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The Battles of Bull Run Two battles in the U.S. Civil War were fought along Bull Run Creek near Manassas, in northern Virginia, southwest of Washington D.C. The first battle, often called “The Battle of 1st Manassas,” occurred on July 21, 1861 between the Union army of about thirty thousand men controlled by the brave and strong General Irvin McDowell, and the Confederate of about twenty-two thousand commanded by General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard. This battle was the first major battle of the Civil war, as well as for the junior officer, McDowell. A year later, the second battle was fought in the same place on August 29th and 30th. In that battle, General John Pope commanded thirty five thousand Union troops and faced the Confederate’s General Robert E. Lee and his fifty thousand troops. Once again, the Union was outnumbered, but they fought long and hard. However, in the end, the Confederates came out the victors of both battles (Davis 256). After the second battle, Lee headed toward Maryland where the Battle of Antietam soon took place. Although the McDowell’s South lost in the first battle along with the second one, He still was a vicious leader and fought hard. McDowell led his army against Beauregard’s army along Bull Run Creek. Both forces faced off and were well organized, but had their own strategies. McDowell’s forces were organized into four divisions: Tyler, Hunter, Heintzelman, and Miles. The Confederates, on the other hand, had no divisions and was led by thirteen independent brigades: Bonham, Ewell, Jones, Longstreet, Cocke, Early, Holmes, Kershaw, Evans, Jackson, Bartow, Bee, Smith, and a cavalry brigade under Stuart.
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