BGuthrie Photos: VA -- Manassas Junction

VA -- Manassas Junction:

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. MANASJ_170220_005.JPG: Mona-Splat by Michael Flatequal & Harold Martin #ManassasArt
2. MANASJ_170220_024.JPG: Wartime Manassas Prelude to First Manassas (During the Civil War, two railroads -- the Manassas Gap and the Orange and Alexandria -- intersected here. Manassas Junction was strategically important to both the Union and the Confederacy as a supply depot and for military transportation. Two of the war's great battles were fought nearby. Diaries, letters, and newspaper articles documented the war's effects on civilians as well as the thousand of soldiers who passed through the junction.) More than 34,000 Confederate soldiers camped on an near this spot during the first months of the Civil War in 1861. Thousands of young men joined local companies throughout the South to fight in what most believed would be a single decisive battle to defend their independence. Those who came here were treated as heroes en route. As the weeks and months crawled by at this once-quiet rural railroad junction, just 27 miles from Washington, the green recruits slowly adjusted to the reality of a soldier's daily camp life. They filled their letters home with accounts of discomfort and boredom as they eagerly awaited the glory of victory in the great battle still to come. "About one hour before the brake of day you are interrupted by a loud beating of a base drum which they call revile. You then at once rise & on double quick time drag on your old dust wallowed coat [and start with] the speed of some wild flying fowl for the parade ground to answer your name at roll call. You then proceed to kindle you a fire, then apply your cooking utensils which are near nothing, iron mashed to geather [together]. You take from the pan some burnt biscuit without either salt, flour or water in them & from said kettle you take a little beef's neck boil[ed] without any water. You then seat your self with four or five of your filthy handed, snot nosed, frisele [frizzle-]headed mess mates. After this is finished about one third are detailed to guard the others & keep them all to wollern [wallowing] in one hole as if they were a parcel of hogs." -- Letter, Sgt Edmond Stephens to William W. Upshaw, 9th Louisiana Infantry, Nov. 22, 1861.
3. MANASJ_170220_027.JPG: Once soldiers reached their camps, they had to do their own cooking." from Frank Leslie's Weekly, 1863.
4. MANASJ_170220_030.JPG: Harper's Weekly, 1861. "[In every town our train arrived] we would find [it] thronged with ladies moving their handkerchiefs, tossing us flowers, and bidding us to be of good cheer and [to] fight like brave fellows." -- Letter, B.C. Cushman, May 16, 1861.
5. MANASJ_170220_048.JPG: Wartime Manassas "Fortifications of Immense Strength" (During the Civil War, two railroads -- the Manassas Gap and the Orange and Alexandria -- intersected here. Manassas Junction was strategically important to both the Union and the Confederacy as a supply depot and for military transportation. Two of the war's great battles were fought nearby. Diaries, letters, and newspaper articles documented the war's effects on civilians as well as the thousand of soldiers who passed through the junction.) Early in May 1861, Col. Philip St. George Cocke arrived here to refine plans for the fortification of Manassas Junction, which had already begun. Confederate President Jefferson Davis had directed Gen. PGT Beauregard, the "Hero of Fort Sumter," to take command of the forces here and direct the construction of the fortifications. In three months, thirteen earthwork forts, numerous rifle pits, and a network of connecting trenches were built to protect the railroad and the army's base surrounding the junction. "Spades and pickaxes [were] so disgustingly plentiful that the mere sight of them was enough to send men to the hospital." -- Diary of Henry C. Monier, 10th Louisiana Infantry "I frequently strolled down to the Junction, to watch the progress of our preparations. A large redoubt about half a mile long, and a quarter wide had been erected. It was at least ten feet high, and as many wide on top, with a large ditch in front. ... There were several smaller batteries placed in front on elevations, and the works altogether seemed formidable enough to protect the depot and stores, should the enemy penetrate so far." -- "An English Combatant" describing Manassas Junction about June 1861 "The sound of the spade and axe handled by individuals who never before dreamed of becoming experienced in an art so extremely fatiguing and unprofitable. Among those becoming experienced in the use of the spade you might find your humble sevt." -- Letter, Charles I. Batchelor, Atchaffalaya Guard, Louisiana, to Albert Batchelor, Oct. 10, 1861 During the Civil War, two railroads -- the Manassas Gap and the Orange and Alexandria -- intersected here, Manassas Junction was strategically important to both the Union and the Confederacy as a supply depot and for military transportation. Two of the war's great battles were fought nearby. Diaries, letters, and newspaper articles documented the war's effects on civilians as well as the thousands of soldiers who passed through the junction.
6. MANASJ_170220_053.JPG: The Manassas water tower occupies the site of the earthwork shown in this 1862 photograph of a U.S. Military Railroad locomotive on the Orange and Alexandria Railroad line.
