Lee's Last Move North: The Bristoe Station Campaign of 1863

Lee's Last Move North: The Bristoe Station Campaign of 1863. Bristoe Station. , After the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863, the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia commanded by Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Union Army of the Potomac commanded by Maj. Gen. George G. Meade settled in central Virginia on either side of the Rapidan River. In an effort to influence the war in the western theatre, both armies sent reinforcements to northern Georgia. Lee detached Lt. Gen. James Longstreet with the majority of his corps west while Meade sent the Eleventh and Twelfth Corps in response., By October, Lee believed he had to take advantage of Meade's reduced numbers and planned an offensive campaign that he hoped would duplicate his successful Second Manassas campaign in August 1862. On October 9, 1863, Lee ordered his Army of Northern Virginia across the Rapidan River near Orange, VA in a series of flanking maneuvers to earn a victory over the Union Army. Continuously, Meade was able to maneuver quickly enough to escape Lee's trap. Meade's goal was to reach the protection of Centreville heights before Lee could intercept him. After miles of hard marching and fighting battles at James City, Brandy Station, Jeffersonton and Auburn, the lead elements of Lee's army caught up to Meade here at Bristoe Station. On October 14th the stage was set for Lee's last chance to attack and gain an advantage over the superior Union army before it escaped northward to Centreville. Though unbeknownst to him at the time, this would be Lee's major offensive campaign of the war.