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The First Battle of Bull Run, called the Battle of First Manassas by Confederate forces, was the first major battle of the American Civil War. The battle was fought on July 21, 1861, in Prince William County, Virginia, just north of what is now the city of Manassas and about thirty miles west-southwest of Washington, D.C.
Bull Run was the first full-scale battle of the Civil War. The fierce fight there forced both the North and South to face the sobering reality that the war would be long and bloody. How it ended. Confederate victory.
Apr 17, 2018 · At the Battle of McDowell McLean led the 25th Ohio and 75th Ohio in a daring attack up a steep hill to wrest away the tactical initiative from Jackson.
- Scott C. Patchan
- The Plan to Subjugate Virginia
- Opening Movements
- Mitchell’s and Blackburn’s Ford
- Matthews Hill
- Tyler Spread Artillery Fire Across Evan’s Position
- “The Balls Came as Thick as Hail”
- Not Men Fighting, But Devils
- Henry House Hill
- Jackson’s Stonewall Brigade
- Union Troops Rushed in to Push The Confederates Back
Of the four corridors, it was from Washington toward Richmond that Lt. Gen. Winfield Scott and President Lincoln expected to overrun and subjugate Virginia. This plan’s objectives were to move directly upon the capital of Virginia and of the Confederacy, and also provide protection for Washington against a possible attack by the Confederacy. When G...
On July 15, a Southern spy informed Beauregard that the Union Army was about to march on his position. Beauregard ordered his outposts back to Manassas Junction, informing President Davis. He strongly suggested to Davis that he order the Army of the Shenandoah and General Holmes’ Brigade to reinforce his Army of the Potomac at Manassas. Davis agree...
On the morning of Thursday, July 18, General McDowell massed his army around Centreville, with the exception of a division which he left at Fairfax Court House, and headed south toward Richmond. Beauregard established Bull Run as his line of defense. He distributed his Army of the Potomac along the run, from Union Mills where the Orange and Alexand...
The skirmish at Blackburn’s Ford convinced McDowell that he could not force a crossing of Bull Run. He therefore spent July 19 and 20 reconnoitering the Confederate front. His reconnaissance confirmed that an attack on the Confederate front would not be prudent, but that he could successfully cross the run above the Confederate front. By doing so, ...
To meet this Union attack, Beauregard had only Cocke’s 5th Brigade in position. The Confederate forces were caught badly out of position, spread over a six-mile front with most troops on the right, where Beauregard was convinced that the main Union blow would fall. Guarding the Confederate left at the Stone Bridge was Major Roberdeau Wheat’s Battal...
After getting into position, Wheat aligned his men perpendicular to the stream in a rolling field interspersed with patches of trees. As Wheat’s Catahoula Guerrillas were deploying as skirmishers, Union General Burnside’s Brigade slipped through the forest with bayonets brightly reflecting the morning sun. Sporadic fire broke out along the line as ...
Although Wheat and Evans’ 11 companies were steadily being pushed back, they maintained order and effectively slowed the advance of about 13,000 Yankees. The wounding of Wheat seriously threatened this resistance, however, for without effective leadership, Wheat’s battalion quickly disintegrated, and the men began to drift away in small groups to c...
By late morning, the Federals had clearly gained the upper hand. The leading brigades had shoved aside the badly mauled troops of Bee, Bartow, and Evans, and heavy Union reinforcements led by Sherman, Franklin, and others had advanced across the Turnpike and were heading up Henry House Hill. With the Federal infantry came powerful artillery support...
Jackson’s blazing and defiant look, his bold and prompt determination, and the steady line of brave men that supported him gave new life to General Bee. Galloping back to his disorganized command, he shouted, waving his hand to the left: “Look! There is Jackson, standing like a stonewall. Rally behind the Virginians! Let us determine to die here, a...
Looking from his commanding position northward, Beauregard saw the constant and steady forward movement of Federal reinforcements. Immediately he reorganized his line of battle to receive this assault. The attack soon came, with fresh Union troops sweeping down the slopes from the north, crossing the valley of Young’s Branch, and pressing up the no...
Jul 21, 2016 · The battle began around 5:30 a.m. on July 21, when the first Union artillery shells went screaming across Bull Run. While Tyler distracted the rebel positions near the stone bridge, 10,000...
Union forces endured a loss of 3,000 men killed, wounded, or missing in action while the Confederates suffered 2,000 casualties. The scale of this bloodshed horrified not only the frightened spectators at Bull Run but also the U.S. government in Washington, which was faced with an uncertain military strategy in quelling the "Southern insurrection."
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The first genuinely great battle of the war took place one hundred days after the conflict began. The Civil War started before dawn on April 12, 1861 when Confederate cannon began blasting Fort Sumter, a brick structure sitting atop a manmade island in Charleston Harbor.