7. MANASJ_170220_059.JPG: Map, 1862, showing Confederate fortifications near the junction of the Orange and Alexandria Railroad with the Branch Military Railroad to Centreville. Old Town Manassas now covers most of these sites. Mayfield, the only remaining fort, is part of the Manassas Museum System and is featured on the driving tour.
8. MANASJ_170220_064.JPG: Wartime Manassas "On to Richmond!" (During the Civil War, two railroads -- the Manassas Gap and the Orange and Alexandria -- intersected here. Manassas Junction was strategically important to both the Union and the Confederacy as a supply depot and for military transportation. Two of the war's great battles were fought nearby. Diaries, letters, and newspaper articles documented the war's effects on civilians as well as the thousand of soldiers who passed through the junction.) On July 16, 1861, Confederate Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard received a coded message here from the famous Confederate spy, Mrs. Rose O'Neal Greenhow, in Washington. She warned him that she had copies of orders for Union Gen. Irving McDowell to march 35,000 troops to capture Manassas and then move on to Richmond. Beauregard wired Confederate President Jefferson Davis to request reinforcements. Davis confirmed McDowell's advance, then ordered Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's army from the Shenandoah Valley to Manassas Junction. Early on July 18, just as Union Gen. Robert Patterson telegraphed Washington that he had "succeeded in keeping General Johnston's force at Winchester," Johnston slipped his command out of town. Johnston did not tell his men where they were going, and their forced march did not end until 2 a.m. on July 19, at Paris, Virginia. As the soldiers rested, Johnston rode ahead to Piedmont Station (present-day Delaplane) to arrange for trains to transport them there. When he learned of the fight at Blackburn's Ford earlier that day, he sent word to Beauregard that he was on his way. About 6 a.m., Johnston's first brigade, under Gen. Thomas J. Jackson, marched into view and soon boarded railroad cars for the eight-hour ride. The brigade arrived here in time to help defend the junction at the First Battle of Manassas. Within 28 hours, the men had covered 60 miles and made history as the first soldiers ever to move from one theatre of war to another by train.
9. MANASJ_170220_068.JPG: Train carrying Civil War soldiers glad to be riding instead of marching
10. MANASJ_170220_071.JPG: Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard Gen. Joseph E. Johnston
11. MANASJ_170220_074.JPG: Rose O'Neal Greenhow and daughter "Little Rose" in Old Capitor Prison
12. MANASJ_170220_076.JPG: Route of Jackson's train from Piedmont Station (present-day Delaplane) to Manassas Junction.
13. MANASJ_170220_079.JPG: Route of the "Old 97" One of the railroad traditions of Manassas was that it was on the route of Southern Railway's Fast Mail train No. 97. The "Fast Mails" were a 19th century creation of the railroads and the US Post Office Department to expedite long distance mail delivery. No. 97 operated from Washington DC to Atlanta, Georgia and had priority over other passenger and freight traffic on the line. On September 27, 1903, a few hours after departing Manassas, Fast Mail 97 derailed in a fatal accident north of Danville, Virginia. Postal clerks Lewis W. Spies of Manassas and Daniel Flory of Nokesville were on-board the ill-fated train. Both died from the wreck while working to assure that "the mail must go through." In 1924, the song "The Wreck of the Old 97," recorded by Vernon Dalhart, memorialized this tragedy and became the first record to sell over a million copies. Wreck of the Old 97 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Wreck of the Old 97 was an American rail disaster involving the Southern Railway mail train, officially known as the Fast Mail, while en route from Monroe, Virginia, to Spencer, North Carolina, on September 27, 1903. Due to excessive speed in an attempt to maintain schedule, the train derailed at the Stillhouse Trestle near Danville, Virginia where it careered off the side of the bridge, killing eleven on-board personnel and injuring seven others. The wreck inspired a famous railroad ballad, which was the focus of a convoluted copyright lawsuit but became seminal in the genre of country music. Wreck The wreck of Old 97 occurred when the engineer, 33-year-old Joseph A. ("Steve") Broady, at the controls of Southern Railway 1102, was operating the train at high speed in order to stay on schedule and arrive at Spencer on time. The Fast Mail had a reputation for never being late. Locomotive 1102, a ten-wheeler 4-6-0 engine built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, had rolled out of the factory in early 1903, less than a year before the wreck. On the day of the accident, Old 97 was behind schedule when it left Washington, DC, and was one hour late when it arrived in Monroe, Virginia. When the train arrived in Monroe the train crew was switched, and when it left Monroe, there were 17 people on board. The train personnel included Joseph A. Broady (the engineer) dubbed "Steve" by his friends, John Blair (the conductor), A.C. Clapp (a fireman), John Hodge (a student fireman) sometimes known as Dodge in other documents, and