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Battle Of Bull Run Essay

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Though the Civil War began when Confederate troops shelled Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861, the war didn’t begin in earnest until the Battle of Bull Run, fought in Virginia just miles from Washington DC, on July 21, 1861. Popular fervor led President Lincoln to push a cautious Brigadier General Irvin McDowell, commander of the Union army in Northern Virginia, to attack the Confederate forces commanded by Brigadier General P.G.T. Beauregard, which held a relatively strong position along Bull Run, just northeast of Manassas Junction. The goal was to make quick work of the bulk of the Confederate army, open the way to Richmond, the Confederate capital, and end the war.

The morning of July 21st dawned on two generals planning to outflank their opponent’s …show more content…

Late in the afternoon, Confederate reinforcements including those arriving by rail from the Shenandoah Valley extended the Confederate line and succeeded in breaking the Union right flank. At the battle’s climax Virginia cavalry under Colonel James Ewell Brown Jeb Stuart arrived on the field and charged into a confused mass of New Yorkers, sending them fleetly to the rear. The Federal retreat rapidly deteriorated as narrow bridges, overturned wagons, and heavy artillery fire added to the confusion. The calamitous retreat was further impeded by the hordes of fleeing onlookers who had come down from Washington to enjoy the spectacle. Although victorious, Confederate forces were too disorganized to pursue. By July 22, the shattered Union army reached the safety of Washington. The Battle of Bull Run convinced the Lincoln administration and the North that the Civil 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 set about reorganizing and training the

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The battle of bull run was a significant battle in the war. This was the first major land battle of the American civil war on July 21st 1861. One of the big parts of bull run is that there aren’t many places they can cross as said by the colonel, “Bull Run, though not a wide stream, is only to be crossed at certain places, owing to its precipitous, rocky banks.” During this battle 35 thousand United States troop had marched from the capital of Washington DC to Virginia to strike an attack on a confederate force of 20 thousand confederate which was significantly smaller than the United States troops. Some of the reasons this battle was so major is because after being on the defensive all day the confederacy with the troops they had struck an

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