Battle of Cedar Mountain - Civil War - Northern Virginia Campaign

Battle of Cedar Mountain - Civil War - Northern Virginia Campaign Battle of Cedar Mountain - Conflict Date: The Battle of Cedar Mountain was fought August 9, 1862, during the American Civil War (1861-1865). Armies Commanders Union Major General Nathaniel Banks8,030 men ​Confederates Major General Thomas Stonewall Jackson16,868 men Battle of Cedar Mountain - Background: In late June 1862, Major General John Pope was appointed to command the newly formed Army of Virginia. Consisting of three corps, this formation was tasked with driving into central Virginia and relieving pressure on Major General George B. McClellans beleaguered Army of the Potomac which was engaged with Confederate forces on the Peninsula. Deploying in an arc, Pope placed Major General Franz Sigels I Corps along the Blue Ridge Mountains at Sperryville, while Major General Nathaniel Banks II Corps occupied Little Washington. An advance force from Banks command, led by Brigadier General Samuel W. Crawford, was posted to the soth at Culpeper Court House. In the east, Major General Irvin McDowells III Corps held Falmouth. With the defeat of McClellan and the Union withdrawal to the James River after the Battle of Malvern Hill, Confederate General Robert E. Lee turned his attention to Pope. On July 13, he dispatched Major General Thomas Stonewall Jackson north with 14,000 men. This was followed by an additional 10,000 men led by Major General A.P. Hill two weeks later. Taking the initiative, Pope began driving south towards the key rail junction of Gordonsville on August 6. Assessing the Union movements, Jackson elected to advance with the goal of crushing Banks and then defeating Sigel and McDowell in turn. Pushing towards Culpeper on August 7, Jacksons cavalry swept aside their Union counterparts. Alerted to Jacksons actions, Pope ordered Sigel to reinforce Banks at Culpeper. Battle of Cedar Mountain - Opposing Positions: While waiting for Sigels arrival, Banks received orders to maintain a defensive position on the high ground above Cedar Run, approximately seven miles south of Culpeper. Favorable ground, Banks deployed his men with Brigadier General Christopher Augers division on the left. This was composed of Brigadier Generals Henry Prince and John W. Gearys brigades which were placed on the left and right respectively. While Gearys right flank was anchored on the Culpeper-Orange Turnpike, Brigadier General George S. Greenes under-strength brigade was held in reserve. Crawford formed to the north across the turnpike, while Brigadier General George H. Gordons brigade arrived to anchor the Union right. Pushing across the Rapidan River on the morning of August 9, Jackson advanced with three divisions led by Major General Richard Ewell, Brigadier General Charles S. Winder, and Hill. Around noon, Ewells lead brigade, led by Brigadier General Jubal Early, encountered the Union line. As the remainder of Ewells men arrived, they extended the Confederate line south towards Cedar Mountain. As Winders division came up, his brigades, led by Brigadier General William Taliaferro and Colonel Thomas Garnett, deployed on Earlys left. While Winders artillery rolled into position between the two brigades, Colonel Charles Ronalds Stonewall Brigade was held back as a reserve. The last to arrive, Hills men were also retained as a reserve behind the Confederate left (Map). Battle of Cedar Mountain - Banks on the Attack: As the Confederates deployed, an artillery duel ensued between Banks and Earlys guns. As the firing began taper around 5:00 PM, Winder was mortally wounded by a shell fragment and command of his division passed to Taliaferro. This proved problematic as he was ill-informed as to Jacksons plans for the impending battle and was still in the process forming his men. In addition, Garnetts brigade was separated from the main Confederate line and Ronalds troops had yet to come up in support. As Taliaferro struggled to take control, Banks began an assault on the Confederate lines. Badly beaten by Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley earlier in the year, he was eager to obtain retribution despite being outnumbered. Surging forward, Geary and Prince slammed into the Confederate right prompting Early to return from Cedar Mountain to take personal command of the situation. To the north, Crawford attacked Winders disorganized division. Striking Garnetts brigade in the front and flank, his men shattered the 1st Virginia before rolling up 42nd Virginia. Advancing into the Confederate rear, the increasingly disorganized Union forces were able to push back the lead elements of Ronalds brigade. Arriving on the scene, Jackson attempted to rally his former command by drawing his sword. Finding that it had rusted in the scabbard from lack of use, he instead waved both. Battle of Cedar Mountain - Jackson Strikes Back: Successful in his efforts, Jackson sent the Stonewall Brigade forward. Counterattacking, they were able to drive back Crawfords men. Pursuing the retreating Union soldiers, the Stonewall Brigade became overextended and was forced to retreat as Crawfords men regained some cohesion. Despite this, their efforts permitted Jackson to restore order to the entire Confederate line and bought time for Hills men to arrive. With his full force on hand, Jackson ordered his troops to advance. Pushing forward, Hills division was able to overwhelm Crawford and Gordon. While Augers division mounted a tenacious defense, they were forced to retreat following Crawfords withdrawal and an attack on their left by Brigadier General Isaac Trimbles brigade. Battle of Cedar Mountain - Aftermath: Though Banks attempted to use Greenes men to stabilize his line, the effort failed. In a last gasp attempt to rescue the situation, he directed part of his cavalry to charge the advancing Confederates. This attack was repulsed with heavy losses. With darkness falling, Jackson elected not to conduct a long pursuit of Banks retreating men. The fighting at Cedar Mountain saw Union forces sustain 314 killed, 1,445 wounded, and 594 missing, while Jackson lost 231 killed and 1,107 wounded. Believing that Pope would attack him in force, Jackson remained near Cedar Mountain for two days. Finally learning that the Union general had concentrated at Culpeper, he elected to withdraw back to Gordonsville. Concerned about Jacksons presence, Union general-in-chief Major General Henry Halleck directed Pope to assume a defensive posture in northern Virginia. As a result, Lee was able to take the initiative after containing McClellan. Coming north with the remainder of his army, he inflicted decisive defeat on Pope later that month at the Second Battle of Manassas. Selected Sources Civil War Trust: Battle of Cedar MountainFriends of Cedar Mountain CWSAC Battle Summaries: Battle of Cedar Mountain