James Robert Moody (the flagman). Also aboard were various mail clerks including J.L. Thompson, Scott Chambers, Daniel Flory, Paul Argenbright, Lewis Spies, Frank Brooks, Percival Indermauer, Charles Reams, Jennings Dunlap, Napoleon Maupin, J. H. Thompson, and W. R. Pinckney, an express messenger. When the train pulled into Lynchburg, Virginia, Wentworth Armistead, a safe locker, boarded the train, so at the time of the wreck, there were 18 men aboard. At Monroe, Broady was instructed to get the Fast Mail to Spencer, 166 miles (267 km) distant, on time. The scheduled running time from Monroe to Spencer was four hours, fifteen minutes - an average speed of approximately 39 mph (63 km/h). In order to make up the one hour delay, the train's average speed would have to be at least 51 mph (82 km/h). Broady was ordered to maintain speed through Franklin Junction, an intermediate stop normally made during the run. The route between Monroe and Spencer ran through rolling terrain, and there were numerous danger points due to the combination of grades and tight radius curves. Signs were posted to warn engineers to watch their speed. However, in his quest to stay on time, engineer Broady rapidly descended a heavy grade that ended at the 45-foot-high (14 m) Stillhouse Trestle, which spanned Stillhouse Branch. He was unable to sufficiently reduce speed as he approached the curve leading into the trestle, causing the entire train to derail and plunge into the ravine below. The flames that erupted afterwards consumed the splintered debris of the wooden cars, and it was very hard for the local fire department to extinguish the blaze. The investigation that followed was greatly hampered by the fire and the few witnesses to the incident. Of the eleven men who died, nine were immediately killed, and seven were injured. Among the deceased were the conductor Blair, engineer Broady and flagman Moody. The bodies of both firemen were recovered, but they were mangled so badly they were unrecognizable. There were several survivors of the wreck who believed they stayed alive because they jumped from the train just before the fatal plunge. Among the three survivors was J. Harris Thompson of Lexington. Harris was a mail clerk who served on the Southern Railroad. (He later retired on May 1, 1941.) W. R. Pinckney, the express messenger, who also survived, went home to Charlotte, North Carolina, and immediately resigned after his life-changing experience. Two other survivors were Jennings J. Dunlap, and M.C. Maupin. They did not resign, although they started in new departments. Dunlap went to work on a train that ran between Washington and Charlotte, while Maupin worked at the Charlotte union station. Only a fraction of the mail had survived, including a large case filled with canaries that managed to escape and fly to safety. Engine 1102 was recovered, repaired, and it went on to perform further duties until it was dismantled in July 1935. The day after the wreck, Vice-president Finley made a speech in which he said: "The train consisted of two postal cars, one express and one baggage car for the storage of mail.... Eyewitnesses said the train was approaching the trestle at speeds of 30 to 35 miles an hour." The Southern Railway placed blame for the wreck on engineer Broady, disavowing that he had been ordered to run as fast as possible to maintain the schedule. The railroad also claimed he descended the grade leading to Stillhouse Trestle at a speed of more than 70 mph (110 km/h). Several eyewitnesses to the wreck, however, stated that the speed was probably around 50 mph (80 km/h). In all likelihood, the railroad was at least partially to blame, as it had a lucrative contract with the U.S. Post Office to haul mail (hence the train's name), and the contract including a penalty clause for each minute the train was late into Spencer. It is probably safe to conclude that the engineers piloting the Fast Mail were always under pressure to stay on time so that the railroad would not be penalized for late mail delivery. Southern Railway's Train 97 was in another fatal accident earlier in the year of 1903. On Monday, April 13, Train 97 left Washington, DC, at 8 AM, en route to New Orleans. As the train approached Lexington, North Carolina it collided with a boulder on the track, causing the train to derail and ditch, killing the engineer and fireman. The locomotive that was pulling the train is unknown. Southern #1102 had yet to be delivered to the railroad at that time. Ballad The wreck of the Old 97 served as inspiration for balladeers, the most famous being the ballad first recorded commercially by Virginia musicians G. B. Grayson and Henry Whitter. Vernon Dalhart's version was released in 1924 (Victor Record no. 19427), sometimes cited as the first million-selling country music release in the American record industry, with Frank Ferera playing guitar and Dalhart playing harmonica. Since then, "Wreck of the Old 97" has been recorded by numerous artists, including Dalhart himself in 1924 under the name Sid Turner on Perfect 12147, The Statler Brothers (feat. Johnny Cash), Charlie Louvin of The Louvin Brothers, Pink Anderson, Lowgold, David Holt, Flatt and Scruggs, Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Johnny Cash, Chuck Ragan, Hank Williams III, Patrick Sky, Nine