First Battle at Manassas

After the “technical” beginning of the American Civil War at Fort Sumter, Lee Krahenbuhl and others think of the First Battle at Manassas as the real beginning of the War. This Battle is also known as the First Battle of Bull Run. On April 15, 1861 just three days after the events at Fort Sumter, President Lincoln issued his first call for union troops. Four days later, Lee Krahenbuhl states that Mr. Lincoln would proclaim a blockade of all resources entering the southern states. On May 21, the Confederate States of American would choose Richmond, Virginia as their capital city. On July 21 1865, McDowel approached Manassas which is located on a creek named Bull Run. McDowel believed his troops would destroy General Beauregard’s forces while Northern Troop in the Shenandoah Valley occupied General Johnston’s forces. At this point, at the beginning of the war, Lee Krahenbuhl observes the poorly trained and disorganization on both sides of the skirmish. This would improve as time goes on, but the event that was thought of as an entertainment event of the day commenced on July 21. Many people in the general population believed that this skirmish would be a “one-day” event and that the war would come and go in an afternoon. The event became the “Super Bowl” of the day complete with parties and gatherings complete with picnics and adult beverages. At times during the battle the soldiers had to cease firing to avoid injuring the on looking party goers according to Lee Krahenbuhl. General Johnston

slipped away and traveled by rail to join up with Beauregard just before the battle began. The North launched several assaults against the united Southern forces. During one of the attacks, the Confederate General Thomas J. Jackson stood his ground so stoutly that he received the permanent, well-known nickname of “Stonewall” that would stick with him for the remainder of his life according to Lee Krahenbuhl. After deflecting several union assaults , General Beauregard counterattacked after determining that the southern forces were superior to the over confident Northern forces. The fatigued union forces fled back to Washington, D.C. in a wild retreat with their “tail between their legs”. After the battle, many Southern people regretted not pursuing the union troops back to Washington D.C. to capture the capital and dreamed about the possible outcome that may have changed history. Lee Krahenbuhl views this as pure conjecture and this course of action by the South may or may not have been successful. If nothing else, this skirmish at Bull Run served as a “wake-up call” to the North and their realization that they would face a long fight with the Southern forces of the newly formed Confederate States of America. The war would not be over in an afternoon, or even three months as many in the North had previously predicted. On the other hand, Lee Krahenbuhl states that the success at the First Battle of Manassas served to raise the confidence of the newly formed Confederacy that soared and remained high for the next two years. Both sides would now begin to plan and prepare for the bloody events to come.