American History

I3LOOD\PROLOGUE

For decades, a deep splithad been growing between theNorthern and Southern regionsofthe United States. What to doabout slavery was one of theirmost bitter disputes.

in 1860 and 1861,11 Southern states secededfrom the Union to form theConfederate States of America.Fort Sumter, South Carolina, wasone of a few Union Army basesleft in Confederate territory.On April 12,1861, Confederatetroops fired on Fort Sumter—thefirst shots of the War Betweenthe States (1861-1865).

Many Union supportersbelieved that the North'sIndustrial and military powerwould soon smash the South'srebellion, and reunite the nation.Near a Virginia creek called BullRun, the two sides were about tomeet in the first major battle ofthe Civil War.

Sun clayNortherners expected the first major battleofthe Civil Warto be a quick victory. Instead,it set the stage for a long and brutal conflict.SCIENSIE ITuesday, July 9.1861Narrator A: Rose O'Neal Greenhow is apopular socialite in Washington, D.C.Her guests include Cabinet officers,Senators and Congressmen, and high-ranking U.S. Army officers. They don'tknow that she is a Confederate spy. Oneof the few people she entrusts with hersecret is a young friend, Bettie Duvall.Rose O'Neal Greenhow: I have importantinformation for General Beauregard. Hemust get it as soon as possible. But Ican't deliver it myself.

Bettie Duvall: I understand. If you wereto travel from home, people might startto wonder why.Greenhow: Yes. I need them to keeptrusting me.Bettie: I'll do anything I can to help.Greenhow: Please be careful, Bettie. If youare caught, we both could be shot as spies.Narrator B: Disguised as a farm girl,Bettie sneaks out of town and hurries toa Confederate military camp. When shearrives the next day. . .Colonel Milledge Bonham: What has ourfriend Mrs. Greenhow sent us?

Rose O'NealCareen how

William HowardRussell

P.G.T. Beaurecjard I Mat hew I3rady

IAMMARYR ?nn7

One moment, sir. [She untwiststhe bun at her neck and palls a smallobject from her hair.] This!Narrato. The Colonel unfolds it. Itis a map marked Property ofthe U.S.Senate, Committee on Military Affairs.•'- • ••' •• Incredible! This s h o w s theroutes the Northerners will take tofight us near Manassas, Virginia.

Please make sure the Generalsees the note from Mrs. Greenhow.^ta^rato. '.' Colonel Bonham hustlesthe map to his commander.6e««ffl*Pj6J. Beaufegara: The Confed-eracy has no better friend than "WildRose" Greenhow! Her note says thatthe Union's General McDowell has32,000 troops and thinks we will stay in

c luu ac tersRose O'Neal Greenhow, a

Coiifederate spyBettie Ouvaill, 16, a Confederate

sympathizer

Confederate Army loffid&rGeneral P.G.T. Be'auregard [BtlW-rtHh-.

gard], ^ Cohfec^te Army officerWilliam Howard Russell, a British

newspaper-reporter*.j3ck Moore, an American ̂

newspaper reporterCorrgressma'n Affred t ly , from

New YorkSenator Charles Sumner, from

Massachusetts*Ha-nnah H^yes a-girf living near

Manassas, VtrginiaMathew B^adu. a well-known

photographer

'Ab f̂et Small \David Bates > Union soldiers•*Zeke Jones )*Aide, to General BeauregardCaptain James C. Rtcketts ) UnionMajor Wil I iarn F. Barry / officers*Tobiah Hayes, Hannah's father''Ella Hayes, Hannah's motherNarrators A-E*an imaginary character; all the otherswere real people

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History

the Valley. If that's what their Generalthinks, we'll plan something else!

ENIE 2Saturday, July 20,1861

- . William Howard Russell,a reporter for The Times of London,is in Washington, D.C, to coverthe war. He talks with an Americanreporter at the Capitol.William Howard Russell: Your law-makers seem mighty cheerful, consid-

it's already over—that the Rebs sur-rendered today without a fight.Ely: That's just a rumor. Tomorrow isthe day for sure.Moore (to Russell}: See? Completeconfidence!

SCIENIE 3Early Sunday, July 21,1861Narrator B: Early next morning, atop ahill near Manassas . . .Hannah Hayes (surprised). What's that?

MARYLANDUnion Armyadvance

Union Armyretreat Manassas • " ^

(Bull Run)

Confederate^ Army advance

VIRGINIAFirst Battle of

Bull RunJuly 21. 186!

Confederate Armyadvance

[_J Conradaratt tt i te Q Union

ConMerito capital 'A' Union capital

ering that your nation is at war.Jack Moore: That's because this maybe the shortest war ever. Many peoplesay that what started in April will endat Manassas tomorrow.Russell: Do people really believe thatthe Union Army's plans are foolproof?Moore: Don't ask me. Listen to them!Narrator A: They move nearer to agroup of Senators and Congressmen.Congressman Alfred Ely: Who wants toride out there tomorrow? From one ofthe nearby hills, we should be able towatch our boys win the day.Senator Charles Sumner: I heard that

Mathew Brady: A camera. Most peoplehave never seen one. I'm hoping totake pictures of today's battle.Narrator C: Brady's camera looks likea box atop a long-legged tripod. Hehides his head and camera under aheavy cloth, so the only light to reachthe camera comes through its lens.Hannah: Do you think we'll be able tosee any action from here?Brady (pointing behind them): They do.Look at all the spectators! Members ofCongress. Gentlemen on horses, ladiesin carriages.Hannah: More will come, especially

people like me, who live nearby.Brady: Looks more like a Sunday pic-nic in a park than a battle site.Narrator D: At around 6 a.m., the spec-tators notice distant puffs of smokeand the crackle of faraway gunfire.Brady: The battle has begun!

