Weaponry
Since many of the soldiers who participated in the first battle of Bull Run were state volunteers, they were armed with whatever the state government provided them. Many soldiers were issued smooth bore weapons at the beginning of the war. As it progressed, more and more soldiers were armed with rifled weapons, being more accurate and far superior to smooth bore rifles. For the past 150 years, the soldier’s weapon of choice was the .69 caliber smooth bore musket. These rifles were inaccurate and did not have an effective killing range (100-200 yards). A lot of luck went into the soldier’s marksmanship. In the days prior, Napoleonic tactics were commonplace on the battlefield. In this fashion, soldiers lined up side by side and fired a volley of lead into the enemy’s direction, each rank taking turns to reload while the other fired. This tactic was effective in its own right, causing high casualties to both sides. During the civil war however, good soldiers were hard to find, and advancements in technology allowed them to use tactics and weaponry that helped keep soldiers alive on the battlefield.
Advancements in the weaponry used during the First battle of the Bull Run made a significant difference in many aspects of the battle. Rifles used in the battle looked identical to the ones previously used, but with one key change: rifling. Rifled weapons have groves cut inside the barrel that cause the projectile to spin as it leaves the muzzle of the weapon. This barrel groove allowed rifles to be much more accurate, having a longer range than their predecessors (400-600 yards). Rifled muskets however were still muzzle loaded weapons. This required each soldier to aim and shoot, place the butt of their gun on the ground, load a powder charge, load the wad and musket ball, pack the loaded barrel with the ram rod, place a percussion cap on the breech, caulk the weapon and then repeat the cycle. A typical soldier was expected to accomplish this feat at a steady 3 rounds per minute. Each infantryman carried 40 rounds of ammunition in a leather pouch at his side. If a big battle was imminent, they were issued extra 20 rounds to avoid having to resupply and keep them in the fight for longer periods of time. .
Officers were armed with either single shot or multiple shot handguns. Which were usually Colts or Remington handguns chambered in either .36 or .44. Union cavalry men were armed with sabers and handguns, later carrying rifled muskets with them on horseback. Confederate cavalry men were armed with a vast array of weaponry, ranging from shotguns to handguns. Since the south didn’t have the resources of the industrial north, these soldiers had to take what they could get, and learn to use it well.
Field artillery played a major role in this battle. The Union army had access to the European market, making them fortunate owners of rifled cannons that fired exploding shells. On the other hand, Confederates were still armed with smooth bore cannons. These weapons were much less effective, still firing cannon balls, grape shot and case shot rounds. During the civil war, field artillery was broken down into four to six guns. At the head were battery commanders or captains, controlling the full scope of the artillery on the battlefield and lieutenants who commanded a two gun “section” each. Each gun was manned by a platoon consisting of eight personnel. There was a sergeant in charge of each gun, men who loaded and fired the weapon and also those who transported the weapon to its destination. Field artillery was transported via six horses by wooden wheels attached to mounting of the cannon. A second six horse carriage would follow the gun which carried two chests of ammo and additional supplies for the gun. At full strength, an artillery battery would consist of 100 men and around 100 to 150 horses. Each battery was expected to be able to fire within a minute’s time and fire two rounds per minute. Each sergeant placed the guns 14 yards apart, which meant that roughly 100 yards would be covered in a six gun front. There were six different types of artillery used during the war. Each cannon tube was made of either bronze or cast iron. There was a different variety of ammunition that could be shot out of the cannons (First Battle of Bull Run) (Ballard, 2004). Solid projectiles (aka cannon balls) ricochet across the battlefield , tearing limbs off of unsuspecting soldiers. Artillery shells exploded on contact, leveling a small area with a large concussive blast and shrapnel. Case shot are thin metal shells packed with shrapnel and sawdust that erupt into pieces as soon as they are fired. Like a veritable confetti gun from hell, these shells unleash a cascade of shrapnel upon the battlefield causing maximum damage in a wide cone. Weapons used during the civil war may seem primitive today, but soldiers of the time learned to use them exceedingly well. By looking at the death toll alone, we can understand that these weapons were used to maximum effect by the soldiers who wielded them.
Northern Leadership
The leader of the northern offensive in the offset of the civil war was Brigadier General Irvin McDowell. In his early life before the outset of the civil war, McDowell was a West Point graduate of 1838 commissioning into the 1st Artillery Regiment along the Canadian border. He promptly moved up the ranks throughout the U.S –Mexican War (1846-1848), gaining experience in logistics and supply protocol while serving as a staff officer. With his innate experience from military life, and his close friendship with General Winfield Scott and Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase, he was promoted to Major rank in March of 1856. By the outset of the American Civil War, McDowell was promoted three grades to brigadier general of the regular army on May 14, 1861, taking command of the Army of Northeastern Virginia. Having never led troops on the field before, McDowell was skeptical about his sudden promotion which may have attributed to his inevitable loss on the field of Manassas at the First Battle of Bull Run. Northern newspapers pressured President Lincoln to come up with strategy to end the war quickly after the attack at Fort Sumter set things into motion. Aware that the ninety day recruit enlistments were shortly becoming null and void, Lincoln set his trust in McDowell who by then had come up with a working strategy to take the capital of Richmond. To do that, he would first have to march his army south twenty miles to the railroad junction at Manassas Virginia which was a major supply route for southern forces. Capturing this junction would then offer a straight shot to Richmond further to the south. After three days of getting his recruits trained and ready to march, they set off toward Manassas. The troops took two days to march the twenty mile distance, each moment their inexperience being put on display for the rest of the troops. Men took their time to forage for berries and nap while the burning summer heat subsided. At the same time Confederate General P. G. T. Beauregard was given plenty of time to prepare for the upcoming battle, having scout reports of the slowly moving force moving to the junction. This gave him ample time to redeploy his forces and “dig in” to prepare their defense of the river.
McDowell in all accounts was ready to be the victor of this battle, having a strong plan and a larger military force of 37,000 recruits vs the confederate 20,000. The day however, was not McDowell’s. His army was too inexperienced and incapable of following the orders they were given. The Union forces crossed the stream and pushed the Confederates into defensive positions atop a hill and from then on, the current victor was unclear. Stonewall Jackson was able to rally his troops and break the Union right flank, resulting in a mass panic among the troops ,having them rout back to Washington D.C. in full retreat. After the battle, McDowell was relieved of command of his army, having it placed in the capable hands of Gen. George B. McClellan. McDowell was given command of I Corps in the New Army of the Potomac with the rank of Major General of volunteers. McDowell was later criticized for his role in the defeat of the Union forces at the second battle of Bull Run. He was then relieved of his command and his career at that point had been ruined.