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On July 21, 1861, Union and Confederate armies met for the first large-scale land battle of the Civil War near Bull Run Creek (Manassas Junction) in northern Virginia. The Confederate soldiers, flushed with the fervor of their secessionist cause and seeing themselves as the spiritual heirs to the patriots of the American Revolution, felt confidant that the battle would be won quickly and that U.S. recognition of the Confederate States of America would soon follow. Equally confidant of victory, the Union troops marched south to crush the treasonous forces that threatened the very fabric of the Union and the U.S. Constitution.
Despite the popular perceptions on both sides, however, the war was not to be won with one great set-piece battle. There would be no Waterloo or Cannae to solve the question of Southern independence and, by extension, the survival of African-American slavery. Union Gen. Winfield Scott, the aged hero of the War of 1812 and the Mexican War, proved a lonely voice of reason amid the new-rage military. Scott's Anaconda Plan called for an envelopment of the South by blockade and seizing key points rather than a head-on invasion against the Confederate capital at Richmond.
Northern public opinion demanded an invasion to 'crush' the rebel army covering Manassas.
–James McPherson
But as historian James McPherson writes, “Northern public opinion demanded an invasion to 'crush' the rebel army covering Manassas.” The Union population's desire for a speedy resolution to the crisis made it deaf to Scott's sage wisdom, and the Union army under Irvin McDowell soon invaded northern Virginia.
After initial tactical gains, the Union army ultimately faltered. The Confederate victory owed much to the timely arrival on the field of Thomas Jackson, who earned the nickname “Stonewall” for his brigade's unwillingness to fall back under punishing Union fire. Certain of victory, many Northern notables and their families had come to picnic and watch the battle, though they soon joined the rout of soldiers when the Union army fell.
As Winston Churchill wrote in his "History of the English Speaking Peoples," “Members of the Cabinet, senators, congressmen, even ladies, had come to see the sport. They were involved in a panic when thousands of men, casting away their arms and even their coats, fled and never stopped till they reached the entrenchments which surrounded Washington.”
The First Battle of Bull Run saw nearly 5,000 casualties on both sides. Nearly a year later at Shiloh, both sides each took over 10,000 casualties. The entire war claimed the lives of roughly 600,000 Americans, 3 percent of the population. War, as William T. Sherman said, is indeed hell.
Members of the Cabinet, senators, congressmen, even ladies, had come to see the sport. They were involved in a panic when thousands of men, casting away their arms and even their coats, fled and never stopped till they reached the entrenchments which surrounded Washington.
–Winston Churchill
As the United States nears the end of its first decade of the war on terror, there are lessons to be learned from the First Battle of Bull Run and the Civil War. First of all, major conflicts against formidable enemies are rarely over quickly. The American Revolution and the Vietnam War each lasted eight years, the Philippine war and insurrection roughly 14. Despite political promises or popular desires, when America goes to war, it must be aware of and prepare for the possibility of a long fight.
Second, though we rightfully praise historical figures like Harriet Tubman, Horace Greeley, Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison as abolitionists and Underground Railroad conductors — Americans ardently and vocally opposed to slavery — we must always remember that it was not these men and women who ended the vile institution.
Rather, the credit for ending human bondage on the North American continent must land at the feet of men like U.S. Grant, William T. Sherman, George G. Meade, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, and yes, even Irwin McDowell. Without the effort and sacrifice of these men and the troops they commanded, slavery could very well be a part of the American landscape today.
Despite the tremendous loss of life and incalculable human suffering, the Civil War teaches us that some things are indeed worth fighting for. Though we often teach our children that violence never solves anything, we must remember that it was war that ended slavery, stopped the Holocaust and won our republic its freedom from Britain.
War should never be entered into lightly, but as John F. Kennedy said, Americans must always be ready to “pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”
Cody K. Carlson holds a master's degree in history from the University of Utah. He currently teaches at Salt Lake Community College and performs improv comedy with Laughing Stock at the Off Broadway Theater. ckcarlson76@gmail.com
