[Music] [Applause] [Music] hi I'm Dan horn with discerning history after the South's accession in the Battle of Fort Sumter Lincoln called for 75,000 troops to be raised to put down the South the newly formed Confederate government began raising troops as well with both sides preparing for war the conflict was not far distant in just a few months the two sides would meet on the fields along the stream a bull run there would occur a battle of such size and cost that the nation would be shocked and the expectations of the war would change the commander of the United States Army was General Winfield Scott he's got had been born in Virginia 75 years earlier but in 1861 his loyalties were not to his native state he'd been in the Army for over 45 years and had led the United States to victory in several Wars but he was long past his prime he was 6 foot 5 inches tall but so heavy that he can no longer ride a horse was upon this officer along with President Lincoln that the responsibility fell to prepare the United States for war Lincoln and Scott worked to assemble an army they were afraid that the South might make an attempt to capture Washington the volunteer regiments were gathered from all over the United States and then moved by railroad to Washington DC to be trained into an army to prosecute the war the volunteers came enthusiastically but organizing and training them would be a major undertaking although the United States had a small army before the war they didn't use those troops for the new greatly expanded volunteer army instead they would leave most the regular regiments where they were and create the new army from scratch there were hundreds of aspects which need to be worked to successfully prosecute the war from training the troops to keeping them supplied with tons of food a day to creating prisoner of war camps to expanding the Navy all this had to be done as soon as possible so they could get an advantage on the Confederates if the Confederates were not the only opposition the United States faced the government also had to deal with opposition from within the loyal state the state of Maryland was in many ways part of the south the mason-dixon line was actually the northern border of Maryland surveyed in the 1760s by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon the state was sharply divided between the Union and secession elements the Yankee troops marching to Washington passed through Baltimore a hotbed of secession fervor violence could break out at any time and on April 18th 460 Pennsylvania troops marching through Baltimore encounter an angry mob throwing stones and shouting insults at the passing troops however the Baltimore Police Force was able to keep the crowd under control the next day would be much different when the six Massachusetts arrived in Baltimore by train they would have to travel 10 blocks to transfer between trains is there was no direct rail line to Washington they were traveling this distance in rail cars pulled by horses at a secessionist mob gathered blocking the route and making further advance impossible the Yankee troops exited the cars and moved into formation and began marching through the city the angry mob showered the troops with stones and bricks some even firing off pistols in response some of the soldiers fired into the crowd a confused fight broke out between the soldiers the mob and the police was several on all sides being injured finally after abandoning much of their equipment the troops were able to reach safety this found that four soldiers have been killed and thirty-six wounded and twelve civilians were killed with an unknown number wounded avoid further conflict the government began routing troops to Annapolis instead is demonstrated by the riot a large section of the Maryland populace was Pro secession and a group of leading citizens were able to convince Governor Thomas Hicks to call a special session of the legislature to consider secession he convened this assembling the strongly Pro Uniontown of Frederick rather than Baltimore the usual meeting place the legislature tried to make Maryland neutral the secession resolution was defeated but they called for the recognition the Confederacy's independence protested the occupation of Maryland to present Lincoln and tried to refuse access to Union troops the assembly adjourned in August planning to reassemble the next month but that was not to be Lincoln was determined that Maryland would not secede or even declare itself neutral that would cut off the capital of Washington from any supporting State Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus who quickly raided Maryland jailing thirty-one pro-southern legislators as well as other prominent citizens martial law was declared in Baltimore and the mayor and head of the police force were arrested imprisoned at Fort McHenry Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger B Taney considered Lincoln's actions regarding Maryland in the case ex parte Merriman involving Lieutenant John Merriman who had been arrested by the government after recruiting soldiers for the Confederate Army in cutting telegraph wires and burning bridges the court issued a writ of habeas corpus to the military which requires them to show the reason for Maryland's confinement you don't ignored the writ in accordance with Lincoln's orders Herrmann remained confined and all Taney could do was assert that the president was not authorized to suspend the writ of habeas corpus as the Constitution gave that right to Congress alone the court only has a power of words in Lincoln in the rest of the government with him simply ignored it [Music] the South was furiously raising army as well after John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859 the states began to think of the possibility of a large-scale war against northern abolitionists each state had a militia composed of all able-bodied men but the states realized that their militia forces were in a very unorganized and undisciplined state would not be able to put up a strong resistance against a northern attack many states began reorganizations of the militia groups all over the south form volunteer companies training for the possibility of war state legislatures allocated money to buy weapons to fill their Arsenal's when the time of war came these preparations would help in forming an army to defend themselves this war threatened in early 1861 the people were enthusiastic at the prospect that was the primary topic of conversation everywhere and the men couldn't sign up fast enough they were anxious to join the army to strike a blow to keep out the northern invaders Benjamin Palmer a New Orleans theologian and order sent a farewell speech to Washington artillery an elite Louisiana battery it is a war of defense against wicked and cruel aggression a war of civilization against a ruthless barbarism which would dishonor the Dark Ages a war of religion against a blind and bloody fanaticism it is a war for your homes and your firesides for your wives and your children for the land which the Lord has given us for a heritage it is a war for the maintenance of the broadest principle for which a free people can contend for the right of self-government the many Southerners who wanted to fight for their States join local volunteer companies some of which had their roots in the agitation after John Brown's raid they adopted colorful names for their companies reflecting their region such as the dismal swamp Rangers the camdenites or the Jefferson sharpshooters after organizing themselves into companies they proceeded to elect officers by voting this method sometimes produced good results but sometimes in nine it made the process of appointing officers go quickly as the men chose the man who they thought would be best fitted to the job sometimes men were chosen wisely men who were good leaders or had training at one of the military colleges but sometimes they