Manassas National Battlefield Park (Stone Bridge/Pittsylvania, Sudley Post Office, Lee's Overlook)

defining the edge of Manassas Battlefield National Park	Stone Bridge over Bull Run	where General Jackson stood like a stone wall	the Stone House at US29/US234 intersection
site of Lee's Headquarters for Second Manassas	rail fence	slice of vegetation removed to offer view of Brawner Farm	local opinion on route for Manassas Bypass

(click on images for larger versions)

Topics to Explore

- what sort of stones were used in building the Stone Bridge?
- how was the stone bridge over Bull Run funded?
- why was the "new" bridge built?
- why would the "new" bridge be removed? how would that affect the wetlands upstream of the bridge?
- why didn't the Yankees attack at the Stone Bridge in 1861?
- is this the "original" Stone Bridge?
- what makes a structure authentic vs. fake? is restoration more authentic than reconstruction?
- is "Disneyfied" history a good or a bad thing? should taxpayers fund places that offer "Disneyfied" history?
- why did "King Carter" own this land at one time?
- should Pittsylvania be rebuilt? why, or why not?
- should the National Park Service keep the field/forest pattern consistent with 1861? why would local farmers mow the hay?
- are there any "local" farmers left in the local area? what options are available to the National Park Service, if farmers won't buy the hay?
- to what extent can archeology show how people lived in the past?
- should archeological "digs" be required for all projects that change the landscape?
- should the Sudley Spring be re-established? why, or why not? if so, how?
- should wooden rail fences be recreated throughout the park?
- should picnicking be allowed in a national park? would local restaurant owners oppose picnic grounds in a park?
- is it OK to play Frisbee or soccer in this national park? ride bicycles on trails? ride horses on trails? jog on trails?
- should the park allocate more of its scarce resources to interpret local history, such as Balls Ford and the agricultural history of the farms and forests, in addition to the nationally-significant Civil War battles?

Links

• African-American Households from Manassas National Battlefield Park
• American Battlefield Protection Program
• America's Hidden Battlefields: Protecting the Archeological Story
• Battle Summaries (on chronological order)
• Blackburn's Ford
• First Manassas
• Manassas Station Operations
• Thoroughfare Gap
• Second Manassas
• Bull Run Regional Park Planning
• Civil War Sites Advisory Commission Report on the Nation's Civil War Battlefields
• Why Save Civil War Sites?
• E-History: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies
• First Manassas
• Friends of Manassas National Battlefield Park
• Battlefield Bypass Logic Page
• Journey Through Hallowed Ground - Manassas National Battlefield Park
• Library of Congress
• Civil War Maps
• First Bull Run battle field, July 21st 1861
• Fords on Occoquan and Bull Run
• Manassas National Battlefield Park, 1943 (note boundaries of the park in 1943 exclude most of the Second Manassas battlefields - the current subdivision on Groveton Road was never inside the officially-designated park boundary)
• Built in America: Historic American Buildings Survey
• Sudley Post Office sometime after 1933
• Sudley Post Office (different angle)
• Manassas Battlefield - National Register Nomination Form
• Manassas National Battlefield Park
• LOST, TOSSED AND FOUND: Clues to African-American Life at Manassas National Battlefield Park
• Robinson House: Portrait of African American Heritage
• Teaching with Historic Places Lesson Plans: First Battle of Manassas: An End to Innocence
• To Be Public or Private: Changing Uses of Landscape at Sudley Post Office,1840s-1920s
• Manassas National Battlefield Park Bypass (Environmental Impact Study for proposed highway)
• Prince William Conservation Alliance resource issues: Manassas National Battlefield Park
• Railroads in the Confederacy

fake history - cannonball inserted into wall of Stone House	mitigating erosion from trail use at Stone Bridge	Youngs Branch - bankfull after minor rain	should the National Park Service interpret modern building practices?
modern US29 bridge over Bull Run	wetland created by modern US29 embankment	"modern" wetland	unique bark of persimmon tree
hayfield or...	...grassland habitat	browse line	impact of too many deer

(click on images for larger versions)