Baptism at Manassas
The acrid smell of gunpowder rankled the afternoon air over the plains at Manassas, Virginia. The guns of the Union and Confederate armies were engaged in the first great battle of the American Civil War, July 21, 1861. By early afternoon the hard-pressed Confederates were gathered on the slopes of Henry Hill, awaiting another onslaught, taking advantage of the lull to reorganize and reinforce their lines.
On the reverse slope of the hill the brigade of General Thomas Jonathan Jackson posted here among a growth of pine trees to shelter the men from the harassing Federal artillery fire. Jackson’s firmness here earlier in the day had already earned him the soon to be immortal name “Stonewall,” for his cool demeanor under fire.
The Virginians had already been blooded with an attack on Captain Charles Griffin’s Federal battery. The attack of the 14th Brooklyn Zouaves was fierce and the New Yorkers hit Jackson’s men hard, driving the 33rd Virginia and disrupting the 2nd Virginia, threatening to dislodge the Confederates from their defensive position on the hill.
Jackson rode among his men, excitedly giving orders. “We’ll charge them now and drive them to Washington!” exhorted Jackson. Each new Union regiment was driven back by the determined volleys of Stonewall’s 4th and 27th Virginia regiments. Confederate General Pierre G.T. Beauregard personally led the 5th Virginia against the 5th Massachusetts Infantry. This charge forced the Bay-State men to abandon their toehold of the Henry House and the tide of the battle now turned in favor of the Southerners. Jackson’s charge altered the course of the battle, and gave the Confederacy a stunning victory.
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