Pound Hammer, Roy Acuff, Boxcar Willie, Lonnie Donegan, The Seekers, Ernest Stoneman & Kahle Brewer, Carolyn Hester, Bert Southwood, and Hank Snow. The music was often accompanied by a banjo and a fiddle, while the lyrics were either sung, crooned, yodeled, whistled, hummed, recited, or chanted. The song rivaled that of "Casey Jones" for being the number one railroading song of all time. The ballad was sung to the tune of The Ship That Never Returned, written by Henry Clay Work in 1865. Originally, the lyrics were attributed to Fred Jackson Lewey and co-author Charles Noell. Lewey claimed to have written the song the day after the accident, in which his cousin Albion Clapp was one of the two firemen killed. Lewey worked in a cotton mill that was at the base of the trestle, and also claimed to be on the scene of the accident pulling the victims from the wreckage. Musician Henry Whitter subsequently polished the original, altering the lyrics, resulting in the version performed by Dalhart. In 1927 it was claimed that the author of "Wreck of the Old 97" was local resident David Graves George, who was one of the first on the scene. David was a brakeman and telegraph operator who also happened to be a singer. Witnessing the tragedy inspired him to write the ballad. After the 1924 recording by the Victor Talking Machine Company was released, David Graves George filed a claim for ownership. On March 11, 1933, Judge John Boyd proclaimed that David G. George was the author of the ballad. Victor Talking Machine Company was forced to pay David $65,000 of the profits from about five million records sold. Victor appealed three times. The first two times, the courts ruled in favor of David. The third time it was reviewed by the nations highest tribunal. The Supreme Court of the United States overruled the lower courts and granted Victor ownership of the ballad. "Wreck of the Old 97" is 777 in the Roud Folk Song Index. The ballad clearly places the blame for the wreck on the railroad company for pressuring Steve Broady to exceed a safe speed limit, for the lyric (on the Dalhart recording) begins, "Well, they handed him his orders in Monroe, Virginia, saying, 'Steve, you're way behind time; this is not 38 it is Old 97, you must put her into Spencer on time.'" Popular culture This section indiscriminately collects miscellaneous information. Please compress this material to remove any irrelevant or unimportant information. (June 2017) In Scarface, Ann Dvorak sings the song while playing it on the piano. During the late 1940s, a parody of the ballad was sung that mocked the ties that the folk singer Pete Seeger had to the Communist Party. The lyrics began, "Well they gave him his orders up at Party headquarters, saying, 'Pete, you're way behind the times; this is not '38, it is 1947, there's been a change in that old Party line.'" An episode of the Suspense radio program, broadcast on March 17, 1952, and starring Frank Lovejoy, was loosely based on the ballad, which appears in snatches throughout the play. The facts of the wreck are changed, however, eliminating all but one fireman, all but one mail car clerk, and adding two escaped killers. The ballad was referenced in the song "Blood on the Coal", a folk parody song from A Mighty Wind, the mockumentary film from Christopher Guest. The reference seems to be a tribute to the ballad, although the wreck described in "Blood on the Coal" is an absurd one in which the train crashes into a coal mine. In the movie The Blues Brothers, the band is handed a list of songs to play at a gig. While the band is cleaning up Elwood says, "Sorry we couldn't remember 'The Wreck of the Old 97'." A version of the song, by Ramblin' Jack Elliott, is part of the ambient soundtrack to the video game Sid Meier's Railroads! The popular alt-country band Old 97's take their name from the ballad. In Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Starlight Express, CB the Red Caboose claims that, among other things, "the state police they don't suspect I got Old 97 wrecked". In Shining Time Station's episode Happy Accidents, the Jukebox Band perform this song. Tex and Rex play the banjo together. Kingsley Amis quotes from the ballad in his novel Lucky Jim (1954 chapter 5). Lyrics They gave him his orders in Monroe Virginia Sayin' "Steve you're way behind time This is not 38, this is ol' 97 You must put 'er into Spencer on time!" Steve, he said to his black and greasy fireman "Jes' shovel in a little more coal, And when we cross over White Oak Mountain You can watch ol' 97 roll!" Oh it's a mighty rough road from Lynchburg to Danville For the line has a three-mile grade It was on that grade that he lost his airbrakes You can see what a jump that he made. He was goin' down grade makin' 90 mile an hour When the whistle broke into a scream! He was found in the wreck with his hand on the throttle All scalded to death by the steam A Telegram came from Washington station And this is how it read That brave engineer who ran 97 is a-lying in Danville, dead. So come all you ladies, you must take warnin' From this time on and learn Never part on harsh words with your true lovin' husband For he may leave you, and never return
14. MANASJ_170220_090.JPG: It was February 20 but it was so warm they have given up on the ice skating rink for the season.