picked men who had no redeeming qualities other than being able to convince people to vote for them one source of men with experience to train the new troops was the southern military academies me the states had military academies like the federal government's at West Point Virginia's was Virginia Military Institute in Lexington Virginia the cadets there although they had not even graduated yet were called upon to teach the new Virginian soldiers what they knew the Institute received the order calling for the cadets on April 20th 1861 appointed to command the column was Major Thomas Jonathan Jackson Jackson was born in Virginia became an orphan at a young age but was able to get an appointment to West Point through hard work he did well there and upon his graduation fought with distinction in the Mexican War as an artillery officer in 1851 he accepted a position at VMI is a professor of natural and experimental philosophy and a professor of artillery Jackson was a terrible teacher he would memorize his lectures and recite them to his class when asked a question he would simply recite again what he had already told them nonetheless he was a good military officer and a very pious man a deacon at the Presbyterian Church the cadets thought him very eccentric calling him tomfool he displayed one of these eccentricities in the start of the march towards Richmond he'd been ordered to move out at 12:30 p.m. but the cadets were formed her to prayer and were prepared to march a few minutes before the appointed time murmurs of complaint ran down the lines as they remained halted but Jackson believed that orders were orders he had been ordered to march at 12:30 he wouldn't move a minute early or a minute late as the clock struck twelve thirty Jackson and the cadets stepped off they were headed off for a war that would change their lives in ways that they couldn't have imagined [Music] as both sides recruited their men and appointed their officers they also had the duty to supply the men with weapons and equipment for the last several hundred years the main weapon had been the smoothbore musket it fired a bullet through a smooth barrel with the range being about 90 yards rifles were used as well but rarely rifles have grooving in the barrel to put a spin on the bullet giving the weapon much greater range and accuracy but they took much longer to load because the ball had to be pushed down through the grooves however in 1847 Claude mini invented what was called the minie ball it expanded when fired which enabled the bullet to be just dropped down the rifle and then when fired the bullet would expand to fill the grooves so that it would spin the invention of the minie ball allowed the accurate rifles to be loaded just as fast as the inaccurate smooth board with this important development many American military officers predicted a rapid change in how wars would be fine they expected battles to take place over much longer distances since the weapons had a much greater range surprisingly this didn't occur in the scale many were expecting the problem was in the trajectory of the bullet their rifles fireballs at a much slower speed than mono rifles this means that the bullets going too big slow arch towards their target which means that when firing at a target more than a few hundred feet away the sights would need to be adjusted so that the bullet would arrive at the target at the right height the soldier would have to estimate his distance from the target to know how to properly adjust his sights on the shooting range this would seem easy it's much harder in violent an error of only fifty feet could mean missing the target completely it took training for the men to be able to reliably in a target in battle in the Civil War most men never touched their sights the Union Army even stopped making rifles with adjustable sights because they were never used for the average Civil War soldier he might almost as well be using a smooth board the average combat range changed from 90 yards with smooth force to 140 yards with the new rifles this was an important change although was not as catastrophic as one might think today many criticised civil war tactics saying that they were using modern long-range rifles while still marching in formations without camouflage while their weapons had the capability to fire long ranges the vast majority of men were never able to utilize that capability there were some specialized groups of sharp shooters who sniped over long distances but most men were not able to make full use of their weapons when the war first began both sides had bad shortages of equipment but the problems were more acute and longer-lasting in the south the South had few factories so they were unable to produce many things required to fight a full-scale war they faced large gunpowder shortages which would mean that they would be very limited in how many battles they could fight when the units were first raised there was a huge variety in equipment in uniforms they were given supplies on the state militia storehouses are sometimes the community raise money for equipment the uniforms came in all different colors and sometimes the men had none at all this would be very confusing on the battlefield attaining weapons was also a problem those who had weapons mostly received old smoothbores that had been in storage for many years but many had no weapons at all some received their weapons for the first time as they were going into battle against the gunpowder shortages there was also little target practice but many men knew how to use their weapons from hunting before the war as the men were issued weapons they continued to train for coming battles then as now discipline was crucial and an effective fighting force men needed to be trained to obey orders mechanically without question so their lives would be saved on the battlefield man's instinct is to run under fire and they needed to be trained to stand firm in danger often the battles were not mourned by the most numerous or best equipped but by those who were the most disciplined and were able to stand firm while their enemies fled the officers were in charge of drilling a man but many of them had no experience themselves some stayed at night what they would teach their men the next day one southern cavalry captain expressed this in a letter to his wife you can scarcely form an idea of the difficulties responsibilities and labors of a captain's position in times like these to keep 60 or 70 raw undisciplined troops in proper subjection to instruct them attend to all their once to gratify and deny them to keep up their spirits to punish and reward and all the while retain a respect and regard is no easy task I assure you Lincoln and Scott formed two armies to use in the strategy to capture Richmond Major General Robert Patterson commanded an army of 18,000 which was poised at the foot of the Shenandoah Valley Patterson was a good friend of Scots who had been born in Ireland in 1792 but emigrated with his family at a young age he entered the army during the war of 1812 advanced to the rank of colonel he was a major general in the Mexican War and was Scots second-in-command in the capture of Mexico City in 1861 Patterson was the only man available to Scott who had led large groups of men in battle but only as a subordinate commander Patterson was not prepared for independent command and demonstrate indecision which showed that he was unqualified Patterson was poised to attack the Shenandoah Valley because of its strategic importance it remained very important throughout the Civil War it was a route of invasion through which southern forces can move sheltered by the Blue Ridge Mountains and cross the Potomac and continue to Washington DC it was also called the breadbasket of the Confederacy because of the supplies it gave to feed the Confederate troops the other Union Army Scott form contained 35,000 men under brigadier general Irvin