First Manassas How the Skirmish at Blackburn\'s Ford Shaped the Battle

¶ … Manassas -- How the Skirmish at Blackburn's Ford Shaped the Battle

The Skirmish at Blackburn's Ford shaped the Battle of First Manassas by discouraging the Union Army, altering the Union Army's battle plans and encouraging the Confederate Army.

The Confederacy's chances of successfully seceding from the Union were initially poor, as the Union had the obvious upper hand: the Union Army was considerably larger and better equipped; their commander was George McClellan, whose abilities were undoubted; the Union had the international advantage of being a recognized nation; finally, the Union had the lion's share of factories that could steadily mass produce ordnance for the Union forces. In sharp contrast, the Confederacy: was an agrarian society with far fewer people, fewer factories and considerable resentment at being reduced to "economic vassalage" by the North's industrialization; much of the Confederacy's fortune involved cotton and the reliance of foreign markets on that cotton; the Confederate Army was significantly composed of farmers who were eager to finish the war and get back home by Autumn for the harvest; Confederacy's first days were quite shaky, with anti-secessionist cabinet members, no established office space, little money even for its cabinet's office furniture, and continued reliance on the North for even Confederate currency. Clearly the Union was at least theoretically far likelier to win the Civil War. Understandably confident, the initially planned frontal attacks on Confederate forces.

Fortunately for the Confederacy, the Skirmish at Blackburn's Ford deeply affected First Manassas. The untested Union forces, determined and resourceful Southern forces, and outcome of a Skirmish that consisted of relatively equal damage on both sides combined for the South and against the North. Seen as a humiliating defeat for Union forces, the Skirmish at Blackburn's Ford succeeded in significantly altered both sides' approach to First Manassas. Though casualties were mutually light, Union confidence was considerably shaken. In addition, due to the Union failure at the Skirmish, Union McDowell decided against a frontal assault and opted to cross Bull Run Creek farther upstream, beyond the Confederate left flank, which ultimately allowed the Confederacy to withstand the Union onslaught, regroup and counterattack at First Manassas. Finally, Confederate leadership, Confederate forces and the people they represented all gained a significant amount of confidence from the Skirmish, assisting them in withstanding, counterattacking and ultimately winning at First Manassas. All these factors stemming from the Skirmish at Blackburn's Ford ultimately lead to a debilitating a defeat at First Manassas. Thus the Confederate victory at the Skirmish at Blackburn's Ford and the eventual Confederate at First Manassas led to wildly diverging reactions on each side of the conflict. Aptly representing the Confederate reaction to the Skirmish and First Manassas, Confederate President Jefferson Davis publicly boasted that the Confederate Army "has met the grand army of the enemy, routed it at every point, and it now flies, inglorious in retreat before our victorious columns." Meanwhile, an influential voice for Union abolitionists, New York editor Horace Greeley, performed a nearly 180 degree reversal of his prior strident stance and began to call for a speedy peace with the Confederacy. These representative Confederate and Union responses to the Skirmish and eventual First Manassas show the profound effects enjoyed by the Confederacy and suffered by the Union.

