Day 25 - Manassas, VA

We planned a short day, so slept in late and headed down for breakfast at 9:30. Should have had plenty of time, since the motel advertised breakfast until 10:00. Wrong. Looked like they don’t restock during the last half hour and with other diners crowding in to get what was left we took off for Cracker Barrel and a breakfast that would also be lunch.

With 5,860 miles on the clock since leaving Redmond, it was time to stop at the local Honda dealer for an oil change and service. An hour later and after a short stop at the motel we headed out to the Manassas National Battlefield. The two Civil War battles fought there are known as First and Second Manassas in the South and First and Second Bull Run in the North. I use Manassas simply because it’s the name of the nearby town and I’ve spent hours learning to spell it.

At 5,073 acres, Manassas is almost as large as Gettysburg; however the visitor’s center had a unique way of depicting the progress of the battle. A large 20 foot square map was outfitted with hundreds of small LED lights, which when turned on and off portrayed the movement of troops across the battlefield, as well as artillery duels. Confederate and Union columns moved snakelike from one position to another. This presentation is by far the best way we have seen to understand the ebb and flow of a battle.

First Manassas is a walking tour, which we would have done had it not been a rainy and cold day. The 18 mile auto tour stops at a number of locations that figured prominently in the second battle. We stopped at them all, but several stood out. The Groveton Confederate Cemetery contains about 500 Confederates, buried in trench graves identified only by state. The cemetery has only two headstones that identify individual solders by name. Chinn Ridge, once the home of Benjamin Chinn, was the site of an artillery duel and desperate struggle by Union troops to delay Confederate counterattacks. All that remains today is the stone foundation of a farmhouse. From Battery Heights Union, artillery silenced opposing Confederate batteries, while two days later Confederate artillery occupied the same ground and from there repulsed a Union attack. Near Lee Highway on the east side of the park is the Stone Bridge. It was here that the Union army crossed Bull Run Creek and returned to the safety of Washington. Nearby Stone House served as a Union field hospital during both battle. Our last stop was the Sudley United Methodist Church. Yes Phil, we took a casserole.

The first battle lasted one day and resulted in 4,878 casualties, while the second battle was three days and added 25,251. So now we have visited three battlefields. Eight days of fighting. 96,582 casualties. And still two years of war to go.

Back to the motel for a couple of hours and then off to Ruby Tuesdays for the salad bar and a beer. Tomorrow we head to Lynchburg, Virginia, for a visit to Appomattox Court House. 38 miles today.

Barb at the Stone Bridge
Manassas National Battlefield
Manassas, Virginia