Civil War

During the first Battle of Manassas Robinson sent his family to a nearby neighbor’s home for safety. After attempting to secure the house, Robinson set out to join his family. Unfortunately he was unable to reach them because he encountered troop fire. During the battle, Union lines supported by Captain George Davidson positioned themselves on Robinson’s property, using a six-pounder gun to drive back Confederate forces before ultimately having to retreat. Taking refuge under a nearby bridge, Robinson emerged after the first Battle of Manassas to find thirteen Confederate soldiers dead in his front yard.

The Union suffered a defeat that day and the idea that the Civil War would be fought in one winner-take-all battle fell away. Despite this disappointment, the Robinsons were more fortunate than many in the area. Their family had suffered no casualties and their house and grounds were spared from major damage. Unfortunately, the Robinsons would not be so lucky during the second Battle of Manassas

Just over a year later, in August of 1862, Manassas Junction again became the site of a Union and Confederate battle. During the Second Battle of Manassas the Robinson house was overtaken by Union lines and used as an unofficial hospital. On September 11, 1864 the Charleston Daily Courier reported that “the Robinson house is used as a Yankee hospital. In a visit there this morning, I found 100 of them [Yankees] packed in the rooms as thick as sardines… the wounds of the majority were undressed, the blood had dried upon their persons and garments and altogether they were the most horrible set of beings it has been my lot to encounter.”

Following the encounter, the soldiers in and around Robinson house proceeded to pillage the property, taking whatever provisions they saw fit. In a claim filed with the Southern Claims Commission, James Robinson reported that after the second Battle of Manassas troops made off with a bed and furniture from the house (which they used to carry injured soldiers), 12,600 rails from fences across the property, 25 tons of hay, 60 bushels of wheat, 20 bushels of corn, two horses, seven hogs, three barrels of fish, 100 pounds of bacon, two cattle, one acre worth of potatoes, twelve acres worth of corn, 25 acres of oats, and various other provisions from the house and garden. Total this amounted to $2,608 in damages. After working to create a life for himself and his family, James Robinson had to rebuild his wealth and crops following the devastation of the Civil War.