Analysis

I. The Skirmish at Blackburn's Ford discouraged the Union Army

According to historians, the first great bloody battle of the U.S. Civil was the Battle of First Manassas,[footnoteRef:1] and as this paper illustrates, that first great bloody battle was significantly influenced by the Skirmish at Blackburn's Ford. At the war's inception, the Union had the obvious upper hand. The Union Army was considerably larger and better equipped than was the Confederate Army. Historians speak of the impressive spectacle of the massive Union forces drilling in full dress uniform at their Washington, D.C. encampment.[footnoteRef:2] What is more, their commander was George McClellan, a West Point graduate from Philadelphia whose abilities were undoubted, particularly by himself.[footnoteRef:3] In addition, the Union possessed the international advantage of being a recognized government in its own right.[footnoteRef:4] Finally, the Union had the lion's share of factories that could steadily mass produce ordnance for the Union forces.[footnoteRef:5] The Confederacy, on the other hand, was an agrarian society with far fewer people,[footnoteRef:6] fewer factories and considerable resentment at being reduced to "economic vassalage" by the North's industrialization.[footnoteRef:7] Much of the South's fortune was tied up in cotton and many of its hopes for successful secession were wedded to Britain's and France's reliance on the South's cotton exports.[footnoteRef:8] In the Confederacy's ill-fated estimation, stoppage of cotton exports would create financial "upheaval" for Britain and France, as hundreds of thousands of workers were thrown out of work by the lack of cotton, which would compel Britain and France to intervene on the side of the Confederacy.[footnoteRef:9] Furthermore, the Confederate Army was significantly composed of farmers who were eager to finish the war and get back home by autumn for the harvest.[footnoteRef:10] Perhaps the Confederate Army's greatest strength was its military leadership. Robert E. Lee had been the Union's first choice to lead its Army; however, Lee declined due to his loyalty to his home state of Virginia and merely one day after Virginia's secession from the Union stated, "I cannot raise my hand against my birthplace, my home, my children."[footnoteRef:11] Joining Lee in the struggle for the Confederacy were other military leaders, such as P.G. T Beauregard[footnoteRef:12] and Jeb Stuart,[footnoteRef:13] West Point graduates who nevertheless fought for the Confederate Cause. Given all the factors working for and against the Union and the Confederacy, the Union was at least theoretically far likelier to win the Civil War. [1: Geoffrey C. Ward, Ric Burns, and Ken Burns, The Civil War: An Illustrated History, 1st Edition (New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1990), 266.] [2: Ibid., 69-70.] [3: Ibid., 57 and 69-70.] [4: Woodworth, 68-69.] [5: Ibid., 130.] [6: Ibid., 349.] [7: Ibid., 83.] [8: Steven E. Woodworth, This Great Struggle: America's Civil War (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2011), 67.] [9: Ibid.] [10: Ward, et al., 68.] [11: Ibid., 52.] [12: James Longstreet, From Manassas to Appomattox: Memoirs of the Civil War in America (Kindle Edition) (Philadelphia, PA J.B. Lippincott Company, 1896), 16.] [13: Ward, et al., 140.]

Despite all the above-mentioned factors, as of July 16, 1861, the Union Army was a volunteer force that had not fought a major battle of the Civil War.[footnoteRef:14] On that same date, a Union Army force of 35,000 -- 37,000 men left Washington, D.C. And marched into Virginia.[footnoteRef:15] As some historians note, the Union march was a "brilliant spectacle" of well-armed, well-dressed masses of men.[footnoteRef:16] The Union Army force, led by Brigadier General Irvin McDowell, intended to launch a frontal attack on the Confederate Army of the Potomac, a force of approximately 22,000 men, led by Brigadier General P.G.T. Beauregard, at Manassas, an important railway junction.[footnoteRef:17] In an ironic thread that was found among opposing Generals throughout the Civil War, McDowell and Beauregard were classmates of West Point's Class of 1842.[footnoteRef:18] Most of the Confederate forces were massed near Bull Run but also had detachments north of Bull Run Creek who were observing the Union Forces.[footnoteRef:19] [14: William C. Davis, Battle at Bull Run: A History of the First Major Campaign of the Civil War (Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1977), 61-2; Ward, et al., 61.] [15: Ethan S. Rafuse, A Single Grand Victory: The First Campaign and Battle of Manassas (New York, NY: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2002), 73.] [16: George F.R. Henderson, Stonewall Jackson and The American Civil War (New York, NY: Grossett & Dunlap, 1943), 102.] [17: David Detzer, Donnybrook: The Battle of Bull Run, 1861 (New York, NY: Harcourt Press, Inc., 2004), 97-98.] [18: Longstreet, 16.] [19: Detzer., 98.]

