SECOND BATTLE OF BULL RUN

Image: The Second Battle of Bull Run in Manassas, Virginia, fought August 29th and 30th, 1862.

On August 30, 1862, the Second Battle of Bull Run in Manassas, Virginia, ends with a Confederate victory over Federal forces.

The battle was the culmination of the Northern Virginia Campaign waged by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia against Union Maj. Gen. John Pope’s Army of Virginia, and a battle of much larger scale and numbers than the First Battle of Bull Run (or First Manassas) fought on July 21, 1861, on the same ground.

Following a wide-ranging flanking march, Confederate Maj. Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson captured the Union supply depot at Manassas Junction, threatening Pope’s line of communications with Washington, D.C. Withdrawing a few miles to the northwest, Jackson took up strong concealed defensive positions on Stony Ridge and awaited the arrival of the wing of Lee’s army commanded by Maj. Gen. James Longstreet. On August 28, 1862, Jackson attacked a Union column just east of Gainesville, at Brawner’s Farm, resulting in a stalemate but successfully getting Pope’s attention. On that same day, Longstreet broke through light Union resistance in the Battle of Thoroughfare Gap and approached the battlefield.

Pope became convinced that he had trapped Jackson and concentrated the bulk of his army against him. On August 29, Pope launched a series of assaults against Jackson’s position along an unfinished railroad grade. The attacks were repulsed with heavy casualties on both sides. At noon, Longstreet arrived on the field from Thoroughfare Gap and took position on Jackson’s right flank. On August 30, Pope renewed his attacks, seemingly unaware that Longstreet was on the field. When massed Confederate artillery devastated a Union assault by Maj. Gen. Fitz John Porter’s V Corps, Longstreet’s wing of 25,000 men in five divisions counterattacked in the largest simultaneous mass assault of the war. The Union left flank was crushed and the army was driven back to Bull Run. Only an effective Union rear guard action prevented a replay of the First Manassas defeat. Pope’s retreat to Centreville was nonetheless precipitous.

Success in this battle emboldened Lee to initiate the ensuing Maryland Campaign.

TY COBB DEBUTS

Image: Ty Cobb with the Detroit Tigers in 1913. (Wikimedia Commons.)

On August 30, 1905, Detroit Tigers future Hall of Fame center fielder makes his MLB debut, doubling off Jack Chesbro in a 5-3 win over the New York Highlanders at Bennett Park, Detroit.

Cobb spent 22 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, the last six as the team’s player-manager, and finished his career with the Philadelphia Athletics. He set 90 records during his career, several of which he still holds today.

He is widely considered as one of the greatest players of all time, but his legacy as an athlete has sometimes been overshadowed by his surly temperament, racism, and aggressive playing style.

YAMAMOTO TAKES COMMAND

Image: Admiral Yamamoto, 1940. (Wikimedia Commons.)

On August 30, 1939, is appointed the Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese Navy

Yamamoto held several important posts in the Imperial Navy, and undertook many of its changes and reorganizations, especially its development of naval aviation. He was the commander-in-chief during the early years of the Pacific War and oversaw major engagements including the attack on Pearl Harbor and the Battle of Midway.

Yamamoto was killed in April 1943 after American code breakers identified his flight plans, enabling the United States Army Air Forces to shoot down his plane. His death was a major blow to Japanese military morale during World War II.

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