Today marks the 148th anniversary of the last day of the battle of Second Manassas (August 28-30, 1862). The battle was one of the Army of Northern Virginia's greatest victories, but for whatever reason it has not received the scholarly attention that numerous other eastern theater battles (including First Manassas) have received. Maybe the reason for its neglect is because it was fought on much of the same ground that the earlier and more well known battle occurred, or maybe it's because the bloodiest day in American history, Antietam, came a little more than two weeks later.
Second Manassas was certainly one of the most hard fought battles of the war. The fighting grew so desperate on one part of the field that Confederates, low on ammunition, stated throwing rocks at the Union soldiers only yards away.
Recently the Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT) announced the opportunity to purchase ten acres of this hallowed ground. Nine of the available acres are where Maj. Gen. Fitz John Porter's troops broke through a treeline and marched toward Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson's men who held a strong position in an unfinished railroad bed called the "Deep Cut."
CWPT's goal is to raise $57,000. They need it quickly to match other sources and purchase the property before it slips away. This is a rare opportunity for you to help save this precious ground.
To learn more about Second Manssass, view some great maps, and make an online donation, please visit CWPT's Second Manassas web page at: http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/secondmanassas/manassas-2010
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