Atlas of Battles

battle, major, nineteenth century

First Battle of Bull Run

First Battle of Bull Run was a battle fought on 21 July 1861 at Fairfax County, in what is now Virginia, United States. It was part of the Eastern theater of the American Civil War. The recorded result: Confederate victory.

See it on the globe Read the article

Battle of Bull Run
Battle of Bull Run. Richard W. Stewart General Editor, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought21 July 1861
WhereFairfax County, Virginia, United States38.815N, 77.522W
OutcomeConfederate victory
BelligerentsUnited StatesagainstConfederate States
Battlefield todaySecond Manassas battlefieldNPS site VA026, 28,479 acres studied, 11,314 core
Part ofEastern theater of the American Civil War

Record

Date21 July 1861
PlaceFairfax County, Virginia, United States
38.815N, 77.522W
KindBattle, nineteenth century
StrengthArmy of Northeastern Virginia: 35,732; ( 18,000 engaged); Patterson's Command: 14,000–18,000 (not engaged)32,000–34,000; ( 18,000 engaged)
Casualties and losses2,708; 481 killed; 1,011 wounded; 1,216 missing1,982; 387 killed; 1,582 wounded; 13 missing
Commanders
First Battle of Bull RunFirst Battle of Bull RunSecond Battle of Bull RunBattle of Blackburn's FordManassas Station OperationsBattle of Bristoe StationBattle of ChantillyBattle of Blackburn's FordBattle of Bristoe StationBattle of ChantillyWinchesterSt. Charles50 km38.815N, 77.522W
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. The dashed outline is the battlefield study area mapped by the NPS American Battlefield Protection Program. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of First Battle of Bull Run
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 10 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of First Battle of Bull Run today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2023-04-13. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2023.

The recorded site stands at about 83 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from -62 to 123 m, 185 m of relief, hilly country and today it is 56% tree cover, 29% grassland, 13% built-up.

tree cover: 56%grassland: 29%built-up: 13%tree cover 56%grassland 29%built-up 13%
west to east, 10.0 km47 to 100 mnorth to south, 10.0 km-62 to 109 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1861

Combat data (CDB90)

Attacker: US ARMYDefender: CS ARMY
Strength35,00032,500
Casualties2,896 (8.3%)1,982 (6.1%)
Mission accomplishment, 1 to 1046
Outcomedefender won
Duration1 day
Front width4.5 km4 km
Attacker advanced-3.2 km

From the US Army Concepts Analysis Agency Database of Battles (CDB90, battle 171), public domain, in the CC0 tidy edition by Jeffrey B. Arnold. Figures are the database's estimates, compiled in 1990 from published histories, and may differ from the Wikipedia infobox above.

The National Park Service's American Battlefield Protection Program maps this as the Second Manassas battlefield (site VA026): a study area of 28,479 acres, with a core area of 11,314 acres where the fighting was concentrated; 13,162 acres retain enough integrity to be potentially eligible for the National Register.

First Battle of Bull Run is one of 3,507 engagements of the 19th century in the atlas and one of 1,148 in present-day United States (172 in Virginia).

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q221469, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article First Battle of Bull Run, revision 1385119562, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Battlefield boundary and area from the National Park Service American Battlefield Protection Program (public domain). Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.