The Civil War begins : opening clashes, 1861

In the year 1861, the United States was gearing up for war.  Eleven states had seceded, and President Lincoln was not going to stand idly by and watch as the Union dissolved under his watch.  So began the start of the American Civil War.  As both sides began to call upon the state militias to go to war, the Union began to experience a problem.  A large amount of officers from the north had begun to join the Confederate Army.  For whatever reason they were joining, this became a problem to the Union because they had the troop numbers, but not the right leaders to command the men.  Many of the men who had graduated from the West Point Military Academy were eager to join the Confederacy, and not the Union.

The first military confrontation of the war took place at Fort Sumter.  Fort Sumter was the most formidable fort in the South, and the Confederacy was eager to make sure that the Union would not be able to use it.  In April, Jefferson Davis sent word to General PT Beaureguard that he was to inform the Union garrison at the Fort that they were to evacuate the fort immedeiately, or risk an attack.  The garrison, led by Major Robert Anderson, refused.  He chose country over secession, and so the first shots of the war were fired.  The Union garrison at Fort Sumter had to endure no less than thirty-six hours of non-stop shelling before they raised a white flag to evacuate.  There was no loss of life.  When the soldiers returned boarded a ship back to New York city, returning to a hero's welcome.  The issue of Fort Sumter was an issue of contention for both Presidents.  On one hand, Lincoln had to risk starting an armed conflict if he were to send any supplies to Fort Sumter.  For Jefferson Davis, he did not want to fire the first shot of the war.  Davis was left in a sticky situation: does he allows Lincoln to reinforce the fort, or does he try and take it?

The First Battle of Bull Run took place on July 21, 1861, and while it wasn't the first large military engagement of the war (The Battle of Wilson's creek had taken place sometime before), it was one of the first major victories for the Confederacy so far in the war.  A Union force of 28,000 engaged a smaller Confederate force of 18,000.  Due to the lack of training on both sides of the armies, there were serious issues when it came to the actual fight.  Since a large majority of the soldiers had not been properly trained, they were unable to understand simple orders that were being given to them.  On the Confederate side, lack of communication almost led to them being routed in the opening hours of the engagement.  On the Union side, the lack of instructions led to troops going to the wrong places.  Adding to the confusion was the arrival of spectators.  Both sides had throngs of people there supporting them, almost like a modern sports team would.  The Battle was a victory for the Confederacy, with the Union forces engaging in an extremely disorganized retreat from the battlefield.

The first few battles of the war illustrated to both sides that this war would not be won in a few short months.  Instead, the war would need to be fought with great strategy, with more training.  The Battle of Bull Run especially showed the Union that they had greatly underestimated the Confederacy.  Better training, and better commanders were needed if they were going to win this war.

Murray, Jennifer M. The Civil War Begins: Opening Clashes, 1861. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Army, Center of Military History, 2012. Print. Accessed March 8, 2013.