Battle of Bull's Run, Va. July 21. 1861

The First Battle of Bull’s Run (also known as First Manassas) was the first major land battle of the Civil War. On July 21, 1861, the Union army, commanded by General Irvin McDowell engaged the forces of Confederate general, P.G.T. Beauregard, 25 miles southwest of the Capital. Although the Federal army achieved some early victories in the battle, Confederate reinforcements arrived, breaking the right flank of the Union lines. The Northern troops were routed as they tried to retreat. Although the Confederates had won the day, they were too disorganized to pursue the fleeing Union army, which limped back to the safety of Washington, D.C. Nearly 900 men from either side had been killed in the battle, and another 2,500 wounded. Lincoln and the members of his administration now realized that the war would be a much longer and costlier affair than they had first believed.

This 1861 print shows a moment during the battle in which men of the 11th New York Infantry, known as the Fire Zouaves, fend off a regiment of mounted Confederates belonging to the Black Horse Cavalry. On the right, a group of Zouaves exchange fire with incoming Confederate cavalrymen. On the left, the Zouaves and Confederates engage in hand-to-hand combat. The Zouaves are dressed in red jackets and baggy grey pants, their uniform design copied from those of the French Zouaves, colonial soldiers in Algeria. Soldiers on the battlefield often became confused as to who was friend or foe, as the Confederate cavalry men were themselves wearing blue uniforms. Furthermore, this print reveals the similarities between the two sides’ flags, since the Confederate Stars and Bars was similar in design to the American flag. This resemblance of flags led to further confusion among those fighting upon the smoke-filled battlefield and resulted in the adoption of the Confederate battle flag. Although the Confederacy won the battle, this print emphasizes a momentary Union victory to appeal to Northern buyers.

The work was produced by the Hartford, Connecticut lithographic firm of E.B. & E.C. Kellogg. Edmund Burke Kellogg and Elijah Chapman Kellogg were younger brothers of the founder of the Kellogg lithography firm, Daniel Wright Kellogg. After Daniel Wright Kellogg moved west, his two brothers took over the family lithography firm in 1840 and changed the name to E.B. & E.C. Kellogg. They were responsible for the continued success of the family firm and involved in partnerships with Horace Thayer in 1846-47, John Chenevard Comstock in 1848 and William Henry Bulkeley in 1867.

George Whiting worked as the agent and distributor of the Kellogg brothers’ prints in New York from 1848 to 1860. In 1860, the Kelloggs closed their New York office Whiting took over the firm, selling prints until his death two years later.

Currently not on view