15. MANASJ_170220_102.JPG: Wartime Manassas Jackson's Daring Raid (During the Civil War, two railroads -- the Manassas Gap and the Orange and Alexandria -- intersected here. Manassas Junction was strategically important to both the Union and the Confederacy as a supply depot and for military transportation. Two of the war's great battles were fought nearby. Diaries, letters, and newspaper articles documented the war's effects on civilians as well as the thousand of soldiers who passed through the junction.) You are standing on the site of a massive Federal supply depot. On August 24, 1862, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee sent Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson and his forces on a sweeping march north and east around Union Gen. John Pope's right flank to cut the Federal supply line and force Pope out of his defenses. Lee followed with Gen. James Longstreet's command. A day and a half later, Jackson arrived at Bristoe Station, a few miles west of here on the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, where he tore up track, destroyed the bridge over Broad Run, and derailed two Federal supply trains. He then launched a night attack on Manassas Junction, capturing 300 Union prisoners and 200 railroad cars loaded with delicacies. His hungry men swarmed through this area, ate their fill, loaded their knapsacks, and burned all that remained. Learning that Pope was marching toward him, Jackson led his men to the old Manassas battleground and took up a strong position to await Lee and Longstreet. "Just imagine about 6000 men hungry and almost naked, let loose on some million dollars worth of biscuit, cheese, ham, bacon, messpork, coffee, sugar, pants, shirts, caps, boots, shoes, socks, blanket, tents, etc, etc ... I saw the whole army become what appeared to me an ungovernable mob, drunk, some few with liquor but the others with excitement." -- Chaplain James S. Sheeran, 14th Louisiana Infantry "Twas a curious sight to see our ragged & famished men helping themselves to every imaginable article of luxury or necessity whether of clothing, food, or what not. ... We had been living on roasted corn since crossing Rappahannock, & we had not brought no new wagons so we could carry little away of the riches before us. But the men could eat for one meal at least, so they were marched up and as much of everything eatable served out as they could carry. To see a starving man eating lobster salad and drinking... rhine wine, barefooted & in tatters was curious; the whole thing is indescribable." -- Lt. John H. Chamberlayne, Purcell Artillery
16. MANASJ_170220_107.JPG: When Jackson evacuated Manassas Junction, his men destroyed all that they could not carry with them.
17. MANASJ_170220_110.JPG: Jackson's famished soldiers feast on Federal supplies at Manassas Junction.
18. MANASJ_170220_112.JPG: Route of Jackson's march from Bristoe Station to Manassas Junction
19. MANASJ_170220_115.JPG: Wartime Manassas The Curious Descend on Manassas for Curios (During the Civil War, two railroads -- the Manassas Gap and the Orange and Alexandria -- intersected here. Manassas Junction was strategically important to both the Union and the Confederacy as a supply depot and for military transportation. Two of the war's great battles were fought nearby. Diaries, letters, and newspaper articles documented the war's effects on civilians as well as the thousand of soldiers who passed through the junction.) In the days following the First Battle of Manassas on July 21, 1861, Union soldiers circulated rumors accusing Confederate soldiers of battlefield atrocities. The charges were extensive and included bayoneting and executing wounded and defenseless Federals, firing on field hospitals, and mutilating the dead. Later in the war, Southerners accused Union soldiers of similar outrages. "We heard to-day, from a citizen, that after the battle of 'Bull Run,' some Northern skulls were sold here [Winchester] at $10 apiece; also that many officers had spurs made of our men's bones. I don't know whether to believe these things or not." -- Letter, Col. Robert G. Shaw, 2nd Massachusetts Infantry, to his mother, March 14, 1862 "The barbarities practiced by the rebels at the battle of Bull's Run are unparalleled. These fiends in human shape have taken bayonets and knives of our wounded and dying soldiers and thrust them into their hearts and left them sticking there, and that some have severed the heads of our dead and amused themselves by kicking them about as footballs. Such barbarities are unworthy of a Christian era. -- They are a sample of the boasted chivalry of these worse than fiends." -- The Cleveland Plain Dealer, July 29, 1861 Objective witnesses affirmed that relic hunting occurred: "Strangers poured into Manassas daily to see the 'sights," and carry off 'relics.' Uniforms, arms, buttons, caps, and even skulls were seized with avidity. These relic mongers might be seen hovering over the fields like carrion crows, carrying off all kinds of trifles." -- "An English Combatant," Battlefields of the South from Bull Run to Fredericksburg, 1864. Northern papers printed these tales and fed a growing public outcry for revenge. The Congressional Joint Committee on the Conduct of War, formed in December 1861 after the Ball's Bluff debacle, investigated. Despite the fact that much of the testimony was hearsay or fictitious, in May 1862 the committee upheld the veracity of every horrifying detail. "The recent report of the congressional committee established beyond a doubt, on the testimony of unimpeachable witnesses that the rebels have committed outrages. ... This conduct of the rebels should spur us in the work of crushing out the rebellion. And let us remember that slavery is the source and fountain of all this evil. No nation except a nation of slaveholders could be guilty of such barbarism." -- Springfield Republican, May 3, 1862 Illustrated newspapers capitalized on the committee's false finding by printing fanciful cartoon depictions of macabre bone ornaments and ghoulish household furnishings fashioned from the bones of Union corpses. The vividly depicted atrocities helped rally North abolitionists.
