Bull Run

Battle of, the first battle of the Civil War. It occurred Sunday, July 21, 1861. The battlefield is in Virginia, about twenty-five miles west of Washington. The Confederate army under General Beauregard lay at Manassas in position to defend Richmond. The Federal troops under General McDowell advanced to attack them. About 28,000 troops were available on each side. At first victory seemed on the Union side. The Confederates thought they were defeated; but the Union troops lost courage just in time to save their opponents. Demoralization grew into panic; and a retreat, degenerating in many instances into every man for himself, ensued. The Federal army, accompanied by spectators, citizens, and even congressmen, rushed pell mell for the bridges that lead across the Potomac into Washington, and left the corpsestrewn battlefield to the Confederates. Supplies, guns, ammunition, wagons, everything that could be thrown away to lighten flight, was left by the wayside. Something less than 1,000 men were killed in the battle and nearly 3,000 were wounded. The Union loss was, of course, the heavier. At this date the retreat may seem ludicrous; but it was a serious affair at the time and showed that the war was to be no pretense.

A second battle of Bull Run, sometimes called the battle of Manassas, was fought August 29-30, 1862, between the Confederate troops under Lee and the Federal forces under Pope. Lee's forces numbered about 54,000, Pope's 65,000. After two days of stubborn fighting the Federal troops were driven from the field, leaving 10,000 killed and wounded. The Confederate loss was almost as heavy.

See Civil War