Near Spotsylvania Courthouse in Spotsylvania County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
Night-time Horror
The Battle of Chancellorsville
Blinding sheets of musketry tore through the dark woods. Unable to see, Union soldiers fired into their own men. Both Union and Confederate artillery shells ripped indiscriminately through the timber. Birney's men panicked. They fell back to Hazel Grove, their mission not accomplished. In the morning they would be called upon to fight again, in a battle far more terrible and costly than any they had endured.
"The scare wasn't confined to the privates. Officers dodged hither and thither, some of them so frightened that they couldn't have told their names."
Private John Haley, 17th Maine
(map caption)
Believing that the uproar here signaled a Confederate attack, Union cannons at Fairview randomly shelled these woods, killing friend and foe alike. "The lightening flash of batteries, the roaring of artillery, the crashing of timber...was a spectacle of be seen and heard that night—more easily imagined than described," wrote one Union officer.
Erected by Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. A significant historical date for this entry is May 2, 1863.
Location. 38° 18.44′ N, 77° 39.128′ W. Marker is near Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia, in Spotsylvania County. Marker is on Stuart Drive, 0.2 miles south of Plank Road (Virginia Route 3), on the left when traveling south. Marker is located at Tour Stop 9 on the Chancellorsville Battlefield Auto Tour Route. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Spotsylvania VA 22553, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Bloody Morning (a few steps from this marker); Elisha Franklin Paxton (about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); Brig. Gen. E. F. Paxton, C.S.A. (about 800 feet away); Chancellorsville Campaign (approx. 0.2 miles away); Hazel Grove—Fairview Trail (approx. ¼ mile away); Jackson (approx. ¼ mile away); Jackson Monuments (approx. ¼ mile away); Hazel Grove (approx. ¼ mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Spotsylvania Courthouse.
Also see . . . Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park. National Park Service (Submitted on January 8, 2018.)
Credits. This page was last revised on April 25, 2023. It was originally submitted on January 5, 2018, by Shane Oliver of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 275 times since then and 14 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on January 5, 2018, by Shane Oliver of Richmond, Virginia. 2. submitted on April 24, 2023, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.