Battle Of Bull Run Essay

First Battle of Bull Run On July 21, 1861, the Union and Confederate armies fought near Manassas Junction, Virginia. This was known as the first major battle of the American Civil war, also known as the Battle of Bull Run or Manassas. The fight began when 35,000 Union troops marched from the capital in Washington, D.C to attack the Confederate force of 20,000 by a small river called Bull Run. Right after fighting on defense most of the day, the rebels rounded up and broke the Union’s right flank, sending the Federals to retreat towards Washington.

The First Battle of Bull Run or First Battle of Manassas was the start of the bloodiest and deadliest war on American soil to date. It saw two American factions, The Union and The Confederacy, conduct a first full on battle of the American Civil War. It would be the first of many battles that took place during the four year war and would be a stepping stone to what will be the darkest time in American history In 1861 Abraham Lincoln was sworn in as President of the United States of American. Shortly after, on April 12, 1861 the Southern states had seceded and the South had fired upon and captured Fort Sumter.

This defeat caused Lincoln to strip McClellan of his command and placed others in charge, who not knowing how to command, held their troops back giving Generals of the Confederacy the upper hand. This upper hand proved useful for the Confederates, as they pushed the idling troops back through Bull Run again. This upset Lincoln to the point he re-installed McClellan of his leadership role, in hopes that he would lead the Union army to a

Setting the Stage The American Civil War began in April of 1861, as the result of differences between the North and South regarding political power pertaining to slavery and individual states rights. Consequently, the First

The war culminated in the victory for the Union (“Battle of Shiloh”). The Confederate forces led by Johnston mounted a sudden attack on Federal forces led by Grant camping around Shiloh Church and forced the latter to retreat to a defensive perimeter at the heights above Pittsburg Landing on the bank of Tennessee River. Johnston, who bled to death on being wounded in the legs in the afternoon and replaced by Gen. Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard, the commander of the Army of the Mississippi. Beauregard made a cardinal mistake in surmising that the army led by Grant was vanquished and that the reinforcement led by Buell

The Battle of Shiloh was one of the bloodiest battles in the civil war because of the south's attack on the union camp, Grants Counterattack, and the effects after the battle. The battle of shiloh took place in Shiloh, Tennessee. The battle started April 6, 1862, and ended April 7, 1862. The Confederate army had around 40,000 men. The battle started when the confederate army led by Albert Sidney Johnston and P.G.T Beauregard led a sneak attack on the union’s camp.

The Battle of Fort Donelson happened in February of 1862 at Fort Donelson Tennessee along the Cumberland river. It took place just ten days after the Union Victory at Fort Henry. The battle of Fort Donelson was significant for the Union for a widespread number of reasons, not only was it the first major victory for the Union it also secured Kentucky as union state and opened up Tennessee to Union influence. The Union victory at Fort Donelson also opened up both the Cumberland and Tennessee rivers, an important asset for the Union's invasion of the South. The Victory over Fort Donelson would also cut off large numbers of confederate forces from their supplies and create confidence in General Ulysses S. Grant and the Union's Naval ravine forces leading to the Union's victories at Shiloh, Vicksburg and Chattanooga.

The first major battle that we will look back on is the Battle of Fort Sumter. This battle took place at Fort Sumter, and began on April 12th, 1861. This battle signified the beginning of the war, and was also where the first shots were fired between both sides of the war. During the battle, the Union was being commanded by Robert Anderson, and the Confederates were being commanded by P. G. T. Beauregard. The battle went on for 33 hours and lead the Union army to surrender.

Battle of Antietam Although the Battle of Antietam was bloodiest battle in American history, it induced European powers to turn neutral furthermore it allowed Abraham Lincoln to publishing the Emancipation proclamation. The Bloodiest Battle in American History On September 16, 1862, Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan and his Union Army of the Potomac confronted Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia at Sharpsburg, Maryland. The Civil War Trust organization concluded that there were more than 23.000 casualties on both sides.

General Robert E. Lee was almost daring Mr. McClellan to launch another attack on his troops, but when Mr. McClellan refused, General Robert E. Lee ordered his troops to retreat and return to Virginia on September 18, 1862 (www.history.com). Here are some interesting facts about the Civil War. The area on which the battle was fought was designated a national battlefield in 1890 (web.a.ebscohost.com). As a result of the Battle of Antietam, Republicans retained control of the House in November, and five days after the battle, Lincoln issued his preliminary Emancipation Proclamation (www.encyclopedia.com). The primary purpose of the Battle at Antietam was to make the Union give up on the war (http://www.softschools.com).

Major General John Pope lead approximately 62,000 Union soldiers in the Second Battle of Bull Run. On the other side, the Confederates were lead by General Robert E. Lee. Despite having fewer men, the Confederates were ultimately victorious as a result of their superior military strategy and their understanding and use of the local terrain. The Second Battle of Bull Run was greatly impacted by both the resources of the both the Union and the Confederate troops, as well as by the local geography of the battle.

Neither the Union nor Confederacy at first included the emancipation of four million slaves in its definition of the freedom for which each side fought. As the battle continued, the meaning of fighting the war changed. It became a war over slaves. There was more opposition to having slavery than keeping the United States together. Where the south wanted to keep slaves, the north wanted to get rid of it altogether.

A civil war was fought in the United States between the Union and Confederate armies over the main issue of slavery. In the beginning of this war the Confederates were the dominating force although the Union began to make make their way when they won the Battle of Antietam (September 17, 1862). This win allowed Abraham Lincoln, the president at the time, to issue the Emancipation Proclamation to keep the Unions lead. The creation and implementation of the Emancipation Proclamation created a turning point in the war between September 1862 and April 1865. This event led to many social, political, and economic outcomes.

Although victorious, Confederate forces were too disorganized to pursue. By July 22, the shattered Union army reached the safety of Washington. The Battle of Bull Run convinced the Lincoln administration and the North that the Civil War would be a long and costly affair. McDowell was relieved of command of the Union army and replaced by Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, who set about reorganizing and training the

The Confederacy was never recognized as a country even though they had 11 states on their side with the same beliefs and goals. The First Battle of Bull Run start at Mathews Hill on July 21,1861 at about 5:30 A.M. (“The First Battle of Manassas” 3 of 4). General McDowell orders the Union army to attack but since his army was inexperienced their tactics did not work but luckily for them neither did the souths due to their untrained soldiers, lack of communication, and just the sheer size of the Union Army. The Union army begins to push the Confederacy back until the point of which they had to retreat to Henry House Hill at 11:30 A.M. (“The First Battle of Manassas” 3 of