Northern Virginia: First Battles
Links to Git Up 'N' Go Civil War Day Excursions.
Links to Virginia regions and the Civil War sites and attractions.
The streets of Washington on July 16, 1861 were filled with cheering people, both white and black, as General Irvin McDowell’s army of 35,000 strong, marched out to begin the long-awaited campaign to capture Richmond and end the war. McDowell’s slow moving columns were headed for the important railroad junction at Manassas where the Orange and Alexandria Railroad met the Manassas Gap Railroad. If the Union army could take this junction, they would control the best overland approach to the Confederate capital. Remember, Interstate 95 or US Route 1 didn't exist at that time.
Only five miles were covered in the first day’s march, as the men straggled to pick blackberries or fill canteens. Many citizens and congressman followed the army and they brought wine and picnic baskets to watch what all expected would be a colorful show.
Neither armies nor the civilian population had the ability to foresee the future and know that this conflict was to be the first modern war with mass armies confronting each other using weapons capable of creating terrible destruction. Both sides weren't prepared for this, and in fact each army thought there would be only one major battle and the war would be over. Today this seems naive, but we are exposed to a multitude of visual images of combat and destruction from photos, movies, video games, etc. It's different to read about war in books and then see it in reality. In the initial euphoria of the war, it all seemed a great adventure.
The First Battle of Manassas was such a triumph, there had to be a sequel.
Second Battle of Manassas, fought in 1862, cleared the way for General Robert E. Lee's first invasion of the North. Union forces under General John Pope retreated to Washington, D. C. General Lee led his Army of Northern Virginia across the Potomac into Maryland near Frederick; the invasion was thwarted at Antietam.
Return to the Accessible Civil War main page and to the Civil War Timeline>>
Home | Regions | Virginia Weather & Maps | Resources | Outdoor Recreation | About Us | Contact Us | Accessibility Links
