Battle Of Bullrun Essay Research Paper The

Battle Of Bullrun Essay, Research Paper The Battle of Bullrun-Manassas On a warm July day in 1861, two great armies of a divided nation clashed for the first time on the fields overlooking Bull Run. Their ranks were filled with enthusiastic young volunteers in colorful new uniforms, gathered together from every part of the country. Confident that their foes would run at the first shot, the raw recruits were thankful that they would not miss the only battle of what would surely be a short war. But any thought of colorful pageantry was suddenly lost in the smoke, din, dirt, and death of the battle. Soldiers on both sides were stunned by the violence and destruction they encountered. At day’s end nearly 900 young men lay lifeless on the fields of Matthews Hill, Henry Hill, and

Chinn Ridge. Ten hours of heavy fighting swept away any notion the war’s outcome would be decided quickly. Cheers rang through the streets of Washington on July 16, 1861, as General (26k) Irvin McDowell’s Army, 35,000 strong, marched out to begin the long-awaited campaign to capture Richmond and end the war. It was an Army of Green Recruits, few of whom had the faintest idea of the magnitude of the task facing them. But their swaggering gait showed that none doubted the outcome. As excitement spread, many citizens and Congressmen with picnic baskets followed the Army into the field to watch what all expected would be a colorful show. FIRST BATTLE OF MANASSAS On a warm July day in 1861, two great armies of a divided nation clashed for the first time on the fields overlooking

Bull Run. Their ranks were filled with enthusiastic young volunteers in colorful new uniforms, gathered together from every part of the country. Confident that their foes would run at the first shot, the raw recruits were thankful that they would not miss the only battle of what would surely be a short war. But any thought of colorful pageantry was suddenly lost in the smoke, din, dirt, and death of the battle. Soldiers on both sides were stunned by the violence and destruction they encountered. At day’s end nearly 900 young men lay lifeless on the fields of Matthews Hill, Henry Hill, and Chinn Ridge. Ten hours of heavy fighting swept away any notion the war’s outcome would be decided quickly. Cheers rang through the streets of Washington on July 16, 1861, as General

media/portraits/mcdowell_irvin.htmmedia/portraits/mcdowell_irvin.htm(26k) Irvin McDowell’s Army, 35,000 strong, marched out to begin the long-awaited campaign to capture Richmond and end the war. It was an Army of Green Recruits, few of whom had the faintest idea of the magnitude of the task facing them. But their swaggering gait showed that none doubted the outcome. As excitement spread, many citizens and Congressmen with picnic baskets followed the Army into the field to watch what all expected would be a colorful show. Many of these troops were 90-day volunteers summoned by President media/portraits/lincoln_abraham.htmmedia/portraits/lincoln_abraham.htm(56k) Abraham Lincoln after the startling news of Fort Sumter burst over the Nation in April 1861. Called from shops and

farms, the recruits had little knowledge of what war would mean. The first day’s march covered only eight kilometers (5 miles) as many stayed back to pick blackberries or fill canteens. McDowell’s lumbering columns were headed for the vital railroad junction at Manassas. Here the Orange and Alexandria Railroad met the Manassas Gap Railroad, which led west to the Shenandoah Valley. If McDowell could seize this junction, he would stand astride the best overland approach to the Confederate’s capital. On July 18th McDowell’s Army reached Centreville. Five miles ahead a small meandering stream named Bull Run crossed the route of the Union advance, and there guarding the fords from Union Mills to the Stone Bridge waited 22,000 Southern troops under the command of General