What was the 1st major battle in the civil war?

Answer 1

First battle of bull run was the answer.

First Bull Run (Manassas) , July 1861 .
It was the First Battle of Manassas(Bull Run). The battle took place on July 21, 1861. It was a Confederate victory.
The Battle at Bull Run
The first major general engagement was known as Manassas or Bull Run. It is known by two names because Union forces named battles generally after bodies of water (in this case, Bull Run) while Confederates named battles generally after the closest city or town.

The first battle of the Civil War that led up to the US Civil War was the capture of Federal Fort Sumter, on April 12-13, 1861. The garrison at Fort Sumter, in the harbor of Charleston, SC, was bombarded overnight and surrendered and evacuated the following day. No one was killed on either side, but an accident caused two Union deaths during a 100-gun salute to the lowering Union flag.

The first major engagement of the US Civil War took place on July 21, 1861 at the Battle of Bull Run (near Manassas, VA) where the Union suffered a surprising defeat. The Battle of Bull Run (1861) is often called the First Battle of Bull Run, to differentiate between the Second Battle of Bull Run in 1862. In the American South, it can sometimes be referred to as the Battle of Manassas.

The first battle of the Civil War was Fort Sumter, on April 12-13, 1861. The garrison at Fort Sumter, in the harbor of Charleston, SC, was bombarded overnight and surrendered and evacuated the following day. No one was killed on either side, but an accident caused two Union deaths during a 100-gun salute to the lowering Union flag.

The first major engagement of the US Civil War took place on July 21, 1861 at the Battle of Bull Run (near Manassas, VA) where the Union suffered a surprising defeat. The Battle of Bull Run (1861) is often called the First Battle of Bull Run, to differentiate between the Second Battle of Bull Run in 1862. In the American South, it can sometimes be referred to as the Battle of Manassas.

Answer 2

The first major battle of the Civil War was that of the First Bull Run.

It was fought on July 21,1861. It was also a major Confederate victory.

The Union losses were: 481 dead, 1011 wounded, 1,000 prisoners, 500 rifles, 500,000 cartridges, 28 guns and 9 battle flags.

Those of Confederates were: 387, dead, 1582 wounded.

Answer 3

The First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas), which was a Confederate victory by Joseph E. Johnston and P.G.T.Beauregard.

The losing General, Irvin McDowell, is generally regarded as unlucky, as he knew his army was not ready for operations. But he was pushed into it by the press and the politicians.

Answer 4

The first major battle of the US Civil War was at Bull Run, a stream in Virginia. The reason most people have heard about it was that it was significant in a number of ways. It can also be said to foretell why the Civil War lasted as long as it did.

The First Battle of Bull Run was on July 21, 1861. In the North there was mounting pressure from the press, the public & the Lincoln administration to attack & capture the Confederate capital of Richmond. President Lincoln was sure that a quick victory would put a fast end to the Southern rebellion. He was not alone & the New York Tribune & other papers were headlining "Onward to Richmond!" for a week prior to launching the attack. The Battle of Bull Run would be significant because:

A. It would be the largest battle ever fought in the Western Hemisphere; and

B. Be fought by the largest number of all volunteer soldiers in history.

Union General Irvin McDowell would lead the Federal forces. He had made his headquarters at the seized home of Robert E. Lee. Lee had resigned his commission and joined the Confederacy. Seizing Lee's property had both a strategic & symbolic value for the Union.

McDowell's army numbered about 35,000 men and his orders were to march south from Washington DC to Richmond, Va. This would be the first attempt to capture Richmond. It nagged Lincoln for several years that this could not be done earlier.

Following the West Point battle manual, a regiment of scout troops were sent ahead to try to make enemy contact and look for possible ambushes. These troops were followed by 3 more regiments and artillery to form a brigade.

Due to the Confederate spy network in Washington DC, the South of the Federal intention to take Richmond. Somehow the news and details were known by over 1,000 people in Washington DC. Not only that but the plans for where & how the Federal troops were to be deployed were also sent to the South.

The Confederate army under General Beauregard numbered about 20,000. Based on the strategic value of protecting the important railway junction at Manassas, the Southern forces were set near a stream called Bull Run.

The battle would be fought there, 25 miles south of Washington DC and 75 miles north of Richmond. As an aside, McDowell & Beauregard had been classmates at West Point.

The Confederates were undermanned, for the battle, however, Beauregard waited for reinforcements of 12,000 men that were under the command of Southern Genreral Joseph J. Johnston, the highest ranking Union general to resign fro the Union. Johnston was guarding the entrance to Virginia's Shenandoah Valley.

To prevent reinforcements to Beauregard, Union General Patterson was ordered to keep Johston's forces pinned down. While Patterson guarded the roadways, Johnston's troops took the railroad to Bull Run. The failure to recognize the value of using the rails is a point I made several weeks ago when comparing advantages the Union had.

(the next set of events the writer remembers from High School ) A group of congressmen, reporters and other citizens of Washington DC had followed the troops with picnic baskets and the like to view the battle. A Union victory ball had already been planned in Alexandria Va, directly across the Potomoc from Washington DC.

On the morning of July21, 1861, a Union shell crashed through the house where Beauregard was having breakfast and so the battle had begun.

The battle swung back & forth all day and it seemed as if a Union victory was close. But late in the afternoon, the Rebels managed one more counter attack which pushed the Union forces into a rapid retreat. There was confusion among the Northern forces and the accompaning civilans fled as fast as they could back to Washington DC. The Union retreat failed to place a firm rear guard.

This then became a panic retreat and soldiers threw down their weapons & supplies in a hasty effort to get away. Artillery men cut loose the horses from their cannons, leaving behind valuable arms & supplies for the Confederates.

The results of the battle was a wake up call for the Union.

Answer 5

On July 21, 1861, the first major land battle took place at Manassas Junction, near the stream of Bull Run. Union forces, led by General McDowell hastily put together, faced Confederate forces led by generals PT Beauregard and Johnston. The Union had 36,000 troops and the two combined armies of the South had 32,000 troops. This was the largest battle ever in the Western Hemisphere. To the surprise of many, the South won the battle.

Answer 6

The first major battle of the US Civil War was the First Battle of Bull Run in the late Summer of 1861. It was a Confederate victory. The battle was fought near the stream called Bull Run, close to the rail junction of Manassas, Virginia.

Answer 7

The first major battle of the US Civil War was the Battle of Bull Run. It was fought on July 21, 1861. It was a Confederate victory. Later this battle was called the "First" Bull Run as about one year later, in the same location Union and Confederate forces met again and it was a Southern victory.

While the bombardment of the federal Fort Sumter is often said to be the beginning of the US Civil War, historians believe that the Southern capture of Fort Sumter led to the beginning of the war. And after Fort Sumter there were many small battles, however, Bull Run remains as the first major battle. As an aside, "major" is a proper adjective. The battle created two armies that were the largest ever seen in North America until that time.

Answer 8

The first major land battle of the American Civil War was the Battle of 1st Bull Run.

Answer 9

bullrun

Answer 10

Battle of Manassa