Peace Jubilee

In July 1911, Manassas hosted an amazing event; the Manassas National Jubilee of Peace, which brought together Union and Confederate veterans 50 years after the first major battle of the Civil War. Veterans of both sides came together for the first time on the same ground in a ceremony of peace and reconciliation.

The Peace Jubilee, a week-long celebration of national healing and reunion took place July 16–22. The festivities culminated on July 21, the battle's anniversary. The Union and Confederate veterans organized into separate lines on Henry House Hill, where 50 years before they had clashed in mortal combat. On a signal, the two sides approached each other and clasped hands as they met to symbolize friendship and reconciliation. After a picnic on the battlefield, the crowd returned to the Prince William County Courthouse to listen to a speech by President William Howard Taft.

Civil War veterans later held reunions on other great Civil War battlefields, but just as Manassas had been the site of the first major engagement of the war, it was also the site of the first reunion of these former adversaries.