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First Manassas: The Creating of Generals

© Michael J. Swogger

First Manassas, or the First Battle of Bull Run, was the first heavy engagement of the American Civil War. Occurring on July 21, 1861 at Manassas Junction, Virginia, the battle marked the true beginning of this war between the states. And because the North had experienced a stunning and embarrassing upset, it also represented the genesis of the realization that the war was not to be a 90-day encounter as many had hoped. Additionally and most intriguingly, First Manassas gave the two countries a grand and sometimes disturbing look at their future generals.

General Irvin McDowell-who in the world was he? Well, after the embarrassing Union defeat at Bull Run, not many people talked about him in a positive tone. McDowell, who served creditably in the Mexican War, was appointed commander of some 30 to 35,000 men around Washington with the task of invading Virginia and "squashing" the rebellion (Davis, 1983). His personal characteristics did not afford him much leadership quality, and because he was practically forced by Lincoln to attack a Rebel force before McDowell thought the army was ready, his fate was pretty much marked from the outset. Even though the Union troops outnumbered those of the Confederacy, they were poorly trained ill-equipped green troops who were highly unprepared for the task in front of them. And so, when the battle was said and done, and the green Federals were quickly high-tailing it back into Washington, someone had to be to blame for this embarrassment at the hands of those "dirty Rebs." The scapegoat was McDowell. He was hastily replaced by George B. McClellan, and demoted to a division commander. You don't read about McDowell a whole lot after Bull Run.

Of course, many generals did not fare as poorly as old Irvin. General P.G.T. Beauregard, the initial commander of Southern forces at Bull Run, was a popular figure in the South already. He commanded the attack on Fort Sumter that started everything. He designed the Confederate battle flag with which we are all familiar. He commanded brilliantly with General Joseph Johnston (the overall commander of Southern forces until Robert E. Lee took over in 1862) at Manassas and led his men to victory there. And even though he and President Jefferson Davis did not get along very well, he remained at his generalship for the entire war, allowing him commands at Shiloh with Johnston and at Petersburg under Lee.

A boisterous and sometimes downright blunt personality emerged from this first great fury of the war. He knew from the outset that this would not be a short war (a not too popular of an opinion during those times), and responed to Lincoln's call for 75,000 three-months volunteers by saying "You might as well attempt to put out the flames of a burning house with a squirt-gun" (McPherson, 1992, p. 168). Then the inexperienced Colonel of the gray-uniformed, 3,400 man 2nd Wisconsin, William Tecumseh Sherman, who would later become General Grants right-hand man and commander of the Western Amries, led his troops during earlier hours of the battle in an attack that forced the Confederates to retreat to what was called Henry House Hill. But his most famous encounter during the battle was by far an unsuccessful one in which he sent his brigade in one regiment at a time against another future well-known figure, General Thomas J. Jackson.

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