First Battle of Bull Run

The first major land battle of the American Civil War, fought near Manassas, Virginia, on July 21, 1861. Confederate forces defeated the Union army and halted its advance toward Richmond.

Battle of Blackburn's Ford: An engagement near Manassas on July 18, 1861, in which Confederate troops repelled a Union probe. This clash revealed Confederate positions before the main battle began.
Manassas Gap Railroad: A Virginia railroad connecting Manassas Junction with the Shenandoah Valley. Its junction made Manassas a strategic link between Confederate forces in northern Virginia and the Valley.
Winfield Scott's Anaconda Plan: A Union strategy to defeat the Confederacy through a naval blockade and control of the Mississippi River. The battle’s failure to end the war quickly strengthened the case for a longer strategy.
Bull Run Campaign: The 1861 military operations around Manassas that culminated in the First Battle of Bull Run. The battle was the campaign’s central engagement.
Stonewall Jackson at the First Battle of Bull Run: Thomas J. Jackson’s role in the Confederate defense during the First Battle of Bull Run. Jackson’s brigade helped hold the Confederate line during the Union assault.
Irvin McDowell: A Union general who commanded the army at First Bull Run. His advance from Washington aimed to defeat Confederate forces guarding Manassas.
Union Army: The land forces that fought for the United States during the American Civil War. The defeat exposed the need to train and organize Union forces for a prolonged war.
Bull Run (Mathews County, Virginia): A stream in eastern Virginia unrelated to the Manassas battlefield commonly called Bull Run. The name can mislead because the battle’s Bull Run is in northern Virginia.
Henry House Hill: A rise near Manassas where Confederate forces resisted Union attacks during the battle. Fighting here checked the Union advance and helped turn the battle.
P. G. T. Beauregard: A Confederate general who commanded forces at Manassas during the battle. Beauregard organized the defense against McDowell’s approach.

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