On the morning of July 21, 1861, Union troops crossed Bull Run at Sudley Ford, forded Catharpin Run at Sudley Springs Ford, and passed Sudley Methodist Church on their march to the First Battle of Manassas; eight hours later many retraced this route in retreat from the battlefield. On August 29, 1862, Confederate forces under Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson took up positions along an unfinished railroad and repulsed a series of bloody attacks during the Second Battle of Manassas. The left of Jackson's line, held by troops from Maj. Gen. A. P. Hill's division, occupied rising ground immediately west of the church and guarded the vital network of roads and fords leading north as a potential route of escape should disaster strike. Nearby, the Thornberry House became filled with Union wounded during First Manassas.
