First Manassas

•
On July 18, 1861 Union troops began to March to
Manassas
They were new recruits and had only signed
up for 90 days
 On July 21st a group of sightseers and picnickers
rode out from Washington to watch the battle
• Women of society were among the sightseers and
had brought along trunks with fancy gowns, they
believed that the day would end in a victory and a
fancy ball in Richmond for celebration
UNION TROOPS


Brig. Gen. Irvin
McDowell [USCommander
Total forces-28–
35,000 (18,000
engaged)[1]
CONFEDERATE TROOPS


Joseph E. Johnston
and Brig. Gen.
P.G.T. Beauregard
[CS- Commanders
Total forces-32–
34,000 (18,000
engaged)[1]
•
•
The two armies met at a stream called Bull Run. The
Union forces outnumbered the Confederates 30,000 to
20,000
By midday the Union forces had driven back one of the
Confederate flanks (sides) a mile
 The Confederates were falling back in
confusion it looked like the battle would
be lost for the Confederates
•
•
A Confederate General trying to rally his troops pointed
his sword toward General Thomas Jackson and yelled, “
There is Jackson standing like a stone wall! Rally behind
the Virginians!
As the confederates regrouped, reinforcements came
down the road and launched a counter attack against the
Union line
•
The Union soldiers were tired and hungry and had
fought hard but they reached their limit. They scattered
and ran toward Richmond

Cavalry leader Jeb Stuart lead a charge of 500
cavalry that added to the confusion of the
Union retreat




Union casualties were 460 killed, 1,124
wounded, and 1,312 missing or captured
Confederate casualties were 387 killed, 1,582
wounded, and 13 missing
Union forces and civilians alike feared that
Confederate forces would advance on
Washington, D.C., with very little standing in
their way
There was no massing of Confederate forces.
The Confederate may have won but they were
ill prepared to continue the fight

The Northern public was shocked at the
unexpected loss of their army in a battle for
which an easy victory was widely anticipated.
Both sides quickly came to realize that the war
would be longer and more brutal than they had
thought. On July 22 President Lincoln signed a
bill that provided for the enlistment of 500,000
men for up to three years of service.
The reaction in the Confederacy was more
muted. There was little public celebration as the
Southerners realized that despite their victory,
the greater battles that would inevitably come
would mean greater losses for their side as well.
Battlefield confusion relating to battle flags,
especially the similarity of the Confederacy's
"Stars and Bars" and the Union's "Stars and
Stripes", led to the adoption of the Confederate
Battle Flag, which eventually became the most
popular symbol of the Confederacy and the South