Manassas Battlefield (Battle of First Manassas/Bull Run)
Manassas Battlefield (6x8 Study)
© Laural Koons
Dawn and Laural’s adventure carried on after the morning at Arlington National Cemetery. We hit the road headed to the Manassas Battlefield National Park. Although, later in the day after wandering a bit, the weather held out to continue a beautiful setting. We stopped first at the reconstructed stone bridge over Bull Run, originally built around 1825, Stone Bridge survived the First Battle of Manassas only to have Confederate forces destroy the span in 1862. It was at this point on July 21st 1861 at 5:30am; the deep-throated roar of a 30-pounder Parrott rifle shattered the morning calm, and signaled the start of the first major battle of the American CIvil War.
Reconstructed Stone Bridge
© Dew Photography VA
From there, we headed to the Stone House and then Henry Hill where Jackson held the line and was from that point forward referred to as “Stonewall Jackson ''. There is so much information about this battlefield, especially since there were two battles fought here.The name of the battle has caused controversy since 1861. The Union Army frequently named battles after significant rivers and creeks that played a role in the fighting; the Confederates generally used the names of nearby towns or farms. The U.S. National Park Service uses the Confederate name for its national battlefield park, but the Union name (Bull Run) also has widespread currency in popular literature. Below are some links if you are interested.
First Battle of Manassas
American Battlefield Trust
Battle of First Manassas (Bull Run)
Stone bridge at Manassas, where the battle began
Henry House at Manassas where the battle culminated
Battle of Second Manassas
Want Laural and Dawn's impressions of Manassas Battlefield and see the resulting artwork in person? Come to the Opening Night of their exhibit "Impressions of Virginia '' on December 10th, 2021 at Dockside Realty in Colonial Beach, VA.