Four More Civil War Battlefields in Virginia Under Our Belts (Fredericksburg/Chancellorsville/The Wilderness/Spotsylvania Court House

While staying at Pocahantas State Park in Chesterfield, Virginia, we toured the sites of 4 more Civil War battles, starting with Fredericksburg. Here is my cotton-brained account of events:

 

The Union’s line of attack was to destroy the Southern economy even if unable to destroy the Army of the Confederate States of America. Hence, on December 11, 1862, the Union, under General Burnside (Lincoln’s replacement for General George McClellan), began to bombard the town of Fredericksburg, strategically located halfway between the Union (Washington, D.C.) and Confederate (Richmond, Virginia) capitals. Buildings were destroyed and burned, and Union pillaging ensued. But, thanks to General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, the Confederates were able to hold the line at Prospect Hill. And the Union’s plan for a diversion at Sunken Road and Marye’s Heights turned into a 7-hour blood bath for the Union. On December 15, the Union retreated, and the Confederates celebrated a victory by reoccupying Fredericksburg.

 

Prospect Hill.

The Innis house is a testament to the Battle of Fredericksburg.  When you get up close, you can still see bullet holes that penetrated its exterior.

The Sunken Road.

This is the only original portion of the wall along the Sunken Road.
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The wall of this family cemetery that dates back to the late 1700s provided shelter for injured Confederate soldiers on Marye's Heights.

View of Innis House from Marye's Heights.

Confederate Richard Kirkland from South Carolina was known as "The Angel of Marye's Heights" for the compassion he exhibited to his enemy.  He provided water to injured Confederate AND Union soldiers.

We visited Chatham in Stafford Heights, a 250-year-old plantation home which served as Union headquarters and a field hospital during the Battle of Fredericksburg. More than 100 slaves toiled here, whether by farming the land, cooking, cleaning, or grooming horses.

 

The grounds of Chatham overlook the Rappahannock River and offer a wonderful view of Fredericksburg. 

The grounds also contain a replica of a pontoon bridge used by Union forces to cross the Rappahannock River to Fredericksburg.
                                                                      

While in the area, we did a walking tour of the city, admiring some of its historic structures. Fredericksburg’s Town Hall building from 1816 to 1982 now houses the Fredericksburg Area Museum (FAM), an interesting, diversified exhibit hall which contains the auction block where slaves were sold to the highest bidder. It also showcased Gladys West. Gladys is a Black woman who broke both racial and gender barriers during the turbulent times of racism and segregation to earn a Master of Mathematics degree and work for the Naval Surface Warfare Center (one of only 4 Black employees). She has a long litany of work accomplishments during her rich lifetime of 94 years, including her work with algorithms and applications that are used in our contemporary global positioning systems (GPS). What an inspiration! I also learned about Sylvania, an innovative company that manufactured cellophane.  Established in Fredericksburg in 1930, Sylvania  created 500 jobs during the Great Depression. At its peak in 1960, Sylvania employed 2,500 people. Unfortunately, it closed its doors in 1978. 

Most of these Fredericksburg structures pre-date the Civil War.

The slave auction block--a stark reminder of the dark and inhumane times of slavery. 

The Sylvania Company of Fredericksburg was the maker of an innovative product known as cellophane.

The Museum had an extensive collection of Civil War rifles, too.

Couldn't resist perusing this specialty shop within Fredericksburg.  It featured my fellow rodentia!  From houses to campers, these mice live a life of luxury--just like me, the Rambling RV Rat!

We viewed historic homes on Caroline Street.  Then we strolled along the greenways of the Washington Street Historic District, viewing the statues/monuments and lovely homes, several of which date back to the 1890s. This quaint residential area once represented the fields of Kenmore Plantation, the 1752 estate of Colonel Fielding Lewis and his wife, Betty, sister of George Washington. The gravesite of Mary Washington, beloved mother to George, is also nearby. We visited both the Confederate Cemetery and the National Cemetery, paying our respects to all who sacrificed their lives for their convictions.

A Caroline Street antebellum gem, built circa 1855 in Greek Revival style.

Several of these Washington Street homes are from the 1890s.

A beautiful 1906 Victorian home on Washington Street.

