Download First Battle of Bull Run

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First Battle of Bull Run
By Cathy Pearl
When the Civil War first started, both sides thought that it would end
quickly. The first major battle took place at Bull Run in Virginia. This
battle showed both sides that the war would be long and bloody.
In 1861, the Confederate capital was in Richmond, Virginia. It was only
about one hundred miles away from Washington, D.C. Newspapers in
the North called for the army to attack the Southern capital.
The Union general, Irvin McDowell, did not agree. He did not feel that
his army was ready for any major battles. Lincoln did not listen to his
general. He ordered the army to march for Manassas. This town had a
railroad that was important to the North.
The leader of the Southern army was P.G.T. Beauregard. He was the officer who had captured Fort Sumter. The
battle at Fort Sumter had started the Civil War. Beauregard's army was camping near a stream named Bull Run.
The stream was about four miles north of Manassas.
The march south took the Northern soldiers almost four days. Manassas was only about twenty-five miles away.
The slow pace showed how badly prepared the army was. Soldiers were said to have stopped to pick blackberries
instead of marching.
The march south was treated like a party. The Union army was sure that it would win any battle. People rode in on
buggies or on horses to watch the battle. It was July 21, 1861.
The slow pace of the Union army gave Beauregard plenty of time to get ready. More soldiers came in to
strengthen the army. Trains brought many of them in. It marked the first time that soldiers were moved by train.
When McDowell finally attacked, both armies were about the same size.
Hours after the battle started, the people who had come to watch the battle were running back to Washington as
fast as they could. The battle was much different from what anybody had thought it would be. It was loud and
bloody.
At first, it seemed like the Union army was winning. Slowly the army was pushing the Southern army back. If the
Union won, the road to Richmond would be open.
The Confederates were ready to break when some men rallied behind General Thomas J. Jackson. He was fighting
to protect a piece of land that was important in the battle. Jackson earned his nickname of "Stonewall" here because
he stood as strong as a stone wall.
More Confederate troops started to come from the South. The Union army was becoming tired and discouraged.
They had been fighting all day and had not been able to win the battle. Union officers were losing control of their
men. Some soldiers simply stopped fighting and started walking back toward Washington. Others ran north as the
Southern army pushed the attack toward them.
The road to the North was choked with people. Soldiers were trying to make their way north. Also on the road
were the people who had come to watch the battle. They all now ran north. Most of them had never seen a war.
They were now terrified by what the country faced.
The Confederates had a great opportunity. The road to Washington was open. They could have gone north and had
a chance to attack the Union capital. But the men in the Southern army were tired and did not have the energy to
chase the Union army. The war may have ended very differently if they had.
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Compared to what was coming, the number of killed and wounded was not large. The Union army had about 2900
casualties. A casualty is a man who was killed, injured, captured, or missing in action. The Confederate casualties
were less than two thousand.
This sounds like a lot of people. But these numbers would prove to be small as the war continued. This early battle
showed both sides that the war would not be easy to win. Both sides began to prepare much larger armies for the
battles ahead.
First Battle of Bull Run
Questions
1. Which side won the Battle of Bull Run?
A. The South
B. The North
2. Who was the leader of the Southern army?
A. Irvin McDowell
B. P.G.T. Beauregard
C. Abraham Lincoln
3. Where was the capital of the Confederates?
A. Richmond, Virginia
B. Washington, D.C.
C. Manassas, Virginia
4. This battle marked the first time soldiers were transported by:
A. Plane
B. Train
C. Car
5. What is a casualty?
6. How did people treat the battle at first?
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Why do you think that people treated the battle like a party when it first started?
How do you think the war would have been different if the Confederate army had marched toward Washington,
D.C.?