On this day in 1861,

REBELS ROUT YANKS AT BULL RUN

First Battle of Civil War Just Outside Washington, D.C.

On this day in 1861, the Union army was routed at Bull Run (aka Manassas) by Confederate forces in the first battle of the Civil War just 30 miles outside Washington, D.C., disabusing the North of any notion that there would be a quick end to the “Southern insurrection.”  At a critical point in the battle, Confederate Gen. Thomas J. Jackson closed a gap in the Rebel lines and withstood a series of Union attacks, earning him the nickname “Stonewall.”  The battle was watched by politicians, socialites and others who gathered as if they were attending a picnic.  The Union retreat was so disorderly that second-guessers believe the Confederates could have proceeded into D.C. had they chosen to pursue.  The Union army suffered what was then considered a massive 3,000 casualties while the Confederates suffered 2,000 casualties.

In a little known coincidence, much of the battle of Bull Run was fought in the front yard of the farm home of Wilmer McLean, who later moved from the area and reestablished himself in Appomattox.  His Appomattox home was the “courthouse” where Lee surrendered to Grant.  After the surrender, Union soldiers took almost all of McLean’s furniture and other artifacts to save as mementoes. 

Wikipedia article