Manassas, Virginia. The first major battle of the Civil War was fought here a few months in to the war on July 26, 1861. Manassas is only 30 miles from Washington DC. The Civil War was expected to be a short conflict and the Union expected that it would prevail in this battle and end the war here. The Union army was on the offensive and moved across The Potomac and attacked gaining an early advantage. The battle was chaotic as the soldiers and commanders on both sides were inexperienced. In fact, soldiers on both sides wore many different coloured uniforms so the combatants were not always sure which soldiers were comrades and which were enemies.The Union Army lost its advantage and the Confederates were backed up by reinforcements and the tide turned. In one key part of the battle General Stonewall Jackson refused to back down and held his ground causing a fellow Confederate commander to urge his troops on with the following: "There is Jackson standing like a stone wall. Let us determine to die here, and we will conquer. Rally behind the Virginians!". In the end 5,000 of the 60,000 combatants died in the battle and the Union army retreated eastward back to Washington defeated. This was not to be a one battle war.

Bronze statue of the battlefield

Battlefield medical kit. Amputations were a common form of medical treatment.

The Henry House ended up in the crossfire of The first Battle of Manassas. 85 year old Judith Henry refused to leave her home and was shot and killed, the only civilian casualty of the battle 

The battlefield site of  First Manassas