The Battle of Bull Run

My sons have just been through their first battle. They have written me throughout the war and they have told me that they're okay. In July 1861 they were sent along with 30,000 other Union troops. General Scott sent General Irvin McDowell and the troops outside of Washington to fight the waiting Confederate forces. The armies came in contact near a creek called Bull Run and in Manassas, Virginia. My sons have told me that in the at first it seemed as though the Union had the upper hand but the Confederacy was lead by General Thomas J. Jackson. The determined General proved that the Confederacy was stronger and they over powered the Union sending the Union troops back to Washington. For the refusal of the General to surrender to the Union troops he was nicknamed Stonewall Jackson and he was announced as a hero. The battle has apparently gained two names, here in the north the battle is known as the Battle of Bull Run but in the south it is the Battle of Manassas. I think that from this battle the north has realized that this war may not be as short and easily won as we thought. The south has a reason to fight and they will but the north will conquer and this war will end before the south can even realize what's happening. My husband has told me of how Lincoln has responded to the lose of the battle by increasing the amount of troops and letting General George B. McClellan take the place of McDowell. My husband and I have been talking about the issue of slavery and how it has always been the reason why we support this war but it seems as though Lincoln isn't fully addressing slavery. Many abolitionists have realized this and they are are becoming impatient especially Fredrick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison. Most of the north is fighting against slavery, like my sons are, and if Lincoln spoke about how he is against slavery I feel as though the north would gain more support. Europe disapproves the thought of slavery and this is why Great Britain is hesitant to help the Confederacy and the north would become more popular and gain more support in other countries than the Confederacy. My sons have been writing to me about their experiences on the battle field and it sounds as though they are doing quite well so far but they have told me about a dilemma that keeps arising. African Americans kept coming into the control of the Union and it would be counter productive to send them back into slavery and some attempts have been made at what to do. Hundreds of black refugees were gathered by General Benjamin Butler and they were put into manual labor and they were declared as merely war supplies. General John Frémont then declared that all enslaved people that entered the state of Missouri under his leadership would officially become free but from this boarder states began to worry so Lincoln took back Frémot's words. Zachary has told me about the Presidents secretive work; he has found that Lincoln is devising a plan for the emancipation of enslaved citizens in the Confederacy. Lincoln realized that he couldn't avoid the his views of slavery so he shared his plan with the Cabinet in 1862. The announcement came as a shock but most were in favor of it but the members agreed that this plan shouldn't be announced immediately. The act wasn't wanted to look like desperation especially after the Second Battle of Bull Run was lost by the Union. The Union needs a victory and my sons have reassured me that it shall not be very long before the Union is once again successful.

Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.