20. MANASJ_170220_120.JPG: Harper's Weekly, June 7, 1862, illustration of items allegedly made from Union soldiers' remains.
21. MANASJ_170220_123.JPG: Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, May 17, 1862, cartoon of Southern woman reading letter from husband with skeletal remains of Union soldiers all around her.
22. MANASJ_170220_127.JPG: Wartime Manassas "The Sickness is Upon Us" (During the Civil War, two railroads -- the Manassas Gap and the Orange and Alexandria -- intersected here. Manassas Junction was strategically important to both the Union and the Confederacy as a supply depot and for military transportation. Two of the war's great battles were fought nearby. Diaries, letters, and newspaper articles documented the war's effects on civilians as well as the thousand of soldiers who passed through the junction.) In 1861, there were only 30 surgeons and 84 assistant surgeons in the U.S. Army; a third of them resigned to join the Confederacy. Few military hospitals existed, and little planning was underway. Once the fighting started, most soldiers were treated in field-hospital tents similar to those that were erected here before and after the First Battle of Manassas on July 21, 1861. Wounded soldiers endured heat, humidity, insects, mud, unsanitary conditions, and exposure to contagious diseases from fellow patients. Those treated in civilian homes often fared better that those consigned to field hospitals. After the battle, some regiments reported more than 75 percent of their men on medical rolls died not from wounds, but from measles, typhoid fever, and diarrhea in epidemic proportions. Capt. Ujanirtus Allen, Co. F, 21st Georgia Volunteer Infantry, to his wife, concerning field hospitals near Manassas Junction: "We have some very sick men, some that we fear will never recover. ... Seven eights of the sickness is bilious. We pay more attention to sanitary improvements than we ever did before. Our camp is swept out every day and the track and waste from the cook places is carried away. The tents are sunned whenever the weather permits." -- Oct. 12, 1861 "When our men get the fever they seem to loose all spirit and linger along until they die. The doctors say this is the nature of camp fever. But I have no doubt much of it is the result of their situation, surrounded ... by sick and dying away from home and friends." -- Oct. 19, 1861 "I am yet quite sick and have been ever since I wrote to you before. I can't say that I am improving very much, very little if any. I am at a private house and with a clever family. They do I guess all in their power to make me comfortable as possible. ... You need not fear but that I get as good attention, in the way of nursing as I could wish so far away from you." -- Sudley Church, Nov. 10, 1861 Capt. Allen survived his illness but was mortally wounded at Chancellorsville, May 2, 1863.
23. MANASJ_170220_136.JPG: Although no image of the wounded at Manassas Junction has survived, this photograph, taken at Savage's Station east of Richmond on June 30, 1862, conveys the misery that casualties faced in the field.
24. MANASJ_170220_145.JPG: by Steven Morales
25. MANASJ_170220_158.JPG: Lion Amongst Men by Frank Albert
26. MANASJ_170220_170.JPG: Cognitive Dissonance by Harry Mayer
27. MANASJ_170220_175.JPG: Harry J. Parrish -- The Man. Harry Jacob Parrish was born February 22, 1922 and has made Manassas his lifelong home. He attended Prince William county schools, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Wofford college, and schools of the US Air Force. Hs military service of almost three decades began is 1943 with the US Army Air Corps and ended with retirement from the US Air Force in 1971 with the took of Colonel and many military commendations. During World War II, he was one of the legendary pilots who "few the hump" on many supply missions between India and China. Later tours took him to Germany and Viet Nam. He also few with the Presidential Squadron, serving President Eisenhower in 1952–53. In 1944, he married his sweetheart, Mattie H. Cannon, and today, they are proud parents of two adult children, Hal and Judy, and grandparents of three children. Harry is Chairman of the Board of Manassas Ice and Fuel Co. (MIFCO), an Old Town business started by his father in 1922. Harry J. Parrish -- The Legacy. Following in his father's local government footsteps, Harry served on the Manassas Town Council from 1951 to 1963; served as Mayor from 1963 to 1975, in which year, he led the move from town to city status; and continued as Mayor of the City of Manassas until 1981. In that year, he was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates and has been elected every two years since. His seniority and integrity have earned him the coveted chairmanship of the House Finance committee. Over the decades, Harry has been actively involved in many Manassas-area civic organizations. He is especially proud of the Manassas Volunteer Fire Department and the Prince William Hospital. He joined the fire department in 1948 and today, more than half a century later, he is a contributing senior member of that organization. Harry was a founding member of the Prince William Hospital and served on the board for several decades. Harry's leadership and contributions have earned his many prestigious honors. Among them, he was chosen "Man of the Century – Living" in 1973 by the City of Manassas; he and Mattie were selected as Grand Marshall of the 50th annual Manassas Christmas Parade in 1995; and in September 2001, local government and civic leaders honored him for 80 consecutive years of elected service to the Greater Manassas community. Throughout his 50+ years of dedicated community service, Harry has been recognized for his Intelligence, his integrity, his energy, and his unfailing dedication to the principles of good governance. This recognition took on lasting meaning when the Manassas City Council named this building (the former fire hall and former town hall), the "Harry J. Parrish Town Hall" in September 1999. The creation and installation of this plaque followed the construction of a new cupola in the Fall of 2002.
