Henry Hill would be the wiseguy all the way to the left
Posted on 07/21/2006 3:26:22 AM PDT by mainepatsfan
This Day In History | Civil War
July 21
1861 First Battle of Bull Run
The war erupts on a large scale in the east when Confederate forces under P. T. Beauregard turn back Union General Irvin McDowell's troops along Bull Run in Virginia. The inexperienced soldiers on both sides slugged it out in a chaotic battle that resulted in a humiliating retreat by the Yankees and signaled, for many, the true start of the war.
At the insistence of President Lincoln, McDowell set out to make a quick offensive against Manassas Junction, a key rail center 30 miles from Washington. On July 18, the Yankee advance was halted in a small skirmish at Blackburn's Ford on Bull Run. McDowell paused for three days as he prepared to move around the Rebels. This was a crucial delay, because it allowed forces under Joseph Johnston, guarding the Shenandoah Valley to the west, to join Beauregard. A brigade commanded by Thomas J. Jackson was among the reinforcements.
When McDowell attacked on July 21, the Federal troops seemed poised to scatter the Confederates in front of them. While part of the Union force held the attention of the center of the Confederate line, the main attack came around the Rebel left flank. By noon, the Yankees had broken the line and sent the Confederates in retreat. Then McDowell moved in for the kill by attempting to capture Henry Hill, the key to the battle. But he did not apply the full pressure of his army, and that respite allowed Beauregard to strengthen his force on the hill. Jackson's brigade moved artillery into place, and McDowell now faced a much stronger Confederate position.
(Excerpt) Read more at historychannel.com ...
Henry Hill would be the wiseguy all the way to the left
You mean first Manassas. ;-)
If MCDowell had caught him he would have ratted them out!
Hank Hill
"That boy aint right"
bump
I liked Jackson's equestrian statue at the Manassas Battlefield Park. It looks as if he had to set aside his world-class bodybuilding aspirations to go fight in the war.
I haven't been down to see VMI yet. It's on my list.
Also, if you like military history in general, there's another museum in Lexington just a few blocks away that has an enormous collection of artifacts and uniforms dating back to the early 19th century. The lady who runs it said that her husband, a former British officer, had spent his lifetime and a fortune collecting these items before he died, and that she makes them available to the public in order to keep it all together. I highly recommend it!
We've been outflanked General McDowell !!!
This ain't no Bull.
Run !!!!!!!
That sounds like a good weekend trip. I'm just up in Arlington.
Thyere is going to be a national reenactment of the battle this weekend. Wish I could afford the gas to go.
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