#4523, First Battle of Manassas, 1st Bull Run 7/21/1881, Commemorating 150 Years

 Cover Marks 150th Anniversray of First Civil War Battle

The First Battle of Bull Run took place on July 21, 1861.  It would prove to be the first battle in the four-year American Civil War.  The sesquicentennial of the war was honored by the US Postal Service with a series of stamps.  This was one of two in the first set.  The Bull Run stamp was i...  more

 Cover Marks 150th Anniversray of First Civil War Battle

The First Battle of Bull Run took place on July 21, 1861.  It would prove to be the first battle in the four-year American Civil War.  The sesquicentennial of the war was honored by the US Postal Service with a series of stamps.  This was one of two in the first set.  The Bull Run stamp was issued on April 12, 2011.  The postmark shows the date of the 150th anniversary of the battle.

First Battle of Bull Run

Both the Union and the Confederacy predicted a short war and an easy victory in the days following the attack on Fort Sumter, South Carolina.  Impatient Northerners pushed President Lincoln to attack the Confederate capital in Richmond, Virginia.

On July 16, 1861, Brigadier General Irvin McDowell gathered 35,000 untrained Union soldiers and marched toward Richmond.  The men traveled two days through sweltering heat before reaching Centreville, Virginia, where they rested and regrouped.

In nearby Manassas Junction, an equally inexperienced Confederate army of 34,000 men waited, protecting the vital supply line to Richmond.  On July 21, 1861, the two armies met near Bull Run River in the first major land battle of the Civil War.  Congressional families gathered to picnic nearby.  

A Confederate brigade commanded by Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson held its ground at the Battle of Bull Run.  The Union army suffered heavy casualties and was forced to retreat.  Sobered by the violence, the nation readied for a long war.

This cover is a fitting tribute to the first battle of the Civil War and its commemoration 150 years later.  It will make a neat addition to your American history collection.  Order yours today.