Through early small victories by the Union army, the northerners were confident in their ability to battle the Confederate troops and advance on Richmond to strike a quick offensive in order to end the war. General McDowell had commanded the Union army and was ordered by Abraham Lincoln to begin the offensive. However, his men were untrained and ill-equipped for this battle. On the morning of July 21, General McDowell led his troops across Bull Run. By delaying the attack and retreating to Henry House Hill, the confederates were able to receive reinforcements from the confederate general Joseph E. Johnston. While at first, it seemed the Union army would be able to beat the Confederates, the constant reinforcements allowed the confederates to break the union line. As the Union troops retreated, the confederates were deemed victorious. As a result of this day-long battle, there were 3,000 Union casualties and about 1,750 Confederate casualties.
The First Battle of Bull Run was the first significant engagement of the war because this victory had given southerners the hope that they would be able to win the war while northerners had begun realizing that this war was going to take a lot longer and get a lot bloodier than anyone had realized.
Sources: https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/first-battle-of-bull-run
https://study.com/academy/lesson/the-first-battle-of-bull-run-summary-significance-facts.html
I liked how you described the battle in detail and also went into the battle's overall impact on the war and the morale of both sides. I feel it is quite interesting how there were key Confederate victories that gave them confidence and gave the Union some fear. However, I wonder if some of this confidence was unfounded and perhaps overconfident because the Union were better prepared for a longer war and waiting out the Confederacy. This may also tie into the factor of religion and how some of these victories could have made the South overconfident because they believed God was on their side at the time.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the First Battle of Bull Run was vey bloody and gave the Confederates more enthusiasm at the start of the war. Even after this battle it seemed as if everything was going in the direction of a Confederate victory. For example, under General George McClellan, the Union's peninsula campaign failed after the Seven Days Battles and the Union failed to achieve complete victory at the Battle of Antietam because of his reluctance to attack. The real turning point of the war occurred under General Grant during the Battle of Gettysburg and the Fall of Vicksburg. This makes me wonder what would of happened if the Confederates were able to win a couple more battles before the Union made adjustments.
ReplyDeleteSources:
https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/george-b-mcclellan