Second Battle of Manassas Trail

The trail begins at the visitor Center and heads north, past the Stone House (open seasonally), to Buck Hill where Pope established his headquarters. From Matthews Hill, visitors can look west to the area of the unfinished railroad where Stonewall Jackson placed his Confederate forces. The trail continues along the graded railroad bed leading to a clearing at the Deep Cut, the scene of a bloody battle where Jackson's troops turned back a major assault, then turns south and passes the Lucinda Dogan House (one of three surviving Civil War-era structures in the park). Moving across the road, the trail winds upward towards New York Avenue where monuments mark the site where the 5th and 10th New York regiments were slaughtered in a massive Confederate counterattack that swept eastward toward Chinn Ridge. After touring the Chinn Ridge area, the trail leads back to Henry Hill, where the final struggle during Second Manassas played out.

This trail leads visitors through the climactic stages of the second battle at Manassas that paved the way for the Confederate invasion of the North. Fighting occurred over three days in late August 1862 between Confederate troops under the command of Gen. Robert E. Lee and Union forces led by Gen. John Pope.