Dec 31-Manassas, VA.-the Battle of Bull Run

We were up early this morning. Gene suddenly decided that he had to see the Shenandoah Mountains so we were off to check them out. The Skyline Drive right down the middle of them is probably beautiful. The pictures in all our guide books look spectacular. In the fall the trees and the views down to the farmland in the distance would have been incredible. Well, in the winter they aren't such a big deal. It was so foggy we could hardly see the road. Caught a few glimpses but thats it. There were lots of deer wandering across the road so we had to drive REALLY carefully. Elsie enjoyed it to no end--barking her head off every time she caught a glimpse of one.
After a disappointing drive we headed back to Manassas where we had left the motorhome. The battlefield at Manassas was a bit more interesting. In 1861 the states were divided, the two armies were ready to fight. Lincoln had been inaugurated. Fort Sumter, South Carolina had been bombed and the fort had surrendered. Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers to strengthen the army. Viginia followed several other states and had seceeded. There had been several "engagements" at Philippi and Big Bethel, VA. On a warm day in July, the two armies of the divided nation clashed for the first time on the fields in Manassas, overlooking a stream called Bull Run. The young volunteers were excited to fight. Everyone thought it would be a one battle war so many women, children, and older men (congressmen) from both sides, brought wine and picnics and sat on the hills nearby watching with opera glasses and telescopes. The soldiers from both sides had brand new uniforms--lots of different ones depending on which unit they were from. There were lots of different flags flying too, most were some arrangement of stars and stripes in red, white, and blue. Assuming that after a few shots were fired, the other side would turn and run, soldiers on both sides were stunned by the violence and destruction that occured. After 10 hours of cannon and hand-to-hand fighting, nearly 900 men were dead in the first battle of the Civil War. We wandered around Henry Hill, the scene of most of the fighting. There is, of course, a display of guns, ammunition, and cannons to look at. The "Old Stone House" that was used as a Union hospital is still there. It's such a beautiful, peaceful place now that it's hard to believe anything ever happened there. The Northerners called the Civil War the War of the Rebellion. The Southerners called it the War Between the States. They named the battles differently too. The Northerners named the battles according to the nearest town...Manassas in this case. The Southerners named them by the nearest river or stream...thus the Battle of Bull Run. The tactics used in this battle were largely the same as those used during the Revolutionary War. There was more loss of life though because the guns and ammunition had improved. Now the guns were "rifled" and so were the cannons. I'll post a picture to show you the difference. A rifled cannon can shoot farther and more accuratly. The poor soldiers were standing quite close together when they fired at each other. Ugh. The visitor's center had a nasty film of what it all looked like. Although it's tough to say that anyone actually WON a battle like this, I should probably tell you that the Union had to retreat to Washington. The South won the first battle and protected their capital (Richmond) from this Union advance.

This was a pretty long day for us so we were a bit boring for New Year's Eve. Went to bed way before the "ball dropped'. We loved 2006 and expect that 2007 will be even better. We're particularly excited to be waiting for "Baby Boy Toy" to join us this year. We wish all of you the best year ever...and highly recommend taking a trip like this!