Mary and I have visited almost half of our National Parks and several National Battlefields. There are many more battlefields than national parks, but if you spend just a little time in and around northern Virginia, you can see quite a few of the most important of them. Here are a few photos from Manassas and Gettysburg.
The American Civil War may be the defining moment of this nation’s history. I have read many books about the war, specific battles,and biographies of the main participants. I just finished the new Robert E. Lee biography, Clouds of Glory. Reading about the war is very different than actually seeing the battlefields and imagining 50-150,000 men lined up against each other along fronts that were sometimes miles long.
To see all of the monuments and key positions at Gettysburg would take days. The new visitors’ center is impressive and the famous diorama is a must see.
Little Round Top is the perfect place to watch the sunset. Get there early as there is limited parking and it is quite popular. We watched the sun set below the horizon with about 100 other people, who all got up and left. Mary and I stayed around with 1-2 people to witness one of the best skies we have ever seen. Remember, often times, the best light is always 10-15 minutes after the actual sunset. See our blog on the Golden Hour.
Manassas (or Bull Run) is a much smaller battlefield, but is famous for having two battles fought here.
General Thomas Jackson earned his nickname at this site and has a very impressive statue/monument.
We are not expert Civil War battlefield photographers (yet). I really want to plan a trip again to see more sites and make more photos. If you really want to see what an expert can do, please check out the remarkable photos of Gettysburg and other Civil War battlefields by Chris Heisey.
To see more of (and buy) our photographs, please go to www.pamphotography.com.
pamphotography 
Hi Peter and Mary,
Thanks for sharing your photographs here. I live pretty close to Gettysburg and go there a few times each year. It’s definitely a beautiful place to photograph, especially if you avoid the summers or busy weekends. I’ve published a detailed guide to photographing Gettysburg at my blog – https://loadedlandscapes.com/gettysburg-pa/