NORTHERN VIRGINIA: A HISTORY RICH ENVIRONMENT

If you are relocating to Northern Virginia, you are moving to a history rich environment. But if you already live here, it is easy to let some of the local treasures pass you by. Case in point: Masassas National Battlefield Park. You don’t have to be attracted to historical landmarks, to find a tour of this National Park a good use of a few week-end hours.

THERE ARE INFORMATIVE SIGNS THROUGHOUT THE PARK

With the main entrance on Sudley Road, just off the intersection of Lee Highway and Sudley Rd., it is an easy location if you live in Chantilly or any of the nearby communities.

PARK ENTRANCE IS NEAR LEE HIGHWAY & SUDLEY RD

A good place to start is the Visitor Center where you can get a brief and lucid description of how the battles of Manassas I and II unfolded. The Civil war artifacts are also worth your time.

VISITOR CENTER AT MANASSAS BATTLEFIELD PARK

Do you have kids in school? Their history class comes alive after experiencing even a brief tour of the Park. The history in this place rises to meet you like steam from a geothermal spring. When you walk the grounds, let your mind go back to what it must have been like when this site made history.

The real jolt is imagining the horror and violence of Manassas I and Manassas II, the battles that turned these once peaceful fields into scenes of carnage and death. It is worth remembering the human sacrifice. This can take you down the road of many philosophical contemplations on the nature of human nature, but through it all you are reminded of the sheer courage and determination of the human spirit. This was personal war fought with the full and unbridled fury of adversaries who were usually face to face at the moment of their death. And all of this happened just several generations ago, and right in our “neighborhood.”

The dramatic Stonewall Jackson Monument dominates the view near the Visitor Center. Walk over and stand close to it. In a quiet moment you can hear the voice of the soldier whose famous phrase renamed the General….”There stands Jackson, like a stone wall.”

"THERE STANDS JACKSON, LIKE A STONE WALL."

You won’t hear the voice, or the other sounds. audibly. But if you let your mind roll back you can definitely experience just a small measure of the drama that played out on these rolling Virginia hills. This is historical gold in your backyard.

For more information on the Park visit Manassas National Battlefield Park webiste.

Here are a few more images of the Park.