First Battle of Bull Run The First Battle of Bull Run , also known as First Manassas ( the name used by Confederate forces ) , was fought on July 21 , 1861 , in Prince William County , Virginia , near the city of Manassas . It was the first major land battle of the American Civil War . Just months after the start of the war at Fort Sumter , the Northern public clamored for a march against the Confederate capital of Richmond , Virginia , which they expected to bring an early end to the rebellion . Yielding to political pressure , Brig . Gen . Irvin McDowell led his unseasoned Union Army across Bull Run against the equally inexperienced Confederate Army of Brig . Gen . P . G . T . Beauregard camped near Manassas Junction . McDowell ' s ambitious plan for a surprise flank attack on the Confederate left was poorly executed by his officers and men ; nevertheless , the Confederates , who had been planning to attack the Union left flank , found themselves at an initial disadvantage . Confederate reinforcements under Brig . Gen . Joseph E . Johnston arrived from the Shenandoah Valley by railroad and the course of the battle quickly changed . A brigade of Virginians under a relatively unknown and recently - promoted Brigadier General from the Virginia Military Institute , Thomas J . Jackson , stood their ground and Jackson received his famous nickname , " Stonewall Jackson " . The Confederates launched a strong counterattack , and as the Union troops began withdrawing under fire , many panicked and the retreat turned into a rout . McDowell ' s men frantically ran without order in the direction of Washington , D . C . Both armies were sobered by the fierce fighting and many casualties , and realized the war was going to be much longer and bloodier than either had anticipated . Background . Brig . Gen . Irvin McDowell was appointed by President Abraham Lincoln to command the Army of Northeastern Virginia . Once in this capacity , McDowell was harassed by impatient politicians and citizens in Washington , who wished to see a quick battlefield victory over the Confederate Army in northern Virginia . McDowell , however , was concerned about the untried nature of his army . He was reassured by President Lincoln , " You are green , it is true , but they are green also ; you are all green alike . " Against his better judgment , McDowell commenced campaigning . During the previous year , U . S . Army captain Thomas Jordan set up a pro - Southern spy network in Washington , DC , including Rose O ' Neal Greenhow , a prominent socialite with a wide range of contacts . He provided her with a code for messages . After he left to join the Confederate Army , he gave her control of his network but continued to receive reports from her . On July 9 and July 16 of 1861 , Greenhow passed secret messages to Confederate General P . G . T . Beauregard containing critical information regarding military movements for what would be the First Battle of Bull Run , including the plans of Union general McDowell . On July 16 , 1861 , McDowell departed Washington with the largest field army yet gathered on the North American continent , about 35 , 000 men ( 28 , 452 effectives ) . McDowell ' s plan was to move westward in three columns , make a diversionary attack on the Confederate line at Bull Run with two columns , while the third column moved around the Confederates ' right flank to the south , cutting the railroad to Richmond and threatening the rear of the rebel army . He assumed that the Confederates would be forced to abandon Manassas Junction and fall back to the Rappahannock River , the next defensible line in Virginia , which would relieve some of the pressure on the U . S . capital . The Confederate Army of the Potomac ( 21 , 883 effectives ) under Beauregard was encamped near Manassas Junction , approximately 25 miles ( 40 km ) from the United States capital . McDowell planned to attack this numerically inferior enemy army . Union Maj . Gen . Robert Patterson ' s 18 , 000 men engaged Johnston ' s force ( the Army of the Shenandoah at 8 , 884 effectives , augmented by Maj . Gen . Theophilus H . Holmes ' s brigade of 1 , 465 ) in the Shenandoah Valley , preventing them from reinforcing Beauregard . After two days of marching slowly in the sweltering heat , the Union army was allowed to rest in Centreville . McDowell reduced the size of his army to approximately 31 , 000 by dispatching Brig . Gen . Theodore Runyon with 5 , 000 troops to protect the army ' s rear . In the meantime , McDowell searched for a way to outflank Beauregard , who had drawn up his lines