McDowell who was positioned around Washington DC McDowell had been a soldier for many years a graduate from West what he served with distinction in the Mexican War was on Winfield Scott's staff for many years and was his close friend McDowell was not popular having a horrible memory for names and sometimes losing his temper he was also infamous for his eating habits which one of his staff officers remember at dinner he was such a gargantuan feeder and so absorbed in the dishes before him that he had but little time for conversation while he drank neither wine nor spirits he fairly gobbled a larger part of every dish within reach and wound up with an entire watermelon McDowell's Army in Washington was the largest field army ever assembled in North America Lincoln's strategy was for McDowell to advance upon the main Confederate force in Manassas Junction while Patterson drove the Confederate forces southward up the Shenandoah Valley protecting McDowell's flank to resist these two powerful Union armies the Confederate government assembled two armies as well in Virginia the overall commander at the beginning of the war was general robert e lee Lee was one of the most famous officers in the old army and he had been appointed commander of the Virginia militia for the first few months of the war he was directing all the States troops in Virginia a force of 20,000 was assembled opposite of Washington DC once the troops were put under the control of the Confederacy general PGT Beauregard was appointed its commander on may 31st Beauregard was immensely popular at the time since he had been commander the troops at the conquest of Fort Sumter he looked like an ideal soldier with his military carriage and mustache well he was a good engineer he was not an expert at strategy well he made up many bold and daring plans and proposed them to his superiors they were all fundamentally flawed he always required more troops which the government usually didn't have available they did not plan well for contingencies if the enemy didn't do exactly what he expected everything would go wrong he was melodramatic in his letters to his superiors and his addresses to the people in leading the army outside of Washington he worked hard to Train reinforcements and keep the army functioning as he prepared to throw back at Union advance complained to the War Department on June 18 about his lack of supplies we dare not make known the condition of the army they are not percussion caps enough in our army for serious skirmish it will be obviated in a few weeks and until then I pray there may be no battle but if the enemy advance our brave men will give them the cold steel we must win the first battle at All Hazards and at any cost and after that how long after we must win the last the other Confederate Army was at Harpers Ferry it had been formed around the nucleus of troops under Colonel Thomas J Jackson the teacher from VMI in April he had taken command of the militia companies that had been moved into the town just after the Federals had abandoned it in flames he turned the militia there into soldiers and although he drilled them hard they respected him he taught them what it meant to be a soldier to the annoyance of some he considered a gun cloth a blanket a toothbrush and 40 rounds of cartridges as the full equipment of a gentleman soldier one of the problems of Jackson encountered with his men is that they were getting drunk off of whiskey they found in the town so he ordered all the whiskey to be poured out into the river but the men surround and lowered buckets to catch as much as they could in May the government appointed a higher ranking commander for the growing force in Harpers Ferry it was Brigadier General Joseph E Johnston he along with Lee and Beauregard was another those distinguished officers in the US Army that joined the south he was a West pointer had been wounded and gained distinction several times fighting Indians in the Mexican at the time of secession he was a brigadier general and quartermaster of the army he worked with Jackson to turn the troops in Harpers Ferry from civilians into disciplined soldiers many of the subordinate officers in these two armies were men who would later rise to great prominence in BO regards Army Brigadier General Richard s Ewell was one of the brigade commanders he had gone to West Point that's serve in the lagoons for many years he was one of the most eccentric commanders in the army and a skirmish on May 31st he became one of the first generals to be wounded James Longstreet from South Carolina was a competent commander who had seen long service Jubal Early was a Virginia soldier who was involved in politics as well he had been a member of the Virginia secession convention and although he voted against secession he still wanted to fight to defend his state but Johnson and Jackson was Colonel Jeb Stewart with his first Virginia cavalry he was a talented Calvary officer who had served in Bleeding Kansas and had been robert e lee's second-in-command when putting down John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry before the war he was flashy showy cheerful and delighted in bold deeds once near Harpers Ferry when testing out a horse he were right through the middle of the Union camp he was very good at both getting into and out of very dangerous situations [Music] this is Harpers Ferry at the foot of the Shenandoah Valley where Johnston's army was in early June of 1861 Harpers Ferry is the key to the Shenandoah Valley and the Shenandoah Valley is the key to Virginia it's the gate to both Virginia and Washington and it was one of the most crucial locations in the war it changed hands eight times Patterson prepared to move on Harpers Ferry in the first weeks of June his plan was to threaten an attack here on Maryland Heights at the same time crossing the river upstream at Martinsburg in cutting the Confederate communications although he had received word that Johnston was abandoning Harpers Ferry Patterson was very worried he sent a message to the Secretary of War on June 10th requesting a few more troops remember I II beseech you that Harpers Ferry is as I have said from the first the place where the first great battle will be fought and the result will be decisive of the future the insurgents are strongly entrenched have an immense number of guns and will contest every inch of the ground under these circumstances I earnestly an urgently request that you order the regiment's expected in Harrisburg and the three news Jerzy regiments to proceed to this place with all dispatch the importance of victory Harpers Ferry cannot be estimated I cannot sleep for thinking about it remember my dear general that my reputation and the reputation of our dear old state is at stake in this issue I beseech you therefore by our ancient friendship give me the means of success you have the means place them my disposal and shoot me if I do not use them to advantage on June 15th it was reported to Patterson that the Confederates had retreated from Harpers Ferry leaving it in flames Johnston is one of the most famous military men in the south was very conscious of his reputation so conscious in fact that he was scared to do anything to damage it he never wanted to take a chance it might ruin his reputation the government in Richmond gave him permission to ban in Harpers Ferry if he thought it was necessary and so he decided to abandon it rather than risking a battle against the superior forces coming against him Patterson was still cautious but the report was true he delayed his advance for several weeks when he finally moved in early July skirmishing with the southerners he moved slowly and cautiously both sides greatly overrated the other string Patterson thought he was greatly outnumbered even though he actually outnumbered Johnston Patterson's force had many three-month volunteers whose enlistments were about to expire and he didn't believe that