The battle of Manassas followed on Sunday, the 21st of July.

After an unsuccessful attempt to force the Confederate right, General McDowell assailed their left, making for that purpose a long _detour_--and at first carried all before him.
Reenforcements were hurried forward, however, and the Confederates fought with the energy of men defending their own soil.

The obstinate stand made by Evans, Bee, Bartow, Jackson, and their brave associates, turned the fortunes of the day, and, when reenforcements subsequently reached the field under General Kirby Smith and General Early, the Federal troops retreated in great disorder toward Washington.
XI.
LEE'S ADVANCE INTO WESTERN VIRGINIA.
General Lee nowhere appears, as we have seen, in these first great movements and conflicts.

He was without any specific command, and remained at Richmond, engaged in placing that city in a state of defence.

The works which he constructed proved subsequently of great importance to the city, and a Northern officer writes of Lee: "While the fortifications of Richmond stand, his name will evoke admiration; the art of war is unacquainted with any defence so admirable." Lee's first appearance in the war, as commander of troops in the field, took place in the fall of 1861, when he was sent to operate against the forces under General Rosecrans in the fastnesses of Western Virginia.