July 21, 1861---The First Battle of Bull Run (First Manassas)

JULY 21, 1861:    

The First Battle of Bull Run (First Manassas):  The second definitive battle of the Civil War, Bull Run marks the end of the first phase of the war (small unit low casualty indecisive engagements) and the beginning of the second phase of the war (large set-piece high casualty engagements meant to force a quick resolution to the war).
  

The second phase of the war will last about a year.  In the second phase of the war, although it seems that the combatants’ goals are well defined (reunification versus independence), huge internal fault lines afflict these goals, causing tactical and strategic confusion on both sides. The South is clearly uneasy at being the “rebellious” party in the war, while the North has no clear vision of the form of reunification or its aftermath. As a result, every battle meant to force a resolution ends with the two sides in roughly the same position as before. What may be a short-term tactical victory for one plays out as a long-term strategic victory for the other, and vice-versa. The North, with its greater manpower and industrial base very slowly gains the advantage, though at the time of Bull Run this eventuality is obscured. 

Although it is the first “great” (large-scale) battle of the war, Bull Run is relatively small and bloodless compared to the charnel house atmosphere of Antietam, Fredericksburg or Gettysburg. Still, Bull Run has the highest casualty rate of all Civil War battles to date, and it horrifies the public, North and South. The South gains a victory largely by chance; and coming in line with Blackburn’s Ford, Vienna and Big Bethel, the Virginia troops acquire an aura of invincibility. This ultimately will lead to hubris and eventual defeat. The North’s morale plummets immediately after Bull Run, but rises significantly as the Army reorganizes itself.  

The main battle begins at 2:30 AM, when General Irvin McDowell sends 12,000 men marching southwest on the Warrenton Turnpike, turning northwest toward Sudley Springs. 8,000 additional troops marched directly toward a stone bridge over Bull Run. The regiments on the turnpike immediately logjam, slowing the advance of the main body to a crawl. Bull Run is not forded until 9:30 a.m. At that point all that stands in the path of 20,000 Union soldiers is a Confederate brigade of 1000 men. In the first use of wig-wag semaphore signaling in combat, the Confederates are able to warn each of their units that the Union is engaging in a massive flanking maneuver, allowing the Confederates time to regroup and perform a series of delaying and spoiling actions. Additional Union pressure collapses the Confederate line shortly after 11:30 a.m., sending the Grays in a disorderly retreat toward Henry House Hill. 

At this point, around noon, Brigadier General Thomas J. Jackson's Virginia brigade comes up in support of the disorganized Confederates. His force is accompanied by Colonel J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry. One of the casualties of the artillery fire on Henry House Hill is the owner of the property, Judith Carter Henry, an 85-year-old widow and invalid, who is unable to leave her bedroom.  She is killed by a shell that crashes through her bedroom wall; she dies later that day. "The Enemy are driving us," General Barnard Bee exclaims to General Jackson, who is said to have grandiloquently replied, "Then, Sir, we will give them the bayonet."  Bee exhorts his troops to re-form by shouting, "There is Jackson standing like a stone wall. Let us determine to die here, and we will conquer. Rally behind the Virginians." This exclamation was the source for Jackson's (and his brigade's) famous nickname, "Stonewall." 

There is some controversy over Bee's statement and intent, which could not be clarified because he was mortally wounded almost immediately after speaking. Major Burnett Rhett, chief of staff to General Johnston, later claims that Bee was angry at Jackson's failure to come immediately to Bee's aid while Bee’s men were under heavy pressure. Those who subscribe to this opinion believe that Bee's statement was meant to be pejorative, in essence, that Jackson was doing nothing in the battle. Burnett Rhett was pilloried by exponents of The Lost Cause for his well-nigh blasphemous remarks about the storied and legendary Jackson, but that does not mean he was wrong.  

At approximately 3 p.m. close range volleys from the 33rd Virginia and Stuart's cavalry attack against the flank of the 11th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment (Ellsworth's Fire Zouaves), which is supporting a battery, kills most of the gunners and scatters the infantry. The capture of the Union guns turns the tide of battle. Jackson continues to press his attacks, telling soldiers of the 4th Virginia Infantry, "Reserve your fire until they come within 50 yards! Then fire and give them the bayonet! And when you charge, yell like furies!" For the first time, Union troops hear the disturbing sound of the Rebel yell. At about 4:00 PM, the last Union troops are pushed off Henry House Hill. McDowell's force crumbles and is routed.

The retreat was relatively orderly up to the Bull Run crossings, but artillery fire incites panic in McDowell's force. It proves impossible to rally the army, which runs moblike, headlong back to Washington. In the disorder that follows, hundreds of Union troops are taken prisoner and some, undoubtedly, desert.

Expecting an easy Union victory, the wealthy elite of nearby Washington, including congressmen and their families, have come to picnic and watch the battle, which they expect will be a picture-book affair. Instead, it is a gory chaos. As the Union army disintegrates into a running disorder, the roads back to Washington are blocked by panicked civilians attempting to flee in their carriages. The Union troops commandeer some and overturn others, injuring the civilians, many of them government officials, whose later reports of the armed melee add to the sense of disaster the North comes to feel.  

It is an area of intense academic speculation whether the Rebels could have besieged Washington, D.C. and ended the war in a single afternoon, but the Confederates were as highly disorganized as the Union troops by the end of the day. Despite urging from Confederate President Jefferson Davis, who had arrived on the battlefield just in time to see the Union soldiers retreating, the Confederate commanders refused to go on the attack.

The Northern public is shocked at the unexpected defeat of their army when an easy victory had been widely anticipated. Although the Southern belief that “Any one Southerner can lick ten Yankees!” seems to be vindicated, the reaction in the Confederacy is generally more muted. There is little public celebration, as the Southerners realize that despite their victory, the greater battles that will inevitably come will mean greater losses for their side as well. Both sides quickly come to realize the “Ninety Day War” will be longer and more brutal than they have imagined.

Bull Run is the largest and bloodiest battle in American history up to that point. Union casualties are 2,896: 460 killed, 1,124 wounded, and 1,312 missing or captured; Confederate casualties are 1,982: 387 killed, 1,582 wounded, and 13 missing. Irvin McDowell, who resisted the attack plan from the outset fearing that his untrained troops would break, is blamed for the Union defeat.

Friendly fire and unit confusion made Bull Run a killing ground: A consequence of the battle is that the Confederacy changes flags; the similarity of the Stars & Stripes and the Stars & Bars contributed heavily the casualty list. The Confederacy adopts a battle jack. Another consequence is greater uniformity among Union uniforms.

Wilmer McLean, a resident of Manassas, whose property was damaged by a firefight on his land, moves his family to the remote village of Appomattox Court House to avoid further involvement in the war.

 

 

The Rebel Yell