First Battle of Bull Run: Difference between revisions

Becoming more frustrated, McDowell resolved to attack the Confederate left (northwest) flank instead. He planned to attack with Brig. Gen. [[Daniel Tyler]]'s division at the [[Stone Bridge (Manassas)|Stone Bridge]] on the [[U.S. Route 29|Warrenton Turnpike]] and send the divisions of Brig. Gens. [[David Hunter]] and [[Samuel P. Heintzelman]] over Sudley Springs Ford. From here, these divisions could outflank the Confederate line and march into the Confederate rear. The brigade of [[Colonel (United States)|Col.]] [[Israel B. Richardson]] (Tyler's Division) would harass the enemy at Blackburn's Ford, preventing them from thwarting the main attack. Patterson would tie down Johnston in the Shenandoah Valley so that reinforcements could not reach the area. Although McDowell had arrived at a theoretically sound plan, it had a number of flaws: it was one that required synchronized execution of troop movements and attacks, skills that had not been developed in the nascent army; it relied on actions by Patterson that he had already failed to take; finally, McDowell had delayed long enough that Johnston's Valley force, whowhich had trained under [[Stonewall Jackson]], was able to board trains at [[Delaplane, Virginia|Piedmont Station]] and rush to Manassas Junction to reinforce Beauregard's men.<ref>Eicher, pp. 91–100.</ref>

On July 19–20, significant reinforcements bolstered the Confederate lines behind Bull Run. Johnston arrived with all of his army, except for the troops of Brig. Gen. [[Edmund Kirby Smith|Kirby Smith]], who were still in transit. Most of the new arrivals were posted in the vicinity of Blackburn's Ford, and Beauregard's plan was to attack from there to the north toward Centreville. Johnston, the senior officer, approved the plan. If both of the armies had been able to execute their plans simultaneously, it would have resulted in a mutual counterclockwise movement as they attacked each other's left flank.<ref>Eicher, p. 92.</ref>