The Battle of First Bull Run

We’re staying in Fairfax, Virginia now. Last night on our ride into the state we passed a freeway exit for a place called Manassas. By coincidence, or maybe not, I had just been reading about Manassas in the Civil War  chapter of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to American History by Alan Axelrod “…When it began, the battle the South would call First Manassas and the North would call First Bull Run was a picnic.  On July 21, 1861, Washington’s fashionable folk rode out to nearby Centreville, Virginia in carriages filled with baskets of food and bottles of wine. Through spy glasses they viewed the action three miles distant. The Union troops seemed similarly carefree as they marched to battle. They frequently broke ranks to pick blackberries.”

But by the end of the day, 2950 Union soldiers (North) and 1750 Confederate soldiers (South) were dead.

Sure doesn’t sound like much of a picnic.