Retreat From Manassas

Retreat From Manassas. Panic at Cub Run Bridge. Following the disastrous defeat at the First Battle of Manassas on July 21, 1861, the Union army retreated toward Centreville late in the afternoon with Confederate forces in pursuit. Thousands of Federal soldiers converged simultaneously at the narrow Cub Run suspension bridge, which was located near where the present-day Lee Highway bridge spans the stream. . . Confederate Capt. Delaware Kemper, Alexandria Light Artillery, deployed two guns in the turnpike on the hill less than a mile west of the bridge. The first shot, fired by ardent secessionist Edmund Ruffin, caused a wagon to overturn and block the bridge. With a well-directed barrage raining down on the bridge, the Federals fled in panic, throwing away weapons and haversacks, as well as anything else that slowed them down. Unable to ford the stream, they also abandoned wagons, ambulances, and artillery pieces. . . While pursuing the Union army, the 8th South Carolina Infantry captured U.S. Congressman Alfred Ely (N.Y.) who along with many northern politicians and Washington, D.C., residents had journeyed out to watch what they confidently believed would be the Union victory that would end the war. Most of the civilians observed the battle from Centreville Heights, but a small number of politicians and newspapermen ventured beyond Cub Run to the vicinity of the field hospital at Mrs. Spindle’s house. In the race for safety, they abandoned their carriages at Cub Run, further clogging the road, impeding the retreat, and adding to the panic. . This historical marker was erected in 2014 by Virginia Civil War Trails. It is in Centreville in Fairfax County Virginia