Civil War Day-By-Day

July 21, 1861

• First Battle of Bull Run: At Manassas Junction, Virginia, the first major battle of the war begins and ends in a victory for the Confederate army.
  • About 25 miles southwest of Washington the first major battle of the Civil War pits Irvin McDowell [US] against P. G. T. Beauregard [CS] and Joe Johnston [CS].
  • (First) Manassas (Confederate)
    (First) Bull Run (Union)

A Chronological History of the Civil War in America¹

• Second Battle of Bull Run² (McDowell v. Beauregard): conflict lasted 10 hours, when a panic seized the Union forces, which fled in disorder to Washington. The loss was as follows:
  Union. . . .481 killed. … 1,011 wounded… 1,216 missing=2,698
  Rebel . . . .630 “ …………2,235 …….“ ……….. 150…… “….. =3,015
  —The numbers engaged were—Union 40,000 v. rebel 47,000, the latter of which were reinforced during the battle by 20,000 or 25,000.

1. A Chronological History of the Civil War in America by Richard Swainson Fisher, New York, Johnson and Ward, 1863
2. This was actually the First Battle of Bull Run (the name used by Union forces), also known as the Battle of First Manassas (the name used by Confederate forces), was the first major battle of the American Civil War. The battle was fought on July 21, 1861, in Prince William County, Virginia, just north of the city of Manassas and about 30 miles west-southwest of Washington, D.C. (Wikipedia)