On the morning of May 3, 1863, Union artillery at Fairview suffered the most intense artillery bombardment of the battle. More than 40 Confederate guns at Hazel Grove (visible 1,200 yards in front of you) concentrated their fire on 34 Union cannon . . . — — Map (db m295247) HM
This is the Chancellor family cemetery. In the first half of the 19th century the Chancellors dominated this section of Spotsylvania County. Fairview was the original family seat, but branches of the family eventually lived at Chancellorsville, . . . — — Map (db m295251) HM
At about 7:00 a.m. on May 3, a dangerous gap in the Union line opened near the Orange Turnpike, ¼ mile to your right. Federal troops on your right, led by Hiram Berry, retreated about ½ mile and established a new position. The blue-clad soldiers . . . — — Map (db m295283) HM
Formerly a Chancellor farmstead, on May 3, 1863, Fairview became a gory landscape. That morning all the energy and violence of the Battle of Chancellorsville focused here - on the fields and woods around a commonplace log house. Here, the . . . — — Map (db m295246) HM
Just ahead of you stood a story-and-a-half log house known as Fairview. This was originally a Chancellor home, but during the Civil War James Moxley and his family occupied it. Moxley was overseer of Frances Chancellor's 20 slaves. Moxley likely . . . — — Map (db m295250) HM
"The road, the woods, and fields on either side, over which the enemy retired, were strewn with knapsacks, blankets, overcoats, and many other valuable articles." - Gen. Paul Semmes, CSA
Union Gen. George Sykes, . . . — — Map (db m295200) HM
On this ridge, the Union brigade of Brig. Gen. William Hays, supported by artillery, temporarily stopped the Confederate advance across the ground below you. A member of the 12th New Jersey described what happened next: "We were in open sight, . . . — — Map (db m295282) HM
On the morning of May 3, this large, open plateau, known as "Hazel Grove," was the key to the Union position. "Stonewall" Jackson's flank attack the evening before had staggered the Union army but had not seriously damaged it. As the new day . . . — — Map (db m295256) HM
The climactic fighting of the Battle of Chancellorsville took place in the woods and fields around Fairview. Here on the morning of May 3, 1863, Union troops struggled to maintain their position long enough to allow General Hooker time to . . . — — Map (db m295255) HM
Around you is tangible and dramatic evidence of the impact "Stonewall" Jackson's flank attack had on the Union army. The artillery emplacements (lunettes) in front of you were constructed at a fairly leisurely rate on May 1 and 2, 1863. They face . . . — — Map (db m295252) HM
Maj. Gen. Hiram G. Berry's division formed the front of the Union defense north of the Orange Turnpike on the morning of May 3. Although virtually all of Berry's entrenchments have disappeared, this small segment of works on the right marks the . . . — — Map (db m295285) HM
After the May 3, 1863, fighting at Chancellorsville, the Confederates gathered up 500 wounded Union soldiers and brought them here to Fairview. For more than a week the helpless men lay in the yard around the house, receiving little medical care, . . . — — Map (db m295249) HM
Union soldiers on the front line probably utilized these rifle pits on May 3-5. Trenches on the other side of the creek possibly served Confederate skirmishers. While the fighting raged near Salem Church, Union Maj. Gen. John F. Reynolds believed . . . — — Map (db m295289) HM
Beginning about a mile to the west (right), Confederate Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall Jackson's May 2, 1863, flank attack was gaining momentum when it reached this point. Occupying the Army of the Potomac's right flank was the XI Corps, commanded by . . . — — Map (db m306586) HM
After dark, May 5, 1863, Union soldiers left their trenches and began making their way toward U.S. Ford. A cold rain drenched the soldiers to the skin and turned the woodland roads to mud. At the ford, the Rappahannock River rose five feet in . . . — — Map (db m295286) HM
During the Chancellorsville Campaign, the 1st Battalion, 11th United States Infantry formed a part of Colonel Sidney Burbank's 2nd Brigade, Major General George Sykes's 2nd Division, 5th Army Corps. Advancing eastward along the Orange Turnpike, . . . — — Map (db m158922) HM WM
1861 - 1865
(South face): To commemorate the services of the 15th Regiment, New Jersey Volunteer Infantry, commanded by Colonel William H. Penrose, U.S.A., engaged two hours on this line of battle on the Federal side.
May 3rd, 1863. . . . — — Map (db m254312) WM
1861 - 1865
(North face): Monument to commemorate the services of the Twenty-Third Regiment New Jersey Volunteers Infantry, in the battle of Salem Church, Virginia, May 3rd, 1863.
