Part 4

About 800 yards northeast of the Administration-Museum Building, on a projecting spur, stands the Robinson House on the site of the wartime structure owned by the free Negro, James Robinson. No part of the present house is original, though a section of it dates to about 1888. The original house was torn down in 1926 to permit the construction of the larger portion of the present structure. Suffering little damage in the first battle, the original house and fields were sacked by Sigel’s Federal troops in the second battle. For these damages Robinson was awarded $1,249 by Congress in a Private Act of March 3, 1873. A picturesque view unfolds from this point eastward across Bull Run and westward to the mountains.

3. STONE BRIDGE.

The Stone Bridge and the stream, Bull Run, that flows beneath it are inseparably linked with the story of the two battles of Manassas. Located on the Warrenton Turnpike, approximately 1½ miles east of its intersection with the Manassas-Sudley Road, it formed, during the first battle, the anchor of the Confederate left and the objective of the Federal diversion under Tyler. Following the rout of McDowell’s forces, it constituted one of the main avenues of escape. In the second battle, it was the main route of the Federal advance and retreat. Though the bridge was destroyed a number of times, the abutments are original. The present Lee Highway bridge crosses Bull Run about 100 feet south of the old structure which is now memorialized by the State of Virginia.

4. STONE HOUSE (MATTHEWS).

Built in the early part of the nineteenth century, this two-and-one-half story structure of reddish brown native stone, stands as the best preserved and most conspicuous landmark on the two battlefields. It is located on the north side of Lee Highway, near its junction with the Manassas-Sudley Road. Here the tides of battle twice engulfed it as it served alternately as a hospital for the wounded of each side. Shells may still be seen embedded in its walls. For a number of years after the war it was operated as a tavern.

5. CHINN RIDGE.

This commanding ridge was twice utilized by the Confederates in turning movements that brought defeat to Federal arms. In the first battle, the brigades of Early and Elzey, supported by Beckham’s artillery, hurled back the Federal right under Howard to precipitate a general rout of the Federal army. In the second, Longstreet’s troops swept forward to seize the ridge in an attack that, but for the successful defense of Henry Hill, would have turned the Federal left. The ridge is served by a park road which terminates at a commanding overlook at its northern end.

_Site of the Chinn House._ Only the foundation walls and the bases of two massive chimneys remain to attest what was once one of the most spacious residences on the Manassas battlefields. Built reputedly in the late eighteenth century, the house derived its name from Benjamin T. Chinn, who purchased the property in 1853. Twice used as a field hospital, it stood until 1950 when, in ruinous condition, it was dismantled.

_Webster Monument._ About 600 yards north of the Chinn House stands a granite boulder with bronze plaque marking the spot where Col. Fletcher Webster, son of the statesman, Daniel Webster, fell mortally wounded in the second battle, August 30, 1862. The boulder was brought from “Marshfield,” Mass., the estate of the elder Webster.

_Chinn Spring._ Located on the north side of the Chinn House Road, a few yards from the little stream known as Chinn Branch, is Chinn Spring. Following the heat of battle, many of the exhausted and wounded soldiers of both armies came here to drink gratefully from its cool, bubbling waters. It is an attractive spot, shaded by tall oaks and marked by grass that is always green.

6. UNFINISHED RAILROAD.

About 300 yards south of the present Sudley Church, the old grade of an independent line of the Manassas Gap Railroad crosses the Manassas-Sudley Road (Virginia Route 234). Stretching southwestward from this point for a distance of nearly 2 miles is the section of the grade occupied by Jackson’s troops during the second battle. From this protecting screen he first revealed his position in the attack on King’s column on August 28. Here, in the next 2 days, he successfully repelled repeated Federal assaults. Though brush and trees have grown up along much of it, the grade is still clearly defined.

7. SUDLEY CHURCH.

Just west of the Manassas-Sudley Road, near its intersection with the Groveton-Sudley Road (Virginia Route 622), stands Sudley Church on the approximate site of the wartime structure that twice served as a hospital. In the first battle, the Federal wounded overflowed the church into a number of neighboring houses.

8. “DEEP CUT.”

