Background
The elderly general-in-chief of the army, Winfield Scott, advised caution. Scott had been skeptical of the abilities of militia and volunteer troops since his service in the War of 1812. He feared that the men in service lacked the skills necessary to perform well. Scott instead suggested that the United States bide its time, train troops to proficiency, and institute a blockade of the Confederacy. Although the United States would eventually adopt Scott's so-called Anaconda Plan, Lincoln decided to order an advance.
In eastern Virginia, Confederate general P. G. T. Beauregard and his Army of the Potomac with approximately 21,000 men protected Manassas Junction, where the Orange and Alexandria Railroad and the Manassas Gap Railroad met. Most important, the Manassas Gap Railroad gave the Confederates an advantage because it connected Beauregard with the 11,000 Confederates of the Army of the Shenandoah under General Joseph E. Johnston in the Shenandoah Valley. In the event of a Union advance against either force, the Confederate generals could utilize the railroad to concentrate their men to meet it.
Under orders from Lincoln, McDowell began his advance south on July 16, intending to move to Centreville and then to Manassas Junction, where he would sever the Confederate rail line connecting the Shenandoah Valley and the east. He depended on Patterson to occupy Johnston, however, and Patterson proved utterly inept at the task. Confederate forces in the Valley expected they could slip away undetected.
A sharp skirmish on July 18 set the stage for the Battle of Manassas. As Union general Daniel Tyler advanced through Centreville, he exceeded his orders and decided to test the Confederate forces at Blackburn's Ford. There, Confederate general James Longstreet lay in wait. He stopped Tyler's advance, and although casualties on both sides were light, the action shaped both McDowell and Beauregard's plans.
McDowell, although displeased with Tyler's overenthusiastic advance, determined to avoid the obviously strong force at Blackburn's Ford. Proceeding west from Blackburn's Ford, crossings of Bull Run lay at Mitchell's Ford, Island Ford, Ball's Ford, Lewis Ford, Stone Bridge, Poplar (or Farm) Ford, and Sudley Ford. Confederate detachments protected all of the crossings up to the Stone Bridge. Accordingly, McDowell planned to flank the Confederate line by crossing far beyond the Confederate left at Sudley Ford and then wheeling behind the Confederate line. While the flanking column worked its way into position, other detachments would demonstrate at both Blackburn's Ford and the Stone Bridge in order to distract the Confederates.
The Battle
Colonel Nathan "Shanks" Evans and his Confederate troops were positioned at the Stone Bridge to meet Tyler's possible attack. Evans had acquired the nickname at West Point as a mocking reference to his spindly legs (spindle shanks). Infamous for having an orderly carry around a keg of whiskey he had nicknamed "barrelito," Shanks and his brigade remained impassive in the face of the Union troops who seemed content to remain on their side of Bull Run. Evans kept his men largely concealed, only allowing his pickets to trade fire with Tyler's men as he awaited a more serious advance.
At nine o'clock in the morning, Confederate signal officer E. Porter Alexander caught sight of the flanking column just making its way across Sudley Ford and immediately informed both headquarters and Evans—"Look to your left, you are turned"—the first use of wigwag signaling in combat. Grasping the gravity of the situation, Evans moved the bulk of his men to block its advance, leaving only a few to hold Tyler. As he took position on the slopes of Matthews Hill, it appeared as though Evans, with a lone brigade, would confront a full two Union divisions.
Bee, meanwhile, had heard the firing earlier in the morning and moved his brigade, along with the brigade of Francis Bartow, from its position in the center to a location farther left. They initially marched up Henry House Hill, a prominence to the east of Matthews Hill. As they did this, the lead troops of the Union flanking column, under Rhode Islander Ambrose E. Burnside, encountered Evans's line. The battle had begun in earnest. For nearly an hour, Evans and his Confederates held. As they began to buckle under the pressure of the Union advance, help arrived in the form of Bee's and Bartow's brigades, which had moved from Henry House Hill to Matthews Hill.
As fighting seesawed between Burnside and Bartow, Bee, and Evans, another Union commander took steps that would unravel the Confederate line on Matthews Hill. Colonel William T. Sherman, with a Union brigade, crossed Bull Run at Poplar (or Farm) Ford, which lay behind the Confederate lines on Matthews Hill. His brigade entered the fray, prompting a Confederate retreat.
Until midafternoon, fighting swirled along Henry House Hill as both sides fed more troops into the fight. In the confusion, both Confederate and Union troops fell victim to friendly fire. At this early date in the war, uniforms had not been standardized and both armies carried similar-looking flags. (In part, the Confederate battle flag was born out of this confusion.) More than once, troops fired on their comrades, convinced that they were the enemy. Bartow and Bee lost their lives, and the widow Henry, who had refused to leave her house, also perished during the fighting. By three o'clock, the Confederates had gained the upper hand at Henry House Hill.
McDowell, in midafternoon, attempted to salvage the situation. He ordered an advance on Chinn Ridge, which lay to the southwest of Henry House Hill. From there, he could potentially flank the Confederate position. Unfortunately for McDowell, the Confederates anticipated this maneuver. Brigades under Arnold Elzey and Jubal A. Early stymied the Union advance toward Chinn Ridge.
Aftermath
McDowell's men retreated through Centreville and on to Washington, D.C. Although some units certainly fled in a panic, enough Union troops maintained their composure to hold the Confederates at bay. The Confederates, for their part, exhausted after the fighting of the day and badly disorganized themselves, were in no shape to mount a sustained pursuit of the fleeing army.
Time Line
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July 16, 1861 - Union general Irvin McDowell begins his advance against Confederates guarding Manassas Junction.
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July 19, 1861 - Joseph E. Johnston's Confederate troops from the Shenandoah Valley begin arriving by the Manassas Gap Railroad to reinforce Confederate general P. G. T. Beauregard near Manassas Junction.
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July 20, 1861 - Confederate general Joseph E. Johnston arrives at P. G. T. Beauregard's headquarters near Manassas Junction.
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July 21, 1861, 6:00am - Union general Daniel Tyler begins the First Battle of Manassas with his demonstration at Stone Bridge.
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July 21, 1861, 9:30 a.m. - The Union flanking column's lead troops, commanded by Ambrose E. Burnside, cross Sudley Ford across Bull Run.
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July 21, 1861, 10:00 a.m. - Union troops under Ambrose E. Burnside begin fighting with Confederates under Nathan "Shanks" Evans positioned on Matthews Hill during the First Battle of Manassas.
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July 21, 1861, 11:30 a.m. - Confederate forces at Matthews Hill retire to Henry House Hill during the First Battle of Manassas. Union general Irvin McDowell halts his advance, giving the Confederates time to consolidate their new position.
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July 21, 1861, 2:00–3:00 p.m. - Fighting around Henry House Hill winds down during the First Battle of Manassas.
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July 21, 1861: 3:00 p.m. - Union colonel Oliver Otis Howard advances on Chinn Ridge, a prominence that would aid the Union troops in dislodging Confederate forces posted on Henry House Hill during the First Battle of Manassas.
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July 21, 1861 - Union troops, turned back at Chinn Ridge and failing to take Henry House Hill, begin to withdraw toward Centreville during the First Battle of Manassas. Soon, the retreat becomes a rout, with many of Irvin McDowell's men rushing pell-mell back to Centreville. McDowell determines the army must return to Washington, D.C.
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July 26, 1861 - George B. McClellan, having been summoned to Washington, D.C., by President Abraham Lincoln, is given command of Union troops there.
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Categories
- Civil War, American (1861–1865)
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First published: September 27, 2010 | Last modified: December 6, 2012