they would have enough morale to fight right before they would return home his officers advised him not to move he thought that Johnson was luring him into a trap he received reinforcements but still he waited delaying movement until July 15 he halted before coming into contact with Johnston's forces and decided that he would continue on the next day he had waited a little too long as the soldiers in both the north and the south prepared to move for battle they wrote letters home some of which would be their last Sullivan Ballou was a major in the second Rhode Island volunteers and he wrote a letter to his wife Sarah on July 14th my very dear Sarah the indications are very strong that we shall move in a few days perhaps tomorrow lest I should not be able to write you again I feel impelled to write lines that may fall under your eye when I shall be no more the memories of the blissful moments I have spent with you come creeping over me and I feel most gratified to God and to you that I have enjoyed them so long and hard it is for me to give them up and burn to ashes the hopes of future years when God willing we might still have lived and loved together and seen our sons go up to honourable manhood around us Oh Sarah I wait for you there come to me and lead further my children Sullivan [Music] McDowell's army marched south on July 16th at 2:00 p.m. he didn't think his army was ready he believed that they were too inexperienced to risk a battle but when McDowell asked for more time Lincoln refused you are green it is true but they are green also you are all green alike their inexperience was clearly demonstrated in their march south the weather was hot and the federal troops fell on a line at every stream to get water they stopped to go berry picking at small creeks they held up the column for hours taking off their shoes to keep them from getting wet moving large bodies of troops on narrow roads is always slow a stop at one point in the line backs up everyone marches are virtually always hurrying and waiting with the inexperience of the green troops the problem was even worse they spent two days on a very short march McDowell expected to be ambushed so he intentionally moved slowly and cautiously however he encountered no serious resistance he planned to converge on Fairfax courthouse and capture a Confederate Brigade there when he arrived he found that the brigade had fallen back and harmed McDowell eventually encountered Beauregard army forming up along the small Creek at Bull Run was very anxious about what the results would be but he decided to send one of his divisions that of Tyler forward the next day to reckon order the Confederates one of the only men in America more worried than McDowell was Beauregard he was desperate for reinforcements and sent a message after message to Richmond requesting more men even untrained militia just anything to stand up to the advancing northern armed however the Confederates had a plan that would change the force proportions drastically since Patterson had moved slowly and not pressed hard on Johnston Johnson still had the ability to move the plan was for Johnson to move quickly to join with Beauregard to attack McDowell the Patterson have been more prompt in his movements it would have been much more difficult for Johnson to disengage from Patterson's forces this move was only possible because of the railroads the civil war was the first war to use railroads as a means to transport further it added a whole new dynamic to campaign strategy supplies and troops could be quickly moved from one point to another railroads and their Depot's became important strategic location Beauregard held Manassas Junction Johnson's troops can move almost directly onto the battlefield as they were arranging the maneuver Beauregard suggested one of his characteristically grandiose plans he wanted Johnson to rendezvous with him by attacking McDowell's rear well this might sound good on paper it was a terrible suggestion successfully coordinating two separate groups to attack a certain point at the same instant after having moved dozens of miles without being discovered by the enemy would have been nearly impossible thankfully for the Confederates it was decided not to attempt it instead Johnson's men would disembark at Manassas Junction early on the morning of July 18th he got his orders for the movement from Richmond he decided to try to sneak away without Patterson knowing Patterson remained placidly in his camp while Johnson's men loaded onto railroad cars to assist Beauregard in rushing the northern troops the train couldn't carry all the troops in Wynne life it took several trips to get all the men to Manassas also there were logistical issues that left men sitting motionless in the trains for hours and they finally had all of their men moved the Confederacy had reached a significant milestone in military history for the first time in the annals of war they had used a railroad to concentrate their forces in the face of a superior enemy now the two sides were evenly matched McDowell had 37,000 men while Johnson and Beauregard had 35,000 the day before the battle the Confederate camp was filled with tension and excitement everyone knew that that'll would soon be fine and although they also knew that there would be deaths almost everyone wanted to participate in the battle that would end the war Beauregard issued one of his flamboyant proclamations on July 17 in order to build up the troops morale for the coming fight the general commanding the Army of the Potomac announces to his command that at length the enemy have advanced to subjugate a sovereign and impose upon a free people and odious government notwithstanding their numerical superiority they can be repelled and the general commanding relies confidently on his command to do it and to drive the invader back beyond his entrenched lines but to achieve this the highest order of coolness individual intelligence and obedience on the part of each officer and man are essential great reliance will be placed on the bayonet at the proper juncture but above all it is enjoined upon officers and men to withhold their fire until directed the superior intelligence of the individual members of this command should in this respect compensate for the want of a veteran long trained soldier II in firing each man should take aim and never discharge his piece without a distinct object in full view by July 18th brogard had his entire army formed up along the bull run his six brigades were placed over six miles guarding the Fords in the Stonebridge Ewell was on the right with Jones Longstreet upon him and cook placed at the various Ford's Evans small Brigade was on the far left covering the Stonebridge [Music] on the morning of July 18th the Union Army moved out Tom have been sent forward to feel out the Confederate position along Bull Run was hoped the tile would find Beauregard flank enabling the rest of the army to attack with their entire force Tyler arrived with his men on this side of Blackburn's fort where I'm currently standing on the Confederate side he didn't see any troops other than a battery in a few pickets ever Longstreet's Brigade was there just out of sight and some trees although he'd been ordered not to start a battle tyler decided to advance he wanted the glory of capturing Manassas unaided by McDowell for whom he had no affection the Union artillery is brought into position in a brief artillery duel ensued the Louisiana unit called the Washington artillery on the southern bank had smoothbores and could not reach the federal cannon of the federal artillery had little effect on the rebel forces is Tyler skirmishers in front of the main body moved toward the Ford they were suddenly met with a terrific fire from the woods long streets concealed men had not been spotted and surprised the Federals with their volleys we were in the thick of it a full 15 minutes the balls coming like