Reconstructed Winter Hut at Portici

The landscape preserved by Manassas National Battlefield Park saw near constant activity between the Battle of First Manassas in July 1861 and the Second Battle in August 1862. Part of this activity included a winter encampment of Confederate soldiers in General Cadmus Wilcox's brigade during January-March 1862.

As part of the 160th Anniversary commemoration of the American Civil War, we have reconstructed a winter hut near the site of the original encampment. The hut is located at Portici, Tour Stop #11 on the park's self-guided driving tour. Check out below to learn about this exciting addition to the battlefield landscape!

 

Two visitors entering the reconstructed hut

NPS

 

Idea behind the project

The first idea behind the project was to make the 160th anniversary of events in and around Manassas as a series of rolling events to look beyond just the events of the two battles. A second idea for the project aimed to highlight an under interpreted and visited site: Portici. This site in its own right includes a very diverse story that ranges from in the park which has a diverse story to tell, from slavery and plantation life, to medical care and cavalry and so much more! The goal from the start was to build an authentic winter quarters log hut using the archival data and archeological research to create an immersive exhibit for visitors to explore the history of the first winter of the American Civil War in mocrocosm at Manassas.

Constructing the hut

The hut was constructed by a team of NPS employees and volunteers from December 2021 through February 2022. Most construction was performed by hand utilizing tools similar to those available to the soldiers. Modern tools and equipment were used when needed due to safety concerns and to assist the small team building the hut. Much like the soldiers, park staff had to work on the hut slowly when the weather was cooperative with many delays occurring from inclement winter weather just as the soldiers experienced.

 

Period image showing a collection of winter huts near Manassas

LOC

Relationship to the original huts

The reconstructed hut at Portici (Tour Stop #11) is a true representation of the huts seen in Library of Congress images of the Confederate winter encampment in the area in 1862. In addition to using these images, park staff made use of archival resources and archeological research to inform the contstruction. The hut, however, is not a true representation of any one single hut but uses documented techniques, designs, and components seen in original huts.

One deviation from the archeological record of the huts at Portici was the chimney/hearth material and design. The archeology notes that stone hearths and chimneys were the predominate design, however one of the original sites seems to lack a stone chimney. The log chimney used in the reconstructed (with stone and mud lined hearth) was selected based upon images taken of winter quarters photographed around Manassas in 1862.

 

Materials used

The logs are reclaimed from Henry Hill that were felled during a landscape restoration project completed in 2021. The boards are locally sourced white oak and yellow pine from a local mill and are circularly sawn as was a common practice during the period. The nails used are all period correct cut nails. The foundation is brown sandstone locally sourced and of the same composition as stones seen in many of the parks wartime structures. The mud chinking is all utilizing reclaimed soil from developments that occurred on park lands prior to NPS acquisition and is mixed with hay grown on the Portici landscape.