Approximately three-quarters of a mile northwest of Groveton and immediately in front of the old railroad grade is “Deep Cut,” scene of the bitterest fighting of the second battle. Here the troops of Fitz-John Porter suffered terrific losses in gallant but vain attempts to penetrate Jackson’s defenses. Heavy woods have now grown up in what was then open land largely obscuring the shaft of reddish brown stone erected to the memory of the Union troops who fell there. Most of the land of the “Deep Cut” area is not at present owned by the park.

9. THE DOGAN HOUSE.

Here at Groveton, at the intersection of the Groveton-Sudley Road and Lee Highway, is located the Dogan House, one of the main landmarks of the second battle. It was across this area, on August 29, that Hood’s division drove back the Union division of Hatch before it retired to the west of Groveton. The next day the area was involved in heavy artillery and infantry fire.

The small, one-story house of weather-boarded logs originally served as the overseer’s house of the Dogan farm. Later, it was occupied by the Dogan family after their main house had burned. Like the Stone House, it now stands as one of the two remaining original structures in the park.

_The Park_

Manassas National Battlefield Park was designated a Federal area May 10, 1940. The 1,670.74 acres of federally owned land in the park comprise portions of the two battlefields.

One of the initial steps in the memorialization of these fields was taken in 1922 with the purchase of the Henry Farm, of approximately 128 acres, by the Manassas Battlefield Confederate Park, Inc., and the Sons of Confederate Veterans. On March 19, 1938, the Henry Farm was conveyed by deed to the United States Government as an “everlasting memorial to the soldiers of the Blue and Gray.” Significant additions to park holdings were made in 1949 with the acquisition of the historic Stone House and Dogan House properties.

_How to Reach the Park_

The park is situated in Prince William County, Va., 26 miles southwest of Washington, D. C. State Route 234 intersects United States Highways Nos. 29 and 211 at the park boundary.

_Administration_

Manassas National Battlefield Park is administered by the National Park Service of the United States Department of the Interior. Communications should be addressed to the Superintendent, Manassas National Battlefield Park, Manassas, Va.

_Related Areas_

Other Civil War battlefields in Virginia administered by the National Park Service include: Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, Richmond National Battlefield Park, Petersburg National Military Park, and Appomattox Court House National Monument.

_Visitor Facilities_

A modern museum and battlefield markers are features of the park’s interpretive program. The museum, which is highlighted by a diorama and an electric map, presents exhibits in such a way as to develop the story of both battles in narrative sequence. Free literature, library facilities, and interpretive services are also available at the museum. Special tours can be arranged for organizations and groups if advance notice is given to the superintendent. Museum hours are from 9 a. m. to 5 p. m. daily.

_Footnotes_

[1]For his failure to carry out Pope’s order of the 29th to attack Jackson, Porter was court-martialed and dismissed from the army on January 21, 1863. In 1879, a board of general officers who reviewed the case held that Porter could not have attacked Jackson successfully, as ordered, because Longstreet’s corps had moved up into position on the right of Jackson and opposite Porter, and that this was known to the latter. Thus, Pope’s order, which was written without knowledge of this development, could not be carried out. President Arthur, in 1882, remitted that part of the sentence which disqualified Porter from holding any office of trust or profit under the Government of the United States. On August 5, 1886, Porter was reappointed colonel of infantry, and 2 days later placed on the retirement list. To this day, despite his final vindication, the controversy over Porter’s action on August 29, 1862, at Second Manassas has not died down among military students.

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Historical Handbook Series

No. 1 Custer Battlefield No. 2 Jamestown, Virginia No. 3 The Lincoln Museum and the House Where Lincoln Died No. 4 Saratoga No. 5 Fort McHenry No. 6 Lee Mansion No. 7 Morristown, A Military Capital of the Revolution No. 8 Hopewell Village No. 9 Gettysburg No. 10 Shiloh No. 11 Statue of Liberty No. 12 Fort Sumter No. 13 Petersburg Battlefields No. 14 Yorktown No. 15 Manassas (Bull Run) No. 16 Fort Raleigh

Transcriber’s Notes

—Silently corrected a few typos.

—Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook is public-domain in the country of publication.

—In the text versions only, text in italics is delimited by _underscores_.