Historical Overview
Having suffered defeat at Gettysburg, withdrawing through Monterey Pass, and evading destruction at Williamsport, General Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia was settled along the banks of the Rapidan River. General Meade, whose army was nearly double the size of Lee’s, sought to commit all his forces in a sudden strike in a decisive action – an operation less complicated than General Hooker’s that spring.
His troops drew rations and prepared to step off on the morning of November 24th, hoping to screen their movements from Lee’s scouts and cavalry in heavy fog. However, torrential rains began, stalling Meade for two days. They finally stepped off, cold and sodden, on Thanksgiving Day. Lee’s scouts and screening cavalry spotted Meade’s columns crossing the Rapidan and Ewell’s Second Corps was set into motion to respond.
On the afternoon of November 27th, the leading division of this force under General Edward “Allegheny” Johnson’s ran into the advance of General William French’s III Corps as they used the same limited network of backroads. The Confederate division of 5,500 men were immediately thrown into combat against a Federal Corps numbering 32,000 men.
A sharp blood-letting would unfold over the next two hours across Payne’s Farm as early nightfall approached. Johnson’s Division ultimately retired across Mine Run to put distance between his force and the overwhelming numbers of French’s Corps. Both sides began to dig in as more of Lee and Meade’s armies arrived to set the stage for a much larger engagement.
By the evening of November 29th, the stage was set for a massive action. Meade’s 81,000 men were poised to assault Lee’s 48,000 at 8:00am the next morning. Lee had wasted no time in reinforcing the heights and it soon became apparent that Lee had once again established a strong defensive position. Just like Fredericksburg nearly a year earlier and Williamsport four months earlier, the odds of successfully assaulting Lee’s position looked grim.
The Event
Join us as we host a large-scale living history, similar to what was experienced at Chancellorsville in 2023 and Kernstown in 2024, commemorating one of the lesser-known campaigns of the American Civil War!
Our goal is to field 100 men on each side as we demonstrate to the public what it was like to serve in the infantries of each army at this stage of the war. This is a chance to interpret the life of a Civil War soldier on original ground in support of its preservation. As with any CWHI event, we will strive to leave the public not only better educated and exposed to history in a tangible way, but also leave the entities responsible for this battlefield better funded for future generations.
Unit portrayals and registration are forthcoming. Stay tuned to our Facebook page for more announcements!
