Manassas

 Since we were already on the other side of D.C. (at the air/space museum), we decided to visit Manassas (Bull Run) Battlefield. We started at the Visitor's Center where we watched a presentation of the first battle on a light up map.  Brian and I thought it was cool- the kids not so much.  Fortunately for them it only lasted six minutes.  We then hiked a portion of the Henry Hill Loop Trail, which was the scene of much of the action during First Manassas.



There were a lot of markers along the trail that told us about what happened at each site.  There were also a lot of cannons, which the kids liked.

Henry House

"There Stands Jackson Like A Stone Wall"

It was at Henry Hill that Stonewall Jackson earned his nickname, so naturally there was a large statue dedicated to him.

 I never realized how big the battlefield was.  It was impossible to see everything in the time that we had.  We did want to visit some area from the Second Manasses, so after leaving the Henry Hill area, we went to Stone Bridge and hiked the Stone Bridge Loop.

This trail was awesome because of the variety of the landscape.  It started off by going over the bridge, followed by a boardwalk over a swampy area, then a climb up a hill, then a hike through the grassy battlefield area, followed by a trail through a forest, and ending with a path alongside Bull Run (river). We all really enjoyed the park.  I wish we would have had more time to spend there.