The following day, as Lee and Hill rode together over the bloody-strewn battlefield, Hill sought to explain the previous day's misfortunes. Lee listened quietly, the sad expression on his face clearly showing his disappointment. "Well, well, General," he said, when the younger officer had finished, "bury these poor men and let us say no more about it." General Lee to General Hill the day after the Battle of Bristoe Station

Description: On October 14, 1863, A.P. Hill’s corps stumbled upon two corps of the retreating Union army at Bristoe Station and attacked without proper reconnaissance. Union soldiers of the II Corps, posted behind the Orange & Alexandria Railroad embankment, mauled two brigades of Henry Heth’s division and captured a battery of artillery. Hill reinforced his line but could make little headway against the determined defenders. After this victory, the Federals continued their withdrawal to Centreville unmolested. Lee’s Bristoe offensive sputtered to a premature halt. After minor skirmishing near Manassas and Centreville, the Confederates retired slowly to Rappahannock River destroying the Orange & Alexandria Railroad as they went. At Bristoe Station, Hill lost standing in the eyes of Lee, who angrily ordered him to bury his dead and say no more about it.

The Battle of Bristoe Station historical marker reflects: In the autumn of 1863, Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, with Lt. Gen. A.P. Hill’s III Corps in the lead, pursued Maj. Gen. George G. Meade's Union army as it withdrew toward Washington. On the afternoon of 14 October, Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren's II Corps, Meade's rear guard, took a strong defensive position along the railroad embankment to meet an impetuous attack by elements of Hill's corps from the northwest. The Confederates were repulsed with heavy casualties (about 1,300 to Warren's 548), including the loss of an unsupported battery of five guns about 500 yards north. Warren stealthily withdrew after dark to resume his march to Centerville. About 43 Union and 137 Confederate dead were buried on the field.

Result(s): Union victory

Source: National Park Service

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