NPS A Feast for the SensesJoin park staff, interns, and volunteers as we commemorate the 163rd Anniversary of the First Battle of Manassas on the weekend of July 20th and 21st. Our theme for this year is exploring the battle through our five senses. On Saturday, we will offer a series of programs and stations that invite visitors to interact with Civil War history in different ways culminating with a program called, "Into the Torrent" where park staff and volunteers will create a sensory experience that replicates the chaos and confusion that reigned on Henry Hill, July 21, 1861. This year's anniversary commemoration is special because, just like in 1861, the first battle anniversary falls on a Sunday, the same weekday as the battle. Throughout the day on Sunday, park staff will offer real-time programs that align with their real counterparts during the battle, 163 years ago.We look forward to seeing you on the 20th and 21st! Saturday, July 20thEver wonder how to tour the battlefield? Join a ranger or volunteer to learn how the battles of Manassas were fought on the landcape in order to prepare to tour. Also, learn a little about the significance of these battles. This program is approximately 20 minutes and meets on the side of the Henry Hill Visitor Center. Music was an important aspect of life for soldiers in the Civil War. When in camp, music often reminded them of home and family. It could fire them up or depress them immensley. It was also important on the battlefield as it was used to help the men march and move.
Join musicians to learn more about the sounds of the First Battle of Manassas through music. This program lasts 30 minutes and begins outside the Henry Hill Visitor Center. It concludes at the Henry House. Join park staff and volunteers, featuring the United States Marine Corps Historical Company, for a firing demonstration to bound to leave you with a sense of the sounds, sights, and smells of the Civil War.
This program will feature both infantry and artillery firing. It will last 30 minutes and will begin at the Henry House. Learn more about the first major land battle of the Civil War and it's culminating fight on Henry Hill on the ground where that fight took place. Enjoy the sights from Henry Hill and get a better sense of how the battle was fought on that ground.
This is a more in depth look at the battle in honor of the anniversary. Meet a ranger outside the back doors of the Henry Hill Visitor Center. This program lasts 45 minutes. Learn more about soldiers' diets during the Civil War while watching living historians cook. This is a great chance to enjoy the tastes and smells of the Civil War!
This program will last 30 minutes and be on Henry Hill. Location information, TBD. Join park staff a volunteers for a program designed to engage the senses. During this 30-minute program, park staff will attempt to combine sound, smell, and sight to give a sense of the cacophony and confusion of the fight on Henry Hill. This program includes firing of small arms and cannon.
Please note: this program will simulate battle through firing, loud noises, and quotes from soldiers who fought. If anyone is sensitive to loud noises or depictions of violence, please be aware. If you would like to watch from a distance, the Junior Ranger station will be a place to gather, especially with small children where the noise will be attenuated by distance. Ever wonder how to tour the battlefield? Join a ranger or volunteer to learn how the battles of Manassas were fought on the landcape in order to prepare to tour. Also, learn a little about the significance of these battles. This program is approximately 20 minutes and meets on the side of the Henry Hill Visitor Center. Learn more about the first major land battle of the Civil War and it's culminating fight on Henry Hill on the ground where that fight took place. Enjoy the sights from Henry Hill and get a better sense of how the battle was fought on that ground.
This is a more in depth look at the battle in honor of the anniversary. Meet a ranger outside the back doors of the Henry Hill Visitor Center. This program lasts 45 minutes. Music was an important aspect of life for soldiers in the Civil War. When in camp, music often reminded them of home and family. It could fire them up or depress them immensley. It was also important on the battlefield as it was used to help the men march and move.
Join musicians to learn more about the sounds of the First Battle of Manassas through music. This program lasts 30 minutes and begins outside the Henry Hill Visitor Center. It concludes at the Henry House. Sunday, July 21st Join park staff for a program that will look at key decisions that were made during the First Battle of Manassas in 1861. This program will address some of the myths and what-ifs related to the battle and its' commanders.