How to Find the Gemini Constellation

How to Find the Gemini Constellation The Gemini constellation is one of the most ancient known star patterns. People have been observing it since earliest human history, and it was first charted by the Greek-Egyptian astronomer Claudius Ptolemy as part of his sky mapping activities. The name Gemini is the Latin word meaning twins, and most star-chart makers depict the stars in this constellation as a pair of twin boys.   Finding Gemini Constellation Look for Gemini in the sky near the constellations Orion (which has some fascinating sights of its own) and Taurus. For northern hemisphere viewers, its a winter star pattern and its two brightest stars, Castor and Pollux, are part of an unofficial asterism called the Winter Hexagon. That pattern contains six bright stars from the constellations Gemini, Orion, Canis Major, Canis Minor, and Taurus. Gemini looks like two long strings of stars extending down from Castor and Pollux, which are the heads of the twins. The easiest way to find it is to look for Castor and Pollux east of the vee-shaped Hyades cluster, which makes up the face of Taurus the Bull. The best views of this star pattern are available when it is straight overhead early in the new year. It remains visible until late spring, when it disappears into the sunset glow.   The Winter Hexagon is made up of the brightest stars from the constellations Orion, Gemini, Auriga, Taurus, Canis Major and Canis Minor. Carolyn Collins Petersen The Story of Gemini The mythology of the ancient Greeks and the Babylonians concerned a pair of twins in the sky.  For the Babylonians, these boys were in the realm of the gods, and they called them Meshlamtea and Lugalirra. They were related to a more important god, named Nergal, who presided over the Underworld and was thought to bring about all kinds of misfortune, disease, and other ills. The Greeks and Romans called these stars after the twin sons of Zeus and the maiden Leda. The Chinese saw a bird and a tiger in these stars. The modern constellation of the twins was set by Ptolemy and formalized by later stargazers. The formal area of the sky that contains the twins was set by the International Astronomical Union and contains other stars beyond the main ones, plus nearby deep-sky objects.   The Stars of Constellation Gemini Gemini constellation is dominated by the bright stars Castor and Pollux. These are also known as ÃŽ ± (alpha) Geminorum (Castor) and ÃŽ ² (beta) Geminorum (Pollux). Castor may look like only one star, but in reality, it contains six stars in orbit with each other. It  lies some 52 light-years from Earth. Twin brother Pollux is an orange giant star that lies about 34 light-years away from the Sun. Pollux also has at least one planet in orbit around it.   The official chart showing the stars of the constellation Gemini, provided by the IAU. IAU/Sky Telescope.com   Stargazers who want to explore other stars in Gemini might find ÃŽ µ (epsilon) Geminorum, which is interesting since its a binary star that can be seen through telescopes. One member of the pair is also a Cepheid variable star that brightens and dims with a period of about 10 days.   Deep-Sky Objects in Gemini Constellation Gemini isnt enriched with a lot of deep-sky objects. This is because its situated away from the plane of the Milky Way, where most of the clusters and nebulae exist. However, there are a few things that observers can search out in the constellation. The first is a star cluster called M35.  Its what astronomers call an open cluster. That means that its stars are fairly scattered through space but are still traveling together. There are about 200 stars in M35, and this cluster can be seen with the naked eye from dark-sky sights. Its also a lovely sight through binoculars or a telescope. Look for it near Castors foot.   The open star cluster M35 (lower right) in the constellation Gemini. 2MASS/NASA.   Skygazers up for a challenge can also search out two dim planetary nebulae in Gemini. These are clouds of gas that have formed around dying sun-like stars. The first is the Eskimo Nebula (also known as NGC 2392).  It has been imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope and is about 4,000 light-years from Earth.  Search it out by looking just to the left of Polluxs waist (marked 2392 on the chart). The other object is called the Medusa Nebula, and its a real challenge to see.  Search for it along the border with Canis Minor, below Polluxs knee. The Eskimo Nebula in Gemini, as seen by Hubble Space Telescope. NASA/ESA/STScI   Finally, meteor shower fans spend each December 13-14 observing the Geminid Meteor shower. Its a shower created by a stream of material left behind by the asteroid 3200 Phaethon as it orbits the Sun. The meteors are not actually from Gemini, but they appear to radiate from the constellation. In a good year, observers can spot upwards of 100 or so meteors per hour from this shower.   Gemini in Modern Culture As a starry constellation, Gemini has appeared in both space science and astronomy, as well as science fiction. NASAs Gemini missions were named for this star pattern because they each carried two astronauts to space. The Gemini Observatory has two domes, one in Hawaii and one in Chile, both inspired by the starry twins. Finally, science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein named two of his teenaged characters after the two bright stars Castor and Pollux.