Today we took the trip down the road to Manassas Battle Field, A.K.A. "The Battle of Bull Run." It was pretty neat to see the place where the Civil War's first battle unfolded, but it was also equally eye opening to note how small the battle field was. I've been to Gettysburg twice; I've reenacted the Battle of Gettysburg once. I've studied the Civil War in pretty strong detail. But until I stepped onto the field at Manassas I don't know that the sheer size of Gettysburg really set in. The first battle of the Civil War took place with the Union and Confederate lines only
350 yards apart. Three and a half football fields; less than three if you factor in the endzones. Mindblowing. On to a few pictures from today:
- Here's a shot of the Union lines at the top of Henry Hill.
- A cannon on the Union lines. The battle ended when the Confederate forces, some dressed in Union colors, took the Union's right flank, and their artillery with it.
- A shot from behind the cannon
- "Stonewall" Jackson's statue. He got his nickname on this battlefield, as his Virginia infantry held the Confederate line.
- The Confederate artillery line across the field.
- A monument erected on the battlefield in the late 1860s by Union veterans. It is dedicated to "the patriots."
- There were Civil War reenactors there ... and I was not missing being in the wool uniforms, let me tell you.
- The grave of Judith Henry, who was in her 80s at the time of the battle, and who died due to a union artilery shot which went through her house. She was born in 1776, at the birth of the union, and died as a casualty of the first battle of the war that promised to tear the union apart.
- Walking into the ballpark ... for a third straight night.
- A shot from behind the leftfield bleechers down the line.
- In Milwaukee they have a sausage race. In D.C. they have racing presidents. I am much more interested in racing presidents. I want the T-shirt that says "let Teddy win." And I'm still glad Randall Simon hit one of the racing sausages.
- There is something about singing the Star-Spangled Banner in D.C. at the ballgame that gets to you. And, let me tell you, the kid who sang it tonight
killed it. He was amazing, and couldn't have been older than nine or ten.
- The seventh inning stretch was, once again, Cubs time ...
- ... and this particular Nats fan, #3, was unhappy there were so many Cubs fans. Every time we went nuts he turned and stared. He was mad at the start, but we eventually broke his will. Then we bought him a beer. It was a close game, but he left in the 8th having lost hope.
- 'Nuff said.
- Here's a shot of the Union lines at the top of Henry Hill.
- A cannon on the Union lines. The battle ended when the Confederate forces, some dressed in Union colors, took the Union's right flank, and their artillery with it.
- A shot from behind the cannon
- "Stonewall" Jackson's statue. He got his nickname on this battlefield, as his Virginia infantry held the Confederate line.
- The Confederate artillery line across the field.
- A monument erected on the battlefield in the late 1860s by Union veterans. It is dedicated to "the patriots."
- There were Civil War reenactors there ... and I was not missing being in the wool uniforms, let me tell you.
- The grave of Judith Henry, who was in her 80s at the time of the battle, and who died due to a union artilery shot which went through her house. She was born in 1776, at the birth of the union, and died as a casualty of the first battle of the war that promised to tear the union apart.
- Walking into the ballpark ... for a third straight night.
- A shot from behind the leftfield bleechers down the line.
- In Milwaukee they have a sausage race. In D.C. they have racing presidents. I am much more interested in racing presidents. I want the T-shirt that says "let Teddy win." And I'm still glad Randall Simon hit one of the racing sausages.
- There is something about singing the Star-Spangled Banner in D.C. at the ballgame that gets to you. And, let me tell you, the kid who sang it tonight killed it. He was amazing, and couldn't have been older than nine or ten.
- The seventh inning stretch was, once again, Cubs time ...
- ... and this particular Nats fan, #3, was unhappy there were so many Cubs fans. Every time we went nuts he turned and stared. He was mad at the start, but we eventually broke his will. Then we bought him a beer. It was a close game, but he left in the 8th having lost hope.
- 'Nuff said.
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