What remains of Kenmore Plantation, one-time estate of the sister and brother-in-law of George Washington .

Gravesite of Mary Washington, beloved mother of George.

Horace Lacy, the owner of Chatham Plantation, was instrumental in raising funds for this gate/wall for the Confederate Cemetery.

Confederate soldier graves, many of their identities unknown.

Fredericksburg National Cemetery.

We went on to learn about the Battle of Chancellorsville, which occurred April 27-May 6, 1863. Chancellorsville was not a town, but instead the plantation of the Chancellor family. Union General Joseph Hooker planned to squeeze the Confederates, advancing from both the North and South, and establishing a strong defensive line. But the Confederates, under General Stonewall Jackson, found a weak link, and obliterated Hooker’s right flank during a surprise attack on May 2. The Confederates continued to pound the Union with cannon fire at Hazel Grove, and some of the fiercest infantry fighting and cannon fire took place at Fairview. The Battle of Chancellorsville was a huge victory for General Lee and the Confederates—but it came at a tremendous cost. One-third of Lee’s army were killed or wounded. More importantly, he lost his right-hand man. You see, Stonewall Jackson was hit by friendly fire. We drove along the route the ambulance took to transport Jackson to the hospital where his arm was amputated. (Mom admonished Dad—he was driving so fast along this winding 14-mile road, you would think he was the one transporting Jackson!). Sadly, Jackson died 7 days later from pneumonia.

The foundations of the buildings at the plantation of the Chancellor Family.

Hard to believe that this lush field of Chancellor Plantation...

 

...was once the scene of so much carnage.

This monument marks the location where Stonewall Jackson was wounded by friendly fire.

The hospital where Stonewall Jackson's arm was amputated...

...and where he died from pneumonia 1 week later.

Next up was the Battle of the Wilderness on May 5-6, 1864. President Lincoln’s obsession to stomp this war quickly and reunite the country resulted in him changing commanders frequently. Hence, he put Ulysses Grant in charge of all Union forces. The Battle of the Wilderness was the first direct match between Grant and Confederate General Lee.

 

Though battle sites included Saunders Field, Chewning Farm, and Tapp Farm, to name a few, most of the fighting took place in dense forests. With smoke from artillery fire, it was difficult to discern the enemy. Although the Union had twice as many troops as the Confederates (120,000 vs 60,000 respectively), it could not claim victory. Tactically, the Battle of the Wilderness was considered a draw. But Lee suffered a loss of key personnel in this battle with the injury of his second-in-command, General James Longstreet.

Dense forests like this one were the scene...

...of most of the fighting during the Battle of the Wilderness.

Confederate General James Longstreet was injured on nearby Plank Road.

I learned that Ellwood Manor was owned by the Lacy family (who also owned Chatham). Ellwood Manor served as Union Headquarters during this battle. Though caught in the crossfires of the Battle of the Wilderness, Ellwood Manor is the only original home still standing on the battlefield.   

With the Battle of the Wilderness concluding without a victory for the Union, General Grant moved to Spotsylvania Court House to get between Confederate troops and Richmond, the Capital of the Confederate States of America. But General Lee, anticipating Grant’s plan, arrived minutes earlier, and began attacking Union troops at Laurel Hill on May 8, 1864. The Union made two attempts to charge and break Confederate lines on Laurel Hill, but each time it was a failure, resulting in 5,000 Union casualties, including the mortal wounding of Union General John Sedgwick by a sharpshooter’s bullet.

 

Fighting for Confederate earthworks known as the Bloody Angle took place on May 12, 1864. Close range fighting continued for 20 hours in the rain, creating a combined casualty count of 17,000. While the Union fought to win, the Confederates fought to survive—and survive they did.  On May 21, 1864, recognizing the battle as a stalemate, Grant left Spotsylvania Court House, setting his sights on Richmond.

 

Monument commemorating the location where Union General Sedgwick perished during the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House. 

These earthworks became known as the Bloody Angle.

Wow, my head is spinning from all I learned about these battles! But I am thrilled to report that I earned 4 more Junior Ranger badges and even a set of patches!  Time to get a Junior Ranger vest (in addition to my hat) to display all my achievements!

 

I earned badges AND patches for these battles!

Well, I'll sign off now. Talk to you again soon!