After the fall of Fort Sumter, South Carolina, on 13 April 1861, the Confederate government transferred its capital from Montgomery, Alabama, to Richmond, Virginia. Located a hundred miles from Washington, D.C., Richmond now became the focal point of the war. Northern newspapers advocated a quick strike against the Southern capital city and printed inflammatory slogans like "Forward to Richmond" at the top of each daily edition. Union recruits stationed in Washington embraced the war hysteria and also clamored for a battle. Many joined the Union army under ninety-day enlistments which would soon expire, and they feared going home without heroic tales of battlefield glory.

The First Battle of Bull Run.

Moved by pressures from Northern civilians and President Abraham Lincoln, Union General-in-Chief Winfield Scott ordered Gen. Irvin McDowell and thirty-five thousand troops to advance toward Richmond. Many civilians anticipated that the ensuing battle would...