Yesterday marked the 159th anniversary of the First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas)—the first major engagement of the American Civil War. For the soldiers and civilians who fought or witnessed the battle, it was the moment everything changed.
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November 8, 1861
“Officers and men of the First Brigade, I am not here to make a speech but simply to say farewell. I first met you at Harper’s Ferry in the commencement of the war, and I cannot take leave of you without giving expression to my admiration of your conduct from that day to this, whether on the march, in the bivouac, the tented field, or on the bloody plains of Manassas, where you gained the well-deserved reputation of having decided the fate of the battle. Continue reading
July 24, 1861
…The moon was full the night of the battle,…and a more awful sight I never witnessed than that as I went among the dead and wounded of both sides.
Dr. Hunter McGuire to Dr. Hugh McGuire (father) on July 24, 1861 Continue reading
July 21, 1861
…Clouds of dust shifted and moved through the forest; and through the wavering mists of light blue smoke, and the thicker masses which rose commingling from the feet of men and the mouths of cannon, I could see the gleam of arms and the twinkling of bayonets. Continue reading
Gazette665 