Bull Run remembrance kicks off with pageantry and heat

Dignitaries, history buffs and thousands of reenactors gathered on the hills and fields outside Manassas on Thursday to mark the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Bull Run, the first major battle of the Civil War.

Amid oppressive July weather, those assembled paused to remember the day — July 21, 1861 — when historians say the nation realized the war would not be a pageant, and instead could be long and bloody.

The National Park Service hosted a morning ceremony outside its Henry Hill visitor center, where the battle climaxed that Sunday, and where University of Richmond President Edward L. Ayers said the battle was a kind of blessing.

“We are all fortunate that the battle fought here did not, as so many hoped and expected, begin and end the Civil War,” he said. The war went on brutally for four more years but gave birth to a new nation, free of slavery and destined for future greatness....