Blackburn’s Ford

Blackburn’s Ford. Guarding the Fords. By the early summer of 1861, Americans in both the North and South greeted the outbreak of war with patriotism and expectations of a quick decisive battle to end the conflict. In the North, the public clamored for immediate invasion to crush the rebellious South. While professional soldiers urged patience, President Lincoln, bowing to public pressure, ordered Gen. Irvin McDowell to submit a plan to advance on the important railroad junction at Manassas. On July 17, 1861, anticipating the Federal attack, Gen. Pierre G. T. Beauregard ordered Confederate forces to abandon the extensive earthworks on the open plains at Centreville and withdraw behind the strong naturally wooded defensive position of the Bull Run stream. Beauregard knew the Federals would not cross Bull Run except at the fords and bridges because the river banks were steep and the approaches to other crossings impassable. The new defensive position increased the Confederate chances for victory and protected the vital railroad junction at Manassas that was used to supply and reinforce the Southern army. The first tactical use of railroads in history to deliver troops to combat occurred on July 21, 1861, at the Battle of First Manassas when three Confederate brigades (9,000 men) under the command of General Joseph E. Johnston arrived at Manassas Junction from the Shenandoah Valley.