“I Don’t Ever Want to See Any More War”: A Civilian Account of the First Battle of Bull Run
Jim Redmon, a civilian who lived near the Henry House hill, was interviewed by The Washington Post in 1911 about the events that engulfed his home in July 1861. In a poignant interview, the 87-year-old black man recalled watching the first battle of the Civil War.
The following interview of Jim Redmond appeared in the July 21, 1911 edition of the Washington Post.
Before firing ceased at Bull Run on that bloody day of July 21, 1861 folks commenced to write descriptions of it – and they’ve been at it ever since. There have been enough accounts of McDowell’s flank movement by Sudley Springs and the surprise of Evan’s Brigade, of Stonewall Jackson’s stand near the Henry house, and of the sudden panic that seized the yet untrained volunteers of the Northern army, to fill a library.
And yet, among this mass of printed stuff, one nowhere finds a page that is really intelligible to the man of peace – one that tells how all this opening hell of war looked to the civilian gazing at it with an eye untrained and unmilitary. One may learn for the asking at any library how Tyler made a feint at the Stone bridge to cover Heintzelman’s turning movement, or how Bee and Bartow deployed on Buck Hill. But there is little of vividness in that knowledge to the reader, ignorant of just what a feint or a deployment looks like when it’s going on, however realistic it may be to the soldier who has been through all that sort of thing.
Now, within sight of this Bull Run battlefield, there has dwelt since he was born, 87 years ago, an ancient [black man], James Redmond by name, familiarly known all the country ‘round as plain “Jim.” He is a resident of Groveton, a small collection of houses hardly reaching the dignity of a hamlet, lying a mile or two southwest of the Henry plateau, the vortex in which the battle swirled doubtful for hours. Groveton is situated upon a ridge whence all the country over which the battle raged is in plain sight, and from a neighboring knoll. Jim Redmond, in company with Mrs. Lucinda Dogan, a lady who lived near Groveton, and a few neighbors, watched this first battle of the war. 
The Henry House withstood the battle and remained standing despite being in the crossfire of Federal cannons. The image here displays the remaining foundation after the house was disassembled for firewood and battle souvenirs.
For two or three days before,” he told the writer, “The Union soldiers had been all around Centreville, or across the run, and a couple of days before the big battle we had heard a whole lot of cannon firing and seen a lot of smoke down the valley (this was the fight at Blackburn’s Ford on July 19). Whole strings of Southern cavalry kept coming along through Groveton that day and the next. They came from toward the mountains and rode off on the road to Manassas Junction (ed: This was the cavalry of Johnston’s army in the Shenandoah Valley, which had slipped away from Patterson and Winchester, and come over to join Beauregard at Manassas)."It was along about sunup on Sunday morning when I heard shouting from the soldiers down the pike toward the Stone bridge, and Mrs. Dogan called to me that “the Yankees are coming!” The Southern soldiers were all strung along for miles on this side of Bull Run, which was about 2 miles from where we were. We all came up on top this hill here, and some neighbors came up with us. We could hear a powerful firing of cannon going on down about the Stone bridge. It sounded just like thunder, and we could see the smoke rising down by the bridge.” (ed: This was Tyler’s division of the Union army engaging Evan’s brigade at the extreme west or left flank of the Southern army, to distract it from McDowell’s flank movement)."By and by we could see a big cloud of dust across the run off to the left of where all this cannon firing was. It kept getting bigger and was moving up the run toward Sudley. (ed: This was McDowell’s main force under Hunter and Heintzelman, executing their flank movement by Sudley Springs). The cannon shooting had been going on down by the Stone bridge for an hour or two, when we began to see crowds of Southerners running back from the bridge to the Sudley Road and running up that road toward Sudley. Then a lot of men team out of the timber over east of the Henry house, ran down in the hollow Yonder by Young's branch, then over buck hill across the hollow from the Henry house, and then on towards sudley after the others.” (ed: The Confederates had discovered McDowell's flank movement by suddenly springs and were hurrying northwest to check it, drawing reinforcements from their center as rapidly as possible.) “It wasn't long after this before we commenced to hear the cracking of muskets over the other side of buck hill toward sudley. Than the cannon commenced to shoot over there like they had at the stone bridge, and we could hear men shouting and shouting. It seemed like it was all coming back from suddenly. Pretty soon we could see the southerners coming running back on the Sudley Rd. and over buck hill toward the Young's branch hollow. They would come back in little bunches of ‘em and every now and then they would stop and shoot back, and then run on again. There kept coming more southerners out of the woods east of the Henry house from toward Manassas. They didn't cross the hollow though but scattered out in the fields around and back of the Henry house, and seemed to be standing there waiting for something.