When McDowell left Washington, the Confederate detachments retreated and joined the main Confederate Forces.[footnoteRef:20] Beauregard expected to be attacked either on the 18th or 19th near Mitchell's Ford and continued to request reinforcements from Joseph E. Johnston's forces in the Shenandoah Valley.[footnoteRef:21] Early in his military career, Johnston became known for being "unimaginative but dependable," earning him his nickname of "Old Reliable,"[footnoteRef:22] a sobriquet that proved true for Blackburn's Ford. In addition to his natural reliability, Johnston realized that he could move his troops by railroad, which would obviously greatly hasten their movements.[footnoteRef:23] Beauregard anticipated that the Union Forces would cross Bull Run Creek only at one or more of 7 fords and/or bridges due to Bull Run's steep banks and other impenetrable approaches; consequently, on July 17, 1861, Beauregard ordered Confederate forces to abandon Centreville and conceal themselves behind the wooded positions near the 7 fords of Bull Run Creek, increasing the Confederacy's possibility of victory.[footnoteRef:24] Even Blackburn's Ford required a fording force to descend the banks, cross the Creek, and then climb the opposite banks.[footnoteRef:25] The Union Army forces reached Fairfax Courthouse on July 17, 1861.[footnoteRef:26] [20: James Reasoner, Manassas (The Civil War Battle Series, Book 1) (Nashville, TN: Cumberland House Publishing, Inc., 1999), 309.] [21: Bradley M. Gottfried, The Maps of First Bull Run: An Atlas of the First Bull Run (Manassas) Campaign, including the Battle of Ball's Bluff, June-October 1861 (New York, NY: Savas Beatie LLC, 2009), 20.] [22: Craig L. Symonds, Joseph E. Johnston: A Civil War Biography (New York, NY W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1992), 250.] [23: Woodworth, 47.] [24: Davis, 62.] [25: Ibid., 145-6.] [26: Ibid., 95.]

On July 18, 1861, McDowell wanted reconnaissance of the Confederate forces, so he ordered a division commander named Brigadier General Daniel Tyler to: find a point in Bull Run Creek at which the Union forces could ford across; explore the Confederate defenses along Bull Run; find the Confederates' left flank; and maintain the appearance of heading for Manassas.[footnoteRef:27] On July 18, 1861, Union forces under Tyler arrived at Centreville, found it unoccupied by Confederates, then marched southeast to Mitchell's Ford and ultimately to Blackburn's Ford.[footnoteRef:28] Tyler looked across the stream at Blackburn's Ford and failed to see a Confederate brigade led by Brigadier General James Longstreet hidden in the woods.[footnoteRef:29] After firing howitzers on the guns of the Alexandria Artillery and the Washington Artillery, which Tyler could see across Blackburn's Ford, and seeing no effect, Tyler ordered Colonel Israel B. Richardson and part of the brigade to move forward.[footnoteRef:30] Richardson's attempt to cross at Blackburn's Ford was met with fire by the 1st, 11th and 17th Virginia Infantry regiments of Longstreet's brigade.[footnoteRef:31] Tyler ordered the howitzers moved closer to the action, along with cavalry, and Tyler sent the rest of Richardson's brigade toward Blackburn's Ford.[footnoteRef:32] An additional Confederate brigade under Colonel Jubal Early arrived, reinforced Washington Artillery and kept heavy fire directed at the Union forces as they retreated.[footnoteRef:33] Richardson's Union brigade, the 12th New York Infantry, met heavy fire and retreated hurriedly, panicking the Union line.[footnoteRef:34] Tyler had not been ordered to fight a full-scale battle; consequently, Tyler ended the Skirmish, which the Confederate forces deemed a victory in that they prevented the Union Forces from crossing Bull Run Creek.[footnoteRef:35] [27: Detzer, 95-96.] [28: Ibid., 182.] [29: Davis, 113-115.] [30: Ibid.] [31: Ibid., 116-121.] [32: Ibid., 113-115.] [33: Longstreet, 39.] [34: Symonds, 121.] [35: Longstreet, 42.]

