Union General Irvin McDowell
Confederate General Pierre G. T. Beauregard
Confederate General Thomas "Stonewall" JacksonFirst Battle of Manassas or Bull Run: Accessibility Features
Links to Virginia regions and the Civil War sites and attractions.
Links to Virginia Civil War Timeline
Civil War 1.0
Whether you are a casual visitor or a Civil War enthusiast, you can relive the fire of live cannons and listen for the echoes of the rebel yell at Manassas National Battlefield Park with its a wide array of activities, scenic vistas, historic sites and walking trails. Learn more about accessible interpretive programs, tactile exhibits, walking and driving tours, cell phone tour, and wheelchair-accessible trails.
Begin your visit at the Henry Hill Visitor Center with its fascinating electronic battle maps, displays of equipment and battle memorabilia, and regular interpretative presentations of the battlefield's history by U.S. Park Service professionals.
The museum exhibits and battle map program are fully accessible to wheelchair users on one level of the building. Exhibits include audio-visual displays and a fiber-optic battle map presentation that describes troop movements during the battle. Audio portions are captioned for visitors with hearing loss. Explore the museum and see displays of civil war era uniforms, weapons and field gear.
There are tactile exhibits of reproduction artillery shells and equipment in the visitor center lobby, and visitors having visual disabilities may examine the many original artillery pieces displayed on the field. “The Manassas Story” is available in large print on request at the lobby information desk.
If you want to experience the live firing of field artillery cannons, the park offers costumed interpreters and historic weapons demonstrations at 1:00 pm on Sundays only (year-round, weather permitting).
The free 45-minute park orientation film, “Manassas, End of Innocence,” is captioned for the deaf, and headsets are also available for visitors with hearing loss. There is reserved space for wheelchairs at the front and rear of the auditorium.
For more detailed physical access information on the Visitor Center, look at the Manassas National Battlefield Park listing. Then use your browser back button to return to this page.
Link to detailed Manassas National Battlefield Park on Accessible Virginia.
Park rangers provide 45 to 60 minute-long talks and short walking tours that are scheduled daily weather permitting in the immediate vicinity of the visitor center. These can accommodate persons with mobility disabilities. Ramps from the visitor center provide access to Henry Hill that is fairly level near the visitor center and suitable for wheelchair use when the ground is dry.
The Henry Hill walking tour covers the intense fighting on Henry Hill where the tide of the battle turned from Union success to a decisive Confederate victory. The fighting on the hill was marked by charges and counter charges, often ending in hand-to-hand fighting. It was on Henry Hill where Confederate General Thomas J. Jackson would become “Stonewall” on that day.
There are self-guided walking trails beginning with the Henry Loop Trail. At nine stops along the one-mile trail, visitors can hear interpretive audio-described programs simply by calling in on their personal cell phones and selecting the story that matches their stop. These short programs further enhance the visitor experience by helping them form a deeper understanding of the events that happened where they are standing. Simply call 703-253-9002 to get started. Visitors with hearing loss can download the audio guide script.
Link to downlodad the cell phone tour script in PDF.
Wheelchair-Accessible Trails
Additional interpretive loop trails lead to surviving landmarks at Manassas.
Park Headquarters at Stuarts Hill: Two accessible parking spaces are provided at Stuarts Hill with a level walkway to fully wheelchair-accessible rest rooms and the headquarters office reception area.
Stone Bridge Trail: A fully accessible paved path connects the designated accessible spaces in the Stone Bridge parking lot and a wayside marker at the Stone Bridge. The stone bridge was blown up in 1862 but was reconstructed in the 1880s. The bridge itself does not qualify as wheelchair accessible due to excessive slope.
Accessible trail and the bridge as it appears now
Stone House Trail: A short paved path from the designated accessible parking space in the Stone House parking lot leads to a wayside marker for the Stone House. The grounds immediately around the house are level and accessible to wheelchairs given dry conditions.
Driving Tour
There is a twenty-mile self-guided driving tour of the battlefield. See the statue honoring the stand of General “Stonewall” Jackson and his Virginians, and visit the blood-soaked grounds of the “Stone House.” Audio CDs are available for sale in the park bookstore/gift shop to assist an audio-described, self-guided driving tour of the Manassas battlefield. Free park brochures with maps and information about the various points of interest on the driving tour can be obtained at the Visitor Center information desk.
Stonewall Jackson statue
The Stone House is a former tavern, turned into a field hospital
- Videos
- Podcasts
- Apps
Link to Civil War 2.0: Resources 4 Further Study
- Free On-line e-Books from the National Park Service
- Civil War, One Week At A Time [best example of universal access for persons with disabilities on the Web]
- Harper's Weekly, the most popular Northern newspaper of that era, gives you a front row seat to the events and stories as they unfolded.
Link for returning to the Civil War in Northern Virginia page >>
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