Manassas National Battlefield Park

Living in the Rocky Mountains is a great asset when it comes to visiting national parks, for there are so many in just about any direction you head. The past year took me north and south through the region to a diverse collection parks, and I also ventured to Virginia to explore the National Park System.

Interns to the National Park Service's Climate Change Response Program have been creating new interpretive materials at Manassas National Battlefield Park and studying remote, brackish ponds on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Which of the Civil War battlefields preserved by the National Park Service appeals to you most, and why?

The battle of Manassas dispelled the myth that the war would be a quick affair. The Confederate secretary of war, LeRoy Pope Walker, suggested prior to the battle that when all was said and done, he would be able to wipe up the blood that would be spilled with his pocket handkerchief.

Manassas National Battlefield Park protects Civil War battlefields where the North and South fought twice. But it's also a good place to hike and bird.

Through the course of the next five years the National Park Service will be rolling out a series of programs to both help commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War and highlight its impact on the Civil Rights movement in this country.

In April the Postal Service will issue stamps commemorating the 150th anniversary of two important Civil War events, the beginning of the war and the first great land battle. National parks preserve both sites.

As with the southern Pennsylvania countryside surrounding the town of Gettysburg, the struggles between the United States and Confederate armies from 1861 to 1865 often brought war to beautiful places, with many battles fought in the pastoral landscapes of eastern, southern, and middle America— in rolling fields and woods, along rivers and streams, among farmsteads, and often in or near villages, towns, or cities.

The First Battle of Bull Run (First Manassas) was fought near Manassas, Virginia, on July 21, 1861. The Second Battle of Bull Run (Second Manassas) was fought in the same area August 28-30, 1862. Now officials at Manassas National Battlefield Park are fighting to restore the battlefield’s historic sightlines and protect them from encroaching development.