(1) The First Battle of Bull Run
Overview
Date | July 21st 1861 |
Winner | Confederate Army |
Union Deaths | 2,896 of 30,000 |
Confederate Deaths | 1,982 of 32,000 |
Total Deaths | 4,878 Deaths |
Map
| This is a map of where the First Battle of Bull Run took place. There is a marker on the map. It you go to satellite view, and zoom in, you can see the war memorial set up there to honor the soldiers. Have a look around the area. As you can see, the battle is very near to Bull Run City. |
Strategies
Even though the Union was much better equipped that the Confederate Sates, they still lost this battle. Look below to see some of the things that caused the Union's defeat.
- The Union's first attack of the battle contained 12,000 soldiers, but logistical (transporting) problems hampered about 8,000 of them.
- The Union fired artillery weapons at Mitchel's Ford towards the south very early in the morning.
- Some of these weapons did hit the enemy headquarters, alerting the enemy of their presence
- Poor communication prevented the Confederate States from quickly being dispatched.
- Many commands that the Confederate Commanders ordered never reach their intended person, so many orders for back-up were never received.
- At about 11:00am, a group of Confederate soldiers were defeated by the overwhelming Union Forces.