Battles of Manassas • Tour the Battlefield • Monuments • Facts • The Armies
The Point Blank Volley wayside marker is on the Henry Hill walking tour just south of the Manassas National Battlefield Visitor Center.
From the wayside marker:
Point Blank Volley
An Officer’s Error?
In clear view of artillerymen here, Confederates lined up at the fence and trees across the open field. The two cannon and supporting infantry could have stopped the Rebels cold, yet the four hundred charging Virginians were able to fire a musket volley at such close range that they virtually wiped out the Union gun crews. Congressional inquiries failed to clear up the mystery: how did the Confederates manage to get that close?
Though the 33rd Virginia captured these guns, the battle was far from over. New York infantry were marching up from Sudley Road to counterattack.
First
Battle of Manassas