Clearly, the Union had suffered a humiliating defeat. In Union General McDowell's own estimation, the defeat at Blackburn's Ford was an utter rout, resulting in Union soldiers and spectators shoving against each other in panicked retreat.[footnoteRef:36] The defeat was psychologically devastating to the Union, ultimately leading to so debilitating a defeat at First Manassas that even Horace Greeley, the widely-read editor of the New York Tribune and abolitionist who had previously chided Lincoln to press the war effort, now publicly pressed for a speedy peace with the Confederacy.[footnoteRef:37] [36: Ward, et al., 67.] [37: Ibid., 70.]

II. The Skirmish at Blackburn's Ford altered the Union Army's battle plans

As the war's commencement, the Union Army had far superior numbers, factories, weapons, ammunition, food and other supplies/materiel;[footnoteRef:38] consequently, the Union's initial plans involved a frontal attack on Confederate forces.[footnoteRef:39] Even the Skirmish at Blackburn's Ford was intended to be a frontal attack. The Union Army force, led by Brigadier General Irvin McDowell, intended to launch a frontal attack on the Confederate Army of the Potomac, a force of approximately 22,000 men, led by Brigadier General P.G.T. Beauregard, at Manassas, an important railway junction.[footnoteRef:40] Most of the Confederate forces were massed near Bull Run but also had detachments north of Bull Run Creek who were observing the Union Forces.[footnoteRef:41] [38: Ibid., 130.] [39: Ibid., 91.] [40: Davis, 31.] [41: Detzer, 98.]

When McDowell left Washington, the Confederate detachments retreated and joined the main Confederate Forces.[footnoteRef:42] Beauregard expected to be attacked either on the 18th or 19th near Mitchell's Ford and continued to request reinforcements from Joseph E. Johnston's forces in the Shenandoah Valley.[footnoteRef:43] Beauregard anticipated that the Union Forces would cross Bull Run Creek only at one or more of 7 fords and/or bridges due to Bull Run's steep banks and other impenetrable approaches; consequently, on July 17, 1861, Beauregard ordered Confederate forces to abandon Centreville and conceal themselves behind the wooded positions near the 7 fords of Bull Run Creek, increasing the Confederacy's possibility of victory.[footnoteRef:44] Even Blackburn's Ford required a fording force to descend the banks, cross the Creek, and then climb the opposite banks.[footnoteRef:45] The Union Army forces reached Fairfax Courthouse on July 17, 1861.[footnoteRef:46] On July 18, 1861, McDowell wanted reconnaissance of the Confederate forces, so he ordered a division commander named Brigadier General Daniel Tyler to: find a point in Bull Run Creek at which the Union forces could ford across; explore the Confederate defenses along Bull Run; find the Confederates' left flank; and maintain the appearance of heading for Manassas.[footnoteRef:47] [42: Reasoner, 309.] [43: Gottfried, 20.] [44: Davis, 62.] [45: Ibid., 145-6.] [46: Ibid., 95.] [47: Detzer, 95-96.]

On July 18, 1861, Union forces under Tyler arrived at Centreville, found it unoccupied by Confederates, then marched southeast to Mitchell's Ford and ultimately to Blackburn's Ford.[footnoteRef:48] Tyler looked across the stream at Blackburn's Ford and failed to see a Confederate brigade led by Brigadier General James Longstreet hidden in the woods.[footnoteRef:49] After firing howitzers on the guns of the Alexandria Artillery and the Washington Artillery, which Tyler could see across Blackburn's Ford, and seeing no effect, Tyler ordered Colonel Israel B. Richardson and part of the brigade to move forward.[footnoteRef:50] Richardson's attempt to cross at Blackburn's Ford was met with fire by the 1st, 11th and 17th Virginia Infantry regiments of Longstreet's brigade.[footnoteRef:51] Tyler ordered the howitzers moved closer to the action, along with cavalry, and Tyler sent the rest of Richardson's brigade toward Blackburn's Ford.[footnoteRef:52] An additional Confederate brigade under Colonel Jubal Early arrived, reinforced Washington Artillery and kept heavy fire directed at the Union forces as they retreated.[footnoteRef:53] Richardson's Union brigade, the 12th New York Infantry, met heavy fire and retreated hurriedly, panicking the Union line.[footnoteRef:54] Tyler had not been ordered to fight a full-scale battle; consequently, Tyler ended the Skirmish, which the Confederate forces deemed a victory in that they prevented the Union Forces from crossing Bull Run Creek.[footnoteRef:55] [48: Ibid., 182.] [49: Davis, 113-115.] [50: Ibid.] [51: Ibid., 116-121.] [52: Ibid., 113-115.] [53: Allen C. Guelzo, Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation: The End of Slavery in America (New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 2004), 35.] [54: Symonds, 121.] [55: Longstreet, 42.]

