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19 April 2008 - The Curious Claim of John Brawner

Meetings › 19 April 2008 - The Curious Claim of John Brawner

Speaker: Greg Bayne

Late in the afternoon of August 28th 1862, on the eve of 2nd Manassas, six regiments of the Union army were ambushed on the Warrenton turnpike by 2 divisions of Stonewall Jackson’s corps. The next two hours were amongst the bloodiest hours of the war.

This lecture will explore the strategic position in August 1862; Lincoln had just created a new army under Pope with clear instructions to attack. McClellan was retreating from the peninsula. What could Lee do? – He decided to strike north to attack Pope before the Union forces joined together.

The battle took place on the site of John Brawner’s farm. I will highlight the battle in detail and try to explain why Gibbons Black Hat Brigade (later to become the Iron Brigade after South Mountain) held off the more experienced troops of Jackson. This was not a battle of movement and flanking; just two sides in lines firing at each other until darkness came and their ammunition ran out.

The lecture will then fast forward to a courtroom in 1871 where under the rules of the Southern Claims Commission, John Brawner made a claim for damages caused on that day. Was he successful? Was he a good Union man? You will have to wait and see….

Time permitting the lecture will include a vignette of one of the Unions much maligned generals, John Pope.

Greg Bayne has been a member of the ACWRTUK since 2000 and is the editor of our magazine – Crossfire. His civil war interests are wide and varied but include the Iron Brigade and the 54th Virginia Regiment where one of his Virginia relatives served throughout the war.

Greg is a Maths teacher at a secondary school in Deal, Kent. He is married with one daughter. He has relatives living in Clifton Forge Virginia.

Please note the new meeting times for our events at the Civil Service Club are 1.00pm to 4.15 pm.

Take advantage of our new Venue to meet in the bar of the Civil Service Club prior to the event

The venue: (click here for link to location, taken form website - opens in new window)

The Civil Service Club is situated in Great Scotland Yard, near Trafalgar Square, Charing Cross railway station, Charing Cross Underground Station (Northern and Bakerloo lines), Embankment Underground Station (Circle and District, Northern and Bakerloo lines).

The Club is within easy walking distance from Government Offices on Whitehall and a short journey by bus or underground from the Government Offices along Victoria Street, Lambeth Bridge and near to Victoria Station.

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