Fateful Lightning 2.1

     After consulting his chief military advisors, President Lincoln decides to send General Irvin McDowell, at the head of newly-assembled Union forces in Washington, against a key railroad junction at nearby Manassas, Virginia. A capable yet untested commander, McDowell will face a Rebel army under the command of one of his West Point classmates, Pierre G. T. Beauregard, in the first major battle of the war. Text by William Hillenbrand, narration by Dave Inglehart.