Battle Of Bullrun Essay Research Paper The — страница 2

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media/portraits/beauregard_pierre_gustave.htmmedia/portraits/beauregard_pierre_gustave.htm(24k) Pierre G.T. Beauregard. McDowell initially probed the Confederate center, but his troops were checked at Blackburn’s Ford. He then spent the next two days scouting the Southern left flank. In the meantime, Beauregard asked the Confederate Government at Richmond for help. General media/portraits/johnston_joseph_eggleston.htmmedia/portraits/johnston_joseph_eggleston.htm(26k) Joseph E. Johnston, stationed in the Shenandoah Valley with 10,000 Confederate troops, was ordered to support Beauregard. Johnston gave an opposing Union force the slip, and, employing the Manassas Gap Railroad, started his army toward Manassas Junction. Most of Johnston’s troops arrived at the junction on July

20 and 21, some marching from the trains directly into battle. On the morning of July 21, McDowell sent his attack columns in a long march north toward Sudley Springs Ford. This route took the Federals around the Confederate left. To distract the Southerners, McDowell ordered a diversionary attack where the Warrenton Turnpike crossed Bull Run at the Stone Bridge. At 5:30 AM the deep throated roar of a 30-pounder Parrott rifle shattered the morning calm, and signaled the start of battle. McDowell’s new plan depended on speed and surprise, both difficult with inexperienced troops. Valuable time was lost as the men stumbled through the darkness along narrow roads. Confederate Colonel media/portraits/evens_nathan_g.htmmedia/portraits/evens_nathan_g.htm(24k) Nathan Evans, commanding

at the Stone Bridge, soon realized that the attack on his front was only a diversion. Leaving a small force to hold the bridge, Evans rushed the remainder of his command to Matthews Hill in time to check McDowell’s lead unit. But Evan’s force was too small to hold back the Federals for long. Soon brigades under Brigadier General media/portraits/bee_barnard_e.htmmedia/portraits/bee_barnard_e.htm(30k) Barnard Bee and Colonel media/portraits/bartow_francis_s.htmmedia/portraits/bartow_francis_s.htm(23k) Francis Bartow marched to Evans’ assistance. But even with these reinforcements, the thin gray line collapsed and Southerners fled in disorder toward Henry Hill. About noon, the Federals stopped their advance to reorganize for a new attack. The lull lasted for about an hour,

giving Johnston and Beauregard enough time to stablize their lines. Attempting to rally his men, Bee pointed to General media/portraits/jackson_thomas_j.htmmedia/portraits/jackson_thomas_j.htm(42k) Thomas Jackson, and shouted the now famous words, “There stands Jackson like a stone wall!” The battle raged until just after 4:00 PM, with each side trying to force the other off Henry Hill. Then fresh Southern units crashed into the Union’s right flank on Chinn Ridge, forcing McDowell’s tired and discouraged soldiers to withdraw. At first the withdrawal was orderly. Screened by the regulars, the three-month volunteers retired across Bull Run, where they found the road to Washington jammed with the carriages of Congressmen and others who had driven out to Centreville to watch

the fight. Panic now seized many of the soldiers and the retreat became a rout. The Confederates, though bolstered by the arrival of President media/portraits/davis_jefferson.htmmedia/portraits/davis_jefferson.htm(33k) Jefferson Davis on the field just as the battle was ending, were too exhausted and disorganized to pursue the Union army back into Washington. Daybreak on July 22 found the defeated Union Army back behind the bristling defenses of Washington. SECOND BATTLE OF MANASSAS In August 1862, Union and Confederate armies converged for a second time on the plains of Manassas. The naive enthusiasm that preceded the earlier encounter was gone. War was not the holiday outing or grand adventure envisioned by the young recruits of 1861. The contending forces, now made up of

seasoned veterans, knew well the reality of war. The Battle of Second Manassas, covering three days, produced far greater carnage, 3,399 killed, and brought the Confederacy to the height of its power. Still the battle did not weaken Northern resolve. The war’s final outcome was yet unknown, and it would be left to other battles to decide whether the sacrifice at Manassas was part of the price of Southern independence, or the cost of one country again united under the national standard. After the Union defeat at Manassas in July 1861, General media/portraits/mcclellan_george_brinton.htmmedia/portraits/mcclellan_george_brinton.htm(52k) George B. McClellan took command of the Federal forces in and around Washington and organized them into a formidable fighting machine, the Army of