along Bull Run . On July 18 , the Union commander sent a division under Brig . Gen . Daniel Tyler to pass on the Confederate right ( southeast ) flank . Tyler was drawn into a skirmish at Blackburn ' s Ford over Bull Run and made no headway . Becoming more frustrated , McDowell resolved to attack the Confederate left ( northwest ) flank instead . He planned to attack with Brig . Gen . Daniel Tyler ' s division at the Stone Bridge on the 29 and send the divisions of Brig . Gens . David Hunter and Samuel P . Heintzelman over Sudley Springs Ford . From here , these divisions could march into the Confederate rear . The brigade of Col . Israel B . Richardson ( Tyler ' s Division ) would harass the enemy at Blackburn ' s Ford , preventing them from thwarting the main attack . Patterson would tie down Johnston in the Shenandoah Valley so that reinforcements could not reach the area . Although McDowell had arrived at a theoretically sound plan , it had a number of flaws : it was one that required synchronized execution of troop movements and attacks , skills that had not been developed in the nascent army ; it relied on actions by Patterson that he had already failed to take ; finally , McDowell had delayed long enough that Johnston ' s Valley force was able to board trains at Piedmont Station and rush to Manassas Junction to reinforce Beauregard ' s men . On July 19 – 20 , significant reinforcements bolstered the Confederate lines behind Bull Run . Johnston arrived with all of his army , except for the troops of Brig . Gen . Kirby Smith , who were still in transit . Most of the new arrivals were posted in the vicinity of Blackburn ' s Ford , and Beauregard ' s plan was to attack from there to the north toward Centreville . Johnston , the senior officer , approved the plan . If both of the armies had been able to execute their plans simultaneously , it would have resulted in a mutual counterclockwise movement as they attacked each other ' s left flank . McDowell was getting contradictory information from his intelligence agents , so he called for the balloon " Enterprise " , which was being demonstrated by Prof . Thaddeus S . C . Lowe in Washington , to perform aerial reconnaissance . Battle . On the morning of July 21 , McDowell sent the divisions of Hunter and Heintzelman ( about 12 , 000 men ) from Centreville at 2 : 30 a . m . , marching southwest on the Warrenton Turnpike and then turning northwest toward Sudley Springs . Tyler ' s division ( about 8 , 000 ) marched directly toward the Stone Bridge . The inexperienced units immediately developed logistical problems . Tyler ' s division blocked the advance of the main flanking column on the turnpike . The later units found the approach roads to Sudley Springs were inadequate , little more than a cart path in some places , and did not begin fording Bull Run until 9 : 30 a . m . Tyler ' s men reached the Stone Bridge around 6 a . m . At 5 : 15 a . m . , Richardson ' s brigade fired a few artillery rounds across Mitchell ' s Ford on the Confederate right , some of which hit Beauregard ' s headquarters in the Wilmer McLean house as he was eating breakfast , alerting him to the fact that his offensive battle plan had been preempted . Nevertheless , he ordered demonstration attacks north toward the Union left at Centreville . Bungled orders and poor communications prevented their execution . Although he intended for Brig . Gen . Richard S . Ewell to lead the attack , Ewell , at Union Mills Ford , was simply ordered to " hold . . . in readiness to advance at a moment ' s notice . " Brig . Gen . D . R . Jones was supposed to attack in support of Ewell , but found himself moving forward alone . Holmes was also supposed to support , but received no orders at all . All that stood in the path of the 20 , 000 Union soldiers converging on the Confederate left flank were Col . Nathan " Shanks " Evans and his reduced brigade of 1 , 100 men . Evans had moved some of his men to intercept the direct threat from Tyler at the bridge , but he began to suspect that the weak attacks from the Union brigade of Brig . Gen . Robert C . Schenck were merely feints . He was informed of the main Union flanking movement through Sudley Springs by Captain Edward Porter Alexander , Beauregard ' s signal officer , observing from southwest on Signal Hill . In the first use of wig - wag semaphore signaling in combat , Alexander sent the message " Look out for your left , your position is turned . " Evans hastily led 900 of his men from their position fronting the Stone Bridge to a new location on the slopes of Matthews