P.G.T. Beauregard attacks Washington D.C. after 1st Manassas?

After the incredible Confederate victory at 1st Manassas, the Union army was in shambles, the Command Staff failed to prevent a rout, which caused a massive unorderly retreat to Washington.
George Templeton Strong called the day "Black Monday" in regards to the devastating effect on the Union moral and war effort.
And yet Beauregard failed to capitalize on this success with a second attack, I think it was William Gladstone that made a comment as to why Beauregard didn't attack Washington.
What would have happened had Beauregard followed up on his victory in 1st Manassas and attacked Washington D.C.?

An actual 90 day's war with a Confederate Victory?
 
After the incredible Confederate victory at 1st Manassas, the Union army was in shambles, the Command Staff failed to prevent a rout, which caused a massive unorderly retreat to Washington.
George Templeton Strong called the day "Black Monday" in regards to the devastating effect on the Union moral and war effort.
And yet Beauregard failed to capitalize on this success with a second attack, I think it was William Gladstone that made a comment as to why Beauregard didn't attack Washington.
What would have happened had Beauregard followed up on his victory in 1st Manassas and attacked Washington D.C.?

An actual 90 day's war with a Confederate Victory?

CSA not win so quickly. Union will fight still despite losing of capital, probably even harder.
 
CSA not win so quickly. Union will fight still despite losing of capital, probably even harder.

Interesting, Shelby Foote said that the Union fought the war with one hand behind their back, that if the CSA had won enough victories they would have simply taken that unused power and then beaten the CSA. He believed that the only way the CSA could have won was to gain foreign intervention into the war. I wonder if Britain and France will intervene? How will the trent affair go now?
 

TFSmith121

Banned
The US forces under McDowell that were not

The US forces under McDowell that were not engaged at 1st Manassas actually almost outnumbered the rebel forces that were...

McDowell had five divisions in the field; two actually saw serious fighting. One never even saw action.

All three of the divisions with minor or no losses were still organized during the retreat; add in the fact the rebels had not one but two armies on the field and no real overall commander (point for the US) and there's really no chance they would do anything significant.

Add in Patterson's three divisions from the Shenandoah, and the US field forces that had seen next to no action or none at all in the campaign were twice of the size of the rebel forces in northern Virginia.

And that doesn't include the forces assigned to the defenses of Washington...

Best,
 
He loses. The rebel army after First Bull Run was horribly disorganized and not in good shape for another major engagement immediately. In addition while not on the level which would occur later in the war (when it became the most heavily fortified city in the world) Washington DC itself was not undefended. And as TFSmith said, the Union has more soldiers, and barring some kind of intervention they will always have more soldiers.

Interesting, Shelby Foote said that the Union fought the war with one hand behind their back, that if the CSA had won enough victories they would have simply taken that unused power and then beaten the CSA. He believed that the only way the CSA could have won was to gain foreign intervention into the war. I wonder if Britain and France will intervene? How will the trent affair go now?

He's pretty much right, and this is true of pretty much every American war since...maybe the Mexican-American War actually. In regards to foreign intervention, IMO it's not going to happen, and as more time passes it gets more and more unlikely. Britain has little interest in turning the United States hostile, nor anything to gain by doing so. For her part France will not take action unless Britain does so. At most Britain might give an offer of mediation, but doesn't press it. As for anyone else, what does some war in the Americas matter?

The Trent Affair probably won't happen because of butterflies. Something similiar might happen, but as per OTL I don't see Lincoln being stupid enough to purposefully antagonize Britain to the point of open hostility.
 
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