Episode 3 of 3

First Battle of Bull Run

When: July 21, 1861
Where: Manassas, Virginia
Part of: American Civil War: Secession, Bull Run and the Union response, May–August 1861

The first major battle of the Civil War ended in a Confederate victory on July 21, 1861.

Fought in Prince William County, Virginia, near Manassas. Brigadier-General McDowell commanded the Department of Northeastern Virginia. The defeat shocked the Union, leading to political and military changes, including McClellan's appointment.

Sources

First Battle of Bull Run Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-05

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.