First Bull Run
On July 16, 1861 (150 years ago today)on the order of President Abraham Lincoln, Union troops began a 25 mile march into Virginia for what would become The First Battle of Bull Run, the first major land battle of the war.
Brigadier General Irvin McDowell was appointed by Lincoln to command what was then known as the Army of Northeastern Virginia. McDowell was harassed by impatient politicians and citizens in Washington who wanted to see a quick Union victory over the Confederate Army in northern Virginia. McDowell however was concerned that his army wasn't ready for battle yet. (It would turn out that he was right about this). Lincoln told him "You are green, it is true, but they are green also; you are all green alike.
Against his better judgment, McDowell commenced the campaign. On July 16, 1861, McDowell left Washington with the largest field army yet gathered on the North American continent, about 35,000 men. McDowell's plan was to move westward in three columns, make a diversionary attack on the Confederate line at Bull Run with two columns, while the third column moved around the Confederates' right flank to the south, cutting the railroad to Richmond and threatening the rear of the rebel army. He assumed that the Confederates would be forced to abandon Manassas Junction and fall back to the Rappahannock River, the next defensible line in Virginia, which would relieve some of the pressure on the U.S. capital.
The Confederate Army of the Potomac about 22,000 under General Pierre G. T. Beauregard was camped near Manassas Junction, approximately 25 miles (40 km) from Washungtom. McDowell planned to attack this numerically inferior enemy army. Union Maj. Gen. Robert Patterson's 18,000 men engaged Johnston's force (the Army of the Shenandoah at around 9,000 men, supported by Major General Theophilus H. Holmes's brigade of 1,500 men in the Shenandoah Valley, preventing them from reinforcing Beauregard.
The two sides met in Battle on July 21st. Confederate reinforcements under the command of Brigadier General Joseph E. Johnston arrived from the Shenandoah Valley by railroad and the course of the battle changed. A brigade of Virginians under a relatively unknown Colonel Thomas J. Jackson, stood their ground and Jackson received his famous nickname, "Stonewall Jackson". The Confederates launched a strong counterattack and as the Union troops began withdrawing under pressure, many panicked and it turned into a rout as they frantically ran in the direction of nearby Washington, D.C.
Both sides were sobered by the violence and casualties of the battle, and they realized that the war was going to be much longer and bloodier than they had originally anticipated.
The City of Manassas will commemorate the 150th anniversary of the battle July 21–24, 2011.
Brigadier General Irvin McDowell was appointed by Lincoln to command what was then known as the Army of Northeastern Virginia. McDowell was harassed by impatient politicians and citizens in Washington who wanted to see a quick Union victory over the Confederate Army in northern Virginia. McDowell however was concerned that his army wasn't ready for battle yet. (It would turn out that he was right about this). Lincoln told him "You are green, it is true, but they are green also; you are all green alike.
Against his better judgment, McDowell commenced the campaign. On July 16, 1861, McDowell left Washington with the largest field army yet gathered on the North American continent, about 35,000 men. McDowell's plan was to move westward in three columns, make a diversionary attack on the Confederate line at Bull Run with two columns, while the third column moved around the Confederates' right flank to the south, cutting the railroad to Richmond and threatening the rear of the rebel army. He assumed that the Confederates would be forced to abandon Manassas Junction and fall back to the Rappahannock River, the next defensible line in Virginia, which would relieve some of the pressure on the U.S. capital.
The Confederate Army of the Potomac about 22,000 under General Pierre G. T. Beauregard was camped near Manassas Junction, approximately 25 miles (40 km) from Washungtom. McDowell planned to attack this numerically inferior enemy army. Union Maj. Gen. Robert Patterson's 18,000 men engaged Johnston's force (the Army of the Shenandoah at around 9,000 men, supported by Major General Theophilus H. Holmes's brigade of 1,500 men in the Shenandoah Valley, preventing them from reinforcing Beauregard.
The two sides met in Battle on July 21st. Confederate reinforcements under the command of Brigadier General Joseph E. Johnston arrived from the Shenandoah Valley by railroad and the course of the battle changed. A brigade of Virginians under a relatively unknown Colonel Thomas J. Jackson, stood their ground and Jackson received his famous nickname, "Stonewall Jackson". The Confederates launched a strong counterattack and as the Union troops began withdrawing under pressure, many panicked and it turned into a rout as they frantically ran in the direction of nearby Washington, D.C.
Both sides were sobered by the violence and casualties of the battle, and they realized that the war was going to be much longer and bloodier than they had originally anticipated.
The City of Manassas will commemorate the 150th anniversary of the battle July 21–24, 2011.