Battles of Manassas • Tour the Battlefield • Monuments • Facts • The Armies
“The Rock Fight” wayside marker is along the Deep Cut trail at Stop 7 of the Manassas Battlefield Driving Tour.
Text from the wayside marker:
The Rock Fight
Yankees were pinned down on the far side of the embankment, only ten yards away. After twenty minutes of continuous shooting, Confederates here were running out of ammunition. Frantically, they searched their dead and wounded comrades for cartridges. Others pried stones from the railroad grade and hurled them down on the enemy. Already shell-shocked, some bewildered Federals threw the stones right back.
The rock fight lasted only a minute. Reinforcements arrived and drove off the Federals.
Second
Battle of Manassas
Day Three
August 30, 1862
Caption to the background drawing
The rock-throwing had no effect on the battle’s outcome; the Federal attack had already weakened—yet the incident grew legendary, an image of the desperate, close-quarters fighting at Deep Cut.
Location of “The Rock Fight” wayside marker
The marker is along the Deep Cut trail about 1/3 mile from the parking area at Stop Seven on Featherbed Lane and about 100 yards northeast of the Groveton Monument. (38°49’17.1″N 77°33’12.8″W)