Old Stone House

Built in 1820 this stone house stood right in the middle of the Manassas battlefield at the intersection of 2 large supply roads. When the Union General McDowell swept his forces down Mathews Hill, he set up headquarters right behind this stone house which would be in the foreground of this sketch. The building was used as a field hospital and the floor boards became soaked with blood. It seems amazing that the building does not have a single bullet hole to scar its facade. The h0use on the hill, the Henry House, was riddled with bullet and artillery fire damage. That home saw the only civilian fatality of the battle. Judith Carter Henry, 85 years old and bedridden refused to leave her upstairs bedroom as the battle raged on in the fields around her home. Confederate snipers were using the house. Judith was killed by a Union bullet meant for one of those snipers. She is buried in the front yard and a headstone marks the spot.