July 22, 1961 - The Battle of Bull Run, the first great engagement of the Civil War on July 21, 1861, was partly re-enacted today across the rolling fields of the 1,700-acre Manassas National Battlefield Park in Virginia. About 35,000 persons sat in silence as the battle opened with Union troops emerging from the woods to force the Confederates across almost the whole expanse of the main field. The crowd, which was mostly Southern, stirred when faltering Rebels rallied around the unyielding Virginians of Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson. The viewers came to their feet and cheered as the shouting Confederates chased the Union troops back into the woods in panic.
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