First Battle of Manassas: An End to Innocence (Teaching with Historic Places)

Manassas National Battlefield Park

This lesson is part of the National Park Service’s Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) program.

To many Americans, the firing on Fort Sumter by Confederate troops on the morning of April 12, 1861, signaled the separation of the United States into two nations. Soon thereafter, both the North and the South began preparing for war enlisting armies, training troops, and raising rhetoric to a fevered pitch. At first, Americans viewed the conflict romantically, as a great adventure. To many, it was a crusade of sorts that would be decided quickly, and would return both the North and South to a peaceful way of life, either as one nation or two. Scarcely three months later, however, events near the small Virginia community of Manassas Junction shocked the nation into the realization that the war might prove longer and more costly than anyone could have imagined--not only to the armies, but to the nation as a whole. On July 21, 1861, the first major confrontation of the opposing armies took place here, coming to a climax on the fallow fields of the widow Judith Henry's family, and claiming almost 5,000 casualties. Among the victims were not only the dead and wounded of the opposing armies, but members of the civilian population, and, ultimately, the wide-eyed innocence of a nation that suddenly realized it had gone to war with itself.

The importance of the first battle of Manassas, or Bull Run as it was generally known in the North, lay not so much in the movement of the armies or the strategic territory gained or lost, but rather in the realization that the struggle was more an apocalyptic event than the romantic adventure earlier envisioned. Use this lesson plan to learn more about the battle. (Click on the image for the full lesson plan.)

Essential Question

What did the first battle of Manassas symbolize to soldiers and civilians at the outbreak of the Civil War?

Objective

1. To explain the physical features of the area that brought the armies to Manassas;
2. To describe how the fighting of July 21, 1861 affected soldiers and the local population, both immediately and in the months and years following the battle;
3. To describe how the impact of the battle changed the way Americans of the time--military and civilian--viewed the Civil War;
4. To discover the effects of the Civil War on their own community, as well as communities around the nation.

Background

Time Period: Late 19th century

Topics: The lesson could be used in units on the Civil War. Students will strengthen their skills of observation and interpretation in the study of history and geography, and gain practice in analyzing primary documents.

Grade Level

Middle School: Sixth Grade through Eighth GradeSUBJECT:Literacy and Language Arts, Social Studies

Lesson Duration

90 Minutes

Full Lesson Plan