Bull Run - Civil War

One of the most recognizable names of the American Civil War, the Battle of Bull Run was one of the first major battles of the Civil War. However, there were actually two battles of Bull Run; the first took place in 1861, the second in 1862.

The first Battle of Bull Run was fought on July 21, 1861. Union citizens and officials alike who lived in Washington, D.C. were increasingly insistent that something be done about the Confederate troops positioned just across the river in northern Virginia, and prevailed upon Union Brigadier General Irvin McDowell to do something about the situation. McDowell was rightfully concerned about the untutored, mostly volunteer forces in his command; however, by July, 1861, he conceded to demands that his troops take action.

Confederate Brigadier Generals P.G.T. Beauregard and Joseph E. Johnston’s troops were just as untried as McDowell’s, but they had the advantage on two fronts; one, they did not have to endure the long march to Bull Run in the sweltering heat that McDowell’s troops faced, and two, they were braced by General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson’s men.

Neither Union nor Confederate troops performed particularly well at the First Battle of Bull Run. For one of the very few occasions during the war, the Confederates had almost as many men as the Federal army - approximately 32,000 to the 35,000 that represented the Federal troops - and numbers alone may have given the Confederates another advantage. Stonewall Jackson set the tone of the battle by crying, “Reserve your fire until they come within 50 yards! Then fire and give them the bayonet! And when you charge, yell like furies!”

Whether due to the Rebel yell or the confusion that reigned on all fronts, the Union men soon decided that they were bested, and began to retreat. At the end of the day, the First Battle of Bull Run went conclusively to the Confederates; Federal casualties included 460 killed, 1,124 wounded, and 1,312 missing or captured, while Confederate casualties included 387 killed, 1,582 wounded, and 13 missing.

A strategic battle early in the war, the First Battle of Bull Run was the first in a string of victories for the Confederacy that struck fear in the hearts of those who lived in Washington, who began to fear that the Confederate Army was superior to the Federal Army and that it was only matter of time before they occupied the nation’s capital.

A little more than a year later, in late August of 1862, Union and Confederate troops clashed again in Bull Run. Once again, Confederate troops routed their Union counterparts, although they were outnumbered by almost 12,000.

An interesting fact about Bull Run: since the time of the First Battle of Bull Run, there has been disagreement about the name of the battle; while the Union referred to both battles as “Bull Run,” for the creek that ran nearby, Confederates referred to both as the Battle of Manassas, for the junction nearby. The U.S. Park Service, which controls the battleground, also refers to the site as “Manassas.”