National Park Service

The Civil War: 150 Years. National Park Service Sesquicentennial Commemoration.

Then: July 21, 1861

The First Major Battle

Painting of the Fourth Alabama at First Manassas

The Confederate army was driven from the field early in the day, but Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson anchors a defensive stand and counterattack that carries the day for the South at Manassas (Bull Run).

Now: July 21, 1961

The Manassas Centennial

Participant patch from the 1961 Manassas reenactment

The National Park Service hosts a recreation of the First Battle of Manassas for the centennial which increases the popularity of reenactments but prompts NPS policy prohibiting them on park land.

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