We stopped at Manassas today. For all you Civil War buffs out there, you will remember that there were two battles fought here, the first in July of 1861 and the second in August of 1862. The first one was officially listed as a Confederate victory, but the CSA didn't press the result and pursue the Union forces toward Washington. This was also a battle where the people of Washington brought picnic lunches to watch the battle, but they were horrified to see what real war was all about. The same could be said for the combatants. Few of the men had ever participated in a battle.

About this photo. The house is a reconstruction of the Henry farmhouse. Elderly Judith Henry was the only civilian fatality of the battle. They tried to evacuate her (she was bed-ridden) but she insisted on returning to the house. Confederate sharpshooters took positions in the house and nearby Union artillery shelled the house to quiet the firing. The monument on the right is interesting because it was erected in 1865 by the Union to commemorate the battles at Manassas. I thought the bare tree added to the mood of the photo. Although the battle was fought in the summer, I thought a bare tree provided a symbol of death to the scene. Indeed the US Civil War resulted in more death to American citizens (north and south) than any other war.