THE 1st BATTLE OF MANASSAS FOUGHT JULY 21, 1861 AT BULL RUN 4 MILES NORTH OF MANASSAS. VA.
The 1st battle of Manassas was not a planned battle, it was a battle fought by two raw, green armies. The 34,000 federal troops under General Irvin McDowell stationed in Arlington Heights, Alexandria and D.C. was made up of 90 day enlistment men whose time of enlistment was almost up and President Lincoln sent this army out of camp on July 16, 1861 to seek out the Confederate Army known to be stationed at Manassas, Virginia and to destroy it in this battle.
General P.G.T. Beauregard had a force of approximately 22,000 troops, also somewhat raw, at Manassas, Virginia and General J. E. Johnston had a force of 12,000 men in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. General Beauregard had drawn up a plan to unite these two forces and march on Washington and President Davis had approved his plan, but President Lincoln started his army after General Beauregard's forces before he could get started on his own plan and he had to prepare for battle on the west side of Bull Run.
He sent word on July 18 to General Johnston to move 10,000 of his men by rail to Manassas Junction and leave 2,000 to hold back General Patterson's Union forces at Harper's Ferry as a battle was sure to be fought any day now, as General McDowell's Army was now at Centreville.
General Beauregard had made ready for battle on the west side of Bull Run by placing a number of regiments of Infantary, some pieces of artillery and a squadron of Calvary at each ford on Bull Run starting at Blackburn's Ford, Mitchell's Ford and any other place Bull Run was shallow enough for men and artillery pieces to cross up to the Stone Bridge, these were General Longstreet's troops.
General McDowell's scouts were aware of the strength of the Confederate Army at these crossings, so General McDowell changed his plan and marched his Army up the Warrenton Turnpike within one-half mile of the Stone Bridge, then turned due North and marched six more miles through an old logging road to Sudley Ford and crossed Bull Run there and came at the Confederate forces hoping to hit their left flank, this march started at 2:30 a.m. in hopes of being in battle formation at 5:30 a.m. (July 21).
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