Today In History

Today is the anniversary of the First Battle of Bull Run (yes, I use the Yankee name). Fought this day in 1861, it was the first major battle of the Civil War and resulted from the Union's attempt to capture the strategic railway junction at Manassas, Virginia. (When I first moved to the area, I lived in an apartment very close to the junction itself.)

Many people believed at the time that this would be the only battle of the Civil War and that the Union troops would quickly crush the Confederates. Had the Union army been at all seasoned, this might very well have been the case: the Union battle plan of a sweep on the flank coupled with a frontal diversionary assault was a good one. However, the Northern troops were as green as their Southern counterparts and were simply not up to the kind of precision such an attack required. Furthermore, as the battle wore on, the Southerners proved to fight far more bravely and stubbornly than anybody had imagined they would.

After the initial Union sweep south, the battle lines solidified at the top of a wide, flat hill, where the Southerners dug in and "Stonewall" Jackson earned his nickname. This resistence allowed Confederate reinforcements the time to come up in support and deprived the Union of the quick victory they had been seeking. At the same time, the Union army still probably could have won, had it been sufficiently organized and aggressive in its attacks.

The lines were fairly close together, hammering away at each other. Finally, Union General McDowell sent two artillery batteries - those of Ricketts and Griffin - to a position where they could enfilade the Confederate line, that is shoot along it from the side. This, of course, put the batteries in a dangerously exposed position. They were just beginning to do some serious execution when a new unit - wearing blue uniforms - appeared out of the woods nearby. The batteries hesitated, not knowing whether these were Union reenforcements or not, and did not fire at them. Unfortunately for the Union, the new troops were Confederates, most probably the 33rd Virginia Infantry, although there were other units that made the claim as well. The Southernes fell on the Union batteries and silenced them. After a further struggle, the right flank of the Union line caved in and the Federals started to flee in panic, a panic made worse by the presence of many civilians who had come out from Dee Cee to watch the fun. The hasty Federal retreat might well have turned into a rout, but the Southerners were too tired and too inexperienced to capitalize on their fortune. Altogether, the Federals lost about 3000 troops to the Confederates' loss of about 2000.

I've said before that Bull Run is an excellent battlefield to visit, especially for beginners. It's compact enough to allow one to take in most of the field of fighting from one spot. Furthermore, despite the enormous development around it, the immediate area looks pretty much the same way it did back then.