More than 800 men lost their lives and 2,700 were wounded. Confederate
General Thomas J. Jackson earned his legendary nickname "Stonewall" here
as fellow Confederate General Barnard Bee, later fatally wounded in the
battle, shouted, "Yonder stands Jackson like a stone wall!" Both the
North and the South believed that a single victory in this first major
battle would decide the war before it barely started. Yet the first
battle of Manassas, or Bull Run, has not received nearly the same
attention as the other major clashes of the Civil War. A Single Grand
Victory is a highly readable, concise, comprehensive narrative by Ethan
S. Rafuse, professor of history at the United States Military Academy at
West Point. Rafuse worked as a park ranger at Bull Run, where he gained
great familiarity with the site and the literature on this battle. His
new book incorporates insights offered in recent scholarship on Civil
War military, political, and cultural history. The author describes the
factors that led President Abraham Lincoln to order an offensive against
Confederates at Manassas Junction at a time when his most prominent
military men advised against it. The war policies of both the Union and
Confederate sides are explained. Rafuse offers descriptions and analysis
of the individuals involved and the circumstances that influenced the
manner in which the campaign was conducted. He covers the critical
events and operational and tactical decisions that shaped the campaign's
course and outcome. In addition, A Single Grand Victory provides
insights into American life in the nineteenth century by examining what
motivated men to fight in 1861 and describing what led both North and
South to expect the war would be a short one. Southerners had
anticipated that one victory like Bull Run would persuade the North to
abandon the effort to restore the Union by force. Northerners believed
support for the Confederate rebellion was so shallow that one battle
would end the war. Civil War buffs will enjoy this
