Bull Run of Civil War

Introduction

On July 16, 1862, the first battle of the Civil War, between the Union Armies and Confederate Armies, took place near Masassas Junction, Virginia. The Union Army, lead by Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell, marched from Washington to Bull Run to attack the confederate Army, lead by General Gustave Toutant Beauegard. On July 21, 1861, (Lassieur 12) the Union Armies crossed at Sudley Ford and attacked the confederate driving them back to Henry Hill. This paper discusses the Bull Run of civil war. It also discusses where the bull run took place during the war, what life was like in one region or city during the war, what is the importance of bull run and what is the historic significance.

Discussion

General Gustave Toutant Beauregard. Beauregard was a French officer who studied under Napoleon. He graduated second in his class at West Point in 1838. He was promated to Major for his outstanding work in the Mexican War. On Feb. 20, 1861, he resigined from the Federal Army, and nine days later he was appointed General of the Confederate Army. (Johnston 01) He was the commander of the forces that fired on Fort Sumter to start the Civil War on April 12, 1861. In the Battle of Bull Run, he was the commander of Army of the Potomac.

The war began with both sides confident of an early victory. In May 1861, Union troops crossed the Potomac River, captured Alexandria, Va., and moved into northwestern Virginia. The major Confederate army, some 22,000 men under the command of Gen. Pierre G. T. Beauregard, was concentrated at Manassas Junction, (Hankinson 31)Va., a key railroad center about 48 km (about 30 mi) southwest of Washington, D.C. Seeking to deliver a mortal blow to this army before reinforcements could reach it, Gen. Irvin McDowell (1818-85) led a Union force of 30,000 toward Manassas.

Gen. George B. McClellanOn July 21, in the First Battle of Bull Run, the Confederate troops, reinforced in time, won a resounding victory. The result was not strategically significant, but the setback forced a humiliated North to abandon hopes for a 90-day war and to raise a more substantial army. (Hama & Moore 41)In contrast, the South left Bull Run with a sense of overconfidence that impeded proper preparation for the long conflict ahead.

Mcclellan's Appointment

After Bull Run, Lincoln replaced McDowell with Gen. George B. McClellan as commander of the newly created Army of the Potomac. An able administrator and drillmaster, McClellan proceeded to reorganize the army for what he expected to be an overwhelming demonstration of Northern military superiority. Popular with his troops, the 34-year-old commander was also a conceited, arrogant man, (Gross 102)contemptuous of the president and already suspect among Republicans because he vigorously opposed any tampering with the institution of slavery. Ultimately, his tendency to overestimate the enemy and his excessive caution wore out Lincoln's patience.

The Border States

Although a military stalemate prevailed for much of 1861, the North scored some critical successes in securing the border states of Maryland, ...