Guus Bosman

Sunday we went to Manassas, a town 25 miles from Washington. We went to the historical site of the Civil War. Near Manassas are the fields where two bloody battles were fought.

Many battles in the Civil War, the largest war in American history, were fought in Virginia. The first large battle took place in Manassas, and the bloody result and heavy losses at both sites gave that battle the name 'the loss of innocence'.

Visiting historical places like that always make me want to read more on the history of United States, and specifically of the area here.

On the field canons are placed to indicate the location of the various factions in the battle.

Graveyard of the lady who lived in a house on top of one of the hills, the only civilian victim of the first battle of Bull Run.

A stone house, that served as a field hospital in the two battles. It is the only original building that still remains.

Stone bridge over Bull Run, the river that gave the battles their (Northern) names. The river is not very big, but the bridge played a strategic role in the defense of D.C. The highways that are running through the place follow almost exactly the roads that were there in the 1800's.