Bull Run (The Battle of 1st Manassas) Essay The first major battle of the Civil War was fought in Virginia, near the Manassas, Virginia railway junction. The armies in this first battle were not very large by later Civil War standards. The Federal forces under Brigadier General Irvin McDowell were organized into four divisions of about 30,000 men. These divisions were commanded by Tyler, Hunter, Heintzelman, and Miles. The Confederate command structure was somewhat more stable, including two armies, with no division structure and thirteen independent brigades under Bonham, Ewell, Jones, Early, Jackson, Smith, Bartow, and a cavalry brigade under Stuart. The Confederate Army of the Potomac was under the command of Brigadier General Pierre G. T. Beauregard, and the Army of the Shenandoah was commanded by Brigadier General Joseph Johnston. These two forces would equal McDowells Strength.One thing that was odd was that each commander had planned to initiate an attack on the other side with an attack on the enemys right flank and a massed attack on the opposite flank.