Erected by the State of New Jersey, under the . . . — — Map (db m3514) HM
After being driven from the Chancellorsville crossroads by Lee on May 3, 1863, Hooker retreated to a new line of defenses covering U.S. Ford, 3.5 miles to your rear. For two days, Hooker strengthened his defenses and awaited attack. Lee took . . . — — Map (db m295288) HM
The cleared vista to the left offers a framed view of a 30-foot square, 23-foot high pyramid. It marks the left of the Northern penetration into Confederate lines on Dec. 13, 1862. Federal troops under Gen. George Meade took advantage of an . . . — — Map (db m4090) HM
The river crossing at Ely's Ford was formed before prehistoric man arrived. It is about equal distance between the Blue Ridge Mountains and Chesapeake Bay, part of an ancient trail long before Europeans arrived.
On this hilltop, David . . . — — Map (db m296490) HM
Earthworks to your right rear mark the apex of Hooker's last line of defense. The Federals retreated to this position late in the morning of May 3, guarding the roads to Ely's and United States Fords. The defensive minded Union commander sat . . . — — Map (db m3695) HM
The fighting here left distinct impressions on the soldiers involved:
"We were soon ordered out on the advanced post. There was a breast work there, but rather poor. Just before we got there they commence firing at As. We got behind the work . . . — — Map (db m310250) HM
On May 2-3, 1863, the Army of Northern Virginia under Lee defeated the Army of the Potomac under Hooker on this field. “Stonewall” Jackson, Lee’s great lieutenant was mortally wounded in the flank attack on Hooker’s right which resulted in victory . . . — — Map (db m14514) HM
Union Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker and much of the Army of the Potomac arrived here on 30 Apr. 1863, having maneuvered westward from Falmouth in an attempt to turn Gen. Robert E. Lee's left flank. Fighting began east of here along the Orange Turnpike on . . . — — Map (db m271794) HM
Hooker reached this point, April 30, 1863; Next day he entrenched, with his left wing on the river and his right wing on this road several miles west. That wing was surprised by Jackson and driven back here, May 2. The Confederates stormed the . . . — — Map (db m271796) HM
On December 13, 1862, Union and Confederate troops clashed here, on muddy fields dubbed the "Slaughter Pen." Union Gen. William B. Franklin had 65,000 troops, but employed only two divisions, numbering 8,000 men, under Generals George G. Meade . . . — — Map (db m21106) HM
In November 1862, Union Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside led his 115,000-man army southward toward Richmond, the Confederate capital. Delayed by tardy pontoon boats, Burnside was slow to cross the Rappahannock River, which allowed Confederate Gen. Robert . . . — — Map (db m21109) HM
of May 3, 4, 1863 fought by Lee and Hooker concluded the Chancellorsville Campaign here. The followers of Lee, in imperishable bronze respond to the noble sentiment of the followers of Grant and pay highest tribute to the patriotism of both. . . . — — Map (db m3506) HM
This mile-long trail leads to the site of Bernard’s Cabins. On the eve of the Civil War, these cabins (now gone) were home to as many as thirty-five slaves. During the Battle of Fredericksburg, the Confederates turned the terrain surrounding the . . . — — Map (db m213527) HM
On this knoll stood Bernard's Cabins, a small community that in 1860 was home to about three dozen slaves. The complex consisted of three two-room cabins, a stone-lined well, and perhaps two additional buildings. This was only one of several such . . . — — Map (db m213525) HM
Following “Stonewall Jackson’s” successful flank attack and his subsequent wounding on the night of May 2nd, Lee appointed Major General “Jeb” Stuart to command Jackson’s Corps. Faced with an imminent threat from the direction of . . . — — Map (db m295185) HM
In 1816, an innkeeper named George Chancellor announced that his “large and commodious” roadside inn, named Chancellorsville, was open. By the 1860’s the inn had gone out of operation, as central Virginia became a vast battleground. Headquarters . . . — — Map (db m295193) HM
Early on May 3, 1863, elements of Howard's battered XI Corps retired to this vicinity. As the battle swirled around the Chancellorsville crossroads, one mile to the southwest. Howard's men hastily dug and constructed lines of rifle pits and . . . — — Map (db m126607) HM
April 10 - May 3, 1863. These trenches were part of Hooker's original line. On May 2, Couch's II Corps skirmishers, under command of Col. Nelson A. Miles, beat off repeated Confederate attacks launched to draw attention from Jackson's flanking . . . — — Map (db m159157) HM
After the Union defeat at Fredericksburg on December 13, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln replaced Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside in January 1863 with the aggressive Gen. Joseph Hooker. At the end of April, Hooker sent most of the Army of the Potomac . . . — — Map (db m181506) HM
"May God have mercy on General Lee for I will have none." -Gen. Joseph Hooker, U.S. Army On May 1, 1863, the head of Union Gen. Joseph Hooker's Army of the Potomac arrived on these fields, apparently completing one of the most successful and . . . — — Map (db m181507) HM
