First Battle of Bull Run

First Battle of Bull Run – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The 150th of First Bull Run (First Manassas for the southern leaning) was this past weekend in Virginia. There were several notable things about this battle, primary of which was the haphazard nature of the fighting. There was the give and take of normal combat, small victories and defeats as brigades on both sides took their objectives or were driven back.

The sudden reversal and precipitous route of Union general McDowell’s forces meant that the rebellion was not to be defeated so easily and the union was to remain divided for some time. These were armies lead by professional soldiers but manned by ninety day volunteers who by the time McDowell marched on Centerville, VA many were ready to go home.

I have been to this battlefield. There were two battles fought here, a year apart and the contrast can’t be more striking when you take in the ground covered by the first battle and then view landmarks from the second. The armies who fought the second battle were almost twice the size and more ably lead, having had a year’s worth of campaigning under their belts and the amateurs weeded out (though some would argue with that statement given some of the union leadership still at this time).

Bull Run proved that the confederacy was an organized force that would not be defeated in one grand battle and that the north would not give up in its desire to reunite the states and defeat the confederacy.

Why we write

Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self.
Cyril Connolly
(1903 – 1974)

I wrote They Met at Shiloh (how often do I say soon to be published?) soon to be published by Create Space (I tell myself that it is worth it for these very reasons) because I wanted the challenge and I had a story in my head. I wrote it because the battle was a fascination and that the characters needed to be known, first by me, and then by anyone willing to read it. Then it was done and now has been the journey to get it into print with editors and cover designers and the minutia of other decisions such as price, Library of Congress Catalogue numbers, ISBN numbers, price, copyrights, etc.

Then it was done. I started to write the sequel, River of Blood (not so soon to be published given all this has to be done all over again) and I’ve been frustrated at how hard it has been to keep the story going. This quote has helped me find my ground once again as to why I wrote Shiloh and to why I am bothering to write River. It is for me, not for fame or fortune (if so, I should have written a how to book) but for a passionate pursuit of the Civil War and letting some knowledge flow out of me that others might (might) want to know, too.

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Conrad Ave NW,Albuquerque,United States

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