Battling for Manassas: The Fifty-Year Preservation Struggle at Manassas National Battlefield Park

Table of Contents

Foreword

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Bibliography

Appendix I

Appendix II

Appendix III

Appendix IV

Appendix V (omitted from on-line edition)

Appendix VI

Appendix VII

Appendix VIII

Manassas Chapter 2

Establishing a Park

Bull Run Recreational Demonstration Area

Initial plans for the Bull Run Recreational Demonstration Area departed significantly from the previous legislative attempts to preserve the Manassas battlefields. Instead of modestly acquiring a few hundred acres of land that had important historic associations, as favored by the Antietam Plan and by George Carr Round, the Bull Run project proposed a maximum area of almost 10,000 acres to provide for a "complete visualization" of the two battles. Even the smaller "primary purchase area" of 1,600 acres represented a sizable increase over Round's recommendations, and Park Service planning documents repeatedly prioritized holdings with the view of obtaining the larger park. The National Park Service wanted Bull Run to become a point of historic interest of the same caliber as Gettysburg, a project that would require restoration of the battlefields, development of adequate facilities to accommodate the expected thousands of visitors, and marking of the historic areas in the park. [17]

The National Park Service justified its planning for Manassas using a three-pronged approach emphasizing the historical, recreational, and work relief advantages. By tying historic preservation and use together, the Park Service met both the requirements of the Resettlement Administration and its own vision of the value and importance of battlefield parks. Historic preservation served as the guiding force for locating the park and designing its overall layout. The Park Service wanted to include the most historic areas associated with the two battles of Manassas. The story of these battles would be told in conjunction with other important Virginia campaigns during the Civil War. Park Service historians envisioned a linked national battlefield system, in which visitors could trace the movement of soldiers from one Virginia battlefield to the next and emerge from the experience with an overall understanding of the Civil War. [18]

To fulfill this historic preservation mission at Manassas, the Park Service pursued several development projects. Landscape work completed by the Works Progress Administration followed the advice of historians, who researched the war records and reconstructed the appearance of the land at the time of the battles. Among other areas, workers cleared the rounded crest of Bald Hill, which had been free of trees during 1862 and had proved of tactical significance to the events of Second Manassas. Some landscape work was dictated by the poor condition of the soil. The Park Service recommended keeping gullies and erosion areas protected with vegetation until suitable grass cover secured the soil. Workers saved historical relics unearthed during clearing operations for an eventual park museum. Laborers also opened and improved formerly overgrown roads and braced the falling Chinn House until a set of plans could be drawn for its possible restoration. [19]

Other development projects supporting the historic preservation mission of the demonstration area involved interpretation. Joseph Mills Hanson, a trained historian who later served as the park's second superintendent, provided historical research support. With guidance from Branch Spalding, the coordinating superintendent at Fredericksburg who directly supervised all recreational demonstration work at Manassas, Hanson conducted research on the Manassas battles. He retraced the routes different forces had taken over the battlefields and sought out period maps. This research aided workers in clearing fields to resemble their historical appearance. Hanson's understanding of the battles also proved useful for writing texts for more than sixty markers, which were placed at strategic areas on the battlefields. [20]

Recreation, the second of the three-pronged approach at the Manassas battlefields, aimed to serve the Washington, D.C., regional population, which in the "not distant future" was expected to house almost a million people in need of space and an outlet for outdoor activities. Representative Smith predicted in a letter to Assistant Director Wirth that the Bull Run demonstration area, located about thirty miles from the district line, "would be visited daily by thousands of people from Washington who lack any large park area of this character ... for an afternoon's recreation." The Park Service's final project report for the demonstration area echoed this sentiment: "When the Battlefield with its many springs and streams and its 5,000 acres of woodland is properly developed, not as a cemetery, but as a pleasure ground," it will attract more visitation than Gettysburg. Suggestions for recreational developments ranged from picnic areas to athletic fields, camp sites to bridle paths. With access assured through paved roads and proper management, the possibilities seemed boundless. [21]

Ideas about serving the recreational needs of the nation's capital reflected an underlying mission for the recreational demonstration areas. The Park Service argued that the Manassas area, "teeming with history and romance," could serve to inspire future generations if the "deeds of heroism" were properly memorialized. Here, history and recreation went hand-in-hand to aid in the furtherance of the democratic nation. These lofty goals for a national park site were not unusual. Interior Secretary Ickes had designated 1934 as National Park Year to promote travel to America's natural and historic areas and to provide a needed respite from the worries of the Depression. Many people spent all of their energy trying to find work, food to feed their families, and a warm, dry place to sleep. Projects like the one at Manassas offered hope through rejuvenation. Taking a break from these worries by going out into the country refreshed the mind and renewed the spirit. This reenergized electorate, the Roosevelt administration predicted, would return to their plights with sustaining hope. Better times would be that much closer when everyone joined together, renewed in purpose. [22]

