Download - Battle of bull run
Discussion of differences between North and South
FirstBullRun
Not ready•The 75,000 volunteers that Lincoln had asked for in the days following Fort Sumter to make sure that “the Union of these States is perpetual” were not ready to fight.
Why?•The difficult thing for many
of them was that they had never served in the military before and had to be trained in all aspects of fighting in a war.
Why?•By July, 1861, those 90-day volunteers were getting close to the end of their enlistment and had yet to really see any action.
Why?•During this time, the
Confederates had moved their capital to Richmond, VA, less than 100 miles from Washington, D.C. and believed to be an easy target by the Union.
Why?•Cries of “On to Richmond” and “Forward to Richmond” dominated the public and the media, forcing the Union to send in their ill-prepared troops.
Why?•The First Battle of Bull Run
(or First Manassas) started on July 21, 1861 after taking the Union soldiers four days to march the 25 miles to get there.
Why?• Manassas Junction was
considered important because it served as a railroad connection between Washington and Richmond and control of that line could increase the speed at which troops were moved.
Why?• The fact that the battle is known
by two names shows just how divided the nation was, as the South named battles for local towns, while the North for some natural object, usually bodies of water.
The battle• On the morning of July 21,
1861, General Irwin McDowell threw his untrained troops into battle against Confederate troops led by Generals P.G.T. Beauregard, the hero of Fort Sumter, and Joseph E. Johnston.
The battle•McDowell sent his troops across Bull Run and the Confederate lines were quickly broken.
The battle• As the Confederates retreated,
they were joined by reinforcements from the Virginia Military Institute under the leadership of Thomas Jackson, who immediately told the retreating soldiers to “give them the bayonet.”
The battle• One Confederate leader
motivated his troops by saying “There is Jackson standing like a stone wall. Let us determine to die here, and we will conquer,” and throughout the rest of the war Jackson was known as “Stonewall” Jackson.
The battle•As the pursuing Union troops
reached the top of the hill on which Jackson was standing, they received a tremendous amount of gunfire and began to retreat.
The battle•This retreat became known
as the “Great Skedaddle” as the Union retreat was largely unorganized and almost chaotic, and continued for many of the soldiers all the way to Washington.
The battle• In the retreat, the Union
soldiers ran over many Washingtonians, who had made the relatively short journey by carriage and brought a picnic lunch to go and see the war.
The battle•Fortunately for the Union, the Confederate troops were worn out by the battle and also somewhat disorganized and failed to follow up on the retreat.
The battle•The Confederates had won
the first major land battle of the Civil War, which served notice to the Union that this would not be as easy as they might have thought.
