Wayside Panels May be Removed at Bull Run

Manassas National Battlefield Park, where the first major battle of the Civil War was fought, has two panels that have been called into question under the White House’s 2025 Executive Order that says it is restoring “sanity” to the way history is taught in the United States. The battlefield was the scene of two very important fights of the war. First Bull Run fought in July of 1861 was the largest battle ever fought on United States soil up until that time. The Union defeat signaled that the war would not be quickly resolved and the Union virtually bloodlessly restored. The 1862 Battle of Second Manassas also saw the Union forces defeated which opened the way for Robert E. Lee’s Antietam Campaign.

Interestingly, part of the signage under review deals with how the First Bull Run Battle was remembered long after the fighting took place. On Henry House Hill in 1861 Union forces had pressed the Confederates back and were almost victorious. However, a little-known commander named Brigadier General Thomas Jackson arrayed the men of his First Brigade at the top of the hill. In spite of repeated attacks, his men held long enough for the Confederate reserve to reinforce the position, drive back the Union troops, and claim the first important victory of the war for themselves. Confederate General Bernard Bee saw Jackson’s actions and encouraged his men by yelling out “There is Jackson standing like a stone wall. Let us determine to die here, and we will conquer. Rally behind the Virginians!” Because of his heroism and because of Bee’s rallying call, Jackson would forever be known as “Stonewall” Jackson.

In 1936, the Virginia legislature approved a budget measure appropriating $25,000 to build a monument to Jackson. The monument was placed at the crest of Henry House Hill. The statue was dedicated on August 31, 1940 after the land had been transferred to the National Park Service. The statue was immediately criticized for being too old and way too muscular, but in the years afterwards it became one of the most visited sites at the battlefield.

After standing by itself for more than sixty years the National Park Service installed a wayside sign explaining the “memory” of Jackson in the 1940s and in the 21st Century. Here is the marker.

Here are close-ups of the text that were taken by the Interior Department’s staff for review. It says that the Sons of Confederate Veterans transferred the land on Henry House Hill in 1938 with the stipulation that the State of Virginia be allowed to erect a statue of Stonewall Jackson.

The next section gives a short history of the creation of the statue and its dedication in 1940. The sign says that while the theme of the ceremony was to hail Jackson’s military leadership, speakers adhered to the “Lost Cause” interpretation which left out the issue of slavery and which exaggerated the military skills of Southern white men. While the “Lost Cause” was initially used first by Confederates after the war, in the 21st Century modern Neo-Confederates denounced the use of the term as “woke.”

The sign closes off with a very brief analysis of the conflicting memories of Bull Run. It took nearly a century and a half before the new sign went up, and it has been mired in controversy ever since.

The other wayside sign that may be removed discusses the home of Andrew Redman. Redman was born a slave and he was held in bondage until the Emancipation Proclamation. In 1906, he said, “After the Emancipation Proclamation I set up my own blacksmith shop and went to work. I felt like a man then, and as if I had something to work for.”

You can see by the text why this is so controversial a sign.

The final picture depicts the Redman house in the early 20th Century, as though freedom for African Americans could advance their status.

These photos were brought to light when the Washington Post published an article last month on the newly leaked files that the National Park Service put together in response to the Interior Department’s order to review exhibits and literature that question white supremacy, slavery, Native American removal, and environmental damage. The directives stemmed from President Trump’s executive order in March that instructed the Park Service to remove or cover up materials that “inappropriately disparage Americans,” part of a broader effort by Mr. Trump to promote a more positive view of the nation’s history.

NEXT: Brochures and Exhibits under review at Vicksburg.