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[231] deep. The course of Bull Run, on the contrary, lies between thickly wooded banks, while the slopes which terminate the Manassas plateau on that side are more and more precipitous. This plateau is bounded on the north-west by a small stream, Young's Branch; beyond it stretch the flat lands of Sudeley Springs, and along this latter stream the main road follows a line as straight as a Roman causeway. On the opposite side of Bull Run, and almost to the north of Manassas, the ground rises in the shape of a circular mound, upon which stands the little village of Centreville, surrounded by cultivated fields and traversed by the high road; this place is seven kilometres from the stone bridge. Such was the ground on which the first army organized by the Confederates had been posted; its camps occupied the Manassas plateau, where it had open spaces for drilling, and where it was covered by line of Bull Run. A few earthworks surrounded the railway station, and a portion of its artillery was in position at the various fords of Bull Run, forming batteries skilfully masked by the foliage. A detachment of considerable size was stationed at Centreville, another farther on at Fairfax Court-house, and Beauregard's cavalry pushed their pickets to within sight of Washington. It was in these positions that McDowell was to seek his adversary. The railway which starts from Alexandria, and on the line of which lies Manassas Junction, offered him little resource, for it passes through wooded ravines, far from any road, and is intersected by numerous wooden bridges that a retreating enemy could easily destroy. In order to follow this direction, therefore, there only remained to him, besides cross-roads, the turnpike from Alexandria to Warrenton, which, running from east to west, passes through the villages of Annandale and Fairfax Court-house before it reaches Centreville. It became necessary, therefore, to move the greatest portion of the army with its baggage on a single route, leaving the remainder to follow by diverging lines, so as to reduce the amount of incumbrances—a double difficulty added to those we have already mentioned. On the 9th of July, McDowell was ordered to make preparations for assuming the offensive in eight days, and at the same
Philadelphia, Jos. H. Coates and co., 1876.
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