The First Battle of Manassas (July 21st, 1861)
Also known as the First Battle of Bull Run, the First Battle of Manassas was the first full scale battle of the Civil War. Brig. General Irvin McDowell led a force of 28,450 green recruits in what was supposed to be an easily fought battle which would quickly end the war that had only just begun. Famously, spectators followed the army with wine and picnic baskets for what was sure to be an enjoyable show. After the battle was over, no one present could hold on to such quaint expectations. Instead they would witness the horror of a war that would split a nation in two.
P.G.T. Beauregard led the Confederate forces of 32,230 soldiers.
McDowell’s plans were complicated and required his troops to be in perfect synchronization. The green soldiers were unable to complete the maneuvers without alerting the Confederates to their plans. Still, the Federals had the upper hand as the battle began. The rebels are pushed back from their position on Matthews Hill, but regroup near the home of Judith Henry, a widow. McDowell then makes a misstep and places two artillery pieces within range of the Confederate guns positioned on the reverse slope of the hill near Judith Henry’s house, Henry Hill.
A sharp battle is fought between the artillery positions and Judith Henry is killed as she hides inside her house. Brig. General Thomas Jackson positions his Confederate Infantry in the woods, behind his artillery, and from there they are able to hold their position, firmly. Brig. General Bernard Bee, while attempting to rally his troops, is heard to say: “There stands Jackson, like a stone wall, rally around the Virginians.” The moment that account was reported in the southern press, Gen. Thomas J. Jackson would be forever known as Stonewall Jackson.
In the afternoon Confederate reinforcements arrived and attacked the Union’s right flank. The Federals crumbled under the onslaught, being forced into a retreat that would become a full scale route from the battlefield. The spectators who had witnessed the ordeal were clogging up the road that the Union soldiers hoped to speed down in an orderly retreat. The chaos created by the fleeing soldiers and civilians combined with the threat of the pursuing Confederates is what initiates the panicked flight back to Washington D.C.. The Confederates, perhaps too surprised by their own victory, did not follow the retreating foe.
The First Battle of Manassas was, decisively, a Confederate victory. 460 Union soldiers were killed with 1,011 wounded and 1,312 missing (or captured). The Confederates lost 387 soldiers with 1,582 wounded 13 missing (or captured). Many lessons were taken away from this first battle. Standardizing a national uniform became one of the primary objectives after First Manassas. The veterans of that fight had gone into battle wearing their local militia uniforms which resulted with some Confederates wearing blue uniforms and some Union troops wearing grey. There are numerous accounts from the battle of friendly fire as well as units mistakenly identifying an enemy force as a “friendly” one, a mistake that often lead to massive numbers of casualties due to point blank volleys of musket fire.
By July 22nd, McDowell’s forces were safely back in Washington and with them came the new reality that what many hoped would be a quick and easy war was more likely to be a long and bloody affair.
Works Cited
“The Battle of First Manassas (First Bull Run) - Manassas National Battlefield Park (U.S.” National Park Service, 18 January 2022, https://www.nps.gov/mana/learn/historyculture/first-manassas.htm. Accessed 20 November 2022.
“Bull Run Battle Facts and Summary.” American Battlefield Trust, https://www.battlefields.org/learn/civil-war/battles/bull-run. Accessed 20 November 2022.
“First Battle of Bull Run | Summary, Casualties, & Facts.” Britannica, 11 October 2022, https://www.britannica.com/event/First-Battle-of-Bull-Run-1861. Accessed 20 November 2022.