a beehive I am sure I shall see nothing so close thereafter it was a hot one about an hour after the advance on the Ford began Tyler ordered the artillery to move in closer to the woods to attempt to throw Longstreet back I ordered captain Harris to take a couple of his howitzers and go into that opening and throw some canister shot into the woods the very moment he came into battery it appeared to me that there were five thousand must gets fired at once it appears by Beauregard report that he had 17 regiments and they were evidently waiting for infantry to get into the woods dead airs through some 10 or 15 canister shot and among them I was forced to come out but she did very gallantly with the loss of one man and two horses tolerant found out the position of the Confederate troops and they were much stronger than he had thought they should have pulled back but it was too late the 12th New York was already moving toward Bull Run moving down to the fourth they encounter a murderous fire the regiment fell to the ground and attempted to respond to the hidden attackers if they continued this way for half an hour until the New Yorkers finally broke and retreated as the skirmish was winding down Sherman's Brigade arrived on the scene and they encountered Confederate fire one man of his command remembered the same we could see absolutely nothing of the enemy the thick woods intervening between us and their position but we could plainly hear the cheers on one side and the yells on the other mingled with musketry fire and cannon shots as the bullets flew singing over a heads and a shot and she'll crash for the treetops cutting down branches and limbs which fell about us the man ducked and dodged and he who had a big or even a little tree behind which to shelter himself was looked upon with envy by those who considered themselves more exposed Colonel Sherman who rode slowly up and down the lines noticing the men ducking every time a bullet or shell passed over advised us to keep cool adding that there was no use of ducking for when we heard the sound of the bullets all danger was past hardly had the words left his lips when a big shot or shell came crashing through the trees and but a few feet above him down went his head close to the pommel of the saddle when he race it again he was to confront a line of grinning faces well boys said he a broad smile softening is rather hard features you may dodge the big ones what was called the Battle of Blackburn's Ford was soon over Tyler had discovered the location tested the strength of the Confederate forces McDowell was upset with Tyler for having committed as men without permission the casualties for this fight were 83 for the Union in 68 for the Confederacy the most important effect of this battle was the impact on morale the northerners were discouraged by this rebuttal and the southerners were elated it gave them confidence that they were superior to the Yankees the Confederate officers recognized the importance of the battle it went a long way towards winning the victory of the 21st for it gave our troops confidence in themselves this fight was preliminary to the approaching battle and its result had a very inspiring effect upon our troops generally it was subsequently ascertained that the force engaged on a part of the enemy was Tyler's division of McDowell's army which had been sent to the front for the purpose of making a demonstration many Confederate privates thought that the war was over they thought that with those casualties it was a big battle and they were disappointed that they would not see combat in the war they would soon find out how wrong they were so how did you get interested in the First Battle of Manassas well I've had a long time interested in military history and when a vacancy opened up here the battlefield in 1980 I was fortunate to get that position and I've been studying the first battle as well as the Second Battle of Manassas ever since I started out as a park ranger and interpretation giving tours and talks and providing visitor services but around 1990 I moved up into a museum specialist position here at the park so my primary duty now is actually the maintenance of the museum collection so do you spend a lot of time studying the battle oh absolutely it comes with the job and even after 32 years we still haven't gotten all the facts down and there's still a lot of questions that remain and probably will continue to remain but it makes the job fascinating can you describe the Battle of first Manassas for me the Union Army under general urban McDowell marched from Washington on the 16th of July they were very confident of victory as they marched out here it was the largest army that had ever been assembled in this country up to that point in time some 35,000 fruits it was a rather cautious march and as this Union Army advanced Confederate forces fell back to this side of a small screen known as Bull Run and this is where the Confederates under general PGT Beauregard decided to draw their line and make their stand to defend the railroad junction at Manassas some five miles to our south so most of the troops that were engaged here how long had they been in the army at this point most of them had not been in the army more than three months when war broke out Abraham Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers to put down the rebellion many of the troops that responded to Lincoln's call were militia troops that had been informed by the various states Lincoln only had the authority to call out the state militias for 90 days I put a great deal of pressure on general Irvin McDowell to march his army into Virginia before the end of July because by the end of July most of these 90-day volunteers would pack up and go home McDowell only had one battalion of regular infantry career soldiers in the whole army was the Union expectation that the war would be over in 90 days yes indeed they thought this would be a very quick war that one major battle would be sufficient to end the hostilities and because this Union Army was the largest army that had ever been assembled in this country they and I hope that it would be very little resistance and would be quite victorious in a very short time so the southern army how was it gathered together well also the many southern militia units formed the nucleus of the southern regiments and many of those regiments were initially signed up for the duration of one year of course by the spring of 1862 many of those regiments re-enlisted for the duration not even knowing how long the war would last on the 18th of July the Union forces reached Centreville and the leading Union Division was ordered to make a reconnaissance down the road toward Manassas which crossed Bull Run at a place called Blackburn's Ford and the resulting skirmish of Blackburn's forward the Union Army got a bloody nose for all their effort and the fighting there approved to general McDowell that the Confederates were ready willing and able to put up a strong defense along this little screen McDowell decided we've been much safer to maneuver around the Confederate lines and eventually his Scouts discovered an unguarded Ford two miles upstream from the bridge in the direction of suddenly Springs so dalla made his plans accordingly his plan was put into motion on the morning of July 21st 1861 it began with a diversionary attack near the stone bridge about a mile to our east their Union troops began shelling Confederate positions to occupy their attention while two other Union divisions numbering nearly 15,000 troops circle to the north you try to get behind the poet lines this plant however hinged on the element of surprise and those Union troops lost that element of surprise because they were unable to get into position before the Sun came up and the Confederates detecting this movement were able to warn the Confederates over near the stone bridge of the danger further up to the north