First Battle of Bull Run-Manassas

First Battle of Bull Run-Manassas

First Battle of Bull Run-Manassas
Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 9 to 10
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	8.22

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		infirm, rout, stonewall, flank, rallied, sheer, confront, basis, rapid, pursue, retreat, massive, railway, overwhelm, assault, responsibility
	content words:		American Civil War, Bull Run, General Beauregard, Manassas Junction, General Winfield Scott, General Irwin McDowell, General Thomas Jackson, Henry House Hill, General George McClellan

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First Battle of Bull Run-Manassas
By Mary L. Bushong

¹     The thought that the American Civil War would last four long years never entered the minds of most of the people. It was assumed that the forces of the North and the South would meet in one big clash and effectively decide the matter.

²     It is interesting to note that many of the battles during the war had two names. The North would name them after the nearest body of water-- in this case, a stream called Bull Run. (Run is an early English word that means a stream or creek.) The South named them after the nearest town, such as Manassas.

³     The new capital for the Confederacy (Richmond, Virginia) was only 100 miles away from the Union capital (Washington, D.C.). When this great battle came, it was certain to take place between the two cities.

⁴     In preparation for an assault, the Union soldiers began fortifying areas around the capital and the nearby towns of Alexandria and Arlington, Virginia. Confederate forces made no immediate effort to attack Washington as the Union expected them to do. Instead, General Beauregard gathered his army at Manassas Junction where there was a railway.

⁵     Union forces were commanded by General Winfield Scott, but he was too old and infirm to lead the men on the field. That job fell to General Irwin McDowell. While many men had flocked to the Union banner, few had any training as soldiers. He wanted time to train the men for battle, but Congress wanted him to confront the Confederates.

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