Surprise Visit to Bull Run
My wife's co-worker couldn't use her hotel room out in the Shenandoah Valley National Park, so my wife surprised me with an overnight out west, including a stop at the Manassas National Battlefield Park. Whenever we pass a battlefield sign on the road, I offer to stop, but she usually declines. This was a great gift, so we stopped at the battlefield on our drive.
The main park is well preserved and very scenic. The Visitor Center includes a museum, a light-up map of the first battle, a gift shop (well stocked in Civil War books), and a movie theater for a 45 minute movie of the battles (starts on the hour). We timed our visit to catch the start of the film, and it did a good job explaining the events leading to the battles, the personalities involved, the importance of the terrain, and the significance of the fighting. Afterwards, we were lucky to join a guided tour by a Park Ranger. In about an hour he explained the terrain, choices, and main actions of the first battle, now known as First Manassas or First Bull Run on 21 July 1861. The second battle, Second Manassas or Second Bull Run, occurred on 28-30 August 1862, right before the Battle of Antietam.
The Park offers a self-guided driving tour of the second battle, but we did not have enough time, so we (I) will do it another time. If you have not been to the battlefield, it is a good trip.
This visit got prompted me to research the battle prior to our visit, and I then realized this is a good subject for our Digital History project. I started researching digital media about the site, reading blogs, looking for digital records, etc... I was planning to research the Battle of Gallipoli in Turkey in WW1, but since I don't read/speak Turkish and don't have the means to visit the site in the next month, Bull Run may be a better choice.
https://www.nps.gov/mana/index.htm
Some of my photos from the visit follow:
The main park is well preserved and very scenic. The Visitor Center includes a museum, a light-up map of the first battle, a gift shop (well stocked in Civil War books), and a movie theater for a 45 minute movie of the battles (starts on the hour). We timed our visit to catch the start of the film, and it did a good job explaining the events leading to the battles, the personalities involved, the importance of the terrain, and the significance of the fighting. Afterwards, we were lucky to join a guided tour by a Park Ranger. In about an hour he explained the terrain, choices, and main actions of the first battle, now known as First Manassas or First Bull Run on 21 July 1861. The second battle, Second Manassas or Second Bull Run, occurred on 28-30 August 1862, right before the Battle of Antietam.
The Park offers a self-guided driving tour of the second battle, but we did not have enough time, so we (I) will do it another time. If you have not been to the battlefield, it is a good trip.
This visit got prompted me to research the battle prior to our visit, and I then realized this is a good subject for our Digital History project. I started researching digital media about the site, reading blogs, looking for digital records, etc... I was planning to research the Battle of Gallipoli in Turkey in WW1, but since I don't read/speak Turkish and don't have the means to visit the site in the next month, Bull Run may be a better choice.
https://www.nps.gov/mana/index.htm
Some of my photos from the visit follow:
Cannons in place from CPT Ricketts' battery.
Union cannons moved to flank the Confederate line. The Confederates promptly flanked these guns.
View from the flanking position.
A monument was built at the end of the War to honor the dead.
Inscription on the monument.
In the distance, Matthews Hill.
The Henry family graves. In the center, Ms. Judith Carter Henry, the only civilian casualty at the first battle. Her home was in the middle of the fighting, and Union cannons hit her home to disperse Confederate skirmishers.
Comments
Post a Comment