Bull Run, First Battle of
Bull Run, First Battle of (1861).The first major land battle of the Civil War occurred at Bull Run Creek (near the town of Manassas, Virginia) Virginia, on 21 July 1861. Brig. Gen. P. G. T. Beauregard, the hero of Fort Sumter, commanded the Confederate army. His force of 20,000 protected a rail link that led to Brig. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's army in the lower Shenandoah Valley. Johnston's 12,000 men faced a Federal force of 18,000 commanded by the aged Robert Patterson, a veteran of the War of 1812.
Beauregard deployed his force along a stream called Bull Run; it was crossable only at a number of fords and one stone bridge. Henry Hill commanded the bridge and the fords around it, thus forming the key to the Confederate position. Believing the Federals would attack his right, Beauregard posted most of his force there....
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