Two Civil War battles were fought in the Virginia countryside known as Manassas between 1861 and 1862. Since it was established in 1940, the Manassas National Battlefield Park has fought a battle to have its historical landscapes preserved where a divided nation once clashed. The Park is a sanctuary for the sites of the First and Second battles of Manassas. These battlegrounds and associated monuments are huddled in over 5,000 acres of meadows, woodlawns and streams. Much of the landscape within Manassas National Battlefield Park still maintains its wartime character. Henry Hill, which was the focal point of heavy fighting at the first battle is still cleared, but is now lush after decades of farming immediately following the War. The unfinished railroad, where much of the fighting took place at the second battle still runs through the woods north of the Warrenton Turnpike. The Stone House, a former aid station during the War, still stands as it as since the 1840s, also overlooking the Warrenton Turnpike. ?EUR??,,????'??It wasn?EUR??,,????'???t until the federal government got involved in the 1930s that Landscape Architects started to have an affect on that landscape and the battlefield presentation,?EUR??,,????'?? said Maureen Joseph, Regional Historical Landscape Architect for the National Capital Region of the National Parks Service. ?EUR??,,????'??At that time master plans were done for the Park and Landscape Architects in that era were the leaders in master planning for the NPS.?EUR??,,????'?? The Civil War Battles On July 21, 1861, the Union and the Confederate armies battled for the first time overlooking Bull Run. Both sides who ranks included young volunteers, anxious to be a part of the battle thought it would be a short conflict. ?EUR??,,????'??You are green, it is true, but they are green also,?EUR??,,????'?? President Abraham Lincoln told the young Union Soldiers. ?EUR??,,????'??You are all green alike.?EUR??,,????'?? After 10 hours of fighting nearly 900 men were killed on the fields of Matthews Hill, Henry Hill, and Chinn Ridge. In August of the next year, both armies met again, this time the soldiers were grizzled veterans. This time the second battle lasted three days and killed 3,300, bringing the Confederacy to the height of its power. ?EUR??,,????'??This is such a beautiful place,?EUR??,,????'?? said Cultural Resources Manager Ray Brown. ?EUR??,,????'??We have far more forested areas now than during the Civil War. The landscape was much more open historically than it is now.?EUR??,,????'?? The Battle for Preservation Shopping malls, theme parks, and residential development have all threatened the integrity of Manassas Battlefield Park. These battles have been messy with both sides feeling that they are the ones whose beliefs are the correct ones, just like the battles that happened in the 1860s. In early 1988, the Hazel/Peterson Companies announced plans to add a 1.2 million square foot shopping mall to an already proposed office and residential area called William Center. According to Joan M. Zenzen?EUR??,,????'???s book ?EUR??,,????'??Battling for Manassas: The Fifty-Year Preservation Struggle at Manassas National Battlefield Park,?EUR??,,????'?? the commercial complex would have stood on the historic land where General Robert E. Lee had established his headquarters during the Second battle of Manassas. With few alternatives to stop the development, Congress used a rare procedure known as ?EUR??,,????'??legislative taking?EUR??,,????'?? to acquire the land, which cost $134 million for 550 acres. Five years later the Walt Disney Company proposed a historic theme park, with hotels, campgrounds, residential and commercial complexes that would be located just over three miles from the Manassas Battlefield Park called Disney?EUR??,,????'???s America. There were two sides to the Disney attempt and both sides had good arguments to support their side. There would be large tax receipts and new employment generated by Disney, but on the other hand, increased traffic and sprawl would put a damper on the whole area. Because of large protests, Disney pulled out of the planned project. ?EUR??,,????'??The controversies surrounding the William Center and Disney?EUR??,,????'???s America were the most recent in a long line of ?EUR??,,????'??third battles?EUR??,,????'??? of Manassas,?EUR??,,????'?? wrote Zenzen. Park Landscape ?EUR??,,????'??From going around to different battlefields in and around Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania area, the soil wasn?EUR??,,????'???t very good,?EUR??,,????'?? Joseph said. ?EUR??,,????'??The land has been preserved because of that. Trees grew up where it was open and the tree cover has preserved a lot of features that would have been lost if it was cultivated over time.?EUR??,,????'?? Joseph said that there are many hidden gems in the landscape that would go unseen to a regular park visitor. She did a presentation several years ago, showing the landscape features that she documented at Manassas and those in attendance were amazed at the minor remnants of the battlefield landscape that were so well preserved in the forest canopy because they were not cultivated. ?EUR??,,????'??Manassas has been very well preserved by the inactivity and poor soil quality in the land,?EUR??,,????'?? Joseph said. In 1997-98, the Department of Conservation and Recreation?EUR??,,????'???s Division of Natural Heritage inventoried Manassas National Battlefield Park for rare, threatened and endangered species and significant natural communities. The Park is classified under the Piedmont Region; Culpeper Basin. According to page 9 of the report, the Park is ?EUR??,,????'??one of the region?EUR??,,????'???s most unspoiled areas.?EUR??,,????'?? The rare and significant habitats that occur in the Park are the Upland Depression Swamp, Oak-Hickory, Eastern White Pine, and Piedmont Mountain Swamp Forest. Some rare plants in the Park are Blue-hearts (Buchnera americana), Mead?EUR??,,????'