Today in History
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Today in History |
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July 21, 1861 |
On July 21, 1861, near Manassas, Virginia, Union and Confederate forces met in the Battle of Bull Run, the first major land battle of the American Civil War. The soldiers on both sides were inexperienced, from the rank and file to the commanding officers. However, reinforcements from the Confederate side under General Stonewall Jackson soon gave the weight of the battle to the Southern forces, compelling a full retreat by the Union. The nearly 5,000 casualties included more than 800 killed on both sides. The carnage and ferocity of the battle were harbingers of the devastation the War Between the States would bring to the nation.
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