In the early summer of 1861, preparations for war made Manassas Junction one of the most famous places on earth. The railway junction held great strategic significance for the Confederacy, and the new nation assembled its largest army to defend this place. The war effort led to the first major battle of the Civil War on July 21, 1861, five miles north of here. The First Battle of Manassas ushered in a brutal, long war. After the battle, the Confederate army remained in the area for the winter, consuming woodlots, livestock, and crops. A local resident recalled that Southern troops quartered on the farm cut down all the firewood that had seemed enough to last for hundreds of years. From Manassas Junction through Centreville to Fairfax, the Confederate army scarred the landscape with vast camps and fortifications.
