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Manassas, Virginia
July 21, 1861 & August
28 - 30, 1862
Manassas was the site of two crucial battles fought
just 30 miles west of the Union capital during the
summers of 1861 and 1862. The First Battle of Manassas
was a battle of glory-seeking amateurs experiencing
war for the first time. The Second Battle of Manassas
was a far larger and costlier affair, fought by men
who had become hardened to the horrors of nineteenth-century
warfare.
Current Status: Today, Manassas is just as
well known for the preservation battles fought there
in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Although attempts
by Til Hazel and the Disney Corporation to develop
near the battlefield were successfully defeated, the
battlefield's environs are now being lost in a quieter,
more piecemeal fashion. The battlefield is rapidly
becoming a green island in a sea of sprawl. As a result,
commuter traffic inside the park has become a major
concern - if some alternative is not soon found, widening
the roads through the battlefield may become the only
option.
First Manassas is classified as a Priority III, Class
A site by CWSAC; Second Manassas is classified as
a Priority I, Class A battlefield.
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