While the best way to tour Manassas National Battlefield is with a park interpreter, a second option is with the "Bull Run Battle App" developed for Android smartphones by the Civil War Trust.

The Trust, the nation’s largest nonprofit battlefield preservation organization, worked with NeoTreks, Inc., to develop the GPS-based touring app.  Previous iterations of these free, multimedia and GPS-enabled smartphone tours of historic sites had been created for use on Apple devices

Android users who visit the Android Market will now have the option of downloading the Trust’s “Bull Run Battle App,” which features a 13-stop GPS-guided tour with “virtual signs” and additional points of interest that can be accessed with a few simple clicks.  Each stop along the way contains a rich description of the historical significance of the site, along with photos, video commentary from battlefield experts and audio accounts from the soldiers and civilians who trod this ground during the Civil War.

“We firmly believe that the innovate approach of our Battle Apps brings the past alive like never before,” said Trust president James Lighthizer, “And we’re thrilled that tens of millions more individuals with an interest in Civil War history will now have the opportunity to take advantage of this unique resource.  With their unique combination of primary source material and the commentary of respected historians, plus the convenience of independent study, our Battle Apps offer users the best of all worlds.”

While this is the first Android product the Trust has released, to date, more than 30,000 users have downloaded Battle Apps to their Apple devices.  Now that the “Bull Run Battle App,” which is designed for Android operating system 2.3 and higher, has been successfully launched, versions of the Trust’s other offerings — covering fighting on the Chancellorsville, Fredericksburg and Gettysburg battlefields — will follow.  In addition to providing a wealth of location-based historical accounts, the apps also contain a wide variety of resource material, including complete orders of battle, chronologies, overviews and at-a-glance facts.

Thanks in part to the support of the Virginia Department of Transportation, the Civil War Trust is working to develop even more Battle App offerings in the coming months and years.  Next in the development pipeline are Battle Apps for the Malvern Hill, Cedar Creek and Petersburg battlefields.

For more information about the content, use and availability of GPS-enable Civil War Trust Battle Apps for Apple devices and Android phones, please visit this page on the Trust's website.