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　　The American Civil War started in the spring of 1861.By the summer of 1862, Union forces had not yetwon a major battle against the Confederate South inthe state of Virginia.

　　So President Abraham Lincoln and his chief generalcreated a new northern force called the Army ofVirginia. They wanted to join the Army of Virginiawith the Army of the Potomac and seize the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia.

　　But Southern generals were determined to prevent that from happening.

　　Robert E. Lee, a Confederate commander, sent General Stonewall Jackson to block the Armyof Virginia in central Virginia.

　　Jackson and his men marched more than 80 kilometers in two days. They seized a hugenorthern supply center at the town of Manassas. Then they moved a few kilometers away to along, low hill northwest of the Bull Run battleground. Confederate forces had defeated anorthern army at Bull Run just a year before.

　　Jackson hid his troops in woods and waited for General Lee to arrive with more southerntroops.

　　But before Lee could get there, thousands of Union troops from the Army of Virginia marcheddown the road below Jackson. Jackson decided to attack.

　　The fighting was furious. Neither side broke. At the end of the day, Jackson's men moved backto their positions on higher ground.

　　From his headquarters on the hill, Jackson watched the northern forces prepare to battle again.The Army of Virginia was large. But it was poorly organized. The men had been deployed in ahurry. The order to attack was given before all the troops were ready, and Jackson's men wereable to fight them off.

　　But then, more and more northern soldiers joined the fight. The two sides struggled for hoursin the hot summer sun. Jackson's men almost broke. Men prayed for the long day to end. Thesun seemed to stand still.

　　Finally, the battlefield again became dark. The leader of the Army of Virginia, General John Pope,knew that Jackson's army had taken a terrible beating. He was sure that Jackson would try towithdraw the next day, to retreat to the west.

　　So that night Pope divided his forces. He left thousands in front of Jackson's lines. He movedthe others to block Jackson's retreat.

　　Pope made a terrible mistake. Jackson was not planning to go anywhere. He was waiting withLee to smash the northern army. And that is what happened the next day.

　　The Battle of Second Manassas created bitter anger among the people of the north -- angeragainst their military leaders. People felt that a year of fighting had been wasted, thatthousands had died for no real purpose.

　　As the facts of the battle became known, cries of anger became even louder. Why did the Armyof the Potomac move so slowly to join the Army of Virginia? Why did Pope let Jackson getbehind him? Why were 14,000 Union soldiers lost in battle?

　　While northerners protested, and Lincoln's government debated about how to react, the Unionarmy began to rebuild. General Robert E. Lee, however, would not wait. He decided to carry thewar to the North.