The First Battle of Bull Run was the first major battle of the Civil War, was fought in Virginia, near Manassas, on July 21, 1861. The main general of the Federal army was Brigadier General Irwin McDowell, whose forces consisted of 30,000 men split into five divisions. General Joseph E. Johnston led the Confederate army, with about 22,000 men, though his army was not yet organized. Bull Run was fought to defend Richmond, which the Union thought they could rush, and end the war quickly. McDowell's troops suffered greatly from inexperience, but his plans were designed for experience troops. This gave the Confederates time to dig in, and when the slow-moving Union army finally reached the battlefield, lack of coordination between officers didn't allow the Union to take advantage of its superior numbers. The battle was largely a stalemate until the arrival of Confederate reinforcements, who forced the Union to retreat back to Washington.
Irvin McDowell, General during the American Civil ...
English: First Battle of Bull Run, chromolithograp...
Partial map of the First Battle of Bull Run of the...In this battle, the Union suffered about 2900 casualties, and the Confederates had about 2000. This battle, though a Confederate victory, was not very decisive. Although the total number of Union troops at Bull Run was about 35,000 and the Confederates had about 32,500 only about 18,000 men on each side were actually engaged in combat.
The first major battle of the Civil War was fought in Virginia, near the Manassas, Virginia railway junction, after which the battle is called (or First Bull Run, named after the flowing stream on the battlefield, if of the Union persuasion). The armies in this first battle were not very large by later Civil War standards. The Federal forces under Brigadier General Irvin McDowell were organized into four divisions (five, if one includes Runyan's division), of about 30,000 men. These divisions were commanded by Tyler, Hunter, Heintzelman, (Runyan), and...