Get inside Liberia Plantation with spy tour

Manassas, Va. - A "Spies in the Attic Tour of Liberia Plantation" is one of three area Civil War programs planned for Aug. 28.

While military forces and civilians braced for a Civil War battle to erupt in Manassas, a well-known Washington socialite was quietly sending secret messages to a Confederate colonel and general stationed at Liberia Mansion.

The messages may well have turned the tide in the First Battle of Manassas.

"Spies," sponsored by the Manassas Museum, will offer visitors a rare glimpse into the his-toric 1825 house where both Confederate and Union officers set up headquarters during the war.

Visitors on the tours, scheduled for 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. will also learn abut the importance of spy activity during the war.

Historical interpreter Emily Lapisardi will portray Confederate spy Rose Greenhow during the tour .

Greenhow was the Washington socialite who gleaned information about Union troop movements from prominent friends, and passed it on to Col. Thomas Jordan and Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard at Liberia.

Lapisardi has been a featured speaker at museums, historical societies, educational institutions, festivals, fundraising events and reenactments in nine states and the District of Columbia, including the International Spy Museum in Washington.

Liberia, the Manassas home built in 1825 by William James Weir, served as the headquarters for Beaure-gard and his officers before the Battle of First Manassas. Beauregard abandoned the home in March 1862 but it quickly became the headquarters for Union Gen. Irvin McDowell prior to the Battle of Second Ma-nassas. President Abraham Lincoln is believed to have visited there with McDowell.

When the war ended, Liberia was one of the few homes left unscathed in the area. Some of the Weir family returned to Liberia but were not able to restore the plantation to its former glory.

In later years, the Weir family sold the property to prominent Manassas businessman Robert Portner who developed Liberia into a successful dairy farm. The Breeden family, who bought Liberia in 1947, donated the property to the Manassas Museum system in 1986. It is open only for special events and tours and is undergoing restoration.

Tickets are $15 each and must be purchased in advance.

Other events planned for Aug. 28 include:

• The Prince William County Historic Preservation Division will present tours commemorating the Battle of Kettle Run at Bristoe Battlefield from 9 a.m. to noon. On Aug. 27, 1862, Federal and Confederate forces clashed for the first time at Bristoe Station. Local historians will offer in-depth tours of the battle that served as a prelude to the Second Battle of Manassas. Admission is $5 per person with children under 6 free.

Bristoe Station Battlefield Heritage Park is located on 10708 Bristow Road, Bristow.

• A Battle of Thoroughfare Gap commemoration will be sponsored by Chapman's Mill from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. with tours at 9 a.m., 11 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Tour guides include noted Civil War historians Childs Burden, Jim Burgess and Bruce Slawter. First Virginia Cavalry Confederate reenactors will also participate in the tour. Admission is $5 with children under 12 free.

Chapman's Mill is located at the junction of Route 600 and Va. 55 55 near Haymarket.

Staff writer Bennie Scarton Jr. can be reached at 703-369-6707.