THE TWO BATTLES OF BULL RUN

Significance of the two battles of Bull Run on the Civil War



Significance of the two battles of Bull Run on the Civil War

Introduction

Every event in history, every war has its genesis. The Civil War is no exception. Many misunderstandings, conflicts and disputes led to its outbreak. The first of the great battles of the war was at Bull Run, Virginia (also known as First Manassas) near Washington, and ended any illusions that victory would be easy or rapid. It also established a pattern of bloody Southern victories, at least in the eastern United States, which never translated into a decisive military advantage to the Confederation.

Thus, it is a fact that the Battle of Bull Run is the first major engagement comes on earth during the American Civil War (1861-1865). It took place July 21, 1861, near the town of Manassas (Virginia) and the Bull Run River. It came a few months after the outbreak of hostilities. The war had indeed begun in April by the bombardment of Fort Sumter (South Carolina) by the secessionist Confederate forces.

History of the Battle

In July of 1861, President Abraham Lincoln determined that it was time to putan end to the rebellion. McDowell, the general in charge of Union forces in Washington, insisted that the men needed more time and more training. Lincoln did not have that luxury. Many of the volunteers had signed up for three month enlistments, which were running out soon, so he ordered him forward. With that, McDowell marched his Army of Northeastern Virginia, 35,000strong, southward toward a railroad hub called Manassas, where a line of 20,000Confederates waited behind a deep, winding creek known as Bull Run, under the commando P.G.T.Beauregard. Outnumbered and outgunned, Beauregard was counting on General Joseph E. Johnston to get there by rail with his 12,000 men. McDowell began the battle by feinting further to the south, then crossing the creek at the north. The plan worked, and he got across the creek safely, marching down to face the few Confederate brigades holding the bridges and fords. Beauregard raced north along the roads to stop them. The pressure is on for both sides. The Confederates are fighting for their very existence, while McDowell is being watched by statement and other civilians who have traveled from Washington with picnic baskets to watch the battle.

The beginning of the Civil War: The Battle of Manassas

Why in America was the Civil War?

The living conditions and management in North American United States were very different: in the south could grow tobacco, rice, cotton, successfully engaged in agriculture, on the northern barren lands was more interest to the industry, fisheries, and mining minerals.

In northern and central parts of the country developed a society based on the use of free labor, and in the south, used slave labor. They were imported from Africa: strong and unpretentious Negros from morning until late at night, working under the scorching sun, doing very simple huts and ...