July 21, 1861 - First Bull Run

July 21, 1861

First Bull Run or The Battle of First Manassas

Prince William County, Virginia

US- McDowell 

vs

CSA- Johnston, Beauregard

* Feds repulse Rebel flanking attempt, but then retreat; Feds establish new line of defense outside Centerville

* Relatively inconclusive, but a shock to the Feds and a boon to the Rebs.

 So here's Manassas. The first time. 

The hill where the most intense fighting took place. Near where Stonewall got his nickname, from General Bee, who then died. 

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=171758

"Thomas Jonathan
Jackson
1824 1863
(Right Face)First Battle of Manassas July 21, 1861.
(Left Face)“There Stands Jackson Like a Stone Wall”
(Rear Face)
** Erected by **
The State of Virginia
Under Act of 1938
Governors
George C. Peery
James H. Price

Sponsors
John W. Rust
Henry T. Wickham
Aubrey G. Weaver"

"The War Over Memory

Manassas National Battlefield Park

— National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior

In 1938 the Sons of Confederate Veterans conveyed land on Henry Hill to the United States government for the creation of Manassas National Battlefield Park. A stipulation of the transfer required the National Park Service to permit Virginia to erect a monument to Confederate General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, who had earned his famous nickname on Henry Hill at the First Battle of Manassas on July 21, 1861.

Designed by sculptor Joseph Pollia, the monument presented a heroic Jackson with exaggerated physical features, meant to inspire a nation wracked by economic depression and fearing the descent into another world war. At the unveiling in August 1940, the keynote speaker encouraged military leaders to emulate the "lessons of war as taught and practiced by Jackson." The dedication ceremony perpetuated Lost Cause mythology, however, emphasizing Confederate valor and ignoring slavery as the central cause of the Civil War.

The monument of Stonewall Jackson, together with the adjacent memorials of the same era honoring other Confederate leaders, created a landscape of competing memory. Adherents of the Lost Cause laid claim to the historical narrative of Manassas Battlefield - site of two Southern victories - as the federal government prepared to accept ownership of Henry Hill. The Jackson statute epitomizes the complicated legacy of the park's creation and the preservation of the battlefield as a place of contested memory. "

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=540


"General

Barnard Elliott Bee
of South Carolina
Commander, Third Brigade
Army of the Shenandoah
was killed here July 21, 1861

Just before his death
to rally his scattered troops
he gave this command
“Form. form. There stands Jackson
like a stone wall:
Rally behind the Virginians.”

Presented by
The Mary Taliaferro Thompson
Southern Memorial Assn.
of Washington, D.C. - July 21, 1939.

(Rear of Monument):
Lucy Steele Clay
Chairman
Alice Boswell Morrison
Julia Neason Streater
Maude Bird Phares
Norma Hardy Britton"
*

This long hike was nearly grueling and would have been harder on a hotter day. But it was great fun with grand views of the landscape and markers explaining points of interesting throughout. Can't wait to return for the longer trail for Second Manassas! 

Sure, Bull Creek is neither deep nor wide- but those banks are steep and the bottom is muddy. Here is the stonebridge over Bull Creek. Actually it is a stonebridge, no the stonebridge, since the original was blown-up. I guess it doesn't matter. 

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=194383

Strategic CrossingFirst Battle of Manassas— July 21, 1861 - 6 a.m. —

Originally constructed in 1825, the Stone Bridge carried the Warrenton Turnpike across Bull Run. Its ability to carry traffic across the steep-sided stream, even at times of high water, gave the bridge a key role in the Civil War. Both sides recognized its strategic importance.
At daybreak, Union artillery fired the opening shots of First Manassas from a ridge one-half mile to the east (behind you). The attack was a ruse. The main Union column circled upstream instead, intending to surprise and outflank the Confederates by crossing at the unguarded Sudley Ford.
Caption:Prior to abandoning the Manassas area, Confederate troops blew up the original bridge in March 1862. The current structure dates to 1884. Erected by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.

Looks like just another field, but Sherman came through here on Day 1 - long before his time in Georgia.

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=62819

The Carter family lived in their mansion on the battlefield for many generation and rebuilt the cemetery after the battle. There's like 50 of them in there in unmarked graves. One of their widows was the only civilian causality of the first Manassas, killed infirmed in her farm house. 

Some boys rolled these ships' guns up here by hand.

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=101451

"The Fight for Matthews Hill

First Battle of Manassas

— July 21, 1861 10 a.m. —

Fighting opened here on Matthews Hill as Colonel Ambrose Burnside's brigade, leading the Union flanking column, collided with Confederates. Six James Rifles of the 2nd Rhode Island Battery established an advantageous position on the crest while Union infantry pressed forward into a cornfield beyond. With each few minutes that passed, more Federals reached the front.

Yet Union forces encountered stiff resistance. Confederate troops made headlong charges in a bold show of force that disguised their true weakness in numbers. It took over ninety minutes to dislodge the stubborn Confederates. Despite the unexpected delays, the Union commander emerged confident of success. General McDowell triumphantly announced "Victory! Victory! The day is ours!" The proclamation proved premature."

A wounded soldier's carved name is still visible in the stone house. Here's the house. It was sunny....

"Stone House: Witness to War

Manassas National Battlefield Park

— National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior

The historic Stone House, constructed prior to 1850, stands as one of the most recognizable landmarks of the Manassas Battlefields. Early owners established a tavern here, serving weary travelers along the Warrenton Turnpike (U.S. Route 29 today). By 1860, however, wagon traffic had declined, as farmers transported their agricultural products to market via the rapidly expanding railroads at nearby Manassas Junction.

