THE FIRST BATTLE OF BULL RUN
By; Rasheed & Jarrett

The First Battle of Bull Run, also known as the First Battle of Manassas (the name used by Confederate forces and still often used in the South), was the first major land battle of the American Civil War, fought on July 21, 1861, near Manassas, Virginia. Unseasoned Union Army troops under Brig. Gen.Irvin McDowell advanced across Bull Run against the equally unseasoned Confederate Army under Brig. Gens. Joseph E. Johnston and P.G.T. Beauregard, and despite the Union's early successes, they were routed and forced to retreat back to Washington, D.C.
In July 1861 the northern newspapers pressured President Lincoln to bring a quick end to the rebellion of the southern states. Adding to the strain was Lincoln's awareness that the ninety-day enlistments of the recruits who had responded to his call to arms after the attack on Fort Sumter were rapidly coming to an end. Something had to be done, and soon. Lincoln pressed for action. Despite his hesitancy that his troops were not yet adequately trained, General Irvin McDowell proposed a plan. He would march his army of 35,000, currently bivouacked around Washington, thirty miles south and attack the Confederate forces defending the vital railroad junction at Manassas, Virginia. Victory would open the way to the Confederate capital at Richmond. Late in the afternoon, Confederate reinforcements (one brigade arriving by rail from the Shenandoah Valley) extended and broke the Union right flank. The Federal retreat rapidly deteriorated into a rout. Although victorious, Confederate forces were too disorganized to pursue Confederate Genral.