victory instead of the North being 0 for 2 at Manassas. I found the movements of the troops to be the weakest part of the book because it just did not grab my attention. Overall, a very impressive work on a campaign that is overlooked.
January 15, 2018
Excellent account of the events leading to Second Manassas and the subsequent maneuvering on the battlefield. Very well-researched with accompanying maps that help the reader better understand the varied and sometimes independent actions of small units on both sides. Having walked this battlefield a few years ago provided some insight into portions of the event, but the book also made me realize how much I missed, and I look forward to another visit armed with this additional knowledge.
June 10, 2023
A done military history that puts Second Manassas in the context of the second year of the war. In the wake of the failed peninsular campaign a disgraced McClellen is replaced by John Pope who promised much but delivers little. The reasons for this are outline in great detail with an eye for tactics , maneuvers, and timing. This is THE book on Second Manassas as the author is a park historian who served at Manassas Batkefed and thought long and deeply about the campaign, reading hundreds of accounts, and developing his own insights.
The battle is critical for establishing Robert E. Lee, who had looked promising during the defense of Richmond, but on the aftermath of Manassas2 seemed a genius. The battle also set the scene for Antietam which was to be all so important for Union pride and the Emancipation Proclamation.
The battle is critical for establishing Robert E. Lee, who had looked promising during the defense of Richmond, but on the aftermath of Manassas2 seemed a genius. The battle also set the scene for Antietam which was to be all so important for Union pride and the Emancipation Proclamation.
March 11, 2021
This is a well-written, engaging, heavily-sourced book that covers the events around Second Manassas as a page-turning narrative. Individual soldiers are shown in times of victory and defeat. Hennessy treats the subjects honestly, with a frank assessment of how the major generals' strengths and weaknesses were revealed in the battle.
May 28, 2025
This is one of the best accounts of Civil War battles that I have read. Comprehensive, insightful, readable. Unlike many battle accounts, this one has sufficient maps to follow the action (one critical and incomprehensible exception is the lack of map showing the Union retreat). I knew nothing about this campaign/battle, but now I have a good appreciation and understanding of it.
April 26, 2023
solid book
Hennessy crafts a good review of the campaign. He’s interesting and easy to read. He gives good detail without getting bogged down. Good book for anyone wanting an overview of one of several chances that Lee missed to do real damage to the Union war effort.
Hennessy crafts a good review of the campaign. He’s interesting and easy to read. He gives good detail without getting bogged down. Good book for anyone wanting an overview of one of several chances that Lee missed to do real damage to the Union war effort.
August 9, 2020
Very thorough. Provided a dense summary of the events and maneuvers leading up to the battle itself, then a detailed look at the three days of the battle itself. Maps are important to me in a book like this and I had a hard time using the ones that were included. They weren't placed in the most logical locations, reflective of what the text was discussing. I also would have appreciated more large scale maps illustrating movements of specific regiments and brigades, as these were discussed heavily. All in all, I had a harder time then expected following this one.
July 23, 2011
An excellent book on an important campaign and major battle that has received less attention than it probably should. The entire campaign is covered, from Pope assuming command and Lee moving north until Pope retreats into the Washington fortifications. It covers the battle in great detail on both sides with a number of good maps. It deals with the battles controversies, most notably the inaction of Fitz-John Porter and Longstreet. Porter's case (and non-guilt) are fairly well known, but Hennessy will surprise those (including myself) who had long heard of Longstreet being too slow to attack.
Overall, it perfectly fills the gap between Stephen Sears' books: To the Gates of Richmond: The Peninsula Campaign and Landscape Turned Red: The Battle of Antietam.
Overall, it perfectly fills the gap between Stephen Sears' books: To the Gates of Richmond: The Peninsula Campaign and Landscape Turned Red: The Battle of Antietam.
January 10, 2012
This book on the Second Manassas Campaign by John Hennessy deserves every acclamation it has received. The authoritative study of the 2nd Battle of Bull Run, he covers every major action of the campaign and for those things with little baring, he gives you enough information through footnotes to help continue on your own research. This is one of the best flowing and well written Civil War campaign books I've ever read and is a must for any student of the Civil War, let alone Second Mannasas. I highly recommend this book and when it comes singularly to that campaign, you really have no other choice that compares.
September 7, 2012
This is considered the definitive history of Second Manassas, and I agree. It is straightforward military history at its best, with not a hint of social concerns. It drags ever so slightly in spots, and is quite lengthy at 472 pages, but if you want to have any understanding of this often overlooked campaign, you MUST read this book.
March 28, 2016
Well written with nice assortment of descriptive maps. Excellent visualation in narration. Description of Federal Strategy is muted in its criticism. Stonewall Jackson also gets off easy for his non participation at crucial stage of battle. Focus is on Battle with minimal comments on context within larger national picture.
February 17, 2011
A very comprehensive look at the campaign of 2d Manassas from both sides. It's a big book, but once you get into it, it flows fast. The author did a really good job in analyzing the campaign, and gives a decent overview of the operational level of war.
March 22, 2008
The second battle of Mannassas is far bloodier than the first. Jackson and Lee triumphant in a battle that will set the stage for the first invasion of the North. Well told story.
March 21, 2015
Probably the best, most engaging single-volume work on a Civil War battle I've yet read. Highly recommended, especially if you have an interest in the more tactical elements of the war.
April 3, 2011
Second Manassas (Bull Run) was far bloodier and, in my opinion, more interesting than the first go-round, and Hennessy does an excellent job here.
August 3, 2012
This is the gold standard on analysis of this important campaign.
September 8, 2012
One of the best Civil War books I've read. Reads like a novel yet is based on extensive research and is a very detailed recounting of 2nd Manassas.
December 11, 2012
Thorough. Very thorough.
November 18, 2014
This is an in depth history and analysis of the Second Battle of Bull Run during the American Civil War. Numerous units from both sides are mentioned along with their involvements.
September 7, 2016
Concise. well written and engrossing drama that is Lee's famous 2nd Manassas campaign.
July 6, 2021
Really good accounting of this battle
December 27, 2021
The book on the Second Bull Run Campaign. Extremely well researched and written. It has stood the test of time.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews