Jim finally bought a new car and its taken our US battlefield expert back on the road again. One of the most important Civil War battlefields is also one of the most accessible. Manassas National Battlefield Park, Virginia marks the site of not one, but two, critical battles of the struggle's early years. First Bull Run (or First Manassas in Southern usage) on July 16, 1861 was the first major clash in the east, a battle of amateur armies that was a victory for the Confederacy, and a disillusioning experience for both sides. From then on, it was apparent that the war would be a long and bitter one. The next year, from August 28 to August 30 Robert E. Lee boldly engaged the Union Army of Virginia, under the bombastic John Pope, turning defeat in detail into another resounding Confederate victory. Lee exploited this with his first invasion of the North, culminating in the Battle of Antietam on September 17. The Bull Run battles took place on virtually the same battlefield, at the junction of the Manassas-Sudley Road and the Warrenton Turnpike, Some of the very same terrain features figured prominently in both; the first turned on a Confederate stand on Henry Hill, and in the second, the Federals made their crucial rearguard stand there. Today, Manassas National Battlefield Park is a mandatory stop for any Civil War enthusiast. At the same time, it also represents what is the best, and the most troubling, issues of battlefield preservation. The area under National Park Service administration is large. Excepting several tracts of privately owned land within its borders, at its greatest extent the National Battlefield is over four and half miles east to west, and three miles north to south. Within, there are two striking differences from the other large, important battlefields of Antietam and Gettysburg. First, at those, but especially Gettysburg, one is struck by the enormous numbers of monuments and commemorative markers. Gettysburg has one of the largest, and best, assortments of military memorials and public sculpture anywhere in the United States. Antietam too has its share, with an imposing New York memorial and a Maryland one that, resembling a marble gazebo, is an endearingly modest opposite. Manassas is nearly devoid of such works. Henry Hill has a memorial to Thomas J. Jackson, on the spot where he first earned the sobriquet "Stonewall." This is an equestrian statue of the general, sitting his horse with more grandeur than he probably ever exhibited in life. On the west side of Chinn Ridge, there are a small number of monuments to New York regiments that were mauled there during Second Bull Run. Together, these and the Stonewall Jackson monument are just about all of monuments of the type familiar from Gettysburg and Antietam. There are two others, very simple red stone obelisks, each dedicated to one of the battles on the site. Both were erected soon after the war, and precede the golden age of marble and bronze that shaped the look of the Gettysburg battlefield. The second difference is the nature of the land itself. At the other battlefields, much of the land is rented to farmers who continue to grow much the same crops cultivated there during the Civil War. But at Bull Run, there is no such effort, and the National Battlefield is parkland instead of farmland. There are major benefits for the visitor. Instead of being confined to roads and trails, obligated not to trespass on privately owned and tilled land, the tourist at Manassas can range freely over the battlefield. To accommodate this, there is an extremely extensive network of hiking and bridle trails. As one would expect, the area preserves some of the most important structures present at the time of the battles. The Stone House still stands at the crossroads, where it served as a hospital in both clashes, and the Stone Bridge remains, next to a modern structure that now carries the traffic of the Warrenton Turnpike (now US Route 29). For some houses, only the stone foundations have stood the tests of time, war, and the ever-present danger of fire. The Chinn House, on the ridge of the same name, is the most prominent. In one other case an entire village, Groveton, has been entirely erased, but for one house. Furthermore, the cut and berm of the unfinished railroad where Jackson's corps defended in the second battle is remarkably preserved. Much of it remains wooded with dense underbrush and, owing to the distractions of the war, the tracks were never laid. Bull Run does not have a National Cemetery. However, near Groveton it does have a Confederate cemetery, unusual in that of over two hundred and sixty soldiers buried there, only a few have identified, individually marked graves. The rest are cast into mass graves, segregated only by state. Manassas is maintained to standards an experienced visitor comes to expect from a National Park Service-administered site; the place is immaculately clean, and well-tended. One of the more difficult tasks of caring for any battlefield with large numbers of visitors is making it understandable to the unfamiliar. A Civil War devotee with a decent map might be able to find his way over an unmarked battlefield, identifying all of the important features on his own, but the casual tourist is unlikely to have either the knowledge or the resources, or for that matter the desire to do so. At Manassas, the task is complicated by the fact that not one, but two, battles of vastly different character raged in the same area. It is a recipe for confusion. However, here the NPS has done an admirable job of presenting the site in a coherent, easily-understood manner. This is done through that staple of battlefield experiences, the planned driving tour. It is extremely well-planned and, the presentation of the familiar tour guide cum map is excellent. It actually has two maps, one of the present-day National Battlefield, with historically important stops, and a map of the area in the 1860's. Furthermore, there is more than enough information available at the Visitors Center on Henry Hill to alleviate most problems of confusion. Despite all that Manassas National Battlefield Park has going for it, it cannot be viewed in isolation from the area around it, and here one finds some very disturbing problems of historical preservation. There is no doubt that most of the battlefield itself is idyllic and countrified in its ambiance. This is especially true the farther north one goes, particularly up the Manassas-Sudley Road (modern Virginia Route 234) toward Sudley Church and along the unfinished railroad. Yet the battlefield is bordered by one of the worst examples of fringe city sprawl. The problem is that the metropolitan Washington area grew far beyond the borders of the District of Columbia, expanding into what had been countryside. At Manassas, it directly abuts the southern edge of the battlefield and, in fact, has already consumed everything south of the old Balls Ford Road. The north retains much of its rural atmosphere, as does the west to some extent, but to the south, one gets the impression that Confederacy did not win either battle, the real victors were Walmart and Burger King. Even if the rampant development of northern Virginia stops at the edge of the park, the traffic congestion does not. Both Routes 29 and 234 are very heavily-traveled roads during the daytime. But at rush hour, they are beset by the very worst traffic jams imaginable. The gridlock is such that no one should consider visiting during commuting time on a weekday. Ultimately, Manassas National Battlefield Park is a necessary stop for the Civil War tourist. What problems it has are due to rising tide of population in the region, bringing surges in development and crowding that threaten to make it an island of history in a sea of strip malls, cheeseburgers joints and stop lights. GETTING THERE Manassas National Battlefield Park is very accessible from Washington DC; in fact, considering the population growth of the area, a great many potential visitors already live nearby. From Washington itself, it is easily reached via Interstate 66 and US Route 29 West. US Route 15, meeting the interstate about five miles west of the battlefield, offers a scenic and historically compelling itinerary. Going north, it passes the battlefield of Balls Bluff at the Potomac, and a little further northward, it offers easy access to Harpers Ferry, South Mountain, and Antietam. Then, soon after it crosses from Maryland into Pennsylvania, runs just to the east of Gettysburg. For someone planning a Civil War vacation, this road is an excellent way to get to some of the most significant battlefield sites. Back to Cry Havoc #16 Table of Contents Back to Cry Havoc List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1996 by David W. Tschanz. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com