Spring Fling 2026 - Day 23: Manassas National Battlefield Park

Martha and I drove the CRV over to the city of Manassas to check out the Manassas Battlefield Park.

The site of two US Civil War battles: 1st and 2nd Bull Run or 1st and 2nd Manassas.  Why the two names you ask?  Well it depends on whose side's naming convention you want to use. The North would use the name of the nearest land mark or river, in this case the nearby Bull Run Creek.  If you refer to use the naming convention used by the southern forces, they used the name of the nearest town or railroad junction.

So, why were there two battles here?

The visitor center on Henry Hill (battle site of First Manassas) is small but nicely done.  Their lighted map display gives you a very good understanding of the battle flow during the Battle of First Manassas.  That along with the film it's worth watching before you venture out onto the actual battlefield sites. 

In case you've been both wondering about the difference between smooth bar and rifled artillery:

The hideous price paid in terms of casualties in the Civil War, both sides included since they were all Americans.

At the start of the Civil War units tended to be more individualistic in terms of uniform composition and colors.  There would not be a standardization of blue for the north and gray for the South until later on. 

Martha and I took the 1.1 mi self-guided loop tour and we checked out the various artillery pieces located in the battlefield area along with informational placards.

Here I am standing in the location used by Union Army's Ricketts Battery, it was the eventual overwhelming of this position by the soldiers of Stonewall Jackson's brigade that led to the union army's rout and defeat.

Union Artillery, Napoleon 12 Pounders:

Taking pictures of the battlefield Ariel failed to give a good idea of how things went. So what you're getting today is pictures of artillery and of the Statue of Stonewall Jackson. I recommend you come to this park if possible to get a good idea of the flow of battle. 

The artillery pieces I used to show the location of the firing batteries during the 1st Manassas battle.

Southern artillery positions, and yes, they were also Napoleon 12 pounders.  Not exactly a coincidence, since both sides drew from the same stocks prior to hostilities beginning.  

Even though the superior number of Union soldiers initially seemed to give the battle to them, the arrival of Stonewall Jackson's brigade and his defense of the way to Manassas railroad junction led to a union defeat. 

The statue faces in the direction the union forces came...

It did not take us very long to do the 1.1 mi loop, and the weather was almost perfect for it. The last 3 days or so have been very hot so today is cloudy conditions were great.

Note: Such was the naivete of folks at the start of the war, some actually came out on the day of battle and pic-nic'ed nearby to watch the only expected battle of the war.  It would be four more long and bloody years