and the officer at his Manor the Confederate troops at stone bridge shifted most of his brigade to Matthews Hill across the valley to try to intercept this Union column around 10 o'clock shortly thereafter Union troops coming down the suddenly Road found themselves confronted by these Confederates on Matthews Hill initially the two sides were equal in number but after a half an hour of exchanging fire additional Union reinforcements arrived on the field to make it a much more an equal contest and the Confederates themselves very much outnumbered and outgunned they were able at least hold enough ground for Confederate reinforcements to arrive there were plenty of reinforcements to be had just a day earlier General Joseph E Johnston had arrived in Manassas with the better part of his army from the Shenandoah Valley having taken advantage of the Manassas Gap railroad to get his troops here to Manassas and reinforced general Beauregard in a timely fashion it was right around eleven o'clock on the morning of the 21st when the first of these reinforcements from general Johnston's army began arriving on the field and they move forward to support the Confederates already engaged on Matthew so with these reinforcements the Confederates are able to hold back the Union Army but the Union Army also continued to gain strengthened by 12 o'clock noon the Union lines were beginning to envelop the Confederate positions and the Confederates had already suffered very severe casualties they had little choice but to fall back and they did so in great haste and greatest order falling back over these fields of the Henry farm trying to seek refuge in the pine thickets beyond the enemy was already pressing with vigor my extreme left under General Evans at the Stonebridge I thus had suddenly oral the spur of the moment to change my whole plan of battle with troops which had never yet fought and could scarcely maneuver my heart for a moment failed me I felt as though all was lost I wished I had fallen in the battle of the eighteenth but I soon rallied and I then solemnly pledged my life that I would that day conquer or die so does this field look about like it looked at the time not at all no there's been a lot of changes out here over the last hundred and fifty years of course there was no visitor center on the crest of the hill as there is today the Henry House right here looked vastly different at the time of the battle the original house where mrs. Judith Henry was killed during the course of the battle was a much smaller frame cabin and it was shot up pretty heavily during the course of the battle and it did not survive the following winter and so the surviving members of the Henry family came back after the war to rebuild but they decided to build a bigger and better house on the same site and that's what's here today at the time of the war the Henry's did have a portion of the farm planted down here in corn but the vast majority of the farm now is all abandoned pasture it had not been grazed or cultivated for a good number of years and at the time of the battle the grass out here was waist high in addition to the tall grass there were some small scattered pines and Cedars which had taken seed most of these trees were still very young so the area was still generally open but it was certainly a lot more overgrown than what you see today by 12:30 that day from the Union side of the field it looked as though the battle was all over seemed like the whole Confederate Army was full retreat and there wasn't any fighting left to be done general McDowell was trying to rally his troops to press the Confederates as they retreated but he found his army far too disorganized so he basically had to call a halt and reform his troops that resulted in a lull in the fighting which lasted nearly an hour so Thomas Jackson got his nickname Stonewall here how did that happen well there are different versions to the story but the traditional version is Jackson began arriving on Henry Hill around twelve o'clock noon with his brigade of five virginia regiments his troops would take at least an hour now and have to all get up too into position general Jackson had found an ideal position to deploy these troops on a reverse slope of the hill and began forming a new line of battle just as the Confederate lines on Matthews Hill were collapsing general Bernard B of South Carolina came riding in this direction saw Jackson forming his line and rode up to Jackson to report the situation general Jackson responded very well we'll meet the enemy here and give them the bayonet whereupon general B rode off toward the Robinson farm to try to find what was left of his scattered command later that afternoon general be found the remnants of the fourth al Alabama volunteers this regiment had suffered some of the heaviest losses that morning to include their Colonel who had been mortally wounded so general B took it upon himself to rally these men in doing so he drew his sword pointing towards Jackson's position shouting outlook there stands Jackson like a stone wall let us rally on the Virginians well again there are different versions to what general B actually said but it's generally agreed that he said something that likened Jackson figuratively to a stone wall and in so doing he created a living legend Stonewall Jackson would be celebrated throughout the south in just a very short time oh is the rebel yelled light all I can tell you is it had a rather unnerving impact on the opposing Union forces these Confederates probably will heard before they region seen coming through the smoke as it advanced over the top of this hill through all the tall grass General Jackson had initially told his troops to trust to the bayonet and yell like Furies whose fire - giving the order to advance these troops complied and definitely their rebel yell certainly had an impact on the Union Army so what was the reaction to the soldiers first time in battle now of course many of these soldiers had gone off to war very enthusiastic they're oftentimes going off to war and company with some of the best friends and oftentimes relatives and so almost like a festive vacation for many of them they oftentimes thought this would be a great adventure and as I even be an opportunity to win some honor and glory and come home heroes in just a few short months but they found military life to be a little bit less glamorous than they had anticipated with all the continuous drill that went on and even before the bullets started flying mennies began suffering from the effects of disease and so a lot of the regiments that eventually made it here to battle or much depleted in numbers because of losses from disease but the soldiers start having second thoughts about how glorious military life was as the battle approached or you know there was at least one Confederate who actually deliberately shot himself in the foot in order to get out of fighting in the battle and the night before the battle began and four others came a little bit less enthusiastic as they marched into battle and certainly they got a very rude awakening here [Music] it wasn't until about 1:30 in the afternoon that Union forces were ready to press forward again and at that time to Union batteries were ordered forward here at Henry Hill in pursuit of what they thought was an already defeated enemy but once on top of this hill these Union batteries got a very rude reception there was a line of Confederate artillery nobly dutifully yards away on the other side of the hill and those Confederate guns quickly got the range and made things very uncomfortable for the Union batteries many of the horses of the batteries were killed and at the same with the guns preventing them from being moved it was a good half hour before the first Union infantry would find their way up this hill to offer some support to these Union guns but unfortunately the Union infantry did not linger very long after trading