Retreat from Chinn Ridge Marker

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Manassas in Prince William County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Retreat from Chinn Ridge
— First Battle of Manassas —

Retreat from Chinn Ridge Marker Photo, Click for full size

By Craig Swain, July 19, 2008

1. Retreat from Chinn Ridge Marker

Inscription. Expecting to outflank the Rebels, Col. Oliver O. Howard's Maine and Vermont regiments reached the top of this rise in two lines of battle. Suddenly the air exploded with shell fragments. A Confederate battery had opened fire from the Chinn House yard. Masses of Confederate infantry came charging out of the woods below.

There was no training for this moment, the New Englanders' first time under fire. They managed to get off a few ragged volleys, then the parade-style battle lines began to break.

The retreat gathered momentum, and soon the Union Army was headed back past Stone House and across Bull Run.

"I don't wish to say anything of what I saw on the field. God grant that I may never see the same again. Our retreat was all confusion and turmoil."
-Pvt. George S. Rollins, 3rd Maine Infantry

Location. 38° 48.794′ N, 77° 31.813′ W. Marker is in Manassas, Virginia, in Prince William County. Marker can be reached from Chinn Ridge Loop 0.5 miles west of Sudley Road (Virginia Road 234), on the right when traveling west. Click for map. Located at the Chinn Ridge Loop walking trail, in the Manassas National Battlefield Park. The trail starts at stop nine of the driving tour of the battlefield. Marker is in this post office area: Manassas VA 20109, United States of America.

Other nearby markers.

By Craig Swain, July 19, 2008

2. Battle Map

Note the north seeking arrow points to the bottom of the map.

At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Colonel Fletcher Webster (approx. 0.2 miles away); Death of Fletcher Webster (approx. 0.2 miles away); Third Brigade (approx. 0.3 miles away); Defending the Cannon (approx. 0.3 miles away); Short of Total Victory (approx. 0.3 miles away); Kemper's Brigade (approx. 0.4 miles away); Second Brigade (approx. 0.4 miles away); The Defense of Dogan Ridge (approx. 0.4 miles away). Click for a list of all markers in Manassas.

More about this marker. In the upper right is a painting depicting the retreat. In the lower left is a map detailing the tactical situation discussed in the text.

Retreat from Chinn Ridge Trail Stop Photo, Click for full size

By Craig Swain, July 19, 2008

3. Retreat from Chinn Ridge Trail Stop

The last stop in the Chinn Ridge trail.

Howard's Brigade Photo, Click for full size

By Craig Swain, July 19, 2008

4. Howard's Brigade

Howard's Brigade reached the high ground here, the north end of Chinn Ridge, when they were struck by elements of Jubal Early's, Millege L. Bonham's, and Kirby Smith's Confederate Brigades. The artillery mentioned on the marker was most likely a section of Beckham's Culpeper Artillery.