Manassas, First

The American Civil War's opening major clash occurred at what Union forces named the First Battle of Bull Run, while Confederate soldiers referred to it as First Manassas. Fighting broke out on July 21, 1861, within Prince William County, Virginia, situated just north of the present day city of Manassas and roughly thirty miles west-southwest from Washington, D.C. Sluggish Union positioning gave Confederate reinforcements the opportunity to reach the field by rail. Roughly 18,000 soldiers fought on each side, none of them well trained or well commanded. When the fighting ended, the Confederacy had won, and Union soldiers fled the field in a chaotic retreat.

Only months after fighting erupted at Fort Sumter, citizens in the North demanded an offensive against Richmond, Virginia, the Confederate capital, believing such action would quickly crush the rebellion. Bowing to this political demand, Brigadier General Irvin McDowell moved his green Union troops across Bull Run to confront Brigadier General P. G. T. Beauregard's equally untested Confederate forces, then encamped close to Manassas Junction. McDowell had devised an ambitious scheme to surprise the Confederate left flank, but execution fell short. Ironically, Confederate commanders had themselves intended to strike the Union's left, and thus began the engagement at a temporary disadvantage.

Everything shifted once Brigadier General Joseph E. Johnston brought Confederate reinforcements down from the Shenandoah Valley aboard the railroad. Among the arriving troops was a brigade of Virginians commanded by Thomas J. Jackson, then a little known brigadier general out of the Virginia Military Institute. His men held firm under pressure, earning their commander the legendary nickname "Stonewall." A powerful Confederate counterattack followed, and as Union soldiers pulled back under fire, discipline collapsed and the withdrawal degenerated into a rout. Soldiers under McDowell scattered in disorder, fleeing toward Washington, D.C. without any semblance of order.

Sobered by intense combat and heavy losses, commanders on both sides came to understand that this war would stretch on far longer and claim far more lives than either had imagined. This first engagement at Bull Run exposed the weaknesses that would plague armies throughout the war's early months: forces thrown into combat piecemeal, attacks made head on, infantry that left artillery unguarded, scant tactical intelligence, and generals unable to bring their entire strength to bear. Though McDowell commanded 35,000 troops, he managed to deploy only about 18,000 of them, and the Confederates, numbering roughly 32,000 in total, likewise committed just 18,000 to the fight.

Background

South Carolina became the first Southern state to break from the Union, declaring secession on December 20, 1860. Within six weeks, by February 1, 1861, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas had likewise passed ordinances of secession. Delegates meeting in Montgomery, Alabama, adopted the Constitution of the Confederate States of America on February 8, 1861. Weeks later, on March 1, Confederate States Army forces took over military authority at Charleston, South Carolina, from the state troops who had held it. The conflict turned violent on April 12, when Confederate batteries opened fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, a post the United States Army had occupied since December 26, 1860. Union forces there surrendered two days later, and on April 15, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed that an insurrection against United States law existed.

Seeking to put down the rebellion and restore federal authority across the South, Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers to serve ninety-day terms, adding them to a standing army of roughly 15,000 men present for duty. He subsequently accepted another 40,000 volunteers enlisted for three years, swelling the Army's ranks to 156,861 and, by July 1, to 183,588 present for duty. These moves pushed four additional states, Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee, to secede and join the Confederacy. When Confederate President Jefferson Davis reached Richmond, Virginia, on May 29, 1861, the Confederate seat of government shifted there from Montgomery.

Volunteer regiments summoned by the states poured into Washington, D.C., to guard the capital. On May 3, General in Chief Lt. Gen. Winfield Scott outlined a plan for defeating the Confederacy, envisioning an 80,000-man force descending the Mississippi River to seize New Orleans while the Navy blockaded the Gulf and eastern coastlines, effectively squeezing the South from both directions. Newspapers mocked this scheme, labeling it the "Anaconda Plan." Many instead assumed that seizing Richmond, the Confederate capital lying just 100 miles (160 km) south of Washington, would bring a swift end to the fighting. By July, thousands of Union volunteers were encamped throughout the Washington area. Because Scott, at seventy-five, was no longer fit to personally lead troops into the field, officials began looking for someone else to command the campaign.

Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase backed a fellow Ohioan, the 42-year-old Maj. Irvin McDowell, for the post. McDowell had graduated from West Point but possessed scant experience leading troops, having spent most of his career in staff roles within the Adjutant General's Office. His acquaintance with Chase, a former Ohio governor and senator, had developed during his time stationed in the capital. With Chase's backing, McDowell jumped three ranks to brigadier general in the Regular Army, and on May 27 Lincoln placed him in charge of the Department of Northeastern Virginia, encompassing the troops gathered in and around Washington. McDowell set to work assembling what would be called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, some 35,000 men organized into five divisions. Political and public demands for action left him little time to drill his inexperienced troops, who learned to maneuver as regiments but received scarcely any instruction at brigade or division level. Lincoln offered him reassurance, telling him that though his men lacked experience, so did the enemy, since both sides were equally green.

Sesquicentennial

Throughout 2011, Prince William County held a series of special events to mark the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. Thanks to these efforts to spotlight the war's historical significance, the American Bus Association ranked Manassas as the top tourist destination in the United States for that year. A reenactment of the battle, staged on July 23-24, 2011, served as the centerpiece of the commemoration. Visitors could also take tours of the Manassas battlefield and other sites within the county across the year, alongside various additional events and activities tied to the anniversary. Separately, the City of Manassas held its own observance of the battle's 150th anniversary from July 21 to 24, 2011.