Hill , a low rise to the northwest of his previous position . The Confederate delaying action on Matthews Hill included a spoiling attack launched by Major Roberdeau Wheat ' s 1st Louisiana Special Battalion , " Wheat ' s Tigers " . After Wheat ' s command was thrown back , and Wheat seriously wounded , Evans received reinforcement from two other brigades under Brig . Gen . Barnard Bee and Col . Francis S . Bartow , bringing the force on the flank to 2 , 800 men . They successfully slowed Hunter ' s lead brigade ( Brig . Gen . Ambrose Burnside ) in its attempts to ford Bull Run and advance across Young ' s Branch , at the northern end of Henry House Hill . One of Tyler ' s brigade commanders , Col . William T . Sherman , crossed at an unguarded ford and struck the right flank of the Confederate defenders . This surprise attack , coupled with pressure from Burnside and Maj . George Sykes , collapsed the Confederate line shortly after 11 : 30 a . m . , sending them in a disorderly retreat to Henry House Hill . As they retreated from their Matthews Hill position , the remainder of Evans ' s , Bee ' s , and Bartow ' s commands received some cover from Capt . John D . Imboden and his battery of four 6 - pounder guns , who held off the Union advance while the Confederates attempted to regroup on Henry House Hill . They were met by generals Johnston and Beauregard , who had just arrived from Johnston ' s headquarters at the M . Lewis Farm , " Portici " . Fortunately for the Confederates , McDowell did not press his advantage and attempt to seize the strategic ground immediately , choosing to bombard the hill with the batteries of Capts . James B . Ricketts ( Battery I , 1st U . S . Artillery ) and Charles Griffin ( Battery D , 5th U . S . ) from Dogan ' s Ridge . Brig . Gen Thomas J . Jackson ' s Virginia brigade came up in support of the disorganized Confederates around noon , accompanied by Col . Wade Hampton and his Hampton ' s Legion , and Col . J . E . B . Stuart ' s cavalry . Jackson posted his five regiments on the reverse slope of the hill , where they were shielded from direct fire , and was able to assemble 13 guns for the defensive line , which he posted on the crest of the hill ; as the guns fired , their recoil moved them down the reverse slope , where they could be safely reloaded . Meanwhile , McDowell ordered the batteries of Ricketts and Griffin to move from Dogan ' s Ridge to the hill for close infantry support . Their 11 guns engaged in a fierce artillery duel across against Jackson ' s 13 . Unlike many engagements in the Civil War , here the Confederate artillery had an advantage . The Union pieces were now within range of the Confederate smoothbores and the predominantly rifled pieces on the Union side were not effective weapons at such close ranges , with many shots fired over the head of their targets . One of the casualties of the artillery fire was Judith Carter Henry , an 85 - year - old widow and invalid , who was unable to leave her bedroom in the Henry House . As Ricketts began receiving rifle fire , he concluded that it was coming from the Henry House and turned his guns on the building . A shell that crashed through the bedroom wall tore off one of the widow ' s feet and inflicted multiple injuries , from which she died later that day . " The Enemy are driving us , " Bee exclaimed to Jackson . Jackson , a former U . S . Army officer and professor at the Virginia Military Institute , is said to have replied , " Then , Sir , we will give them the bayonet . " Bee exhorted his own troops to re - form by shouting , " There is Jackson standing like a stone wall . Let us determine to die here , and we will conquer . Rally behind the Virginians . " This exclamation was the source for Jackson ' s ( and his brigade ' s ) nickname , " Stonewall " . There is some controversy over Bee ' s statement and intent , which could not be clarified because he was mortally wounded almost immediately after speaking and none of his subordinate officers wrote reports of the battle . Major Burnett Rhett , chief of staff to General Johnston , claimed that Bee was angry at Jackson ' s failure to come immediately to the relief of Bee ' s and Bartow ' s brigades while they were under heavy pressure . Those who subscribe to this opinion believe that Bee ' s statement was meant to be pejorative : " Look at Jackson standing there like a stone wall ! " Artillery commander Griffin decided to move two of his guns to the southern end of his line , hoping to provide enfilade fire against the Confederates . At approximately 3 p . m . , these