What is First Battle of Bull Run?
{{Infobox military conflict |conflict = First Battle of Bull Run |partof = the [[American Civil War]] |image = |caption = |date = July 21, 1861 |place = Fairfax County and Prince William County, Virginia |no-location-property=yes |result = Confederate Victory |combatant1 = {{flagicon|USA|1861}} [[United States]] ([[Union (American Civil War)|Union]]) |combatant2 = {{flagicon|CSA|1863}} [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]] |commander1 = [[Irvin McDowell]] |commander2 = [[Joseph E. Johnston]] <br />[[P.G.T. Beauregard]] |strength1 = |strength2 = |casualties1 = 2,896 |casualties2 = 1,982 }} The '''First Battle of Bull Run''' was the first large [[battle]] of the [[American Civil War]]. It was fought on July 21, 1861. The battle took place near a stream called Bull Run. The battle actually has two names: the First Battle of Bull Run and First Battle of Manassas.{{efn|Many Civil War battles have two names.<ref name=Powers501>Shon Powers, ''A Buff Looks at the American Civil War'' (Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse, 2011), p. 501</ref> [[Federal government of the United States|Federal]] sources named battles after the nearest creek or river.<ref name=Powers501/> Confederates named a battle after the nearest town.<ref name=Powers501/> For [[example]], the first and second battles of Bull Run, also known as Manassas, were named for [[Bull Run (Occoquan River)|Bull Run Creek]], near the town of [[Manassas, Virginia]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.history.com/news/remembering-the-first-battle-of-bull-run-manassas |title=Remembering the First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas) |author= |date=21 July 2011 |website=History in the Headlines |publisher=A&E Television Networks, LLC |accessdate=29 June 2016}}</ref>}} ==Background== Union general [[Irvin McDowell]] was put in command of the Union army in northeastern Virginia.<ref>Gottfried, p. 2.</ref> Many people in the North wanted him to attack to Confederate [[Capital (city)|capital city]] of [