Southern New England Outdoor and Nature Site: Northern Virginia Civil War Battlefields

If you are a history buff, you may enjoy this post. If you think history is boring, or worse offended by it, you may as well click off now. Assuming you are still reading, chances are if you have ever gone to a Civil War battlefield or heard of one, it is Gettysburg. Gettysburg Battlefield is so popular I would consider it a tourist destination. For sure, the community depends on tourist dollars.

However, there are many other Civil War battles that took place that where many men saw there last day. The area around Fredericksburg, VA saw four major battles. One each in 1862 and 1863, and two in 1864. When we were in DC, the weather for Thursday was unpredictable. There was a chance of thunderstorms all day up and down the East Coast. We knew it was going to rain so instead of being on our bikes two miles from our car in a severe Thunder Boomer, I came up with a plan to go to the battlefields. Worst case scenario, we would be on a short trail on the battlefield if the weather deteriorated.

This is the Sunken Road and wall the
South was entrenched behind

The battlefields were about a ninety minute ride from our Greenbelt Campground. Our first stop was the Visitor Center in Fredericksburg. Fredericksburg also was the first battle chronologically. It happened in December of 1862. The Visitor center sits on the main part of the battlefield. Unbelievably, much of the area is covered with houses. These houses sit on hallowed ground where men bled and died. I was shocked so much of the battlefield was built up.

A quick rundown of the battle- The Union forces arrived at Fredericksburg first. They were commanded by the newly appointed General Burnside. They arrived without pontoon boats. For ten days they could not cross the river. This gave the South, commanded by Lee, time to set up his defense on the high ground above the river. Once the pontoons came, the Union tried to set them up as makeshift bridges. The sharpshooters picked off the Union Engineers so the North opened fire on the town with canon basically destroying it. Once across the bridges the Union ransacked the town. After ransacking the town, the Union attacked the strong position at Marye's Heights. Thirteen times they charged the Confederates. The South had canon stationed on top of the hill aiming down at the Union soldiers. The infantry was protected by a stone wall and a sunken road. The Union had a half a mile of open ground to cover from the river to the wall. They never made it. It was a slaughter. The night after the battle was cold. Dying soldiers lied in freezing mud only adding to their agony. After the battle, both sides settled down for their winter quarters.

This is the top of Marye's Heights. The canon
were placed at the top of the hill. The stone wall is in front
in the photo. Below, Union soldiers had a half mile
of open ground to cover. They never made
it to the wall despite 13 attempts

Marye's Heights is still protected. I got to walk the sunken road and see some original stone work. You can not see down to the Rappahannock River thanks to the housing units. However, you can still get an idea of what Northern Soldiers went through because of idiotic leadership. The Visitor Center has a video recreating the battle. You can get maps there. The Ranger on Duty knows all there is to know about the area.

Chancellorsville-

After we left Fredericksburg we went to Chancellorsville. It is about a 25 minute ride west. This battle happened in June of 1863. It was the lightening bolt that convinced Lee to invade the north and lead to Gettysburg. Happily, this battle happened in what is still farm country and the area is very pretty today.

At this crossroads, which was here at the time of
the battle, Lee had a quick meeting with
Stonewall Jackson while his men marched to their
flanking movement. It was the last time they'd meet.

On the way to the main battlefield you come across the Spotsylvania County Museum. At this spot, the first day of the three day battle happened. The main battlefield is a few miles down the road. This was probably Lee's biggest victory. Against a superior force he divided his forces twice. He left men in Fredericksburg to keep part of the Union army from joining the main body. Then he split them again. Stonewall Jackson took half of the men around the Union flank and hit them by total surprise. The Union flank rolled up and they were routed on the second day. The commanding general Fighting Joe Hooker lost all will to fight and the north was basically leaderless.

At the far front of the photo, 1500 yards away Confederate
canon dueled with Union Canon before a frontal
assault pushed the Union back across the river

The biggest loss to the Confederates was Jackson. Jackson was shot multiple times by his own men after scouting enemy lines. He died a few days later of pneumonia. Day three the Confederates charged with a frontal assault on the Union line and again, were victorious. The north was humiliated. The South was emboldened and headed north towards Pennsylvania.

The battlefield is large. There is a battle road drive you can take that hits the major spots of battle. The battle was named after a house that a family (of slave owners) named the Chancellors. The west end of the battlefield where Jackson rolled up the Union flank is only five miles from the "Wilderness Battlefield" When we got done at Chancellorsville it was 3 pm. We thought about heading back to camp because our plan was to go to two of the four battlefields. However, leaving for the DC area was a bad idea at 3 pm. So we went to The Wilderness.

The Wilderness -

The Wilderness happened in May 1864. The North had a new general U.S. Grant. Unlike his predecessors Grant was confident and aggressive. The battle was named after the rough ground it was fought on. The woods had been cut years earlier. The undergrowth and small trees were a tangled mess. It was impossible to move troops or to evens see the enemy a few yards in front. The vegetation was a tinderbox. Much of the fighting caused fires that killed many of the soldiers. As many put it, it was hell on earth.

It is actually a lot harder to picture the troop movements at The Wilderness because the area is a lot more open The tangled mess they fought in is no longer there. The two sides basically fought to stalemate after a couple of days, though the North lost more men, they also could afford to loose men and the South could not. Instead of attacking the entrenched men of Lee's line on May 8th after three days of fighting, Grant headed south trying to get around Lee's line to attack Richmond. Lee guessed Grant's next destination was Spotsylvania Courthouse and tried to beat Grant there.

The famous "Lee to the Rear" incident
happened at the Wilderness.
The men would not go forward
until Lee got out of harm's way

Spotsylvania is the forth battle in the Fredericksburg area. However we did not have time to go to that one. With a very early start, one could see all four battlefields in a day. We did not rush at the three we went to but we didn't do much hiking either. That was mostly because of the persistent light rain. We did walk a couple of short trails. One was to a field where there was an artillery duel between both sides followed by the third day assault at Chancellorsville. The other was a large field at Spotsylvania where a Texas Brigade came out of the woods after a long march to save Lee's army from getting destroyed.

All in all it was a great but somber day. So much death. It was the third bucket list thing I saw on the trip, Cherry Blossoms, Blackwater (the Sika Deer and Delmarva Fox Squirrel), and the Battlefields)