Mr. Miraya
Honors 10 History
26 April 2016
The First Battle of Bull Run
The first major land battle of the American Civil War, the battle of Bull Run, commenced on July 21, 1861. If the Union won, the war would most likely be over having only fought two battles. Because the Confederate won though, the war continued for almost five more years and was the cause of death for over 600,000 more men, around 2% of the population. At this point in history, The Battle of Bull Run was the bloodiest battle in American history.(“Bull Run”)
Following the attack on Fort Sumter, President Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteer troops to help fight the war. Many of these new troops gathered in camps surrounding the …show more content…
His army took the railroad down to Beauregard’s army to reinforce him and making the Union forces and the Confederate forces equal in numbers. McDowell then sends Tyler’s division to keep the South busy while he sends another 13,000 men up and around Beauregards’. His plan is to flank the Confederate army from the back. Before these divisions could get close enough to attack though, Confederate Colonel Evans moves his men to stop their advance. As time passes, both the Union and Confederate forces receive more troops but in the end, the Union forces push the Southerners back to Henry Hill.(“Bull …show more content…
Eventually, after a few hours, the Union army attacks once more with 11 of their cannons. Soon, two Union cannons are taken over by Confederate infantry. As the day goes on, infantry from both sides fight over the Union cannons ending in Confederate control. By the end of the day, Confederate forces receive more reinforcements and force the Union army to retreat back to Washington D.C.(United States)
The Battle turned out to be a huge blow to the Union and the bloodiest battle in American history up to that point. In fact, if the Union would have won that battle, the war could have been four years shorter. Just one day following this battle, President Lincoln called for 500,000 more soldiers and replaced General McDowell with George B. McClellan. As you can see, though The Battle of Bull Run was only one battle, it had a major impact on how the entire war would play