Editing First Battle of Bull Run (section)

===Military and political situation===
{{main|Manassas Campaign}}
{{further|Origins of the American Civil War|Battle of Fort Sumter|Western Virginia Campaign|Border states (American Civil War)|President Lincoln's 75,000 volunteers|Eastern Theater of the American Civil War|American Civil War}}
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!bgcolor="#b0c4de"|Opposing political leaders
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|<gallery mode="packed" heights="160" style="text-align:center; margin: 0px;">
File:Abraham Lincoln O-77 matte collodion print.jpg|Pres.<br />[[Abraham Lincoln]],<br />'''USA'''
File:Jefferson Davis 1862.jpg|Pres.<br />[[Jefferson Davis]],<br />'''CSA'''
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|}On December 20, 1860, [[South Carolina in the American Civil War|South Carolina]] was the first of seven Southern States to declare [[secession]] from the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] of the United States.<ref>Long, pp. 12–13.</ref> By February 1, 1861, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas passed ordinances of secession,<ref> in that order. Long, pp. 23–31.</ref> The Constitution of the [[Confederate States of America]] was adopted in [[Montgomery, Alabama]] on February 8, 1861.<ref>Long, p. 33.</ref> On March 1, 1861, [[Confederate States Army]] forces assumed control of the military situation at [[Charleston in the American Civil War|Charleston, South Carolina]] from state forces.<ref>Long. p. 43.</ref> On April 12, 1861, open warfare between the Confederate States and the United States began when Confederate forces barraged [[Fort Sumter]] in [[Charleston Harbor]], which had been occupied by the United States Army since December 26, 1860.<ref>Long, pp. 56–57.</ref> On April 15, 1861 (two days after the Federal Army forces surrendered at Fort Sumter, one day after the formal surrender), [[President of the United States|President]] [[Abraham Lincoln]] issued a proclamation declaring an insurrection against the laws of the United States had taken place.<ref>Long, p. 59.</ref>

[[File:Winfield Scott by Fredricks, 1862.jpg|thumb|upright|right|Lt. Gen. [[Winfield Scott]], General in Chief, '''USA''']]
[[File:Scott-anaconda.jpg|thumb|upright|right|Cartoon map illustrating Gen. Winfield Scott's plan to crush the Confederacy economically. It is often called the "[[Anaconda Plan]]".]]
To suppress the insurrection of the Confederate States and restore federal law in the Southern States, Lincoln called for [[President Lincoln's 75,000 volunteers|75,000 volunteers]] with ninety-day enlistments to augment the existing U.S. Army of about 15,000 present for duty.<ref>Long, pp. 59, 706.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/civil_war/LincolnEmergencySession_FeaturedDoc.htm |title=U.S. Senate: The Civil War: The Senate's Story |website=Senate.gov |access-date=October 2, 2020 |archive-date=October 13, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201013071401/https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/civil_war/LincolnEmergencySession_FeaturedDoc.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> He later accepted an additional 40,000 volunteers with three-year enlistments and increased the strength of the U.S. Army to 156,861, further enlarged to 183,588 present for duty on July 1.<ref>Long, p. 69, 706.</ref> Lincoln's actions caused four more Southern states, including Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina and Tennessee, to adopt ordinances of secession and join the Confederate States of America.<ref>Long, pp. 60, 70, 76.</ref> On May 29, 1861, with the arrival in [[Richmond in the American Civil War|Richmond, Virginia]] of Confederate President [[Jefferson Davis]], the Confederate States capital had been moved from Montgomery to Richmond.<ref>Long, p. 79.</ref>

In [[Washington, D.C., in the American Civil War|Washington, D.C.]], many of the regiments of volunteers raised by States under Lincoln's call rushed to defend the capital. General in Chief Lt. Gen. [[Winfield Scott]] laid out his strategy to subdue the Confederate States on May 3, 1861.<ref>Long, pp. 69–70.</ref> He proposed that an army of 80,000 men be organized to sail down the [[Mississippi River in the American Civil War|Mississippi River]] and capture [[New Orleans in the American Civil War|New Orleans]]. While the Army "strangled" the Confederacy in the west, the U.S. Navy would blockade Southern ports along the eastern and Gulf coasts. The press ridiculed what they dubbed as Scott's "[[Anaconda Plan]]". Instead, many believed the capture of the Confederate capital at Richmond, only {{convert|100|mi|km}} south of Washington, would quickly end the war.<ref>Ballard, 3.</ref><ref>Long, pp. 94–95.</ref> By July 1861 many of the thousands of Union volunteers were camped in and around Washington. Since General Scott was seventy-five years old and physically unable to lead this force against the Confederates, the administration searched for a more suitable field commander.<ref name=b4>Ballard, p. 4.</ref>