Located a few miles north of the City of Manassas, the Manassas Battlefield was the site of two major battles fought in 1861 and 1862. The battles are generally referred to in the South as First and Second Manassas. In the North, they are generally referred to as First and Second Bull Run, after the nearby creek.

The Manassas Battlefield is mostly under the control of the National Park Service, although heavy development pressure from the south has consumed some areas. For example, the site where Buford\'s Federal Cavalry confronted Stuart\'s Cavalry late in Second Manassas is now mostly a commercial development on the south side of Interstate 66. Some development threats have been prevented, including a proposed Disney Theme park and a massive shopping mall.

Because two battles were fought there, interpretation is challenging for the casual visitor. Because of this, it is a very good idea for the first time visitor to familiarize themselves with both battles before coming to the park.

Typically, Park Service signage relating to the first or second battle has a small label in the lower left inidicating which battle it refers to, and visitors may not check these labels first. For example, walking north on the paved trail on Chinn Ridge, the visitor encounters a series of interpretative signs discussing to the desperate holding action fought by Federal troops near the end of Second Manassas. Then, near the end of the trail, congnative dissonance sets in when a sign is encountered relating to Col. O.O.Howard\'s Connecticut unit and its experiences near the end of First Manassas.

Harry Smeltzer\'s Bull Runnings site (see the links at the bottom of the table of contents) has extensive resources on First Bull Run.

The Civil War Trust has introduced a series of battle apps for iPhone and Android Phones. The Bull Run app covers only First Bull Run at the time of this writing. I found it of mixed value while walking the field, but may not have given it a fair chance. It\'s free, so there is no real cost to acquiring it and trying it out.

First Manassas

Irvin McDowell, given command of the Federal Army of Northeastern Virginia, was under heavy pressure to get his army into action. He resolved to launch a campaign directed against the Confederate rail nexus at Manassas Junction. Confronted by an extended Confederate defensive line along the Bull Run, he separated about 1/2 of his army and sent it on a flank march to the north, around the Confederate left flank. The march was detected by Confederate signalmen, who sent warning to the Confederates holding the left flank. The Confederates shifted forces to defend against the Federal attack, and so First Manassas began. The battle between the green troops was protracted and the issue was in doubt for most of the day. The reputation of the battle as a miserable rout is due to the fact that during the Federal retreat, Confederate artillery overturned a wagon in the midst of the bridge over Cub Run Creek, causing a general panic among the green troops.

Second Manassas

During the 1862 Manassas Campaign, after attacking Pope\'s supply lines and looting then burning Pope\'s supply depot at Manassas Junction, Jackson withdrew northward to the Manassas Battlefield, settling on the series of cuts and fills from an unfinished railway project as his defensive position. Wishing to attract Pope\'s attention to his position, on August xx, he attached a Federal division which was passing south of the railway line along the Warrenton Pike (now the US 29, the Lee Highway.) This affair is called the Battle of Brawner\'s Farm, and led to a more general confrontation the following day as Pope assaulted Jackson\'s position. These assualts were inconclusive, but during the day Longstreet\'s forces came into position to the west (on Jackson\'s right flank.)

Pope continued his assaults on Jackson\'s line the following day, dismissing information suggesting that Longstreet was on his left flank. When late in the day McDowell (one of Pope\'s corps commanders) panicked and removed Reynold\'s division from the left flank, Lee & Longstreet recognized the opportunity and launched a rapid attack against the flank, resulting in heavy, desperate fighting along Chinn Ridge. The Federal forces on Chinn Ridge were, at a heavy cost, able to delay the assault, allowing a new Federal defensive line to be set up along the Sudley Road. Lee came very close to a complete victory over Pope, annihilating his Army of Virginia, but Pope was able to bring his forces off the field and retreat to Centreville. Pope would shortly be relieved of his command of the Army of Virginia; he was sent off to Minnesota to fight the Dakota Wars.