???s Sedge (Carex meadii), Hoary Puccoon (Lithospermum canescens), Hairy Beardtongue (Penstemon hirsutus), Purple Milkweek (Asclepias purpurascens), Appalachin Quillwort (Isoetes appalachiana) and Buffalo Clover (Trifolium reflexum). ?EUR??,,????'??There is so much integrity that has been maintained with the landscape,?EUR??,,????'?? Brown said. ?EUR??,,????'??During a cultural landscape inventory in 1996 it was remarkable how many of the landscape features were still out there. In many cases they had been hidden because of changes in the vegetation.?EUR??,,????'?? In 2001, the same departments completed a plant inventory on Manassas Battlefield Park and they found that of over 700 taxa inventoried, 124 are invasive, exotic species. The report found no federal or state endangered species. Recognizing the need for essential basic data on park ecosystems in order to better manage park natural resources, the National Park Service initiated its Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) Program in the early 1990s. The purpose of the I&M program is to increase scientific research in national parks and detect long-term changes in biological resources. The purpose of this initiative is to complete basic inventories for vascular plants and vertebrates in parks of the National Capital Network in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. In addition to gathering all existing data on species presence and distribution in the eleven parks in the Network, NPS proposes to conduct field investigations for vascular plants, fish, mammals, amphibians/reptiles, and birds in parks that currently have inadequate information for these five taxanomic groups. Specific objectives of the study are to: ?EUR??,,????'???? Complete the compilation of existing (historic and recent) data for all species of vascular plants and vertebrates in NCN parks from a variety of sources, including museum records of voucher specimens, previous studies, park databases, etc., and enter these data into the appropriate National Park Service I&M databases. ?EUR??,,????'???? Complete field investigations for vertebrates and vascular plants in NCN parks with the goal of documenting 90 percent of all species presumed to occur in each park. ?EUR??,,????'???? Conduct inventories for species of special concern, such as threatened and endangered species and other species of special management concern to provide park managers with estimates of relative or absolute abundance and distribution maps in GIS. ?EUR??,,????'???? Provide the baseline information needed to develop general monitoring strategies and designs which are tailored to specific park threats and resources issues and can be implemented by parks once inventories have been completed. ?EUR??,,????'??This is not a designed landscape,?EUR??,,????'?? Brown said. ?EUR??,,????'??It is a vernacular landscape so the extent to which that integrity has been maintained is remarkable.?EUR??,,????'?? The Future According to Jim Burgess, the Museum Specialist at Manassas Battlefield Park, there are several projects that are about to be implemented or are in the planning stages. One of those projects is the restoration of the ?EUR??,,????'??Stuart?EUR??,,????'???s Hill?EUR??,,????'?? tract. Because of development that was started in 1988, considerable damage was done to the landscape. The Park entered into a cooperative agreement with the Smithsonian Institution and Virginia Dept. Transportation for the restoration of the afflicted area as a wetlands mitigation project. Burgess said new wetland areas and a picnic area will be created on the Stuart?EUR??,,????'???s Hill tract in order to mitigate damage to wetlands at the Smithsonian?EUR??,,????'???s new facility at Dulles Airport. He also mentioned restoration of the Buck Hill Woodlot. ?EUR??,,????'??In the 1960s the Park planted pine trees on Buck Hill in an attempt at scene restoration,?EUR??,,????'?? Burgess said. ?EUR??,,????'??Recent research clearly demonstrates that pines did not exist in this area.?EUR??,,????'?? What was there was a cornfield. Plans have been finalized and archeological clearance has been given to remove the pines and replant hardwoods consistent with historical documentation, according to Burgess. Another project in the works is the restoration of the Brawner Farm. Planning is underway for improving visitor access to this part of the battlefield with a new access road and parking lot. A post-war house built in 1900 on the site is to be rehabilitated and adaptively used to house interpretive exhibits. ?EUR??,,????'??We are doing historical research and coming up with treatment recommendations for the property,?EUR??,,????'?? Joseph said. ?EUR??,,????'??We have Landscape Architects and historians developing that.?EUR??,,????'?? She added that the documents for Brawner Farm will be completed sometime this year. Another issue that will affect the future of the Park is the nation?EUR??,,????'???s sluggish economy. According to Burgess, the terrorist attacks in 2001 were the starting point in the downward trend in visitors. ?EUR??,,????'??Visitation is clearly down from last year,?EUR??,,????'?? he said. ?EUR??,,????'??Neighboring museums are also experiencing lower numbers of visitors.?EUR??,,????'?? He also said the sniper late last year, higher gas prices and the continued threat of terrorism will have an impact for some time to come. ?EUR??,,????'??Less visitation translates to less incoming revenue,?EUR??,,????'?? Burgess said. ?EUR??,,????'??That usually results in cutbacks in staff, public programs and maintenance activities.?EUR??,,????'?? While the battle between new development and historical preservation will no doubt rage on for years to come, it seems that the fighting has finally ended at Manassas, and a beautiful park, that was such an important place in American history is ready to share its story, peacefully with everybody.