During the First Battle of Manassas (Bull Run) in July 1861, the Stone House stood near the center of combat and soon became an obvious oasis for the wounded. Swelling quickly to capacity, the house sheltered many soldiers, one of whom reported, "the rattle of musket balls against the walls of the building was almost incessant."

At the Second Battle of Manassas in August 1862, Union General John Pope made his headquarters on adjacent Buck Hill. Again, the house filled with injured soldiers, two of whom carved their names in an upstairs room. Following the battle, Federal surgeons, operating under a flag of truce, tended to the wounded here while the victorious Confederates used the house as a parole station 

for prisoners of war."

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=602
https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=600
https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=596

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=840

There's that widow that was the only civilian causality. 

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=94594
https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=195122

"In
memory
of the
patriots
who fell at
Bull Run
July 21 1861"

First Civil War memorial and still standing - for the Patriots. 

*

In September of 2025, I went back to Manassas for a meeting of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. I got some more markers, overlapped some oft-visited sites, and added more to my page for Second Bull Run too. So here's some more that I somehow missed the first time, despite these all being clustered around the visitor's center. The chronology is backwards, but focuses on the end of the first battle.  

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=89201

Defeat and Disarray

First Battle of Manassas

— July 21, 1861 5 p.m. —

By day's end the Confederates held Henry Hill, capturing eight of the eleven Union cannon brought atop this plateau. Rebel reinforcements extended the battle lines across Sudley Road to neighboring Chinn Ridge (one-half mile ahead of you). Federal troops were driven back after a brief fight, the final combat of the day (a separate exhibit on Chinn Ridge discusses this action).

The Federal army fled back across Bull Run with Confederate cavalry in pursuit. The retreat, at first orderly, soon dissolved into a rout. Panic seized the troops as they came under artillery fire, and civilian spectators were caught up underfoot in the stampede back to the capital.

The battle's carnage shocked the country. More than 5,000 Americans were casualties — nearly 900 of whom were dead. It was the largest battle in the nation's history to that time. Thirteen months later the armies returned and fought again at the Second Battle of Manassas (August 28-30, 1862). The park's self-guided driving tour provides an overview of this larger battle and its significance during the Civil War.

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=89145

Final Struggle

First Battle of Manassas

— July 21, 1861 3 - 4 p.m. —

Up the slope marched Federal troops, determined to retake the cannons lost moments earlier. The bodies of slain artillerists and infantrymen littered the landscape. The Yankees recaptured Griffin's two guns and attempted to drag the two pieces to safety, but dead horses encumbered their efforts. In the distance the Confederates were preparing another charge.

The heaviest combat of the battle, much of it hand-to-hand, raged around the disabled batteries of Captains Ricketts and Griffin. The fighting went back and forth — Confederates would overrun the Federal position and recapture the cannon then be driven off moments later by a headlong counterattack. The widow Henry's farm became the most contested ground of the battle.

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=89204

Point Blank Volley

First Battle of Manassas

— July 21, 1861 2:45 p.m. —

Captain Charles Griffin's cannon, a section of Battery D, 5th U.S. Artillery, fired only two rounds when an unidentified line of infantry approached from the fence ahead. Who were they? Griffin proclaimed them the enemy. His commanding officer, the army's chief of artillery, disagreed. Reassured, the gunners resumed firing on the Confederate artillery in the distance.

The infantry advanced within forty paces of this position — point blank range — and leveled their muskets. A thunderous volley tore through the battery. Within moments the position was overrun by Confederates. Though the 33rd Virginia momentarily captured these guns, the battle was far from over. Union reinforcements were coming up the hill from Sudley Road.

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=89220

Turning the Tide

First Battle of Manassas

— July 21, 1861 2:30 p.m. —

 The Confederate army had been fighting for time. Efforts to delay the enemy's advance bought that time in blood — essential hours that allowed Southern reinforcements to reach the battlefield. Many regiments marched up from defensive positions downstream. Others had just disembarked from trains at Manassas Junction. All moved rapidly to the front — many by following the growing sound of battle.

The arrival of Confederate reinforcements coincided with the Union advance to Henry Hill. The 33rd Virginia Infantry, deployed here behind the fence line, waited tensely under an enemy bombardment. Soon the Virginians spotted two Union cannon unlimbering on the knoll directly ahead. Yet surprisingly the two guns focused on the Rebel batteries and paid little heed to the Virginians.

(caption)

More than 16,000 troops, approximately half of the Confederate forces, participated in the fight for Henry Hill. Their timely arrival offset the initial numerical advantage enjoyed by the Federals and helped turn the tide of battle. The rest of Beauregard's army remained in defensive positions guarding the lower fords of Bull Run.

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=8239

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=8238

*    *    *

And here's a nearby building named Ben Lomond, used by soldiers coming and going from the main battle. Seen here is the stone building and, in the distance, a rare stone slave quarters - indicating we are not in the Deep South.

Mostly it was a field hospital for Confederates after First Manassas, and General Kirby Smith's Headquarters. Later, Federal soldiers reclaimed and graffitied the home.  

On the way out of town...

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=593

"Born Savannah Georgia, Sept. 16, 1816
Mortally wounded on this spot,
July 21, 1861
Commanded 7th, 8th, 9th & 11th Georgia &
1st Kentucky Regiments
The first Confederate officer
to give his life on the field."

oh well.