First Bull Run

Otherwise known as the battle of First Manassas, The First Battle of Bull run took place on July 21st, 1861 in Fairfax and Prince William counties, Virginia(Brinkley).
Marked as the first major land battle of the armies in the state of Virginia.
Battle lasted all day and into the 22nd of July until the Union troops were drawn back(Foreign Relations).

- General Irvin McDowell was the commander of the Union army in Northern Virginia

- His misson, given to him by Abraham Lincoln, was to kill a large portion of the Confederate army packed into Bull Run which would make a path to Richmond. Richmond was the capital of the Confederate States of America. By getting to Richmond, it would most likely end the war.
Confederate:

-General P.G.T. Beauregard was the commander of the Confederate army in Northern Virginia.

His mission was obvious, keep the Unionists from defeating them and getting to Richmond. Stand their ground or die trying(Foreign Relations).

The Confederate army, being inexperienced and not trained very well, experienced more problems than they should have due to many communication errors.
General P.G.T. Beauregard's plans were too complex for his soldiers which led to multiple mishaps on the battle field.
Colonel Thomas Jackson, otherwise known as "Stonewall" Jackson, got his nickmane by holding off Union troops for awhile until backup came and helped him(Foreign Relations).
The army had reinforcements coming from the Shenandoah Valley
The battle came to a quick end when Colonel James Ewell Brown brought heavy artillery into the battlefield and started to completley destroy the Union army.
The Unionists started to fall back and eventually made it back to Washington where President Lincoln was waiting for them. After losing, Lincoln realized that the war would be a lot more than just a little affair(Foreign Relations).

By holding off the Union army, the Confederates did not give the Unionists a straight path to Richmond, which caused the war to continue.
General McDowell was relieved of command of the Union army and replaced by Major General George B. McClellan after the battle(Foreign Relations).
Lincoln saw this as a good idea because McClellan was more focused on reorganizing his troops and better training them.
Instead of it being a quick affair and surrender of the Confederate army, this battle signified the start of the Civil War which would last for years to come.
Lincoln realized that this war would be costly and that it would affect many decisions he would have to make while he was in office(Foreign Relations).

The Battle of the First Bull Run(Manassas) signifies the first land battle of the civil war; the first battle being the Fort Sumpter attack.
Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson made his first apperance in the war by earning his nickname when he held off multiple waves of Union troops(Foreign Relations).
This battle made President Abraham Lincoln realize that the differences between the north and the south were going to cause more than just a good old fashioned scuffle, and that it would cause the nation to turn against one another.
By the Confederate Army winning this battle, it caused the dispute between the north and the south to turn into all out warfare.
Also, by the Confederate winning, it kept the Union army out of the Confederate States of America's capital, Richmond, which would have ended the war fairly quickly(Foreign Relations).

Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson

Tennessee Valley Authority