Second Manassas

• Atop the Deep Cut

  

  This photo, taken from Jackson's line in the unfinished railroad, looks back to the Groveton Monument and the Deep Cut battlefield. In 2011 the Civil War Trust saved the land that starts in the treeline behind the monument.

  Rob Shenk

• In Memory of the Patriots

  

  Detailed view of the Groveton Monument. The edge of the 44-acre Dogan Farm tract, land that the Trust saved in 2011, can be seen in the treeline behind the monument.

  Rob Shenk

• Porter's Attack

  

  This vivid painting depicts the assault of Fitz John Porter's corps on the Deep Cut.

  Manassas National Battlefield

• Target Tract at the Deep Cut

  

  View of the Deep Cut region of the Second Manassas battlefield, denoting the edge of the 44-acre tract that the Civil War Trust worked to save in 2011.

  Rob Shenk

• Then and Now - The Groveton Monument

  

  Erected in 1865, this stone obelisk at the Deep Cut was originally trimmed with cannon balls and artillery shells.

  Library of Congress/Rob Shenk

• Battery Heights

  

  View of an artillery piece at Battery Heights. Union artillery used this location during the Battle of Brawner's Farm. Confederates used it later to bombard Porter's attack on August 30, 1862.

  Rob Shenk

• Toward Groveton

  

  Windswept grass points towards Groveton and the Warrenton Turnpike.

  Rob Shenk

• Groveton

  

  The tiny crossroads village of Groveton was the site of a sharp firefight in the waning hours of August 29, 1862, as elements of Longstreet's newly arrived wing searched for a way to turn the Union left flank.

  Rob Shenk

• John Nau and Jon Jarvis

  

  Civil War Trust Board Member John Nau and NPS Director Jon Jarvis point at the Civil War Trust's new 44-acre preservation target on the Manassas battlefield.

  Rob Shenk

• The Dogan House

  

  The home of Lucinda Dogan was one of several buildings that comprised the settlement of Groveton. The house, seen here, is the only one of those wartime structures still standing today.

  Rob Shenk

• Hazlett's Battery

  

  Isolated in the wake of Porter’s attack, Lt. Charles Hazlett’s Battery D, 5th U.S. Artillery was in danger of being captured by John B. Hood’s Confederates. Fortunately, a member of the routed 5th New York warned Hazlett of the danger, allowing the battery to safely withdraw.

  Rob Shenk

• The Battle of Groveton Marker

  

  The Battle of Second Manassas is often considered three separate engagements: The Battle of Brawner's Farm, the Battle of Groveton and the Second Battle of Manassas. This marker commemorates the twilight clash between Confederates of John B. Hood's division and Federals under Irwin McDowell at Groveton.

  Rob Shenk

• Into the Jaws of Death

  

  View of the unfinished railroad line from the Groveton-Sudley Road - site where Porter's August 30, 1862 attack originated.

  Rob Shenk

• View of Deep Cut, Circa 1900s

  

  On August 30, 1862, Union commander John Pope ordered Maj. Gen. Fitz John Porter to advance his corps across this field and drive off Confederates sheltered in the deep excavation of an unfinished railroad.

  Library of Congress

• Porter's Attack Today

  

  Thanks to the work of the National Park Service, the ground over which Porter made his attack appears much as it did in 1862.

  Rob Shenk

• Sharpshooters

  

  Screening the advance of Porter's corps were the green-clad marksmen of Col. Hiram Berdan's 1st U.S. Sharpshooters. This sign marks the position of a Wisconsin company of Berdan's regiment.

  Rob Shenk

• In the Deep Cut

  

  The interior of the railroad cut at Second Manassas as it appears today.

  Rob Shenk

• The Deep Cut

  

  Taken in the 1880s, this photo of the Deep Cut gives the viewer an idea of just how much protection this railroad excavation gave to Jackson's infantry.

  Library of Congress

• Touring Porter's Attack

  

  Civil War Trust Color Bearers take a tour of the Deep Cut with historian Robert E. L. Krick.

  Rob Shenk

• Up the Embankment

  

  The men of Porter's Fifth Corps rushed up this slope amid a storm of Confederate artillery and musketry during the fight at the Deep Cut. Those who reached the top found themselves trapped between Rebel infantry in front and the shell-swept field behind.

  Rob Shenk

• The Dunklin Monument

  

  View of the Dunklin Monument on the Second Manassas Battlefield. Dunklin was a part of the Texas forces that attacked the Federal flank on August 30, 1862.

  Rob Shenk

• Exploring Jackson's Lines

  

  Civil War Trust President Jim Lighthizer and former Chairman Tod Sedgwick explore Jackson's lines at Second Manassas.

  Rob Shenk

• Brawner's Farm

  

  Civil War Trust Color Bearers, listen to historian Robert E. L. Krick as he describes the bloody fighting at the Brawner Farm, the opening action of the battle at Second Manassas.

  Rob Shenk

• The Birth of the Iron Brigade

  

  The brutal slugging match at the Brawner Farm was the baptism by fire for Brig. Gen. John Gibbon's brigade of Midwesterners. Standing toe-to-toe with the vaunted Stonewall Brigade, Gibbon’s men proved their mettle and earned themselves a new nickname: The Iron Brigade.

  Rob Shenk

• The Lewis Farm

  

  View of the Lewis Farm - location where many of Longstreet's Confederates began their flank attack on August 30, 1862.

  Rob Shenk

• 5th New York Monument

  

  The colorful zouaves of the 5th New York made a gallant attempt to resist the assault of Longstreet's Confederates. In a struggle that was later described as "the vortex of hell" the New Yorkers lost 123 men killed, one of the largest losses of life in a single regiment of any battle in the Civil War.

  Rob Shenk

• The 10th New York Monument

  

  The 10th New York Monument on the Second Manassas Battlefield.

  Rob Shenk

• Young's Branch

  

  View of Young's Branch at the base of Chinn Ridge. The broken remains of the 5th and 10th New York Regiments raced across this waterway after being broken by Longstreet's forces.

  Rob Shenk

• The Chinn House

  

  View of the Chinn House - part of the fighting on August 30, 1862.

  Rob Shenk

• Chinn Ridge

  

  Col. Nathaniel McLean's brigade of Ohioans attempted to slow the momentum of Longstreet's Confederates as they arrived on Chinn Ridge.

  Rob Shenk

• Union Guns on Chinn Ridge

  

  Capt. Michael Wiedrich's Battery I, 1st New York Artillery initially held this position on Chinn Ridge prior to being relieved by George Leppien's guns of the 5th Maine battery. The artillery was the focal point for the attacking Confederates, who eventually captured Leppien's guns.

  Rob Shenk

• Fletcher Webster Monument

  

  The son of prominent Massachusetts statesman Daniel Webster, Col. Fletcher Webster, was killed here while encouraging the 12th Massachusetts as they battled Longstreet's Confederates on Chinn Ridge.

  Rob Shenk

• The Stone House

  

  Also known as the Matthews House, this structure was a landmark during both battles at Manassas. During the August 1862 clash, the house was used as a hospital. Union commander John Pope's headquarters were also located on the hill behind the house.

  Rob Shenk

• Sudley Church

  

  This modern building occupies the location of the Sudley Church structure which sat near the Confederate left flank during the Battle of Second Manassas.

  Rob Shenk

• Preserving Second Manassas

  

  Civil War Trust Chief Operations Officer Ron Cogswell admires a plaque hanging in the Manassas Battlefield visitor center commemorating the Trust's previous preservation achievements at the Second Manassas Battlefield.

  Rob Shenk