View of the 1918 Sudley Church from the Stop 5 parking lot on the Second Manassas Battlefield Tour, Manassas National Battlefield Park
SECOND MANASSAS BATTLEFIELD TOUR
STOP 5: SUDLEY CHURCH AREA
Allow five minutes (an hour if you hike the Sudley Loop Trail)
See the Second Manassas Battlefield Tour web page for a tour map.
GETTING THERE
The Sudley Church Area tour stop is going to sneak up on you, and it is very easy to drive by the parking area. The problem is twofold. One, if you are coming from the Matthews Hill tour stop—which is the way the tour is meant to be driven—the parking area comes prior to the church and cemetery, and there isn’t a Stop 5 road sign warning you that it is coming up. Two, you will be fixated on parking at the existing church, but that is not the tour stop. The tour stop parking lot is tiny, only holding three cars. It is located prior to the cemetery. If you miss it, turn around. Assuming you are coming from Matthews Hill, the parking lot will be on your left. Oddly enough, there is a road sign for the tour stop parking lot if you are coming from the church, which means you would be driving in the opposite direction from the way the Second Manassas Battlefield Tour is meant to be driven.
WHAT TO SEE
The original Sudley Methodist Church was built in 1814, but it was damaged beyond repair during the Civil War and was rebuilt in the 1870s. This one burned down and was replaced by the current building in 1918. Since nothing exists from the Civil War era, the only thing to do at this stop is read the three wayside exhibits about the events that took place in the area.
TRAILS
The trailhead for the Sudley Loop Trail is located on the opposite side of the road from the parking lot. This .8-mile trail loops around to Bull Run (creek) and passes the Thornberry House, one of three Civil War structures remaining in Manassas National Battlefield Park (the Stone House and the Dogan House are the other two). However, the trail mainly deals with First Manassas events. If your interest is in Second Manassas, unless you are just out for exercise, there is no reason to hike it.
There is also a connector trail that leads to the Unfinished Railroad Loop Trail, but there is no reason to hike it. If you want to hike the loop trail, park at the Unfinished Railroad tour stop and hike it from there.
EVENTS AT SUDLEY CHURCH
The Sudley Church area was the scene of some of the most intense fighting during the Second Battle of Manassas. It is here late in the second day of fighting that 3,000 Union troops under the command of General Phillip Kearny attacked the left flank of the Confederate army, which was under the command of Lieutenant General Ambrose Hill. Bull Run is about 150 yards northeast of the church on the other side of the road, so this was the left anchor point for Stonewall Jackson’s army.
August 29th Second Manassas battle map of the Sudley Church area (click to enlarge)
By the time of the attack at 5 PM, the Confederates had been fighting for nearly ten hours. The men on the extreme left flank, commanded by Brigadier General Maxey Gregg, had run out of ammunition, but they dug in to fight off an attack using their bayonets. Just as things were looking dim, Jackson sent a brigade under the command of Jubal Early to the scene to save the day. By the time darkness arrived, the Union had been pushed back and the Confederates held their line. This was the final fighting on August 29th.
The Sudley Church area also figured prominently in the First Battle of Manassas. No fighting took place here, but it is near the church that the Union army crossed Bull Run and Catharpin Creek in an attempt to circle around Confederate forces stationed near the Stone Bridge and attack them from the rear. Once across the two creeks they planned to march unopposed to Henry Hill, but the Confederates grew wise to their plan and confronted them at Matthews Hill. This is the same route that the Union soldiers took when retreating later that day.
Next Stop: Unfinished Railroad | Previous Stop: Matthews Hill
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Last updated on February 26, 2026
