In early December, Bill and I visited Anna and Jake, and Heather, Jarrett, Jackson and Felicity. We enjoyed family time and getting to know our great-nephew and niece.
We also spent some time at the Manassas Battlefield National Park and on the way home, we visited Appomattox Court House. We saw the beginning of the Civil War at Manassas and the end at Appomattox.
An UnCivil War
From the first battle to the last gasp,
From Manassas to Appomattox.
Brave soldiers died,
Six hundred thousand and more.
The South won the battles, but lost the
war.
They stood “like a stone wall” in
defense
of a cause doomed from its conception.
Justice, freedom and union prevailed.
If they will still prevail,
There can be no rest in their defense
today.
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| Manassas - the beginning |
The First Battle of
Manassas (Bull Run) was fought in July, 1861.
It was the first major
battle of the Civil War.
The Second Battle of
Manassas (Bull Run) was fought in August, 1862.
The Confederate victory
emboldened Lee to push north, on a path that led to Gettysburg.
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| Henry House |
Elderly Judith Carter
Henry was the first and only civilian casualty of the First Battle of
Manassas. She refused to evacuate and she, her daughter and their
servant were caught in the battle as shells hit their house. She died
from injuries sustained when the house was shelled.
Throughout both First and
Second Manasses, battles raged around Henry Hill.
A monument to all those
killed in the battle was placed behind the house.
 |
| Stone House, near Henry House |
 |
| Cannon pointed toward Henry House |
General Thomas Jackson's
courageous defense rallied the Confederate troops,
turning the tide of battle
in their favor. He earned the name “Stonewall Jackson” at First
Manassas.
 |
| Stonewall Jackson |
Peaceful fields, trails
and fences recall how the battlefields must have looked before the
war.
From the Confederate
victory at the First Battle of Manasses in July 1861 the Civil War
would continue for four more years, costing hundreds of thousands of
lives.
It finally ended for Lee
and the South at the Battle of Appomattox Court House. Terms of
surrender were signed at the McLean House.
Family lore places Aulcie
Crawford Jackson at the battle and
witness to a meeting
between Grant and Lee.
A.C.
Jackson → Anna Jackson Renshaw → Mozelle Renshaw Whitaker →
William Robert Whitaker
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| Apomattox Court House |
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| McLean House at Appomattox - the end. |
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