Also Known As
- Battle of Groveton
Date and Location
- August 28, 1862
- Prince William County, Virginia
Campaign
Principal Union Commanders
- Brigadier General John Gibbon
- Brigadier General Abner Doubleday
- Brigadier General Rufus King
Principal Confederate Commanders
- General Thomas J. Jackson
Union Forces Engaged
- 2nd Brigade and 3rd Brigade (aka Iron Brigade) of the 1st Division, 3rd Corps, Army of Virginia
Confederate Forces Engaged
- Winder’s Brigade (aka Stonewall Brigade) of Jackson’s Division, Left Wing, Army of Northern Virginia
Number of Union Soldiers Engaged
- Roughly 2,800 (killed, wounded, captured/missing)
Number of Confederate Soldiers Engaged
- Roughly 3,000 (killed, wounded, captured/missing)
Estimated Union Casualties
- 1,100
Estimated Confederate Casualties
- 1,100
Result
- Stalemate
Significance
- Although relatively unheralded, the Battle of Brawner’s Farm was one of the bloodiest conflicts of the Civil War.
- Fully one-third of the soldiers engaged during the Battle of Brawner’s Farm were killed or wounded.
- Brigadier General John Gibbon’s brigade (later famously known as the Iron Brigade) suffered nearly 800 casualties at the Battle of Brawner’s Farm.
- The renowned Stonewall Brigade sustained a forty percent casualty rate, losing 340 of 800 men engaged at the Battle of Brawner’s Farm.
- After the fighting at the Battle of Brawner’s Farm, the Federals withdrew to join forces with General John Pope at Manassas Junction in time to take part in the larger clash at the Second Battle of Bull Run the next day.
Timeline of the Northern Virginia Campaign
These are the main battles and events of the Northern Virginia Campaign in order.
- August 9, 1862 — Battle of Cedar Mountain
- August 22-25, 1862 — First Battle of Rappahannock Station
- August 28, 1862 — Battle of Thoroughfare Gap
- August 28, 1862 — Battle of Brawner’s Farm
- August 28–30, 1862 — Second Battle of Bull Run
- September 1, 1862 — Battle of Chantilly