Thoroughfare Gap

Thoroughfare Gap, a water gap in Bull Run Mountain created by Broad Run, is the site of the Chapman Family Cemetery. The historic Beverley Mill stands alongside the the stream that cuts through the Manassas Gap. Two highways (Interstate 66 and US Highway 55) both pass through the gap in the mountain here and the Manassas Gap Railroad also traverses the gap at this point. The Battle of Thoroughfare Gap, an important early skirmish in the second battle of Manassas (Bull Run), took place in and around the gap in August 1862, when the Union forces of General Pope unsucessfully attempted to prevent the Confederate forces of General Longstreet from marching to the aid of General Stonewall Jackson along Bull Run. Today, the land north of Manassas Gap is part of the Bull Run Conservancy, a nature preserve run by the Virginia Outdoor Foundation.