28. MANASJ_170220_180.JPG: Wartime Manassas Confederates Withdraw to Richmond (During the Civil War, two railroads -- the Manassas Gap and the Orange and Alexandria -- intersected here. Manassas Junction was strategically important to both the Union and the Confederacy as a supply depot and for military transportation. Two of the war's great battles were fought nearby. Diaries, letters, and newspaper articles documented the war's effects on civilians as well as the thousand of soldiers who passed through the junction.) You are standing in the midst of what was a smoking ruin in March 1962. By mid-February, as the Union threat to Richmond mounted, Confederate President Jefferson Davis had ordered Gen. Joseph E. Johnston to withdraw his forces from northern Virginia to defend the capital. Johnston began the monumentally difficult task on February 23. For some time, Johnston had begged the Confederate quartermaster office to reduce the volume of supplies shipped here, but they continued to pile up. Huge numbers of boxes and trunks of food, clothing, and personal items jammed the junction's sidings. The Orange and Alexandria Railroad laid a mile-long double track to accommodate all the loaded boxcars and also built several freight storage sheds. When Johnston began the first large-scale military withdrawal of the war, mud-choked roads and lack of wagons forced him to rely on the railroads. The lack of boxcars, the limited capacity of the lines, and the panicking civilian population made it impossible to remove all the supplies. The last Confederate soldiers withdrew from Manassas Junction on March 9, burning more than a million pounds of provisions, tearing up track, and destroying railroad bridges over the Shenandoah and Rappahannock Rivers. "A column of smoke indicates that Manassas was on fire. The large machine shops, the station houses, the commissary, and the quartermaster's store houses all in ashes. On the track stood the wreck of a locomotive, and not far down the remains of four freight cars which had been bombed. To the right five-hundred barrels of flour had been stove in, and two hundred barrels of vinegar and molasses had been allowed to try experiments in chemical combination. Some fifty pounds of pork and beef had been scattered around in the mud, and a few hundred yards down the track dense clouds of smoke were rising from the remains of a factory [for] rendering of tallow and boiling bones." - -- Philadelphia Enquirer reporter, March 11, 1862
29. MANASJ_170220_185.JPG: Union forces ride into the flaming junction, Harper's Weekly, 1862
30. MANASJ_170220_188.JPG: Alfred R. Waud's drawing, dated March 11, 1862, captured the flames and smoke from the bakeries, tallow-rendering plant, boxcars, and warehouses full of stores that the Confederates torched as they evacuated Manassas Junction.
31. MANASJ_170220_193.JPG: Ruins of the Orange and Alexandria Railroad turntable, photograph taken by Timothy O'Sullivan in March 1862 to illustrate the withdrawing Confederates' destruction of the junction.
32. MANASJ_170220_212.JPG: by Michele Frantz
33. MANASJ_170220_214.JPG: by Michele Frantz
34. MANASJ_170220_215.JPG: by Mary Reilly
35. MANASJ_170220_218.JPG: by Mike Flynn
36. MANASJ_170220_221.JPG: by Mike Flynn
37. MANASJ_170220_223.JPG: by Mary Reilly
38. MANASJ_170220_243.JPG: This Alley was painted by local artist Michele Frantz
39. MANASJ_170220_270.JPG: Wartime Manassas World's First Military Railroad (During the Civil War, two railroads -- the Manassas Gap and the Orange and Alexandria -- intersected here. Manassas Junction was strategically important to both the Union and Confederacy as a supply depot and for military transportation. Two of the war's great battles were fought nearby. Diaries, letters, and newspaper articles documented the war's effects on civilians as well as the thousands of soldiers who passed through the junction.) Just in front of you ran the world's first military railroad, which connected Manassas Junction and Centerville. In October 1861, after the First Battle of Manassas, the 40,000-man-strong combined Confederate force of Gens. P.G.T. Beauregard and Joseph E. Johnston established winter quarters at Centerville, closer to Washington. The army needed more than 120,000 pounds of provisions for the men and 26 pounds of forage per animal daily. Supplies came here on trains to Manassas Junction, then were transferred to wagons and hauled to Centreville on the Manassas-Centreville Road. Despite efforts to "corduroy" the road ("pave" it by laying hewed logs side by side), heavy autumn rains made it a red-clay quagmire. The exhausted horse and mule teams ate as much forage as they carried, and many animals sank so deeply in the mud they could not be extracted and were shot. As a result, the much-needed supplies accumulated on the sidings here. Johnston and his quartermaster, Maj. Alfred Barbour, began in November to build a railroad connecting Manassas Junction and Centreville. Soldiers did the work at first, but Johnston decided that "those duties are injurious to us by reducing our numbers" of troops from necessary patrols, drills, and equipment maintenance. He ordered Quartermaster Barbour to advertise in Richmond for railroad workers, and by mid-December, Barbour had hired slaves to cut ties while awaiting the rails that Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson had "appropriated" from the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. To speed the work, they laid ties at twice the standard interval, directly on mounded earth with no gravel underneath to stabilize them. The small bridge over Bull Run barely rose above the water. The six-mile-long railroad was completed on February 17, 1862. Ironically, just six days later, Confederate President Jefferson Davis ordered Johnston to withdraw from northern Virginia to defend Richmond.
