Battle of Blackburn's Ford

Battle context

Blackburn's Ford was a preliminary action of the Manassas campaign, fought three days before the First Battle of Bull Run. McDowell sent elements of Tyler's division to probe Confederate defenses along Bull Run Creek in order to locate Beauregard's left flank. The failed crossing attempt, driven back by Confederate fire, denied McDowell the avenue of attack he had sought and compelled him to look elsewhere along the Confederate line. That repulse directly shaped his operational decision-making for the larger engagement that followed on July 21, redirecting Union effort toward the flank action that would define First Bull Run.