Britannica
Sources used in this answer
What role did William Tecumseh Sherman have at the First Battle of Bull Run?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
William Tecumseh Sherman
General William T. Sherman in uniform and wearing a mourning ribbon for President Lincoln, photograph by Brady's National Photographic Portrait Galleries, 1865.
At the First Battle of Bull Run (July 21, 1861), William Tecumseh Sherman served as a colonel commanding a brigade under the Union field commander, General Irvin McDowell.1
Following the Union's defeat in this engagement, Sherman was promoted to the rank of brigadier general. However, his experience at the battle left him deeply shaken; he became convinced that he was unfit for such high-level responsibility and requested that President Abraham Lincoln not entrust him with an independent command.1