several volleys with the enemy many fell back to the suddenly rode to seek shelter and cover that left the Union battery is very unprotected and very vulnerable to attack one of the Union battery commanders hoping to get out of the direct line of Confederate fire are shifted part of his battery unfortunately he did so to the far south side of this field to a position very close to the Confederate line which up to this point in time had been very well concealed on the reverse slope and almost immediately his guns were captured indicating to General Thomas J Jackson that the guns were not very well supported general Jackson's very quick to seize upon the opportunity and ordered his other regiments to fix their bayonets and the command forward was given these troops came swarming over the top of this hill through the tall grass through the smoke all screaming and yelling what later became known as the rebel yell it took the Union Army completely by surprise they had no way of knowing there were some 2,500 fresh Confederates ready and waiting for him on this hill until they appeared out of the smoke and then it was too late the charge of Jackson's men was terrific enemy were swept before them like chaff before oral window nothing could resist their impetuosity the men seemed deaf caught the dauntless spirit and determined we'll affair to roll it commander and nothing could stay them in their own room course this proved to be a very dramatic turning point in the battle the Union Army lost all their guns but general McDowell was not about to let his prize batteries go without a fight so he would send regiment after regiment up the Silla to get the guns back the fighting would go back and forth across these fields for the remainder of the afternoon the Union guns would change hands at least five times with process the first rebel fire swept our ranks like a quick darting pestilence rally boys rally shouted the officers and a brave rally was made but throughout the afternoon the Confederates continued to gain strength as more reinforcements reached the field finally around four o'clock in the afternoon additional Confederates arrived to extend the Confederate flag across the suddenly rode as we've buoyed the chin farm and there they found themselves at the right place at the right time confronting the last fresh Union Brigade on its front and flank it did not take long at all for this Union brigade to crumble under the weight of these fresh Confederates and the panic among these groups as a scheme for the rear quickly spread among the other Union regiments on the field by five o'clock that afternoon the entire Union Army was in full retreat which eventually turned into a stampede then a scene of confusion ensued which beggars description cowboy horses without riders artillery horses disengaged from the guns with traces flying wrecked baggage wagons and pieces of artillery drawn by six horses without drivers flying at their utmost speed in wacky against other vehicles soldiers scattered everywhere running some without arms or caps I saw men throw down their muskets with a gesture as violent as they would throw off a venomous reptile the rush produced more noise than a hurricane at sea it was at this time that the enemy's reinforcements came to his aid from the railroad train understood to have just arrived from the valley with the residue of Johnston's army they threw themselves in the woods on our right and opened fire of musketry on our men which caused them to break and retire down the hillside this soon degenerated into disorder for which there was no remedy every effort was made to rally them even beyond the reach of the enemy's fire but in vain the plane was covered with retreating groups and they seemed to infect those with whom they came in contact the retreat soon became a rout and this soon degenerated still further into a panic in the panic the horses hauling the caissons and ammunition were cut from their places by persons to escape with and in this way much confusion would cause the panic aggravated and the road encumbered not only were pieces of artillery lost but also many of the ambulances carrying the wounded many of these troops did not stop until they reached the safety of Washington the following day they left behind some 1,500 killed and wounded the Confederates had achieved a great victory but it was hard-won they suffered some nineteen hundred killed immunity alternately there would be plenty of celebrations throughout the south this northern invasion had been repulsed and many southerners now had much greater confidence they could win their independence the story has always been that the picnickers came out from Washington to view the battle how it held true is that there is some truth in it but they did not come out principally to picnic the picnic baskets were essential because it was a good unit we'll ride from Washington and there were no McDonald's on the way they had to bring their own provisions and most of these civilians are contrary to what you might have seen in various Hollywood representations of this battle did not get that close to the actual fighting the vast majority of them for some five miles off to the east on Centerville Heights well out of harm's way of course in Centreville they really couldn't see much of the fighting all they could really see was smoke rising above the treetops in this direction they could hear plenty of noise coming from the battlefield but they really could not tell who was winning or losing other than the reports that were filtering back through the lines and much of that information was well over an hour old by time it reaches interval now there were a handful of adventuresome politicians newspaper correspondents even the photographer Matthew Brady who certainly tried to get a little bit closer you know one or two civilians actually got on the battlefield Governor Sprague of Rhode Island was actually on the battlefield over there on Matthews Hill he had a couple of horses shot out from under him during the course of the morning but most of these civilians were again not even on the battlefield proper the soldiers probably didn't want to be here so the civilians probably wouldn't wanted it too much either even if they had gotten up here in the midst of the fighting on Henry Hill that afternoon chances are these civilians would not have understood any better what was going on out here was such a confusion confusion God among the civilians who had followed the Union Army out from Washington was Congressman Alfred Ely of Rochester New York Ely left Washington on the morning of the 21st and company with Senator Lafayette Foster of Connecticut they had to carpool because of the shortage of horses and carriages in Washington but they did not reach Centerville until about 1:30 in the afternoon and by that time all the reports coming back from the battlefield suggested that the Union Army was on the verge of victory they left the sound of all the gunfire on this direction seem to be intensifying so Congress merely not content with the view from Centreville proceeded on towards the battlefield on foot he finally got to within view of the stone bridge and then came under some hostile fire I strolled down the road near to the scene of the battle a large number of persons were standing in the road and in the fields and also a company of troops near the place where I halted in the middle of the road the striking of a rifle ball near where I was standing admonished me of the danger of my position I immediately left the road and advanced into the lot on the right and took shelter behind the trunk of a large tree where I found other persons Sault a similar refuge I recollect that a cannonball or shell came crashing through its branches gathering leaves and adding much to my alarm I was in the immediate vicinity of a clump of woods which was so dense that no one to be distinguished in it beyond a very