On a dry summer Sunday in 1861, July 21st, Union and Confederate troops clashed outside Manassas, Virginia in the first major engagement of the Civil War: the First Battle of Bull Run.
Union General Irvin McDowell hoped to march his men across a small Virginia stream named Bull Run, which was well-guarded by a force of Confederates under General P.G.T. Beauregard. The task for McDowell was to find a way across the stream and through the southern line, which stretched for over six miles along its banks.				View of Bull Run , ca. 1861-ca. 1865 Civil War Photographs, 1861-1865
Sudley Church , ca. 1861-ca. 1865 Civil War Photographs, 1861-1865		McDowell launched a small diversionary attack at the Stone Bridge, while attempting to march the bulk of his force north around the ConfederatesÆ left flank. The march was slow, but McDowell's army crossed the stream near Sudley Church and began to march south behind the Confederate line. Some of BeauregardÆs troops, seeing through the diversion at the Stone Bridge, fell back just in time to meet McDowellÆs oncoming force.
When Beauregard learned of the attack, he sent reinforcements to aid the small group of Southerners, but they were unable to hold back the oncoming tide of Union troops. As reinforcements streamed into the fray, the Southerners were slowly pushed back, past the Stone House, and up Henry Hill.				Matthews' or the Stone House, March, 1862 Civil War Photographs, 1861-1865

For several hours the battle raged around Mrs. Judith HenryÆs House, on top of Henry Hill, with both sides taking control of the hill more than once. Slowly, as more and more reinforcements poured onto the field to support the Confederate defense, BeauregardÆs men pushed the Northerners back.

At this point in the battle, Confederate General Barnard Bee attempted to rally his weary men by pointing to Brigadier General Thomas Jackson, who proudly stood his ground in the face of the Union assault. Bee cried "There stands Jackson like a stone wall!" And from that moment on, Thomas Jackson was known as "Stonewall" Jackson.

As the day wore on, the strength of McDowellÆs troops was sapped by the continuous arrival of fresh southern reinforcements. Eventually, the stubborn Confederates proved more than a match for McDowellÆs men, and the Northerners began to retreat back across Bull Run.
Cub Run, with Destroyed Bridge, March, 1862 Civil War Photographs, 1861-1865		The retreat began as an orderly movement, but when the bridge over Cub Run was destroyed, cutting off a major route of retreat, it degenerated into a rout. The retreating Union force was hampered by the many carts, wagons and spectators clogging the narrow roads and fords. The Southerners tried to launch a pursuit, but were too tired and disorganized from the dayÆs fighting to be effective. The morning of July 22nd found most of the Union army on their way back to Washington or already there. It would be more than a year before the Northerners attempted once again to cross the small stream outside Manassas named Bull Run.