SCIENIE 4Sunday, July 21,1861[laterthatday]Narrator E: Along the banks of BullRun, the battle is in full roar. Men areshooting rifles, slashing with swords,stabbing with bayonets. Officers shoutorders. Troops advancing from therear run over fallen bodies. The battlerages for hours. Amid the chaos . . .Abner Smalt; I can't see a thing in allthis smoke!David Bates: All I know is that peopleare shooting at us. Just shoot back!Narrator A: There is a sudden boom.Abner's friend lies on the ground, dead.Small: David! No! Smashed by acannonball. This is horrible!Zeke Jones: Run, or we'll be next!Narrator B: By midafternoon, aUnion victory seems near. On theConfederate side, a blast kills thehorse General Beauregard is riding.The General leaps to his feet.Beauregard: Get me another horse!Aide: Look! The Union soldiers on thathill are moving their cannons to faceus. They could wipe us out.Beauregard: Not if our surprise works.Narrator C: Up by those cannons. Unionofficers notice movement to their right.Captain James D. Ricketts: Soldiers arecoming out of the woods. Men, turnour cannons to face them!Major William F. Barry: No! Keep yourpositions! Those men are ours.Ricketts: But they're wearing gray!Barry: Some Union units have grayuniforms. Look at their flag. Red andwhite stripes!

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t o A T W y \ l ? Left: The Confederate flag that Major Barry failed to recognize at Bull Run. Its stars represented the11 slave states that seceded from the Union. Right: The Union flag of 1861, with 34 stars representing all the states—includingthe Confederate 11. For much of history, flags had a tife-or-death purpose In battle. Held high, "the colors" helped soldiers on footor horseback teil friend from foe. Protecting the colors was a matter of honor, losingthem to the enemy disgraced your entire unit.

Narrator 0: There is no wind, so the flagis hanging limp. Major Barry can't seet^at it's a Confederate flag, not the Starsand Stripes of the Union.Ricketts: As you wish. sir.Narrator E: Moments later. Confederatesare storming the hill. Ricketts's men haveno time to turn their cannons in defense.They are falling, dead or wounded. Withfierce Rebel yells. Confederates takeover the area. Terrified Union troopsflee, clogging the roads. So do panickingspectators from another hill.Tobiah Hayes: Something went wrong!The fighting shifted. Some Rebs took thathill. Now others are heading our way.Hannah: Run, everybody, run!Tobiah: Quick! Jump onto that wagon.We have to reach the road before it'stoo crowded.

Ella Hayes: Too late! The road out ofhere is already jammed.Tobiah: At least we're at a safe dis-tance now. Look back where we werestanding. The Rebs are capturing peoplewho waited too long to leave.

SCIEiVIE 5Monday, July 22,1861Narrator A The next day, stunned tJnionsoldiers straggle into Washington. It is

pouring rain, so everyone is soaked andmud-splattered as well as discouraged.Watching them pas s . . .Moore: What a disaster! Did you hearwhat happened to Congressman Ely?Russell: Yes. He was taken prisoner bythe Rebs.Moore: Look! There's Mathew Brady.Russell: Mr. Brady! You're covered inmud. What happened?Brady: I lost my camera and photos inthe crush to escape. I lost everything!Russell (nodding toward the passingsoldiers) So has your Union, it seems.

yXITIERWORDThe Northem and Southem armies each

sent about 18,000 troops into battle at BullRun. The Union lost nearly 3,000 men thatday; the Confederacy, just under 2,000.

Bull Run shattered the dreams ofpeople who had expected a quick andeasy Union victory. It forced both sidesto realize that much more fighting andbloodshed were to come.

Congressman Alfred Ely spent nearlysix months in a Confederate prison beforebeing released. Rose O'Neal Green-how continued to spy for the Confed-eracy—even after she was arrested andjailed. William Howard Russell, already a

famous war correspondent, was dubbed"Bull Run" Russell for the newspaperarticles he wrote on the battle and retreat.As for Mathew Brady, his war photosmade him world-famous.

In 1862, there was a second Battle ofBull Run, also won by the South. MostCivil War battles were fought on Southernsoil. But historians sometimes say that"the war was won in the West," becausethe Union's first major victories, in 1862,gave it control of the Mississippi River.

The bloodiest war ever fought onU.S. soil lasted four years. The Civil Warofficially ended on April 9, 1865, whenConfederate General Robert E. Lee surren-dered to Union General Ulysses S. Grantat Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia.

—Kathy Wilmore

Think About It

1. If you had lived in or near Washingtonthat Sunday, would you have gone towatch the battle? Why or why not?

2. in 2003, U.S. officials expected aquick and easy victory in Iraq. Do yousee any similarities between whathappened in Iraq and at Bull Run?Explain.

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