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The first pitched battle of the war between full armies resulted in a stinging defeat for the Union forces under General Irvin McDowell. McDowell had attacked the Confederate force led by General P.G.T. Beauregard hoping to cut it off from its supply lines. A day of desperate fighting resulted eventually in the rout of the Federals and the near loss of the capital. The heavy casualties on both sides shocked the nation; the Union lost 481 dead and 1,011 wounded, the Confederates 387 dead and 1,582 hurt. (By John Osborne)
Source Citation
Chronicles of the Great Rebellion Against the United States of America (Philadelphia, PA: A. Winch, 1867), 9.
Charles P. Roland, An American Iliad: The Story of the Civil War (New York: McGraw Hill, 2002), 53.
Record Data
Date Certainty
Exact
Type
Battles/Soldiers