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The First Battle of Rappahannock Station, also variously known as the Battle of Waterloo Bridge, White Sulphur Springs, Lee Springs, or Freeman's Ford, took place from August 22-25, 1862 in Culpeper County and Fauquier County, Virginia as part of the Northern Virginia Campaign of the American Civil War.
Early August, Lee determined that McClellans army was being withdrawn from the Peninsula to reinforce John Pope. He sent Longstreet from Richmond to join Jacksons wing of the army near Gordonsville and arrived to take command himself on August 15. August 20-21, Pope withdrew to the line of the Rappahannock River. On August 23, Stuarts cavalry made a daring raid on Popes headquarters at Catlett Station, showing that the Union right flank was vulnerable to a turning movement. Over the next several days, August 22-25, the two armies fought a series of minor actions along the Rappahannock River, including Waterloo Bridge, Lee Springs, Freemans Ford, and Sulphur Springs, resulting in a few hundred casualties. Together, these skirmishes primed Popes army along the river, while Jacksons wing marched via Thoroughfare Gap to capture Bristoe Station and destroy Federal supplies at Manassas Junction, far in the rear of Popes army.
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