Crashing Beauregard's Lunch at Bull Run
It Was a Cannonball. It Ruined the Peas.
Did They Tell You This in School?
On the steamy, hot, morning of July 18, 1861, the combat troops of U.S. General Irwin McDowell were advancing south in Virginia, toward the Confederate Army on the south bank of a winding creek named Bull Run. He and his army were about to encounter the first battle of the deadliest war ever fought by Americans.
Facing him, just about a mile south of this stream were Confederate troops commanded by General Beauregard, who recently had boastfully vanquished the Federal garrison at Fort Sumter in Charleston, SC. (More about this in a subsequent post.)
On this day, Beauregard and some of his officers had just sat to lunch in the kitchen of a small plantation farm owned by Wilmer McLean. It was being used as the General’s headquarters. At that moment an excited Union artilleryman was inspired to fire a cannon in the direction of the Confederate line, probably not aiming at anything in particular but just for the so-called hell of it and maybe to break the tension.
It whizzed a mile and a quarter through the air at a speed of 1,440 feet per second and smashed through the house and into the kitchen’s rock chimney, above the heads of Beauregard and his men. It bounded into the prepared food along with dislodged stones and a cloud of dust in a huge roar, causing the soldiers to jump from their seats at the table, scattering plates, glasses and flatware. Beauregard was greatly annoyed. He jumped up and cursed the Yankees while running out to the side yard, waving his napkin and yelling at his officers to move at once and launch an artillery attack from the nearby Blackburn’s Ford.
“Our dinner was ruined…the shell passed through both walls falling into the sliced up meat and dished up vegetables and we went without dinner that day.”
E.P.Alexander: “Military Memoirs of a Confederate
One can only speculate about the items on the menu for that ruined meal. In that part of Virginia in Mid-July, the most likely may have been sliced chicken or ham, rice and gravy, home-canned peas and cornbread. (Check out the plan for rice & gravy below).
The McLean house which received that cannonball was was located near the junction of the Manassas Gap Railroad and the Orange and Alexandria Rail Line. Beauregard suspected that capturing this strategic location was the intent of McDowell’s Federal troops so he rushed his Confederates there and set up preparations for battle.
Meanwhile, Mr. McLean had removed his family to the small settlement of Appomattox Court House, VA to settle them away from physical harm. He turned over the vacated property to the Confederates, including his barn which would be used as a hospital.
A skirmish did occur at Blackburn’s Ford that afternoon when Union infantry were turned back across the run and up the opposite bank, suffering a half-dozen killed. The main battle at Bull Run took place three days later on June 21. Crowds of citizens rode out to Manassas Junction from Washington to witness the North defeat the South and thereby end the war in a single afternoon. But that day Federal troops were severely defeated and overrun and fled in a widespread panic back towards Washington on the heels of their frightened spectators.
As battles go, it was relatively insignificant. But as a propaganda victory it was huge. The rout was total and humiliating for the North and because of that one day’s fight, both sides were made starkly aware that the war was going to be a long and bloody one —not some sort of sporting event wrapped up by sunset.
Poor old Wilmer thought he and his family could get away from the ravages of war down there at Appomattox Court House. And For the next four years, that ploy worked well enough. The armies of the respective sides fought bitterly in places all across the eastern part of the country; at Vicksburg, Chattanooga, Antietam, Atlanta, Nashville and Gettysburg. As many as 850,000 Americans died in the horrific battles and skirmishes of that war.
Then Richmond, the capitol of the Confederacy, fell on April 3, 1865. Both sides continued fighting around Appomattox Court House until, finally Union Commander, General U.S. Grant, sent a courier through the lines with a note to Confederate commanding General Robert E. Lee, asking that he consider surrendering his army without “the needless and continued effusion of blood.” After several communications back and forth between the two commanders, Lee agreed to meet with Grant.
The site chosen was the Appomattox home of none other than Wilmer McLean!
After arriving, the two men sat in McLean’s parlor and chatted about meeting one another during the Mexican War, when both were serving in the U.S. Army. At last, Grant wrote out the terms of surrender, among other things allowing the Confederate soldiers to keep their horses and their guns and Lee to keep his sword. Grant was greatly relieved. It had to be the saddest of days for Lee.
As Lee mounted his horse and departed, the Union officers removed their hats as a gesture of respect, as did General Grant. Lee returned the gesture by lifting his hat and nodding to Grant. Sporadic dust-ups would continue across parts of the South for a few more days but to all intents the Civil War was over.
I’m just guessing that rice may have been on the menu when the cannonball interrupted Beauregard’s lunch. In any case, a lot of people seem intimidated by having to cook it. It’s really easy, though, and there are several options. I’ll just give you one of them.
Here’s my plan for what I suspect may have been Beauregard’s cannonball-ruined rice:
Put about 3/4 cup of rice into a small pot which has a lid.
Cover the rice with enough cold water above the rice to reach the first joint of your finger (any finger will do).
Add some salt and black pepper to suit your taste.
Add a good-sized lump of unsalted butter.
Turn the heat to high and whisk steadily to keep the rice from sticking.
Keep whisking and as soon as the pot barely starts to boil, turn the heat to LOW immediately and cover tightly.
Allow this to simmer on low for 12-15 minutes then turn the heat off and let it stand and steam covered (no peeking) while you cook the steak or have a beer.
If you have skillet-seared steak or pork chops, you can deglaze the skillet with a little water, some butter and a scant teaspoon of “Better than Bouillion” chicken base paste and about a half-teaspoon of flour then add a half-teaspoon of Kitchen Bouquet or brown gravy sauce. Gently add more water if needed and stir with a whisk until thick. You can toss in some sliced mushrooms, too.
The Civil War had many strange twists. To me, one of the strangest was how it began and ended four years later on the same man’s property in separate locations in Virginia.
“The Civil War began in my front yard and ended in my parlor.”
Wilmer McLean
Below you’ll see some little buttons which will allow you to be a part of Eat Your History. Please do share and leave a comment. Thank you, BC.
Another fascinating piece, Bob. Keep them coming!