First Bull Run (Manassas), VA
Date(s):
July 21, 1861
Location:
Please click on link below for map.
Manassas National Battlefield Park, Virginia, United States
Campaign(s):
Manassas Campaign [July 1861]
Battles in
Campaign:
Situation:
-
Prior to the battle,
Irvin McDowell was appointed by President
Abraham Lincoln to command of the Army of Northeastern Virginia.
-
McDowell
was harassed by impatient politicians and citizens in Washington to engage
and defeat the Confederate Army in northern Virginia.
-
McDowell was concerned about the untried
nature of his army, but he was reassured by Lincoln, who responded, "You
are green, it is true, but they are green also; you are all green alike."
-
On July 16, 1861,
McDowell departed Washington with the
largest field army gathered on the North American continent
(28,452).
-
The Confederate Army of the
Potomac (21,883) under P.G.T. Beauregard
was camped near Manassas Junction, approximately 25 miles from Washington.
-
McDowell planned to attack
Beauregard while
Major General Robert Patterson's 18,000
men engaged Joseph Johnston's
Army of the Shenandoah in the Shenandoah Valley, preventing them from
reinforcing Beauregard.
- Although he had arrived at a sound plan,
McDowell had delayed long enough that
Johnston's force was able to
board trains at Piedmont Station and rush to Manassas Junction to
reinforce Beauregard's men.
Commanders:
-
Union:
Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell
-
Confederate:
Brig. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston
and
Brig. Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard
Principal Forces:
-
Union:
28,450
-
Confederate:
32,230
Description:
-
This was the first major land battle of the
armies in Virginia.
-
On July 16, 1861, the untried Union army under
Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell marched from
Washington against the Confederate army, which was drawn up behind Bull Run
beyond Centreville.
-
On the 21st, McDowell
crossed at Sudley Ford and attacked the Confederate left flank on Matthews
Hill.
-
Fighting raged throughout the day as Confederate
forces were driven back to Henry Hill.
-
Late in the afternoon, Confederate
reinforcements (one brigade arriving by rail from the Shenandoah Valley)
extended and broke the Union right flank.
-
The Federal retreat rapidly deteriorated into a
rout. Although victorious, Confederate forces were too disorganized to pursue.
-
Thomas J. Jackson
earned the nom de guerre “Stonewall.”
-
By July 22, the shattered Union army reached the
safety of Washington.
-
This battle convinced the Lincoln administration
that the war would be a long and costly affair.
-
McDowell was
relieved of command of the Union army and replaced by
Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, who began reorganizing and
training the troops.
Photo Gallery:2
|
|
|
|
Manassas National Battlefield - Henry Hill Visitor Center
|
|
|
|
Manassas Battlefield Map
|
|
|
|
Uniform Worn by Zouaves
|
|
|
|
Going into Battery
|
|
|
|
|
|
Charges for 10-pound Parrott Gun
|
|
|
|
Union and Confederate Uniforms Worn at First Manassas
|
|
|
|
Uniforms Worn by Union and Confederate Soldiers
|
|
|
|
Artillery Wagons
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Map of Henry Hill Walking Tour
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Fight for Ricketts' Guns
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Invaded Farmland
|
|
|
|
Artillery Battery on Henry Hill
|
|
|
|
Judith Henry Grave Site
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
In Memory of the Patriots who Fell at Bull Run
|
|
|
|
In Memory of the Patriots who Fell at Bull Run
|
|
|
|
Honoring the Dead
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Attack from Mathews Hill
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Confederates Rally
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Various Sections of Virginia Artillery
|
|
|
|
"Like a Stone Wall"
|
|
|
|
|
Washington (Louisiana) Arillery Battalion
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rifled Cannon
|
|
|
|
Charge on Griffin's Guns
|
|
|
|
General Barnard Bee Commander of the Third Brigade of the Army of the Shenandoah Was Killed on this Site
"..there standands Jackson like a stone wall, rally behind the Virginians" |
|
|
|
General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson
|
|
|
|
|
|
Point Blank Volley
|
|
|
|
|
Counterattack
|
|
|
|
Classification3:
A
Casualties4:
-
Union:
2,950
-
Confederate:
1,750
Results:
Confederate
victory
Battlefield Websites:
Recommended
Resources:
1 National Park
Service summary.
2 Please click on the image to
enlarge it. You may copy the images if you include the following note and link
with each image: "Courtesy of
civil-war-journeys.org."
3
Classification:
-
A
- having a decisive influence on a
campaign and a direct impact on the course of the war
-
B -
having a direct and decisive influence on their campaign
-
C -
having observable influence on the
outcome of a campaign
-
D
-
having a limited influence on the
outcome of their campaign or operation but achieving or affecting important
local objectives
4 Casualties are
someone killed, injured, wounded, captured or missing.
Revised
07/17/2008 |
