Quaker Guns, Friendly-Fire and the Hills Above Washington

| September 28, 2011

Saturday, September 28, 1861 It had been over two months since the Confederate victory at Bull Run. Since then, General Joseph E. Johnston had struggled to keep his Confederate Army of the Potomac afloat, while rebuilding and reorganizing it. Thousands of recruits had joined its ranks, swelling its numbers to over 40,000 men. Prior to [...]

Lincoln Talks to the Troops; CSA Invades the North (Sort Of)

| July 23, 2011

Tuesday, July 23, 1861 Colonel William Tecumseh Sherman found himself riding in the Presidential carriage alongside President Lincoln and Secretary of State Seward. He took notice of the carriage as it crossed the Potomac on the ferry near Georgetown. Lincoln had heard that the “big scare” was over and wanted to see the troops. Sherman, [...]

Day After the Battle: The Sun Rises, but Shines Not

| July 22, 2011

Monday, July 22, 1861 Through the deluge of rain, Confederate soldiers buried the Manassas dead on the battlefield where they had fallen. In the Confederate camps, a sense of normalcy quickly took over. They had been victorious, but, as General Johnston would later say, the Confederate army was “more disorganized by victory than that of [...]

Colossal Battle at Bull Run! The Union Army Routed from the Field!

| July 21, 2011

Sunday, July 21, 1861 Both Union and Confederate commanders had similar plans: attack the enemy on his left flank. Whichever army struck first would seize the initiative and throw the other on the defensive. General McDowell had the right of his Union army in motion around 2am. One division would feint an attack upon the [...]

Both Armies to Attack Across Bull Run!

| July 20, 2011

Saturday, July 20, 1861 It was morning and the sun had hardly risen, when Confederate General Johnston arrived at Manassas after an all-night train ride from Piedmont. He stepped off the cars with two more regiments to reinforce Beauregard’s line along Bull Run, and immediately proceeded to general headquarters. The previous day, Johnston had wired [...]

Jackson Arrives at Manassas; Patterson in the Dark, Out the Door

| July 19, 2011

Friday, July 19, 1861 General Thomas Jackson had his men up and at Piedmont Station on the Manassas Gap Railroad not long after dawn. They were the vanguard of General Johnston’s Confederate Army of the Shenandoah, en route to reinforce General Beauregard at Manassas. Union General Patterson, nearby, was to make Johnston think that he [...]

Battle of Blackburn’s Ford and Johnston Steals a March

| July 18, 2011

Thursday, July 18, 1861 General McDowell’s Union Army converged upon Centreville on the third day of their march towards the Confederate Army of the Potomac in a line along Bull Run near Manassas, Virginia. The Confederates covered the fords and bridges along the run, protecting the railroad hub of Manassas Junction. McDowell was aware of [...]

McDowell Moves Deeper While Patterson Blunders

| July 17, 2011

Wednesday, July 17, 1861 Not too long after the last Union troops filtered into their camps, the bugles sounded, calling them to fall into line. General McDowell’s marching orders for the previous day had been light, but today he expected to engage the Rebels at Fairfax Court House, fifteen miles from General Beauregard’s Confederate Army [...]

Revenge on the High Seas! The Union Advances Towards Manassas!

| July 16, 2011

Tuesday, July 16, 1861 The Revenge of William Tilghman of the S.J. Waring Rebel privateers in the brig Jeff Davis had captured the S.J. Waring on July 7. For the past week, they had been sailing for a Southern port. Four of the Waring‘s original crew, still on board, were put to work on the [...]

Union Army Prepares to Move on Richmond!

| July 15, 2011

Monday, July 15, 1861 The Union regiments that had gathered in and around Washington in preparation for the advance upon Richmond were still being supplied and ushered across the Potomac River to be placed in their brigades. General McDowell, their commander, called another meeting of his highest ranking officers to discuss the movements that would [...]