What was Robert E. Lee’s strategy at the Second Battle of Bull Run?

At the Second Battle of Bull Run, Robert E. Lee’s strategy was defined by a daring decision to divide his numerically inferior army in the face of a superior Union force. His primary objective was to confront Maj. Gen. John Pope and defeat his Army of Virginia before it could be reinforced by the Army of the Potomac.12

To achieve this, Lee ordered Stonewall Jackson to march around Pope’s right flank and descend upon his rear through Thoroughfare Gap, effectively cutting off the Union supply base at Manassas. While Jackson engaged the Federal forces, Lee advanced with the remainder of the army under James Longstreet to reunite with Jackson’s corps.12

Although dividing one's forces against a larger enemy violated standard military convention, Lee calculated that the risk was necessary to prevent the consolidation of Union armies, which would have posed a greater threat to the Confederate capital of Richmond. The maneuver successfully forced the battle, leading to a decisive Confederate victory.132