Rambling RV Rat: Visiting Manassas (Virginia) National Battlefield Park

It was a stressful drive for Dad in the RV and Mom/me following in the Jeep traversing I-495 from Cherry Hill RV Park outside D.C. to Manassas, Virginia. With lane closures for construction and encountering two separate accidents, the 45 miles we had to cover to get to Bull Run Regional Park took 1.5 hours. In retrospect, it would have helped my cheese bank if we hit more traffic, ‘cause we were charged a $10 “early arrival fee” for checking in at 12 noon rather than 1 p.m. We paid it under protest. However, after we set up on our site, Mom/Dad read all the on-line reservation info and the park rules presented to us at check-in, and they found no reference to this fee. Mom was proud of Dad for taking the lead (she is usually the one fighting for principle and justice) in getting this $10 fee refunded to us. It turned out to be a “new” policy that had not been added yet to their printed documents nor to the on-line reservation system at the time we booked our site.

Bull Run Regional Park is a beautiful park operated by a quasi-government entity, The Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority. It offers easy access to large RV/camping sites within wooded areas with water/electric (a few sites also have sewer), dump station, hiking trails, laundry facilities, day use picnic areas, playgrounds, and, for added fees, access to a pool/waterpark and shooting range. But it doesn’t come cheaply at $71/night which includes sales tax, occupancy tax, non-resident fee, and booking fee.

We arrived at the Henry Hill Visitor Center at Manassas National Battlefield Park with little knowledge other than Manassas was the site of two separate Civil War battles. We went to the desk, asked for a Junior Ranger Book (which I completed to earn another badge!) and a map of the grounds. Now, you know we love and appreciate the efforts of volunteers, but this gentleman was just too exuberant and knowledgeable for my simple-minded family. He started rambling details: names of generals, locations of fighting, strategies used, etc. But the info he imparted was in no particular order. One minute he was firing off facts from the First Battle of Manassas, then he would segue to information pertaining to the Second Battle of Manassas, then return to discussing the First Battle. We were glassy-eyed, suffering from an acute case of information overload. We took a deep breath, cleared our minds of everything we just heard (the little bit we even could remember), and went to view the film, the only logical place in Mom’s methodical mind to start our history lesson.

Now remember, in the interest of keeping you awake and not getting my cotton-head confused, this is a very abridged version of events.

After the April 1861 attack on Fort Sumter, President Lincoln was counting on a one-and-done battle against the Confederates. Realizing recent Union recruits had only 90-day enlistments, he pressured General Irvin McDowell to begin the campaign to overtake Richmond.

McDowell and 35,000 inexperienced troops began their march from Washington, D.C. on July 16, 1861, with great fanfare. Citizens and Congressmen following behind with bottles of wine and picnic baskets, expecting to witness a spectacular show.

So, it was on July 21, 1861, on the fields near Bull Run, a stream in Manassas, that the first major battle of the Civil War commenced. (The North generally referred to this battle as Bull Run while the South referred to it as Manassas. Interestingly, the National Park Service adopted the Manassas name.)”

Things looked good for the Union at Matthews Hill against Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard’s green troops. However, General Thomas Jackson’s action and leadership on Henry Hill scored for the Confederates. It is on Henry Hill that General Jackson earned the moniker “Stonewall”. It is also the location at which Judith Henry, an elderly and blind civilian, was killed by artillery, and where her 100-year-old home got destroyed. After further fighting, The First Battle of Manassas concluded with a Union Army retreat.

Henry Hill.

This statue commemorating Confederate General Thomas Jackson stands on Henry Hill, where he earned the nickname "Stonewall".

Monument dedicated in June 1865 honoring the fallen Union heroes at Bull Run/Manassas. Cannon projectiles found on the grounds after the battle ended were used to adorn the monument.

The battle produced nearly 5,000 casualties (dead, wounded, prisoners of war/missing in action), and the realization by both sides that they underestimated the task of achieving complete victory over their enemy.

Fast forward to August 28-30, 1862. The Second Battle of Manassas ensues—much more organized and strategic than the conflict a year earlier. Though fighting occurred at nearly a dozen different locations, yours truly is just imparting the highlights.