When considering the underlying goals of the Bull Run Recreational Demonstration Area, it becomes evident that the Park Service did not favor one particular type of recreation over others. In addition, what the Service considered "recreation" in the 1930s varies from present understandings of the term. Taking a leisurely drive and following a battlefield tour qualified as a form of recreation. Today, this activity seems more focused on history than recreation. Hiking along Bull Run and enjoying the rural countryside or picnicking in the shade of a hillside and exploring the historic events of the Manassas battles, although certainly an educational experience, was also considered recreation. What these activities had in common was the opportunity to leave the city, walk or drive in open spaces, and immerse oneself in enjoyable diversions. The end result, the Roosevelt administration hoped, was a refreshed American public able to take on the challenges of the economic hard times.

In addition to history and recreation, the recreational demonstration area served the third important function of using unemployed local labor to assist the Park Service in implementing its development plans. Viewed as an ideal work relief program, this project employed residents of Prince William and adjoining counties to clear grounds and restore the landscape using proper natural resource conservation techniques. Stabilization of historic structures and control of erosion were largely done by relief workers. The "demonstrated" concept was that the "ennobling inspiration" and valuable instruction gained from the preservation and development of the battlefields would be heightened by the fact that local laborers in need of work immediately benefited from the establishment of the park. [23]

Although recreation and work relief continued to be important factors, history remained the driving force for the recreational demonstration area. Historian Hanson's research into the two battles of Manassas enabled him to identify the most significant properties for inclusion in the Bull Run project area, those lands which had sustained the heaviest fighting. The National Park Service used Hanson's research to determine the core area for the battlefield park. Acting Director Arthur E. Demaray noted in summer 1937 that the Park Service would acquire only the most important sites, including the Henry House, the Chinn House, the Stone Bridge, the Stone House, the Van Pelt House, and Sudley Mill. Adjacent land that had been under cultivation at the time of the battles, in Demaray's estimation, could remain in private ownership "unless developments occur thereon which would be incompatible" with the battlefield park's mission. By November of the same year, Hanson reported that more than 1,400 acres had been secured from such families as the Robinsons and Dogans for inclusion in the park. The Park Service, however, still needed to find a way to acquire the crucial Henry Hill tract. [24]

Due to his close supervision of the historical research and development projects at Bull Run, Coordinating Superintendent Spalding took on the delicate issue of securing the Manassas Battlefield Confederate Park for the federal government. When members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans learned in July 1935 of the proposed transfer, significant opposition, led by Col. Walter L. Hopkins, rallied to keep the park privately owned. Primarily, Hopkins believed that the Manassas Battlefield Corporation's board of directors had exceeded its authority in making the offer without first consulting the general organization, but he also held some reservations about having the federal government take control of a park that southern money and dedication had created. Spalding feared that the opposition did not have confidence in the National Park Service's ability to administer the land, but this issue proved less significant. [25]

Relying on his detailed knowledge of the Manassas project and other Park Service efforts in the South, Spalding addressed the concerns expressed by Hopkins and his followers. As Hopkins later admitted to Arno Cammerer, the director of the NPS, Spalding's scholarly understanding of the issues, his courteous and diplomatic manner, and his long-term dedication soothed the rumpled sensibilities of the membership. Based on first-hand accounts of the Park Service's interpretive activities at Gettysburg, Hopkins also gained confidence in the fair and even treatment with which the federal government would interpret the Manassas battlefields. Spalding's efforts were rewarded in June 1936 when, following a "bitter all day debate," the Sons of Confederate Veterans voted to donate the Manassas property, leaving Spalding "exhausted but happy." [26]

Despite Spalding's skillful handling, delays and obstacles further hampered the transfer. Opponents, now led by J. Roy Price, placed certain restrictions on the gift, most notably the promise that the federal government would erect a museum at the park. The Park Service intended to build the museum eventually and thus argued for immediate transfer, but the solicitor general ruled in November 1938 that acceptance required either the exclusion of the provision for a museum or congressional appropriation of the necessary funds. In May 1939 Congress supplied $56,000 for construction of a museum. Continued minor problems delayed the final transfer of property until 12 February 1940. On 10 May 1940, Interior Secretary Ickes, using the authority conferred by the 1935 Historic Sites Act, designated more than 1,600 acres of the Bull Run Recreational Demonstration Area and former Manassas Battlefield Confederate Park as Manassas National Battlefield Park. [27]

http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/mana/adhi2c.htm