1862 Illustration of the Portici plantation house

SECOND MANASSAS BATTLEFIELD TOUR

STOP 11:  PORTICI

Allow 45 minutes

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See the Second Manassas Battlefield Tour web page for a tour map.

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GETTING THERE

If coming from Tour Stop #10 at Chinn Ridge, take a right out of the parking lot onto Sudley Road and then an immediate left on Battlefield Parkway. This curves around and becomes Vandor Lane. Take a left on a dirt road to get to the parking area for Portici.

WHAT TO SEE

If you aren’t willing to do some hiking, there is no reason to visit Portici, the name given to the plantation house of Francis Lewis. From the parking area, take the moved path through the tall grass out to the house site. The grass has grown up on formerly rutted ground and there are a lot of hidden holes, some deep enough to fit your entire foot. Be careful not to twist an ankle.

Path to the Portici Plantation site on the Second Manassas Battlefield Tour, Manassas National Battlefield Park

Portici burned down late in 1862—no connection to the war—so there is nothing left to see today. The site is marked with two wayside exhibits.

Portici Plantation house site on the Second Manassas Battlefield Tour, Manassas National Battlefield Park

From the house site you can continue along a mowed path for a quarter mile to the Ball Family Cemetery. There are a half-dozen tombstones, but no information about the Balls is provided.

Path to the Ball Cemetery at the Portici Plantation stop on the Second Manassas Battlefield Tour, Manassas National Battlefield Park

Ball Cemetery at the Portici Plantation stop on the Second Manassas Battlefield Tour, Manassas National Battlefield Park

Grave of Alfred Ball in the Ball Cemetery in Manassas National Battlefield Park

From the cemetery, hike back to the road along another mowed path. From there you have a .2-mile walk down the road to your car. Total distance of the hike is about .75 mile.

Road from the Ball Cemetery back to the parking area at the Portici Plantation stop on the Second Manassas Battlefield Tour, Manassas National Battlefield Park

TRAILS

Other than the paths to the house site and cemetery, there are no hiking trails at Portici.

EVENTS AT PORTICI

Portici was used as the headquarters of Confederate General Joseph Johnston during the First Battle of Manassas. After the battle it served as a hospital for both sides.

Some fighting took place between Union and Confederate cavalry units on the plantation grounds at the very end of the Second Battle of Manassas on August 30, 1862.

Next Stop: Stone Bridge | Previous Stop: Chinn Ridge

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