Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1902-10-13
Unanswered Questions Revived by 41st
Anniversary of FIRST Battle of Boil Ron
BY T. R. LAckIE, DETROIT, MICH.

Z
/ pushed four regiments to the front and
very busy in the preparation of more.
Nv. friend, X. c. Bullard, of Milledge-
4 vile. Ca, a noble son of the Confederacy'
! has requested me to write up some OF my
| close calls; as my first close call was ~
( the first battle of Bull Run. as well as the
! most interesting, in view of the fact that
! / had only Just passed in my sixteenth
/ year to old father time, / would not be
Y accepted as a soldier, and determined TO
4 see the two armies in action, which later
! / foresaw was inevitable. I went to the
| battlefield and ran back like the rest
/ Having, as I believed, convinced my Ia
Their, that It would be greatly to my bene-
| at to go to Washington with his consent
and ample means and promise to my
mother not to go near the danger line,
| took passage on a steamer for Cleveland
| and thence by rail to Washington.
\ Learning that the army was not in
| Washington but over in Virginia and the
| Michigan men stationed at Munsen's hill,
I procuring a saddle horse crossed the
| chain bridge and entered the grand old
commonwealth Of Virginia, visited our
| old family surgeon and the Michigan
| regiments and with DR.. william Brodie
rode several miles along the federal lines.
I passed the Arlington house, the home
Of the illustrious r. K. Lee, then the head
\ quarters OF General Mcdowell, command
/ ing the federal army. I returned to
| Washington. Surprising as it may appear,
| at least so far as my observation went,
you could easily imagine yourself in a
| secession city. Were il not for the pres
/ ence Of union soldiers. and those Going
| business IN and around government build
l ings, even at the hotel, where / was stop
ping, I made the acquaintance of gen.
| tleman who appeared very friendly, but
one morning when 1 appeared in neat
! tailor-made soldiers uniform, his first in
IVA 4
replied that had not. why have you
/ adopted that uniform2" l replied that l
| was going to march with the army to the
| battlefield and that the uniform would be
, more serviceable and appropriate. Telling
me it would be more serviceable and APP
| propriate for me to take the first train
home, he walked away. However,
recrossed the river and Joined the Mich
igan boys, always returning at night, be-
/ cause Of the fact that Beauregards black
horse cavalry was. they told me- expect
! ed any night and 1 wanted to be on the
safe side Of the river.
In my daily visits I learned that the
| Confederate army, under the command
/ OF Brigadier General p. G.. 7. Beaure-
/ gard, (this from official records), con-
sisted of the brigades of Holmes, Bon
! ham, Ewell, ID. r. Jones, Longstreet,
Cccke and Early containing twenty-eight
regiments and battalions of infantry. one
regiment and three battallions of cavalry
and six batteries of artillery, making an
! aggregate available force of 1900 men,
! with twenty-seven' cannons. This army
was posted on the right bank of Bull Run,
extending from Union Mills to the War
| renton Pike. Ewell was posted at Union
Mills, supported by Holmes. McLean's
Ford by d. r.. Jones, and Blackburns
Ford by Brigadier General James Long
street, supported by Early. Mitchell's
Ford by Bonham. On the north and south
side OF the pike were posted by Cookies
brigade and one regiment under Evans.
Guarding the stone bridge that crosses
Bull Run at that point. Beauregard's
headquarters were at Manassas Junction.
| This army was designated the army Of
| the Potomac. The Federal army, under
command OF Brigadier General Irving
Mcdowell, designated the army of north
| ern Virginia. was composed of five divi-
| sions, commanded in the order named;
First division, Brigadier General Tyler;
second division, Colonel Hunter; third
division, Colonel Heintzelman; fourth d.
vision, Brigadier General Runyon; fifth
division, Colonel Miles Twelve batteries
! or forty-nine cannons, one battalion of
| cavalry of all arms, 35 900 men, with full
| understanding that 10000 reserves were
to be added. Before starting, its position
was semi-circular in form, extending from
/
| above Georgetown. The Confederate
army of the Shenandoah. under the COM
mand of General Joseph E. Johnston,
numbered about 5000, consisting of the
| brigades of Bee, Barlow, Kirby Smith
and Brigadier General T.. ]. Jackson, two
regiments of infantry, not brigaded, one
| regiment of cavalry, five batteries, twenty
guns. This little army was fighting
| around Winchester against an army of
| % - n
Patterson, who was supposed at least to
keep Johnston there until Mcdowell
defeated Beauregard With that end
| in view, on the afternoon of July 16, 1861
Mcdowell put this very formidable army
in motion, head of column directed to-
ward Bull Run, to bray the army of Beau
regard-but oh! -Tornadoes! How did
It come back?-Brayed The First Mich
gan belonged to Heintzelman's Third di-
vision. Tho writer went with Mich
igan, with a well-flled haversack and
canteen of fresh milk. procured at my
hotel in Washington. The afternoon was
very hot, and the juggling around of the
canteen churned the milk and fermenta-
ton set in and the whole business had to
be thrown away. But Is cents made me
all right with an officers cook. 1t
was nearly noon of the 18th before all
the army were concentrated around Cen
terville which was eight miles east of
the Confederate fortifications, west of
the Run 1 brought no blanket along
and would have stood in no particular
need of one had we advanced at the rate
| that we returned. Trophy hunters had
occupied every yard of space in the lit
tie town of Centerville before we had
left for the battlefield. The movements of
the supply trains were much in keeping
with the Irishman's pig, and the army
suffered for supplies and took advantage
of the delay forced upon him to reconnoit-
| er Beauregard's reconcile lines. In the
meantime he had ordered General Taylor
to take the first division and make a
! demonstration on the stone bridge, but
for some unknown reason he demon
strated on Blackburn's Ford. Longstreet
was waiting and watching. Letting the
Federal troops approach within short
range, he let his batteries loose. Ayres'
| Federal battery responded, but was soon
| silenced. Richardson's brigade, with the
Second Michigan thrown out as skirmish-
ers, advanced to level bottom near the
Run, which proved a veritable hornets
nest Three more regiments were sent
! forward
result that Tyler's men, after sustaining
a severe loss, fed back to near the pike
! completely demoralized That affair cast
a gloom over the whole army, and ex-
tremely so, for of the troops who fought
there were none who so completely lost
| their heads as did General Tyler. He new.