Role of Mayfield in Battle of First Manassas

Role of Mayfield in Battle of First Manassas. July 16, 1861. , On July 16, 1861, the Union Army commanded by General Irvin McDowell began its march out of Washington, D.C. towards Bull Run. McDowell's mission was to dislodge or destroy General P.G.T. Beauregard's forces stationed here. On July 17, initial contact was made and Beauregard called for General Joseph Johnston to bring reinforcements from the Shenandoah Valley. The lead elements of the Union army clashed with Confederate forces the next day at Blackburn's Ford. Though a small action, the battle convinced McDowell that a flank march around the western end of the Confederate line at a Stone Bridge was the best course of action., Here at Mayfield, the men could hear the battle at Blackburn's Ford, four miles to the north. McDowell knew about the strong forts around the rail junction and never intended to attack them directly. He hoped his flanking maneuver would force the Confederates to abandon their earthworks and the rail junction., On July 21, as the fighting erupted seven miles west on Matthews and Henry House Hills, Colonel George Terrett's brigade and some local militia were left in the forts around Manassas Junction while the majority of the Confederate forces posted along Bull Run began to move west to meet the Union attack. Later in the afternoon, as Beauregard's reinforcements arrived from the Shenandoah Valley, Colonel A.P. Hill's 13th Virginia Infantry regiment was sent to assist in defending the railroad junction. After a long day of fighting, McDowell was defeated and retreated back to Arlington, leaving the Confederate Army in full control of the area., [Captions:] , General Irvin McDowell, commander of the Union Army at First Manassas., Colonel A.P. Hill, commander of the 13th Virginia Infantry Regiment. Hill's forces arrived during the Battle of First Manassas to reinforce the troops stationed at Mayfield Fort., This image shows the destroyed railroad bridge at Blackburn's Ford which saw some of the first action of the war on July 18, 1861.