VS7b The Civil War

The first land battle of the war.

Also called "The First Battle of Manassas"

​Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard  and 22,000  troops formed an 8-mile long line at Bull Run Creek near the train station of Manassas Junction, 25 miles from Washington, D.C.

Many Washingtonians thought this would be a swift Union victory which would end the conflict between the North and the South. 

They brought picnic lunches and found high ground to observe the battle.

Southern General “Stonewall” Jackson earned his nickname in this battle when helping to ensure a Confederate victory.

The Union Army crossed the Rappahannock river on pontoon bridges to attack the Confederate Army at Fredericksburg.

General Robert E. Lee, commander of the Army of Northern Virginia defeated the Union troops.

President Abraham Lincoln used the Union navy to blockade southern ports both in the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico

The South began refitting the Merrimack to be an ironclad warship. This ship would be unstoppable by average warships.

The North heard of this and began quickly building an ironclad warship of their own called the Monitor.

When the Merrimack was launched, it sunk the Union USS Cumberland and damaged the USS Minnesota.

The next day, however, the Monitor was waiting for it. The two ships battled, and neither was able to sink the other.  The battle was a draw.  This was the first time that two ironclad warships battle each other.

The Union had more resources, such as firearms, because of its factories

The Union had more support from states and more troops, including slaves

The Union had a bigger Navy

The Civil War officially ended in April 1865 at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, where Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his army to Union General Ulysses S. Grant .