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First Battle of the Bull Run; Orders
Topic Started: Oct 19 2006, 10:52 PM (267 Views)
The Southern Gentleman
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First Battle of Bull Run

Summer-Autumn 1861

In the summer of 1861 the MA Militia, NJ Militia and New York Miltia under General Hooker crossed the Potomac to attack Beauregard's positions on Bull Run, the Occoquan River. Beauregard was outnumbered but his forces were of superior quality, with the 50,000 or so Union troops being a freshly recruited militia. Hooker was however aware and competent and took as many steps as possible to lessen the impact.

The First Engagement was with a cavalry screen for Beauregard's main force of 20,000 or so infantry, in which Confederate troops provided an admirable delaying action to 9,000 Union troops and which sent word for the need for reinforcement from Johnston's 20,000 troops to the west.

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A day and a half later, Hooker's army was in Centreville and preparing its main assault, which was launched after faints on fords to the south and a small scale attack on the stone bridge across Bull Run. 35,000 men under Hooker moved Northwest and Wheeled south on to the Confederate position thereby escaping the troublesome problems of river and bridge. The Confederate soldiers provided admirable effort but there were clear problems and it seemed that Beauregard would not be able to link effectively in a wider front with Johnston - if anything, he felt that he would be pinned to the Potomac at one of its widest points with Johnston having to approach from the south and that he might risk the safety of both armies by staying - he considered an attack to the northeast to shift the front to both sides of the river and weaken the Union to an attack from the west, but felt it would risk a swift annihilation of his forces in the event of breakthrough.

The Confederates withdrew intact but could not push on Washington, and Johnston placed a screen of a few thousand men on the Shennandoah south of Blue Ridge while the majority of his men made for Jefferson VA to Unite with Beauregard to present a superior force to the Union's.

Casualties

2,500 Yankee Aggitators
1,400 Southern Gentlemen, and their pride

Beauregard and Johnston have orders to launch a combined counter-attack at the two army's "earliest possible oppurtunity" in order to negate any possible advantage the yankees have gained by their siezure of the field. The Confederate Congress has also called on the governor of Virginia to responsibly order portions of his state army (of 7'200 Infantry, 1375 Cavalry) to assist Beauregard and Johnston.
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