The First Battle of Bull Run

The Union's offensive strategy was based off of the Anaconda Plan. The bad thing about the Anaconda Plan was that it took time, but people in the Union were eager for action and wanted to attack the Confederacy's capital of Richmond, Virginia.

Lincoln ordered an invasion of Virginia in the summer of 1861, but in order to do that, General Irvin McDowell (of the Union) had to beat the Confederate troops in Manassas, Virginia. The Union forces met the Confederate forces , headed by General  Pierre Beauregard, on July 21, 1861. A battle was fought near a creek called Bull Run, north of Manassas.

At some point during the battle, an officer on the Confederate side pointed and cried out, "Their is Jackson standing like a stone wall!" (right) This is how the famous Stonewall Jackson got his nickname.

After reinforcements arrived for the Confederates,  they equaled the Union and counter-attacked. As they attacked they let out a scream, later known as the "rebel yell". This yell made the Union troops panic, causing them to break ranks and panic.
This battle was a victory for the Confederacy. The South thought that they had won the whole war, but Lincoln called for a real army of 500,000 men to serve in the war for the next three years. The First Battle of Bull Run is known as the first major land battle of the Civil War.