First Bull Run manassas // bull run naming convention?

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Jul 30, 2016
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as far as i know bull run is the federal and manassas the rebel name of these two battles

what i don't understand is why manassas is used so often - the federals won so isn't using manassas somewho raising high the rebel flag?

this is no trolling, btw - i just don't get it
 
It may be because the current name of the park is Manassas National Battlefield. That is how and why I always refer to it despite the fact that I am a Hoosier born and raised.

Now, why the NPS (or its predecessor) I have no idea. Though they also call it Shiloh the Southern name rather than Pittsburg Landing, they also have Antietam (Northern) instead of Sharpsburg, and Pea Ridge instead of Elkhorn Tavern (and I don't remember which side called it what because this battle is a mind block for me and I am having a difficult time remembering key pieces of information...)
 
didn't know about shiloh never heard it called the battle of pittsburg landing

btw, shiloh is quite a household name in germany - the virginian was called die leute von der shiloh ranch (the folks of shiloh ranch)

so it's more or less a mix-up, probably up to the political leaning of the guy to name it in the nps?
 
There are several battles that came to be known by different names, North and South (e.g., Antietam/Sharpsburg). I don't think using one name or the other has any particular partisan significance, although for clarity when addressing non-CW buffs, it's probably better to use the more familiar, galvanized name.
 
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This is the story I have always read about naming of battles. Northern soldiers, far more likely to hail from cities or urbanized areas, are believed to have been impressed with the geography of the south, including its mountains, valleys and abundant rivers and streams. In unfamiliar territory, they named many of their battles after these natural features. For Confederate troops, familiar with the rural, natural terrain, towns and buildings were more memorable, and in the south many of the same battles were referred to after the man-made structures nearby.

http://www.history.com/news/ask-history/why-do-some-civil-war-battles-have-two-names
 
didn't know about shiloh never heard it called the battle of pittsburg landing

btw, shiloh is quite a household name in germany - the virginian was called die leute von der shiloh ranch (the folks of shiloh ranch)

so it's more or less a mix-up, probably up to the political leaning of the guy to name it in the nps?
Shiloh is named after an ancient town in Palestine which was a meeting place and where the Ark of the Covenant was once kept. In Ken Burn's Civil War series it was said it meant "place of peace" or something like that. I know that a lot of churches use that name.
 
what i don't understand is why manassas is used so often - the federals won so isn't using manassas somewho raising high the rebel flag?

The South won both 1st & 2nd Mannassas so by right they should be named as they are.
 
That's one thing I love about our American Civil War. No defeated army in the history of the world has been treated with the reverence and respect than that of a Confederate veteran.
 
I'm NOT going to bit, not even a nibble:nah disagree:
 
It appears that the Union named its battles for the nearest geographical feature, usually a watercourse, hence Bull Run, Antietam. The Confederacy named battles for the nearest settlement, hence Manassas, Sharpsburg. I don't know at what point they gave up on the dual naming convention. I found this info in Shelby Foote and in McPherson's Battle Cry of Freedom.

I read somewhere that the reason the battlefield park is named Manassas is that the land was donated by the United Confederate Veterans who insisted on the name. I did not bookmark the source (if I bookmarked everything I'd never find it again anyway!). Undoubtedly the info is available for the googling. "Manassas" does sound nicer than "Bull Run."

I don't know about Shiloh, but it's certainly a lot shorter to say than Pittsburgh Landing!
 
I read somewhere that the reason the battlefield park is named Manassas is that the land was donated by the United Confederate Veterans who insisted on the name.

so it is raising high the rebel flag - thx for clearing that

I did not bookmark the source (if I bookmarked everything I'd never find it again anyway!). Undoubtedly the info is available for the googling. "Manassas" does sound nicer than "Bull Run."

so true - got a gazillion of lost bookmarks
 
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