This program will last 30 minutes and will start on the lawn of the Henry Hill Visitor Center. Bring your coffee to this Civil War klatch! Ever wonder how to tour the battlefield? Join a ranger or volunteer to learn how the battles of Manassas were fought on the landcape in order to prepare to tour. Also, learn a little about the significance of these battles. This program is approximately 20 minutes and meets on the side of the Henry Hill Visitor Center. Join park staff and volunteers on a tour focused on the opening fight of First Manassas on July 21st, 1861.
This program is a "choose your own adventure" where you will have the option to follow either Confederate or Union perspective onto the hill. From there, participants will combine to hear the rest of the story. The program will last one hour. If you plan to follow the Rhode Islanders, park at tour stop 4, Matthews Hill. If you plan to follow the Louisiana Tigers, park at tour stop 3, the Stone House. Be prepared for a lot of walking, including over hilly, open terrain. Wear sunscreen and tick repellant, and carry water with you. Join Ranger Jim Burgess for a 90-minute hike to the Robinson farmstead to learn more about the fighting in between the collapse of the Confederates on Matthews Hill around noontime and the climactic fighting on Henry Hill on the afternoon of July 21, 1861 around 2:00 p.m. Learn more about the Robinson family, a free black family living on the periphery of battle and what their experience of battle was.
Meet at the Henry Hill Visitor Center by the cannons outside the back door. Join musicians to learn more about songs of the Civil War Era and what they meant to soldiers both in camp and on the battlefield by listening to fifes and drums!
This program is 30 minutes and will start by the Henry Hill Visitor Center. It will end at the Henry House in time for the firing demonstration. Join park volunteers and staff to learn more about historic weapons used during the First Battle of Manassas, and see how they fire. This program will give you the chance to explore the sights, smells, and sounds of the Civil War.
Meet at the Henry House. The program will last 30 minutes. The words in the title of this program were written in 1913 by Marianne Compton, whose father was the minister of the Methodist Church in Sudley and whose brother was enlisted in Company C of the 8th Virginia.
Join a park ranger to learn about the experiences which would not be forgotten by those who lived it in very personal ways such as having loved ones fighting on a neighbor's land, seeing dead and dying soldiers in their yards, burying the dead, and seeing their prized possessions thrown away and discarded. This program will focus on some of the families most impacted by the First Battle such as the Henrys, Comptons, Robinsons, Matthews, Dogans, and VanPelts. This program is 45 minutes and will leave from the Henry Hill Visitor Center. Join Ranger Jim Burgess for a 75 minute program on Henry Hill that goes into greater depth than our regular programs on the fight on Henry Hill.
This is a great chance to walk the ground with an historian on the fields where the battle was fought. Join Tom Williams and members of the United States Marine Corps Historical Company for a walk on Henry Hill talking about the stories and sacrifice of the marines fighting there on the afternoon of July 21, 1861.
This program will last one hour and will begin in the vicinity of the Henry Hill Visitor Center. Join Manassas Park Ranger Abbi Smithmyer and Intern Patrick Schubert for a special program focused on the close of the First Battle of Manassas, and the aftermath of what was, up to that point, the largest battle fought in American history. What happened to the men left behind? What happened to the wounded and dying? How did civilians rebuild or choose not to rebuild? What consequences were there for the nation? How was this battle remembered and memorialized?
This program is slated to last 45 minutes. Meet at the Henry Hill Visitor Center. Join park staff and volunteers at one of three structures left from the time of the Civil War to learn more about its role in the First Battle of Manassas.
The Stone House is tour stop 3 on the driving tour. Please be aware that to enter the house, there are steep steps with no handrail. If you are not able to make it up the steps, there is a book park staff can share at your request. Join park staff and participate in children's/family programming.
Make ribbons like those worn on the hats of some soldiers and others! Experience the Battlefield through Battlefield in a Box where participants can make a map of the battlefield to learn how it was fought! Learn more about archaeology and historic preservation through an archaeology station where you can become a Junior Archaeologist. Complete a special scavenger hunt to earn a special reward. |
Last updated: July 12, 2024