Due to the failure of the reconnaissance mission at Blackburn's Ford, McDowell decided against a frontal assault and opted to cross Bull Run Creek farther upstream, beyond the Confederate left flank.[footnoteRef:56] Though McDowell decided against using the Union's far superior forces to frontally attack Confederate forces, First Manassas was initially working for the Union as McDowell had planned.[footnoteRef:57] In fact, some Union soldiers were advised that the battle was won and began to collect battlefield souvenirs from downed Confederate soldiers.[footnoteRef:58] However, the roundabout way in which the Union attacked, coupled with the determined efforts of Confederate General Thomas J. Jackson (who earned the nickname "Stonewall" for his efforts), allowed the Confederacy to regroup, reinforce and counterattack, ultimately resulting in the infamous rout of Union forces at First Manassas[footnoteRef:59] [56: Davis, 153.] [57: Ward, et al., 65.] [58: Ibid., 66.] [59: Ibid., 67.]

III. The Skirmish at Blackburn's Ford encouraged the Confederate Army

Prior to the Skirmish at Blackburn's Ford, the Confederate Army, a far smaller army than that fielded by the Union, and primarily peopled with volunteer, poorly-equipped farmers.[footnoteRef:60] These difficulties were not lost on at least some Southern leaders. Unfazed by the Confederate public fantasy of a quick and possibly peaceful secession, Texas Governor Sam Houston vainly attempted to dissuade Texas from seceding, stating, [60: Ibid., 68.]

"Let me tell you what is coming…Your fathers and husbands, your sons and brothers, will be herded at the point of the bayonet…You may, after the sacrifice of countless millions of treasure and hundreds of thousands of lives, as a bare possibility, win Southern independence…But I doubt it. I tell you that, while I believe with you in the doctrine of States Rights, the North is determined to preserve the Union. They are not a fiery, impulsive people as you are, for they live in colder climates. But when they begin to move in a given direction…they move with the steady momentum and perseverance of a mighty avalanche."[footnoteRef:61] [61: Ibid., 27.]

In addition, the Confederacy reportedly had a "shaky start": Jefferson Davis appointed one man from each of the initial 7 seceding states to his cabinet but most of these cabinet members had opposed secession and 3 of them were foreign-born; the first cabinet meeting occurred in a hotel room; sheets of paper were pinned to doors indicating the offices of the President and each cabinet member; the Secretary of the Treasurer had to buy his own desk and chair; and a New York firm was hired to make the Confederacy's new currency.[footnoteRef:62] In sum, the Confederacy's birth and its first months of life did not inspire confidence. [62: Ibid., 30.]

Fortunately for the Confederacy, the Skirmish at Blackburn's Ford gave Confederates a much-needed shot of adrenaline. As of July 16, 1861, the Union Army was a volunteer force that trained and was located in Washington, D.C. But had not fought a major battle of the Civil War.[footnoteRef:63] On that same date, a Union Army force of 35,000 -- 37,000 men left Washington, D.C. And marched into Virginia.[footnoteRef:64] The Union Army force, led by Brigadier General Irvin McDowell, intended to launch a frontal attack on the Confederate Army of the Potomac, a force of approximately 22,000 men, led by Brigadier General P.G.T. Beauregard, at Manassas, an important railway junction.[footnoteRef:65] Most of the Confederate forces were massed near Bull Run but also had detachments north of Bull Run Creek who were observing the Union Forces.[footnoteRef:66] [63: Davis, 61-2.] [64: Rafuse, 73.] [65: Detzer, 97-98.] [66: Detzer, 98.]

