Battles of Manassas • Tour the Battlefield • Monuments • Facts • The Armies
The Counterattack wayside marker is just south of the Henry Hill Visitor Center parking area on the Manassas Battlefield.
From the marker:
Counterattack
Dead cannoneers lay in rows between their cannon, dead horses along the back slope; the Union guns were immobilized yet still a magnet for both armies. Up this slope marched the 14th Brooklyn, resplendent in Zouave uniforms. They managed to recapture Griffin’s two guns—for a few moments.
From here to Ricketts’ cannon (the start of the walking tour) the fighting fell into a bloody, seesaw pattern: Confederates capturing the line or artillery, Federals driving them off, then reinforcements again charging the guns. Late in the afternoon Confederates finally seized and held Henry Hill.
Union Retreat. The battle was decided on Henry Hill but ended on Chinn Ridge (the rising ground to the left). From here fresh Confederate brigades crossed Sudley Road and overwhelmed the Union right flank. An exhibit there depicts that final assault.
Thirteen months later, these armies fought over the same terrain. Check the park folder for the auto tour of Second Manassas.
First
Battle of Manassas
From the caption to the map:
From Chinn Ridge the Union Retreat gained momentum past the Stone House, across Bull Run, and all the way to Washington.
