I found the foloowing information on dcmilitary.com

Manassas battlefield classroom for FMMC officers' professional development

Over hill and dale and through field and forest, 11 officers from Fort Myer trudged Tuesday. The reason was a staff ride to Manassas Battlefield (Bull Run) organized by Headquarters Command Battalion commander Lt. Col. Brian W. Lauritzen as part of the officers' professional development program.

The staff ride is a legacy of the post-Civil War Army. Officers would ride around the battlefields of the era to study the tactics of the various officers to learn from their mistakes.

The Massassas trip was led by Fort Myer Military Community historian Kim Holien, who used every opportunity on the bus to point out a historical correlation or three. A traffic tie up on route 66 is likened to the delay incurred by Gen. Irvin McDowell's green troops marching up the Warrenton turnpike to the first battle of Bull Run.

Holien regales his audience on the bus with accounts of Tom Custer and his two deserved Medals of Honor, and how MacArthur was nominated three times for the award but received only one.

"This is where it all started," Lauritzen said of his choice of battles to study. "It's neat to have in your own backyard the first battle. The basic (officer) courses don't emphasize history. It's good to understand the roots of your profession."

The first stop is at The Stone Bridge where the first shots of the battle were fired. Holien not only explained the importance of the bridge, he tried to explain what the soldiers in the Civil War saw, heard and felt.

"There were three constants on the Civil war battlefield: noise, smoke and confusion," Holien said.

He went on to point out that the bridge was important because it was not only a crossing point for the Federals' huge supply column. It sat astride a macadamized road. This was important because an Army's supply train could travel three miles an hour on the surfaced road and only one mile an hour on a dirt one.

The historian constantly tried to relate the lessons of the past to today's young officers. Holien stressed that McDowell was outwitted by lieutenants and, under the command of Col. "Shank" Evans. McDowell's 35,000 troops were stopped from crossing the bridge by a regiment of 900 men and forced to ford three miles down stream when Evans' subordinates faked him out at closer crossings.

The delay in crossing allowed Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard time to bring up other troops to stop the Union turning movement at Henry Hill.

This was the spot where Gen. Thomas J. Jackson received his famous nickname.

{{{Holien explained that the sign on the battlefield is wrong. Barnard Bee told his men when they were being pushed back, "There stands Jackson's brigade like a stone wall. Rally on the Virginians." This is counter to the incorrectly and much repeated version: "There stands Jackson like a stone wall! Rally behind the Virginians!" }}}

The historian explained that Jackson was unknown at the time and Bee's troops would not have known him in the smoke and confusion but would have known Jackson's brigade. He also took the group to the spot where this occurred, and showed by pointing out the disposition of troops that Bee would not have told his men to stand behind Jackson's because that would have left his flank exposed.

The Grey eventually triumphed on that first major battle of the war on July 21, 1861, when a Confederate attack crushed the Union right flank and started a rout of the whole Northern Army.

An officer at each stop role-plays the role of a leading officer during the battle. A young leader addresses the group on what his character did in the battle.

Maj. Mike Masley, commander of Headquarters Company-U.S. Army and a graduate of Virginia Military Institute, fittingly talked about Stonewall Jackson.

"Stonewall Jackson was commandant of cadets at VMI," Masley said. "I like to relate to the past. It's good lessons learned. We have to make sure we don't make the same mistakes."

The group was taken to each important stop on the battlefields, and the importance of each area was explained by Holien and one of the officers, speaking as a historical character.

Capt. Erin Ballard, commander of the Fort Myer Military Police Company, spoke as Union Gen. Gibbons, and explained the general's actions at Brawner House during the Second Battle of Bull Run. Ballard eloquently talked about how three Gibbons brothers fought for the South.

"I really enjoyed it," Ballard said after her talk. "It helps to understand the battle better on the ground."

The two armies, larger and better trained, met just over a year later in late August of 1862, but the results were similar.

Gen. Longstreet struck the Union left on Aug. 30, after a failed Yankee attack against Jackson's men in an unfinished railroad cut. Longstreet's furious assault pushed the Northern Army back into the defenses of Washington.

The officers were tired after a long day traipsing about the battlefields, but Maj. Eric Wolf spoke about the Staff ride on the bus home.

"It was a great experience," Wolf said. "You've got to learn something new everyday."

Lauritzen said he would like to take officers to Antietam, Chancellorsville and possibly Gettysburg on future staff rides.