guns were overrun by the 33rd Virginia , whose men were outfitted in blue uniforms , causing Griffin ' s commander , Maj . William F . Barry , to mistake them for Union troops and to order Griffin not to fire on them . Close range volleys from the 33rd Virginia and Stuart ' s cavalry attack against the flank of the 11th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment ( Ellsworth ' s Fire Zouave s ) , which was supporting the battery , killed many of the gunners and scattered the infantry . Capitalizing on this success , Jackson ordered two regiments to charge Ricketts ' s guns and they were captured as well . As additional Federal infantry engaged , the guns changed hands several times . The capture of the Union guns turned the tide of battle . Although McDowell had brought 15 regiments into the fight on the hill , outnumbering the Confederates two to one , no more than two were ever engaged simultaneously . Jackson continued to press his attacks , telling soldiers of the 4th Virginia Infantry , " Reserve your fire until they come within 50 yards ! Then fire and give them the bayonet ! And when you charge , yell like furies ! " For the first time , Union troops heard the disturbing sound of the Rebel yell . At about 4 p . m . , the last Union troops were pushed off Henry House Hill by a charge of two regiments from Col . Philip St . George Cocke ' s brigade . To the west , Chinn Ridge had been occupied by Col . Oliver O . Howard ' s brigade from Heintzelman ' s division . Also at 4 p . m . , two Confederate brigades that had just arrived from the Shenandoah Valley — Col . Jubal A . Early ' s and Brig . Gen . Kirby Smith ' s ( commanded by Col . Arnold Elzey after Smith was wounded ) — crushed Howard ' s brigade . Beauregard ordered his entire line forward . McDowell ' s force crumbled and began to retreat . The retreat was relatively orderly up to the Bull Run crossings , but it was poorly managed by the Union officers . A Union wagon was overturned by artillery fire on a bridge spanning Cub Run Creek and incited panic in McDowell ' s force . As the soldiers streamed uncontrollably toward Centreville , discarding their arms and equipment , McDowell ordered Col . Dixon S . Miles ' s division to act as a rear guard , but it was impossible to rally the army short of Washington . In the disorder that followed , hundreds of Union troops were taken prisoner . Expecting an easy Union victory , the wealthy elite of nearby Washington , including congressmen and their families , had come to picnic and watch the battle . When the Union army was driven back in a running disorder , the roads back to Washington were blocked by panicked civilians attempting to flee in their carriages . Since their combined army had been left highly disorganized as well , Beauregard and Johnston did not fully press their advantage , despite urging from Confederate President Jefferson Davis , who had arrived on the battlefield to see the Union soldiers retreating . An attempt by Johnston to intercept the Union troops from his right flank , using the brigades of Brig . Gens . Milledge L . Bonham and James Longstreet , was a failure . The two commanders squabbled with each other and when Bonham ' s men received some artillery fire from the Union rear guard , and found that Richardson ' s brigade blocked the road to Centreville , he called off the pursuit . Aftermath . Bull Run was the largest and bloodiest battle in American history up to that point . Union casualties were 460 killed , 1 , 124 wounded , and 1 , 312 missing or captured ; Confederate casualties were 387 killed , 1 , 582 wounded , and 13 missing . Among the Union dead was Col . James Cameron , brother of President Lincoln ' s first Secretary of War , Simon Cameron . Among the Confederate casualties was Col . Francis S . Bartow , who was the first Confederate brigade commander to be killed in the Civil War . General Bee was mortally wounded and died the following day . Union forces and civilians alike feared that Confederate forces would advance on Washington , D . C . , with very little standing in their way . On July 24 , Prof . Thaddeus S . C . Lowe ascended in the balloon " Enterprise " to observe the Confederates moving in and about Manassas Junction and Fairfax . He saw no evidence of massing Rebel forces , but was forced to land in Confederate territory . It was overnight before he was rescued and could report to headquarters . He reported that his observations " restored confidence " to the Union commanders . The Northern public was shocked at the unexpected defeat of their army when