Cultural Landscape Inventory: Southern Portion, Manassas National Battlefield Park
Parsons M. 1996. Cultural Landscape Inventory: Southern Portion, Manassas National Battlefield Park. Cultural Landscapes Inventory Report. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. National Capital Region
The goal of this Cultural Landscape Inventory (CLI) is to document historic landscape resources, existing conditions, and analyze and evaluate the cultural landscape resources for the entire park. Because of its size, the park was segmented into four parts: Northwest Quadrant, Northeast Quadrant, Southern Portion, and Southwest Quadrant. This report addresses the Southern Portion, which includes Henry Hill, Chinn Ridge, Stuart's Hill and Bald Hill, Confederate campground, Portici, and confederate earthwork fortifications. The National Capital Region requested the inventory of Manassas National Battlefield Park to help the General Management Plan team in making decisions regarding the historic cultural resources for the park. Based on the evaluation of the physical history, the intent was to determine the historic significance and integrity of the existing cultural landscape features. The CLI started in January 1995. The CLI team planned to input information from three separate inventories in the park into a computerized database being developed by the Washington office. Manassas National Battlefield Park encompasses most of the battlefield landscape that comprised the major engagements for the First and Second Battles of Manassas. These battles were significant Confederate victories for the Confederate forces during the early years of the Civil War. Although most of the historic landscape resources from the 1860s are intact, they are in remnant form above or below ground. By looking at the landscape in different way, one can decipher the traces left by farm roads, fence lines, woodlots, house sites, and even burial locations. Surprisingly, after almost 140 years, much of the 1860s land patterns, spatial arrangement, circulation systems, topography and views are still evident. Unfortunately, the more prominent features such as structures and small scale features have succumbed to the destruction caused by the Civil War or caused by deterioration. Only two buildings are left intact from the 1860s, the Stone House and Lucinda Dogan House. After analyzing the landscape resources of the northern and southern sections of Manassas, the battlefield landscape from the 1860s has a high degree of integrity.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Parsons, Mia
- Date of Issue
- 1996-07
- Publisher
- U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
- Units
- MANA , NCR
- Keywords
- agriculture, Bald Hill, Battle of Bull Run, battlefield preservation, Chinn Ridge, Civil War, commemoration, Confederate campground, earthworks, First Battle of Manassas, fortifications, Henry Hill, Portici, Second Battle of Manassas, Stuart's Hill, turnpike