1st Battle of Bull run :: essays research papers

The first major battle of the elegant War was fought in Virginia, near the Manassas, Virginia railway junction, after which the battle is called (or freshman Bull Run, named after the flowing stream on the battlefield, if of the Union persuasion). The armies in this first battle were not very large by later Civil War standards. The national forces under Brigadier General Irvin McDowell were organized into four voices (five, if one includes Runyans division), of about 30,000 hands. These divisions were overshadowed by Tyler, Hunter, Heintzelman, (Runyan), and Miles. The Confederate command structure was somewhat to a greater extent unwieldy, including two "armies", with no division structure and thirteen independent brigades under Bonham, Ewell, Jones, Longstreet, Cocke, Early, Holmes, Kershaw, Evans, Jackson, Bartow, Bee, Smith, and a cavalry brigade under Stuart. The Confederate Army of the Potomac was under the command of Brigadier General Pierre G. T. Beauregard, an d the Army of the Shenandoah was commanded by Brigadier General Joseph E. Johnston. These two forces would equal McDowells strength. Interestingly enough, each commander had planned to initiate an assail on the other side with a feint attack on the enemys right flank and a massed attack on the opposite flank. Had this been done simultaneously, and some(prenominal) been successful in their purpose, the two armies would have simply pivoted around each other and ended up in each others rear, able to march unopposed to Washington or Richmond, as the case may be. As it turned out, the general least successful in initiating this movement was the winner. McDowell had planned to use Tylers division as the diversionary attack at the Stone Bridge, while Davies brigade did the same at Blackburns crossway. At the same time, Hunters and Heintzelmans divisions would cross Bull Run at Sudley Springs and attack from the north. McDowells green troops involved in the flanking column, reached their jumping off positions two and a half hours behind schedule. Tylers and Davies attacks at the Stone Bridge and Blackburns Ford were already well under way, and the Confederate high command was beginning to sense a ruse because the Union attacks were not pressed very hard. When Beauregard was notified that Federal troops were massing on his left flank, he realized that this must be the main attack so began to shift his own troop dispositions. The Federals had about 18,000 men in the main attack column and it was only thanks to the quick reactions of Colonel "Shank" Evans and his small brigade that Beauregard did not suffer a major disaster.