40. MANASJ_170220_275.JPG: Earthworks guarding the junction of the Orange and Alexandria Railroad and the abandoned Confederate Branch Military Railroad to Centreville.
41. MANASJ_170220_280.JPG: Dwindling timber supplies around Manassas Junction were used to corduroy roads in the manner shown.
42. MANASJ_170220_283.JPG: Ruins of Confederate military railroad bridge over Bull Run, March 1862. Photo by Timothy O'Sullivan
43. MANASJ_170220_289.JPG: Loy E. Harris -- The Man Through the years, Manassas has prospered because "community minded" people saw opportunities to make our City a better place. Loy E. Harris was one of these people. In the years before his death on August 17, 1999, Loy worked to strengthen the Old Town business district, knowing and preaching the importance of this in giving clarity an definition to Manassas. First Loy became involved with Historic Manassas, Inc., an organization dedicated to revitalizing Old Town. He infused the organization with new energy and ideas and then led by example, buying and renovating three buildings. Finally, his perspiration led to the inspiration of this City Square Project and he worked tirelessly to bring the public and private sectors together for this common purpose. Loy E. Harris came here, stayed here, lived his life here, and made a difference here. For all the ways he made a difference, we thank hem. And in lasting gratitude, we name this the "Loy E. Harris Pavilion". City of Manassas Marvin L. Gillum, Mayor Henry J. "Hal" Parrish II, Vice Mayor Council Members Judith S. Hays, Robert Oliver Eugene R. Rainville, J. Steven Randolph Ulysses X. White Lawrence D. Hughes, City Manager Robert B. Loveless, Architect, AIA Loy E. Harris -- His Friends The private side of this public/private partnership consisted of scores of volunteers who gave hundreds of hours to make City Square a reality and the many businesses and individuals listed below who donated a collective $125,000. ... May 2002
Wikipedia Description: Manassas, Virginia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Manassas is an independent city located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 35,135 at the 2000 census. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Manassas (along with Manassas Park) with Prince William County for statistical purposes. The City of Manassas is part of the Washington Metropolitan Area.

History:

In 1861,the First Battle of Manassas – also widely known as the First Battle of Bull Run – the first major land battle of the American Civil War, was fought near here. Second Manassas (or the Second Battle of Bull Run) was fought near here on August 21-10, 1862. At that time, Manassas Junction was little more than a railroad crossing, but a strategic one, with rails leading to Richmond, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and the Shenandoah Valley. Despite these two Confederate victories, Manassas Junction was in Union hands for most of the war.

The crossroads grew into the town of Manassas following the war, incorporated in 1873. In 1892, it became the county seat of Prince William County, replacing Brentsville. In 1970, Manassas became an independent city.

In modern times, Manassas's development has been strongly influenced by its position as a suburb of Washington, D.C. It has developed major problems with traffic and urban sprawl.

Manassas gained notoriety in 1998 as the hometown of John and Lorena Bobbitt, even though they resided outside the city and closer to the city of Manassas Park. Their separate trials (John Wayne Bobbitt's for rape, Lorena Bobbitt's for malicious wounding) occurred at the Prince William County courthouse, which is in the city of Manassas.

On October 9, 2002, the eleventh of the Beltway sniper attacks occurred outside Manassas city limits when 53-year old Dean Harold Meyers was shot pumping gas at a Sunoco station on Sudley Road near Interstate 66 in Prince William County.

In October 2005, Manassas became the site of the first wide-scale Broadband over Power Lines (BPL) implementation in the United States. Currently, 19 MBit/s service is offered for less than $30/month to city residents.
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