an easy victory had been widely anticipated . Both sides quickly came to realize the war would be longer and more brutal than they had imagined . On July 22 President Lincoln signed a bill that provided for the enlistment of another 500 , 000 men for up to three years of service . On July 25 , eleven thousand Pennsylvanians who had earlier been rejected by the U . S . Secretary of War , Simon Cameron , for federal service in either Patterson ' s or McDowell ' s command arrived in Washington , D . C . , and were finally accepted . The reaction in the Confederacy was more muted . There was little public celebration as the Southerners realized that despite their victory , the greater battles that would inevitably come would mean greater losses for their side as well . Beauregard was considered the hero of the battle and was promoted that day by President Davis to full general in the Confederate Army . Stonewall Jackson , arguably the most important tactical contributor to the victory , received no special recognition , but would later achieve glory for his 1862 Valley Campaign . Privately , Davis credited Greenhow with ensuring Confederate victory . Jordan sent a telegram to Greenhow : " Our President and our General direct me to thank you . We rely upon you for further information . The Confederacy owes you a debt . ( Signed ) JORDON , Adjutant - General . " Irvin McDowell bore the brunt of the blame for the Union defeat and was soon replaced by Maj . Gen . George B . McClellan , who was named general - in - chief of all the Union armies . McDowell was also present to bear significant blame for the defeat of Maj . Gen . John Pope ' s Army of Virginia by Gen . Robert E . Lee ' s Army of Northern Virginia thirteen months later , at the Second Battle of Bull Run . Patterson was also removed from command . The name of the battle has caused controversy since 1861 . The Union Army frequently named battles after significant rivers and creeks that played a role in the fighting ; the Confederates generally used the names of nearby towns or farms . The U . S . National Park Service uses the Confederate name for its national battlefield park , but the Union name ( Bull Run ) also has widespread currency in popular literature . Battlefield confusion between the battle flags , especially the similarity of the Confederacy ' s " Stars and Bars " and the Union ' s " Stars and Stripes " when fluttering , led to the adoption of the Confederate Battle Flag , which eventually became the most popular symbol of the Confederacy and the South in general . In popular media . The First Battle of Bull Run is mentioned in the novel " Gods and Generals " , but is depicted more fully in its film adaptation . It also appears in the first episode of the second season of the mini - series " North and South " and in the first episode of the miniseries The Blue and the Gray . " Manassas " ( 1999 ) is the first volume in the James Reasoner Civil War Series of historical novels . The battle is described in " Rebel " ( 1993 ) , the first volume of Bernard Cornwell ' s The Starbuck Chronicles series of historical novels . The battle is described from the viewpoint of a Union infantryman in Upton Sinclair ' s novella " Manassas " , which also depicts the political turmoil leading up to the Civil War . The battle is also depicted in John Jakes ' s " The Titans " , the fifth novel in The Kent Family Chronicles , a series that explores the fictional Confederate cavalry officer Gideon Kent . The battle is the subject of the Johnny Horton song , " Battle of Bull Run " . " Shaman , " second in the Cole family trilogy by Noah Gordon , includes an account of the battle . The battle is also depicted in the song " Yankee Bayonet " by indie - folk band The Decemberists . In Murder at 1600 , Detective Harlan Regis ( Wesley Snipes ) has built a plan - relief of the battle which plays a certain role in the plot . Sesquicentennial . Prince William County is staging special events commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War through 2011 . Manassas has been named the No . 1 tourist destination in the United States for 2011 by the American Bus Association for its efforts in highlighting the historical impact of the Civil War . The cornerstone of the commemoration event featured a reenactment of the battle on July 23 – 24 , 2011 . Throughout the year , there will be tours of the Manassas battlefield and other battlefields in the county and a number of related events and activities . The City of Manassas commemorated the 150th anniversary of the battle July 21 – 24 , 2011 .