Showing results for "First Manassas"
Rocks or Bullets? Causes of Casualties at Second Manassas
The Confederates threw rocks when they ran out of ammunition at Second Manassas. It’s one of those famous stories associated with the Second Battle of Manassas/Bull Run. But did it really happen? Short answer: yes. How effective was it? That’s another question… On the afternoon of August 30, 1862, Union troops assaulted Jackson’s Confederate line. […]
Read more...Gustav Waagner: The Hungarian Revolutionary Faced One of his Toughest Tests against Stonewall Jackson at Manassas Junction
After the march of Stonewall Jackson’s 24,000 men culminated at Bristoe Station on August 26, 1862, where they managed to cut John Pope’s communication and supply line, Jackson turned his attention to Manassas Junction five miles up the Orange & Alexandria Railroad. A portion of his command scattered the small Federal garrison there overnight; Jackson […]
Read more...What If…First Bull Run Was Fought with Experienced Armies?
The first major battle of the American Civil War is remembered for a lot of reasons. “Green” troops. Scurrying Yankees. “Stonewall.” Artillery batteries that got way to close to each other. A civilian casualty. In the oft-told tales of First Bull Run (Manassas), the intricacies of the battle plan are not the stuff of legends. […]
Read more...Robert Gould Shaw & the First Battle of Winchester
How did Union troops feel about the First Battle of Winchester and their retreat on May 25, 1862? Lieutenant Robert G. Shaw, then serving with the 2nd Massachusetts Infantry, revealed some details in his post-battle letters and also some valuable insight into the mentality and fears of the Federal soldiers. For example, they thought Jackson […]
Read more...Marching to Manassas
Twice in thirteen months, soldiers led by Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson pulled off long marches during a campaign that culminated in battle along the banks of Bull Run. Both marches were remarkable in the distance they covered and the time in which the distance was traveled. They also reveal the technological advantages of using railroads […]
Read more...ECW Weekender: The Robinson House at Manassas Battlefield
On Henry House Hill at Manassas National Battlefield, the reconstructed Henry House dominates the scene and the attention for civilian stories. However, there is another important civilian story on the ridge line and, while interpreted with signage, it would still be easy to miss this layer of history in the battle landmarks since the historic […]
Read more...Forts: “Too Heavy to Level Down”: Fort Beauregard in Manassas
Earthworks and manmade fortifications have withstood battle, nature, and development to serve as tangible reminders of the American Civil War. Hopefully, they will be around many more decades to serve as teaching tools for battlefield trompers and Civil War students. Yet I have always found it ironic that for all they have withstood and for […]
Read more...ECWS Preview: Second Manassas and Never Such a Campaign
We’re showing off the covers of some of the books we have coming up later this year in the Emerging Civil War Series. Next up: Never Such a Campaign: The Battle of Second Manassas, August 29 – September 1, 1862 by Robert Orrison and Dan Welch.
Read more...Under Fire: First Ironclad Shots at the Head of Passes
In May 1861, New Orleans river captain John Stevenson travelled to Montgomery, Alabama, proposing to “adapt some of our heavy and powerful tow-boats on the Mississippi” by armoring them and “preparing their bow” with a ram “capable of sinking by collision” United States blockaders.[i] Confederate leaders dismissed the proposal, and Stevenson resolved to materialize his […]
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