USA HISTORY

AMERICAN CIVIL WAR(1861 1865)

THE FIRST BATTLE OF BULL RUN

[SOURCES]
Why will the Confederates win Bull Run if the Union is pushing them back with organized force and willpower?

(A) The Confederate troops won’t win because they have a small force

(B) ** The Confederate troops will rally and fight back with more oncoming reinforcements

(C) The Confederate troops will win because the Union tired out quickly

(D) The Confederate troops won’t win because the Union took their reinforcements

EXPLANATIONS BELOW

Concept note-1: -The Union’s forces were slow in positioning themselves, allowing Confederate reinforcements time to arrive by rail. Each side had about 18, 000 poorly trained and poorly led troops. It was a Confederate victory, followed by a disorganized retreat of the Union forces. First Battle of Bull Run.

Concept note-2: -Despite heavy Confederate casualties (9, 000), the Battle of Second Bull Run (known as Second Manassas in the South) was a decisive victory for the rebels, as Lee had managed a strategic offensive against an enemy force (Pope and McClellan’s) twice the size of his own.

Concept note-3: -The outcome was significant because it shocked many people, including Northern politicians, who believed the conflict between the North and South would be short-lived. It also provided Southern forces with confidence they could hold their own with the Northern army.

Concept note-4: -The strategy of the Civil War for the Confederacy (the South) was to outlast the political will of the United States (the North) to continue the fighting the war by demonstrating that the war would be long and costly.