small distance it was while under the tree above mentioned that a company of infantry issued from the woods marcin and great haste double-quick with a military officer leading in advance to officers then came forward to the tree and inquired who I was one of the officers a captain seized me by the arm and said that I was their prisoner and took from me the pistol which I had that morning power and of all the politicians who were yelling on to Richmond he's one of the few that actually made it he spent the next five months the guest of the Confederate government at Libby prison after the battle was over what the Confederates do in terms of pursuit well there were some troops that arrived here late in the day which still had plenty of ammunition as well as energy and we were able to pursue the Union Army to some degree Jeb Stuart's first Virginia cavalry kid pursued me an early Ford suddenly searched but by the time they reached suddenly church a mile and a half north of here they had picked up so many prisoners along the way that they could no longer pursue the Union Army now without leaving some of these prisoners unguarded so a store had to abort his pursuit there the 40th Virginia cavalry several companies did cross pull one further downstream and try to intercept the Union retreat and her cub blown bridge I thought they were all totally false there were two South Carolina regiments of General Obama's Brigade we had come up during the afternoon from Mitchell's Ford may join the battle somewhat late they managed to pursue the reinforces cost will run towards Centerville along the born from Turnpike is there anything the Union could have done to prevent the defeat well there's a lot of what-ifs what if the Union flanking column had marched first before general Tyler got in position over by the stone bridge allowing the Union flanking tunnel beginning position under cover or darkness therefore they would not have lost their element of surprise what if the Union Army had not lost all their cohesion over on Matthews Hill and had pressed the Confederates very vigorously as a spell back here towards Henry Hill General Jackson never would have had a chance to form his new line of battle then and maybe never would have to become known as Stonewall there are any number of things it could have happened but the big difference probably could have been made as if Robert Patterson had held General Joseph Johnston in the Shenandoah Valley if Johnson's troops had not been able to get here into from Manassas in a timely fashion general McDowell certainly would have had a numerical advantage and certainly would have been more victorious that with the arrival of Johnston's troops it really equalized the size of the opposing armies and gave the Confederates a much better chance Jefferson Davis was very anxious in Richmond he couldn't stand waiting while the battle was going on so he traveled north to the battlefield he arrives as it was ending and rejoiced in the Confederate success he sent a message to Richmond reporting on the victory Knight has closed upon a hard-fought field our forces have won a glorious victory the enemy was routed and fled precipitately abandoning a very large amount of arms munitions knapsacks and baggage the ground was strewn for miles with those killed and the farmhouses and the ground around were filled with his wounded the pursuit was continued along several routes toward Leesville and Centreville until darkness covered the fugitives we have captured several field batteries and regimental standards and one US flag many prisoners have been taken to high praise cannot be bestowed whether for the skill of the principal officers or for the gallantry of all the troops the battle was mainly fought on our left several miles from our field works our force engaged them not exceeding 15,000 that of the enemy estimated at 35,000 Beauregard was not happy with this he was very ambitious and thought that Davis was attempting to steal the credit for the victory from him ever Davis was probably doing nothing of the sort this little incident of jealousy from Beauregard worsen the relationship between him and Davis there was a little pursuit by the Confederates after their victory the day of the battle they were stopped by false reports of a Union advance the next day a train with the roads turning to mud pits the Confederates launched no further pursuit they were tired and disorganized from the hard marching and fighting so the Federal Army safely made its escape the Confederate casualties were heavy they had lost around 2,000 men out of the 17,000 who were involved in the fighting the Federals lost about 3,000 over a thousand of whom were captured the battle was not really won by the Confederate Army commanders they had been beaten to the punch by McDowell's flanking movement and it was the brigade commander said stove off disaster Evans Jackson and big their own position they won because they stumbled upon good positions recognized them and their men fought hard to hold them Beauregard got much of the glory from the battle although he did little to control its outcome all he did was react to the federal movement and ride along his line leading charges and accepting cheers Johnson had a greater influence on the battle from behind but Beauregard appealed to the public so he received all of the praise this often happens today those who are popular not always the one that actually got things done the real workers are often behind the scenes the North claimed their defeat simply find the greenness of their troops Bull Run battle was lost by us not from want of combination strategy or tactics but because our army was green as grass the rebel army was little if any better in the attacking force was sure to be beaten unless its antagonist ran off it was one of the best planned battles of the war but one of the worst thought our men had been told so often at home that all they had to do was to make a bold appearance and the rebel for the run and nearly all of us were the first time then heard the sound of cannon and muskets and anger and saw the bloody scenes common to all battles with which we were soon to be familiar important to the South's victory was Patterson's failure to hold Johnston in the Shenandoah Valley his mistakes allowed Johnson to escape to attack McDow leaving him holding a bag for this failure Patterson was removed from the army very quickly McDowell came up with a decent plan we'll relied too much on his raw troops ending in his defeat the southern victory at Manassas or Bull Run as it was called in the North was pivotal the South had proved victorious in the first battle of the war they'd been given their heroes such as Stonewall Jackson they gained a sense of superiority a belief that there was no way the north could stand up to them this would serve them well in coming battles where victory came down to which side would stand up and suffer casualties the longest believing the enemy could not defeat them they believed their lifestyle of active outdoor lives had prepared them for war well the northern mechanics and shopkeeper would be unable to persevere through the hardships the southern people believed the war was as good as one they and their politicians thought that the war would be short quick and bloodless after Manassas they had fought one battle routed the Yankees so they thought that they would live happily unmolested in their independence however that was not to be Lincoln in the north were not content to turn from their idea of preserving the Union by one defeat they simply began a new army while for the next seven months Beauregard and Johnston remained mostly idle in Northern Virginia politicians on both sides had said as they usually do that the war would be short and with few casualties after this battle it quickly became clear that it would require far more suffering and bloodshed to restore peace [Music] you [Music] you [Music]
