First Battle of Bull Run

     The Battle of Bull Run was the Civil War's first major battle and a disaster for the Northern Union. Plagued by bad judgement, Gen. Winfield Scott ordered Gen. Irvin McDowell to lead poorly trained Union troops to advance against the Confederate troops gathered at Manassas Junction, Virginia. On July 21, 1861, Union troops attacked Confederates near Bull Run Creek and were almost clear to victory until Confederate reinforcements arrived from Shenandoah Valley. Led by Confederate General, Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, the southern army held their own against the invaders and began beating them back toward Washing. Desperate in their attempts to survive with their lives, Union troops broke ranks and ran willy-nilly in an embarrassing retreat. As a result, George McClellan replaced McDowell as the commander of troops in the Washington area and general in chief when Scott retired.