Within two months of the outbreak of the Civil War, the Federals had an army of over 186,000 men. But in many ways it was just a paper army: it was ill-trained and ill-equipped. Everyone was expecting that the war would be over quickly. Most of the volunteers were “hundred-day men” who had enlisted for just three months, and they would soon be released from duty. Meanwhile, Lincoln was under tremendous political and public pressure to end the war with a quick single decisive drive to Richmond.
The commander of the Army of the Potomac, General Irvin McDowell, accordingly was ordered to make plans to attack the bulk of the Confederate Army, 20,000 men under the command of General Pierre Beauregard who were encamped along Bull Run Creek near the Virginia town of Manassas Junction, an important railway station just 25 miles away from Washington DC. When McDowell objected that his men were untrained and not ready for battle, Lincoln reminded him, “You are green, it is true, but they are green also; you are all green alike.”
On July 16, McDowell led his “Grand Army” of 35,000 troops—the largest American force that had ever taken the field up to that time—out of Washington DC and into Virginia. He didn’t reach Bull Run until the 20th, where he now faced Beauregard’s 32,000 men: unknown to McDowell, Beauregard had been reinforced that day by additional troops under General Joseph Johnston, arriving by railroad. (Though in the actual fighting both sides were only able to get around 18,000 men to the frontlines.)
As the armies gathered for the impending fight, it became a sort of spectacle. On the surrounding hills, society women from Washington DC and Richmond gathered for picnic lunches to watch the battle—each assuming that their side would make quick work of the other. One of the spectators was Confederate President Jefferson Davis, who arrived by train.
The battle began late. McDowell had planned to attack at dawn on the 21st, but a series of miscommunications meant that the Union forces were not in position until 10am. The Confederates had also planned an early attack, but they too were delayed, and the Union troops launched first. The early fighting centered around Matthews Hill, where the Confederates had a battery of artillery. This was soon overrun, forcing the them to fall back to Henry Hill.
Focusing on a stone bridge at the left side of the Confederate line, the Union troops drove towards the farmhouse on Henry Hill and began pushing the Southerners back. A rout seemed imminent. Then Confederate General Barnard Bee spotted General Thomas Jackson’s regiment atop a nearby ridge, calmly awaiting the Federal onslaught. “There is Jackson,” Bee cried to his troops, “standing like a stone wall.” The Confederates were able to rally, regroup, and stop the Federal advance, and “Stonewall Jackson” earned the nickname that would make him famous.
At about two in the afternoon, Beauregard sent a counterattack towards the Federal lines. The Union troops fell back, then rallied and advanced. By 5pm it seemed as if the battle were over and the Federals held the field.
But then both sides saw another group of troops approaching—and nobody knew who it was. At this point in the war, neither side had yet adopted its familiar blue or gray uniforms: instead, each regiment adopted whatever uniform it liked and both sides were a riot of different colors. (During the battle several friendly regiments on both sides had mistakenly fired at each other, unable to tell friend from foe.) To add to the confusion, both sides had similar flags: the Federals flew the well-known Stars and Stripes, but the red, white and blue Confederate Stars and Bars looked similar at a distance, particularly when hanging limp. (Later, to avoid this confusion, the Confederates adopted their famous red and blue battle flag.)
The newly-arrived troops turned out to be Johnston’s Confederates, and now they charged the Union position. The exhausted Federals broke and ran, some of them retreating all the way across the Potomac River into Washington DC. They had lost about 3,000 casualties. The Confederates, equally disorganized by the bloody fighting and having lost 1,800 casualties, did not pursue them.
At the White House, Lincoln received the news by telegraph: “The day is lost.” Fearing that the victorious Confederates would march on Washington, he remained awake all night.
In the aftermath of the defeat at Manassas, Lincoln knew there would be no quick victory, and this would be a long and costly war. He ended the 100-day enlistments and asked Congress to set the term for the next 500,000 volunteers at three years instead, and to authorize $250 million in loans and bonds for the war. Lincoln then fired General McDowell and replaced him with General George McClellan, a masterful organizer who immediately set about reorganizing, equipping and training the army. It would be over a year before the Army of the Potomac would be ready to fight another major battle.
Today, the Manassas battleground is a National Battlefield Park, established in 1940 and run by the National Park Service. In 2013, a nonprofit group called the Manassas Battlefield Trust was formed to partner with the NPS and to raise money for preservation and expansion.
The Visitors Center at Henry Hill has a display of artifacts, and the Stone House is open for tours on weekends. There are hiking trails which cover most of the key sites, and a driving tour that goes to Matthews Hill.
Some photos.
