Friday, July 22, 2011

Armies Clash at Manassas Junction, Virginia

Congress had approved the call up of 500,000 additional troops on July 16. Word from that same day was that a Negro, William Tilghman, killed three men and commandeered the rebel vessel S. J. Waring, and steered it safely into New York Harbor.
There was a great deal of commotion in Washington City yesterday as people who had taken their finest buggies to Manassas Junction to picnic as they watched the battle they thought would end the war, instead turned into a rout of the Union troops. Those returning to Washington City were in a panic, appalled by the brutality of the war and hoping that no blood had splashed on their fine attire.
Word from the field was that the Union army had won the early part of the day, but that Confederate reinforcements at the end turned the tide for the rebels. About 60,000 men were reportedly engaged – 20,000 Union and 40,000 Confederates. There were more than 5,000 killed and wounded in the battle.
This created great consternation and a shift in the political thinking, with Congressmen and Senators meeting with President Lincoln throughout the night to discuss the ramifications of the previous day’s actions.

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