I rode the following day (4-12) from Front Royal to
Alexandria (about 80 miles) starting with beautiful farmland and
ending with major metropolitan traffic.
| Click on thumbnail.
 |
Near Front Royal, I passed “Ma & Pa’s Garden
of Weedin.” It
served to remind me that I don’t want to take care of a
lawn and garden again in this lifetime.
The main event of the day was a visit to the Manassas
National Battlefield Park about 20 miles west of
Washington D.C. There
were two major battles here, one in July 1861 and the
other in August 1862.
Diehard Yankees might refer to these as the Battles
of Bull Run.
|
The first occurred just three months after the war
began with the bombardment of Fort Sumter in April 1861.
By July, the Federal Army consisted of 35,000 men, most of
which were “green” recruits that President Lincoln had
summoned as 90-day volunteers.
These troops were farmers and shopkeepers, and according to
their commander General Irvin McDowell, not yet ready for battle
in July. The President, however, was anxious to send the troops off to
battle (and to capture the Confederate Capitol of Richmond) before
their enlistment expired.
So on July 16 the troops left Washington and began a
30-mile march toward the vital railroad junction at Manassas.
Washington was awash in excitement and confidence, and
numerous citizens and congressmen followed the army toward
Manassas expecting a colorful show and a very quick end to the
war.
| Click on thumbnail to
see full photograph.
 |
They almost got what they expected as Federal troops
quickly routed the equally green Confederate troops who
fled in disarray toward Henry Hill.
The war could have been over right here, but
Confederate commanders P.G.T. Beauregard and Joseph E.
Johnston rallied their troops who stood firm and held
Henry Hill for the remainder of the afternoon.
In the midst of the battle General Thomas J.
Jackson earned his famous nickname as General Bernard Bee,
attempting to rally his own troops, shouted “There
stands Jackson like a stone wall!
Rally behind the Virginians!”
|
Late in the afternoon, fresh Confederate troops
crashed into the Union right flank causing the tired and
discouraged Federal troops to withdraw.
The withdrawal was orderly until the soldiers found the
road blocked by the site-seers who had driven their carriages out
from Washington to watch the fight.
The retreat became a rout and soldiers fled in panic toward
the safety of Washington.
The Confederates were too disorganized to follow-up
on their success, but both sides now knew the war would not
quickly end.
I watched the film at the Visitor Center, viewed the
(super neat) battle map (with moving lights explaining the
battle), and walked the trail around Henry Hill.
| Click on thumbnails to
see full photographs. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
A year later (summer of 1862) the major fighting was
around Richmond as General George McClellan had taken Union troops
by sea to the York-James Peninsula in order to attack Richmond
from the southeast. The
Confederates had countered by abandoning Manassas and moving those
troops to the defense of their capitol city.
By July, General Lee had pushed McClellan’s forces back
from Richmond and felt secure that he could now reclaim Northern
Virginia from Federal troops under the command of General John
Pope. He sent
Stonewall Jackson to do the job.
Jackson’s troops captured Pope’s supply depot at
Manassas Junction on August 27.
Pope, stung by the loss of his supply base, headed toward
Manassas to “bag” Jackson.
Meanwhile, McClellan was withdrawing (by sea) from Richmond
and heading toward Manassas.
Lee found out about McClellan’s maneuver and sent General
James Longstreet’s corps toward Manassas to bolster Jackson.
| Click on thumbnails to
see full photographs.
 |
Pope and Jackson’s troops first clashed on August
28 at Brawner’s Farm in a battle that lasted until dark.
The following day, Pope, convinced that Jackson was
isolated and that he could destroy his army before
Longstreet arrived, attacked at Groveton. Jackson’s troops held throughout the day, however, and late
in the day Longstreet arrived.
Just before noon on the 30th, Pope again
attacked, but his troops were repulsed.
At this point, Longstreet ordered his troops
forward and staggered the Union left.
Pope’s army was faced with annihilation until the
northern troops made a heroic stand first on Chinn Ridge,
then on Henry Hill. Later,
under the cover of darkness, the Union forces withdrew
across Bull Run and retreated to Washington.
The three-day battle cost over 3300 lives and brought
the Confederacy to the height of its power. The victory opened the way for the Confederate’s first
invasion of the north, and a bid for foreign (English and
French) intervention.
For the Yankees, President Lincoln was now
desperate for a tide-turning victory and the next
opportunity would come only three weeks later at Antietam….
|
I finished the day by riding to Alexandria where I
was then staged to see a couple of D.C. area highlights that I had
managed to miss on my previous visits to Washington.
(Great
Adventures to Scenic Places)
