Report Is Expected On Manassas Viewsheds; 25 Sites Proposed
By Scott C. Boyd
(October 2008 Civil War News)
MANASSAS, Va. – A draft plan to preserve vantage and historical viewsheds at Manassas National Battlefield Park is being prepared, however its Oct. 2 release was postponed and was not rescheduled by presstime.
Ray Brown, Cultural Resource Manager at Manassas NBP, defines “viewshed” as a landscape or terrain that is visible from one or more vantage points. The term “is typically used in the context of community planning, historic preservation and open space conservation,” Brown adds.
On a battlefield, consider the field in front of earthworks where advancing forces attacked their entrenched foes.
The line of sight from a point behind the earthworks toward the field would be the viewshed. Things possibly interfering with a viewshed include cell towers, high buildings and power lines.
Viewsheds at the Manassas NBP are endangered by rapid growth and development in Prince William County, a Virginia suburb of Washington, D.C.
The county government and National Park Service have been cooperating to mitigate this threat. Following a study identifying the battlefield park’s significant viewsheds for both the First and Second Battles of Manassas, a preservation plan will be written to recommend ways to protect and enhance them.
“The NBP has preserved some of the views and some of the landscape of part of the core ground of the battlefield - both battles,” Prince William County archeologist Justin Patton says.
“The core ground extends beyond the park boundaries, first of all. And second of all, there are other lands associated with the battle: troop maneuvers, encampments, hospitals, supply chains — that played very significant roles, signal stations for example, that are outside of the core battlefield areas, the core ground.”
Patton says such sites “are of equal significance.”
“Now, whether they’re worthy of preservation or not, or worthy of some preservation effort, is another story,” he adds. “You have to make practical decisions about what you can and cannot preserve or what you should or should not preserve.”
Those “practical decisions” Patton spoke of are reflected in the proposed list of viewsheds that was presented at a public meeting on June 19. They were broken down into two broad categories: Public Vantage Points (PVPs) and Historically Based Viewsheds (HBVs).
The viewsheds listed as PVPs “are being analyzed more thoroughly” than the HBVs, according to Brown. “The level of analysis is different, due to funding.” Half of the HBVs are inside the NBP property and half are outside.
“All are historically-based viewsheds, not just the ones labeled as such,” Brown says, to clarify the way the two categories of viewsheds were named. “We wrestled with the nomenclature.”
The 10 Public Vantage Points are: Matthews Hill, Henry Hill, Van Pelt, Brawner House, Deep Cut, Sudley, Stuart’s Hill, a position held by S.D. Lee’s artillery battalion at Second Manassas, Chinn Ridge and Portici.
The 15 Historically Based Viewsheds include these 10 inside the Manassas NBP: Stone Bridge Overlook, Stone Bridge, Pittsylvania, Robinson House, J. Dogan House, High Point along Sudley Road, Groveton, W. Lewis House, Pageland and Battery Heights.
The five prospective HBVs outside the NBP property are: Mayfield Fort, Centreville Heights, Signal Hill, Thoroughfare Gap, and Bristoe Battlefield.
The study area included a 1,000-meter buffer around the national park outer perimeter and some land in the neighboring Virginia counties of Fairfax and Loudon related to the two battles at Manassas.
An important PVP site is missing from the proposed list, says Harvey Simon, vice-president of the Friends of Manassas NBP. He thinks Buck Hill, where Union commander Gen. John Pope had his headquarters at Second Manassas, should be included.
Simon says good interpretation of the battle requires that visitors understand that Pope couldn’t see (due to natural obstructions) the Confederates attacking his left flank from his headquarters on Buck Hill. This affected Pope’s decisions during the battle.
Simon makes the point that a viewshed is not only important for showing what a commander could see, but also what he couldn’t see.
The draft Viewsheds Preservation Plan will be posted on the NPS Planning, Environment and Public Comment (PEPC) Web site, parkplanning.nps.gov (search for “Manassas NBP”) about two weeks before a public meeting about it is scheduled, Brown says.
Following public comments and review, the final plan will be completed and submitted to the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, which will decide about implementation. The January 2009 due date for the plan has been pushed back.
The viewshed protection study began in August 2006 when county supervisors ratified a $60,000 grant award from the American Battlefield Protection Program. The county Office of Planning jointly manages the project with the National Park Service.
Philip L. Walker of The Walker Collaborative in Nashville, Tenn., was chosen as consultant in June 2007. In addition to conducting public meetings, Walker is doing the research and reports.
In August and September 2007, a steering committee representing 10 preservation and local government groups was picked to provide guidance to the consultant, review reports and to communicate with the constituents they represent.
Last fall and winter was spent selecting the viewsheds at the heart of the project. |