Virginia - Day 7 - Manassas

Prince William Forest RV Campground, Dumfries
Thursday, 7 March 2019

today's route

When I was in the Fredericksburg campground, I spent a lot of time reading brochures and VA state handouts about the various Civil War battlefields and related sites.  There are 4 near Fredericksburg alone.  More than half the battles fought in the Civil War were in Virginia, and it almost seems the whole state was a battleground, one way or another.

I finally realized I could spend a whole month on Civil War stuff alone, and I don't want to do it.  The futility of that war and the misunderstandings about it that continue to this day just swamp me with sadness and I feel no need to beat myself with it.

But there are 2 places I want to visit: Appomatox Court House, where the war ended, and Manassas Battlefield, where it started.  I know people say it started with the firing on Fort Sumter, and that's mostly true (though Ft. Sumter was really just the match that lit the powder keg that had been building).  But the first battle of the war was at Manassas, right down the road from this campground.  So that's where I went today.

The Southerners usually named battles after the nearest town; the Northerners after the nearest body of water.  So for those, like me, who think the "Battle of Manassas" doesn't sound quite familiar, you might recognize the "Battle of Bull Run," Bull Run being the stream that runs along the edge of the battlegrounds.

This battle, on July 21, 1861, was the first in the Civil War.  Both sides expected a quick victory.  Civilians on both sides came out to nearby vantage points with picnics to watch the battle, both sides expecting a quick win.  No one at all was prepared for the reality: 900 soldiers and 1 civilian died that day and many others were wounded.

By the end of the day, fresh Confederate troops penetrated Federal ranks, prompting a retreat back to Washington, DC.  The battle-stunned soldiers, retreating in an orderly fashion, found the roads were jammed with the carriages of congressmen and other onlookers, and the troops panicked and ran.

A year later, August 28, 1862, began a second Battle of Bull Run; this one lasted 3 days and killed 3,300.  The Federal defeat was a result of both clever strategy by Southern Gen. Lee and overconfidence by Northern Gen. Pope.  It resulted in Lee pressing northward and invading the Union for the first time, but ultimately it was just another in the long line of battles in this war.

The National Park Service owns almost all of the land covering both battlefields and has preserved it in nearly the same state it appeared back then.  The Visitor Center is on top of Henry Hill (the widow Henry's house was the scene of much of the fighting in both battles; she herself refused to leave her house and was killed by a mortar shell).  From there you can get a good view of the surrounding area and it's easy to imagine what it must have looked like then.

I watched the film they showed at the Visitor Center of the 1st battle, and the dogs and I walked around a bit in the area.  But I decided against the 18-mile driving tour of the 2nd battle - it was really cold and really windy and just didn't sound an enticing prospect.

They say the main result of the 1st battle was to tell everyone that both sides were committed and that this would not be a quick and easy win for either side.  Apparently, those things had been in doubt by both sides.  Interesting, when you think about it.

I drove back through the Manassas town center, the "historic town."  (It seems like half the towns I've been in or past the last few months are "historic.")  It's a lovely, old-fashioned town, with parts that reminded me of parts of Austin near the University that were built around the 1900s, though I think much of historic Manassas is older.