Blue-Eyed Traveler: A Photo Journal: VMI

Saturday, March 14, 2015

Manassas Battlefield

The first major battle of the American Civil War was fought on July 21, 1861, near Manassas, Virginia. Thinking this would be only a skirmish and a quick end to the talk of an actual war, many people who lived in the area brought picnic lunches and observed the fighting from surrounding hills. While the Union troops showed strength and progress early in the fighting, the Confederate forces stood their ground and gained strength from reinforcements. Victory at First Manassas (or First Bull Run) belonged to the South, and it became evident that the Civil War was real and not quickly or easily resolved.

On our drive from Lexington, Virginia, to Annapolis, Maryland, we stopped to stretch our legs and see the site of the Battles of Manassas. The battlefield today is a quiet, beautiful place just outside the busy town of Manassas.

The Henry family farm, site of the First Battle of Manassas

Home of 85 year old Judith Henry who refused to
leave when the battle began on her farm.

Grave of Judith Henry, the only civilian casualty of this battle.
She was killed when caught in the crossfire of the battle.

Confederate Battle Line

Monument to Confederate General (and VMI graduate) Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson
"There stands Jackson like a stone wall."

Monument to those who died during First Manassas

A Tale of Two Colleges

On a hill overlooking the small town of Lexington, Virginia, sit two very different institutions of higher learning. Washington & Lee University, with its, red brick buildings, white columns, and liberal arts curriculum dominates one side of the hill, while the austere, military stateliness of Virginia Military Institute secures the other side. Where one campus ends, the other, quite literally, begins. A visit to both is worth your time.

Washington & Lee University