Site of the first major land battle of the Civil War, Manassas National Battlefield Park has been preserved intact despite the suburbanizing pressures of the surrounding towns. The prospect of battle-view executive homes still looms in the future, but for now, Manassas (which in the North was also known as Bull Run) is among the most evocative of all the Civil War sites, its five square miles of rolling hills and woodlands kept as they were, with few intrusions of modern life.
Manassas, which controlled transportation links between Washington, D.C., and the Shenandoah Valley, was the site of two major battles. The first battle, fought here on July 21, 1861, was strategically inconclusive, though the fact that the Confederate “rebels” forced the overconfident Union army into a panicked retreat surprised the many onlookers who had traveled out from Washington to watch the fighting, and foreshadowed the next four years of war. The second battle, fought August 28–30, 1862, followed the instatement of Robert E. Lee as commander of the Confederate forces. That conflict marked the beginning of the bloodiest year of fighting, culminating in the battle of Gettysburg the following July.
Hundreds of monuments and memorials, along with rows of artillery set up along battle lines, dot the grassy hills and point out the many key moments of the battles. A loosely structured 1.4-mile walking tour begins at the small Henry Hill Visitor Center ($3; 703/361-1339), where audiovisual displays and collections of military artifacts give a sense of what the war was like.
To reach Manassas Battlefield, follow the I-66 freeway from Washington, D.C., or the Lee Highway (US-29) west from Fairfax. From US-50, follow US-15 or the smaller Hwy-659 south.