When McDowell left Washington, the Confederate detachments retreated and joined the main Confederate Forces.[footnoteRef:67] Beauregard expected to be attacked either on the 18th or 19th near Mitchell's Ford and continued to request reinforcements from Joseph E. Johnston's forces in the Shenandoah Valley.[footnoteRef:68] Beauregard anticipated that the Union Forces would cross Bull Run Creek only at one or more of 7 fords and/or bridges due to Bull Run's steep banks and other impenetrable approaches; consequently, on July 17, 1861, Beauregard ordered Confederate forces to abandon Centreville and conceal themselves behind the wooded positions near the 7 fords of Bull Run Creek, increasing the Confederacy's possibility of victory.[footnoteRef:69] On July 18, 1861, McDowell wanted reconnaissance of the Confederate forces, so he ordered a division commander named Brigadier General Daniel Tyler to: find a point in Bull Run Creek at which the Union forces could ford across; explore the Confederate defenses along Bull Run; find the Confederates' left flank; and maintain the appearance of heading for Manassas.[footnoteRef:70] [67: Reasoner, 309.] [68: Gottfried, 20.] [69: Davis, 62.] [70: Detzer, 95-96.]

On July 18, 1861, Union forces under Tyler arrived at Centreville, found it unoccupied by Confederates, then marched southeast to Mitchell's Ford and ultimately to Blackburn's Ford.[footnoteRef:71] Tyler looked across the stream at Blackburn's Ford and failed to see a Confederate brigade led by Brigadier General James Longstreet hidden in the woods.[footnoteRef:72] After firing howitzers on the guns of the Alexandria Artillery and the Washington Artillery, which Tyler could see across Blackburn's Ford, and seeing no effect, Tyler ordered Colonel Israel B. Richardson and part of the brigade to move forward.[footnoteRef:73] Richardson's attempt to cross at Blackburn's Ford was met with fire by the 1st, 11th and 17th Virginia Infantry regiments of Longstreet's brigade.[footnoteRef:74] Tyler ordered the howitzers moved closer to the action, along with cavalry, and Tyler sent the rest of Richardson's brigade toward Blackburn's Ford. An additional Confederate brigade under Colonel Jubal Early arrived, reinforced Washington Artillery and kept heavy fire directed at the Union forces as they retreated.[footnoteRef:75] Richardson's Union brigade, the 12th New York Infantry, met heavy fire and retreated hurriedly, panicking the Union line.[footnoteRef:76] Tyler had not been ordered to fight a full-scale battle; consequently, Tyler ended the Skirmish, which the Confederate forces deemed a victory in that they prevented the Union Forces from crossing Bull Run Creek.[footnoteRef:77] [71: Ibid., 182.] [72: Davis, 113-115.] [73: Ibid.] [74: Ibid., 116-121.] [75: Longstreet, 39.] [76: Symonds, 121.] [77: Longstreet, 42.]

Confederate General James Longstreet and Colonel Jubal Early later claimed that the Confederate victory at Blackburn's Ford gave their troops confidence in themselves and significantly contributed to winning First Manassas.[footnoteRef:78] Furthermore, the resulting victory at First Manassas allowed Confederate troops to capture "tens of thousands" of arms,[footnoteRef:79] a practice they would continue at any victory in the Civil War. The resulting Confederate surge of confidence and eventual victory at First Manassas is best characterized by the Confederate President, Jefferson Davis, who actually observed some of the battle and later stated to the Confederacy, [78: Detzel, 170.] [79: Flagel, Thomas R. The History Buff's Guide to the Civil War: The Top Ten Rankings of the Best, The Worst, The Largest, and The Most Lethal People and Events of the Civil War, 2nd Edition (Naperville, IL: Cumberland House, 2010), 88.]

"Your little army, derided for its want of arms, derided for its lack of all the essential material of war, has met the grand army of the enemy, routed it at every point, and it now flies, inglorious in retreat before our victorious columns. We have taught them a lesson in their invasion of the sacred soil of Virginia."[footnoteRef:80] [80: Ward, et al., 69.]