150 Years Ago, the First Moves of Bull Run

On July 2nd, 1861 a small battle – The Battle of Falling Waters -- took place near Martinsburg. 

Union General Robert Patterson crossed the Potomac with 3,500 men in the hopes of pinning Confederate General Joseph Johnson down.  Johnson sent about 380 men north to greet Patterson, and while the Union forces eventually won the skirmish and forced the Confederates to retreat, it slowed them down considerably.

The idea was “to launch a two-pronged attack,” according to Civil War historian Rick Britton.  “Patterson was to keep Johnson from reinforcing General P. G. T. Beauregard at Bull Run.”

Over the next few days, Patterson passed up several opportunities to engage Johnson’s army near Winchester.  Britton put it this way: “Patterson, at this point, was already 69 years old.  He had fought in the War of 1812.  He was not aggressive at all.”  The earlier greeting had convinced him that Johnson’s force was considerable, causing him to hesitate, which gave Johnson the opportunity to sneak away and head for Manassas.

“It was a failure in every way,” said Britton.  “He couldn’t threaten Johnson, and Johnson moved his entire army of 11,000 men to reinforce Beauregard.”

Union General Irvin R. McDowell, meanwhile, was preparing his troops to confront Beauregard’s force at Bull Run, which would have been the second of the two prongs.  In theory, his army of 39,000 should have had a sizable advantage over the 21,000 Confederates at Bull Run.  But that was before the 11,000 reinforcements arrived.

When he arrived, he found more than he’d bargained for, and the First Battle of Manassas followed.