Lucinda Dogan, a 44-year-old widow with six children, lived in Groveton and owned the land where part of the railroad cut ran. She earned the nickname "Belle of the Battlefield" for her efforts alongside Jim Redmond, as they provided whatever assistance they could to this wounded from both sides. This image of the aged Lucinda Dogan was found in the Sunday Star, but unfortunately there is no reliable photograph of Jim Redmond (Sunday Star, January 24, 1915)
Then the men who had come running back from Sudley crossed back over the Young's branch hollow, and got with the men you had stopped around the Henry house. (ed: The men running back were the brigades of Bee and Bartow which had been driven back by McDowell’s advancing forces and forced back from Buck Hill, and Young’s Branch valley until they met the reinforcements under Jackson on the Henry house plateau). “Then the Union men commenced to pour down the Sudley Road and over buck hill, shouting and shooting all the time period they followed the southerners across Young's branch and up the hill toward the Henry house. By that time swarms of southerners had come up into the fields around the and back of the Henry House. The shouting and shooting got so loud and mixed up you couldn't tell which side was doing the most.” (ed: The whole of Beauregard's and Johnson's army had come up and taken position on the Henry house plateau and stayed McDowell’s advance there.)"The shooting of the cannons had got so terrible now that it all sounded like one big roar, and the muskets went so fast that you couldn't hear anything but just continue rattling. The fields got so covered with dust and smoke now that we couldn't see the men, but the shouting and shooting kept getting worse, and by and by fit all sounded just like one big sound there and the dust and smoke.” (ed: This was the doubtful and deadly conflict which raged around the Henry House for some hours.)"About 3:00 we commenced to see bunches of men running out of the woods from toward Manassas, the other side of the Chinn place, and through the fields there between us and where all the fighting was going on. They kept coming and coming, and they'd run right across the fields and right into where all the smoke and dust and shooting was, like they wanted to hurry and get in it.” (ed: This was the belated reinforcements of Johnston’s valley army, which arrived at Manassas junction during the battle and, striking McDowell’s right flank, turned the tide of battle.)“It was an awful sight to us up here on the hill, and most of the women were crying and wringing their hands. I don't know but what I cried some myself. Along about 4:00 in the afternoon that noise was at its loudest. We began to see little bunches of men running from out of the dust and smoke on the Henry place down into the hollow, where Young's branch is, and then running back up to sudley road or over buck hill. Then more and more men kept running back, and the smoke and dust and shooting got so thick down there we couldn't see any men anymore.” (ed: This was the beginning of McDowell’s repulse; His soldiers began to retreat but the way they had come)."By and by the shooting quieted down a whole lot and the smoke and dust about the Henrys place and down and Young's Branch hollow got higher and thinner, And we could see swarms of men running along the road down the hollow toward the stone bridge. We saw some men on horses riding after them, and heard some musket shots, but not many.” (ed: This was the main retreat of McDowell’s army. The horsemen following were the Southern cavalry in pursuit).“About 5:30 o'clock the shooting over there had all stopped, and some men had come up and told us to northern men had been driven back. About 6:00 Mr. and missus Dogan and I went over to the Henry place. There wasn't anything left there but a lot of ashes that were still smoking. All the trees around the house had been shot to pieces and some of them were nothing but ragged stumps. Some soldiers told Mrs. Dogan and old lady had been killed in the house by a shell that morning. She was old Mrs. Henry, a great friend of Mrs. Dogan. The soldiers had taken her body over to the chin place, and missus Dogan went over there and helped to lay her out.” “About 6:00 Mr. and missus Dogan and I went over to the Henry place. There wasn’t anything left there but a lot of ashes that were still smoking. All the trees around the house had been shot to pieces and some of them were nothing but ragged stumps”
The southern soldiers were going about the fields picking up dead men and burying them, but the bodies were still lying around thick. I saw lots of wounded men, all crying for water. So, I took a bucket and filled it and carried water to what I could. There were a lot of soldiers and colored men doing the same thing. There were about as many wounded on one side as the other, but it didn't make any difference to any of us which side they were; They all got water from the same. The ground around the Henry house was plowed up like I'd been plowing it with a yoke of steers, and lying still about it were muskets and bayonets and caps and belts and knapsacks and every kind of thing period I worked along there giving them water and then helping to bury the bodies until late in the night. It certainly was awful.”“No, Sir,” concluded Jim with a shake of the head that would have done good to The Hague peace conference,” I don't ever want to see any more war!”The following year Jim observed the Second Battle of Bull Run, but not from the same hill, as it was a most active part of the field period last summer, he assisted in the burial of missus Dogan, then 96 years old - the same age as Jim - who had with him observed both these great fights.