The battle started at Brawner’s Farm. Within 90 minutes, the conflict created 2,000 casualties among Union and Confederate armies.

On Day 2, Stonewall Jackson had 1.5 miles of Confederate forces along the route of the unfinished railroad. Despite being under constant attack, the Confederates held their position. Now Union General John Pope was a bit overconfident. He presumed he was dealing only with Stonewall Jackson’s regiment. Unbeknownst to him, Confederate General James Longstreet had joined the action. And so, General Pope’s order to attack at the “deep cut”—a cut in the embankment for the railroad—did not end well for the Union.

Known as a "witness tree", this tree, located along the unfinished railroad, dates back to the days of the battles at Manassas. If only it could talk, imagine what it could tell us!

Hiking along the unfinished railroad bed.

Views as we walked...

...within the "deep cut".

Chinn Ridge is the location of the climatic ending of the Second Battle of Manassas on August 30, 1862. General Longstreet’s division swept the Ridge, causing severe Union losses, particularly to the New York 5^th, 10^th,and 14^th Infantry regiments. General Pope, realizing his goose was cooked, needed to retreat, but required some time to execute the plan. This was provided by the brave efforts and bloodshed of Ohio 25^th and 75^th Infantry as they encountered Confederate General Hood’s Texans and South Carolinians. According to some historians, had the Ohioans been unsuccessful in holding off the Confederates, the Union Army could have been overrun and captured here, bringing an end to the Civil War much sooner and with dramatically different results.

The farm of Benjamin Chinn, where the climatic end of the Second Battle of Manassas took place. You can see the foundation of their family home, known as Hazel Plain, in the background.

The Ridge on Benjamin Chinn's property that was
swept by Confederate General Longstreet, causing severe Union casualties.

It is at Chinn Ridge that Union Corporal Fletcher Webster, son of Daniel Webster of dictionary fame, dies on the battlefield. A monument on a small plot of land, purchased in 1914 by survivors of his regiment, pays tribute to him. Interestingly, the Texans who fought on Chinn Ridge have a monument there, too. Why is that? Confederate monuments were prohibited within Manassas National Battlefield Park. Well, some wealthy Texan found a “loophole”. You see, that small plot of land where Fletcher Webster’s monument sits was purchased before the land was designated a National Battlefield Park. And the title to that small plot had been lost. Whether legalities or perseverance prevailed, who knows? But ultimately, Texas had a marker erected in 2012 to commemorate their brethren who fought on Chinn Ridge.

Fletcher Webster's monument on Chinn Ridge.

Texas monument on Chinn Ridge.

We spent several days doing the auto tour and walking the many trails along the battlegrounds. We imagined the troops crossing Bull Run Stream; the fear Mrs. Hill experienced being blind in the midst of battle and ultimately losing her life, alone and frightened; the endless medical needs provided by weary doctors at the makeshift hospitals; what the troops must have experienced getting attacked at “the deep cut”. The degree of death and destruction is difficult to fathom. It is a far cry from the pastural fields we view today.

Stone Bridge over Bull Run Stream. Built in 1825, it was blown up by the Confederates in March 1862 to prevent the Union from entering Manassas. The Union rebuilt it using original bridge abutments. However, the bridge was destroyed again in August 1862, this time by the Union, as they retreated across it after the Second Battle of Manassas.

Bull Run Stream.

A blue heron enjoying Bull Run.

Groveton Cemetery...

...where the unidentified Confederate dead from the battles of Manassas lie enmass.

Stone House, built 1848, was used as a field hospital for both battles at Manassas. Under truce after the Second Battle of Manassas, Federal surgeons tended to both Union and Confederate wounded. Confederates also used Stone House as a parole station for prisoners of war.

Views from a battlefield hiking trail.

We also hiked a few miles along the Whitetail Trail and 4 miles along the Bull Run-Occoquan Trail that ran through Bull Run Regional Park, but 4 miles is just a drop in the bucket, for this trail is nearly 20 miles long!