Federal earthworks were erected here along the Mineral Spring Road on May 2, 1863. They anchored on the Rappahannock River to the northeast and extended to the southwest apex on Ely’s Ford Road. This line was backed up by a second and third line . . . — — Map (db m295191) HM
By May 5, 1863, Union General Joseph Hooker knew that he had lost the Battle of Chancellorsville and faced the necessity of retreating across the Rappahannock. Troops of the Federal Fifth Corps dug trenches that stretched a mile on either side of . . . — — Map (db m295192) HM
May 1-3, 1863. "Our enemy must either ingloriously fly or come out from behind his entrenchments and give us battle on our own ground, where certain destruction awaits him." With these words, "Fighting Joe" Hooker, on May 1, started toward the . . . — — Map (db m295196) HM
On the morning of May 3, 1863, Lee's forces drove the Federals away from the crossroads at Chancellorsville. Maj. Gen. George G. Meade's V Corps shifted from the Union left to defend this Portion of a strong defensive Perimeter, the flanks of which . . . — — Map (db m296476) HM
In the spring of 1863, Chancellorsville was the home of Mrs. Sanford Chancellor and seven of her children. The old inn hosted a steady flow of Southern military men as soldiers and officers from Lee’s army stopped to pay their compliments to Mrs. . . . — — Map (db m295194) HM
For the first two days of May 1863, the boom of distant guns rattled the windows of Salem Church. Eight miles to the west, at Chancellorsville, Robert E. Lee’s main Confederate army battered a Union army nearly twice its size. Four miles to the . . . — — Map (db m3497) HM
The Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT) is America's largest nonprofit organization devoted to saving our nation's endangered Civil War battlefields. During more than 20 years crusading for preservation, CWPT has rescued 25,000 acres of hallowed . . . — — Map (db m309468) HM
In seventy-two hours the Chancellor family's world was turned upside down. A Union soldier described the Chancellor women on April 30:
"Upon the upper porch was quite a bevy of ladies in light, dressy, attractive spring costumes. They were not . . . — — Map (db m159166) HM
Fighting erupted in the creek valley in front of you on the morning of May 3, 1863, as Confederates advanced — over this ground to attack entrenched Union troops. "Discovering his stronghold," one attacking Confederate recalled, "[We] moved forward" . . . — — Map (db m310254) HM
On the morning of May 3, 1863, more than 17,500 men fell killed or wounded in the woods and fields around you - one man shot every second for five hours. Entrenched Union lines in front of you collapsed, and the Confederates surged forward to seize . . . — — Map (db m3801) HM
The Virginia General Assembly authorized the construction of a fort built nearby along the Rappahannock River in 1676. It served as a defensive fortification for settlers of European descent on the frontier when periodic conflicts occurred between . . . — — Map (db m1655) HM
Here was Newpost, headquarters of Alexander Spotswood (Governor of Virginia, 1710-22), Deputy Postmaster General for the colonies, 1730-39. Spotswood also had an iron furnace here. — — Map (db m1658) HM
“I at once saw the enemy outnumbered us, as they were in double lines, and extended beyond our right. I immediately asked for reinforcements, but was informed they could not be furnished. Colonel Webb, who has remained in front for some . . . — — Map (db m295186) HM
"My brigade was thrown to the left. Forming line of battle parallel to the road. I advanced in face of a severe fire to a line of breastworks from which the enemy had been driven. The contest was sharp and fierce for a few . . . — — Map (db m295184) HM
Confronted by overwhelming numbers, Confederate forces fell back from Chancellorsville (three and a half miles in front of you) and established a defensive position here on April 30. General Robert E. Lee instructed Richard H. Anderson, who . . . — — Map (db m7532) HM
Twisting through the woods one hundred yards ahead of you are two well-preserved lines of earthworks constructed by Confederate forces in the winter of 1862-1863. General Robert E. Lee had ordered his troops to build the trenches in anticipation of . . . — — Map (db m19313) HM
Como Gordon was born in February of 1832 at "Kenmore" near Fredericksburg, Virginia. He was one of ten children born to William Knox Gordon (1790-1886) and Elizabeth Fitzhugh (1816-1872). The Kenmore Estate was given by Samuel Gordon to his wife, . . . — — Map (db m230872) HM
Across the road to the northeast stood the Cox House, also known as the Wiatt House. In December 1862, Confederate Maj. Gen. Lafayette McLaws’s division used it as a hospital, and there on 13 December, Brig. Gen. Thomas R. R. Cobb died from wounds . . . — — Map (db m1713) HM
The Civil War devastated central Virginia. Four major battles were fought within a fifteen radius of where you now stand, resulting-in more than 100,000 casualties. The National Park Service protects portions of these battlefields, but development . . . — — Map (db m310256) HM
The crescent-shaped earthworks in front of you protected the 14 guns of Lieutenant Colonel Reuben Lindsey Walker's artillery battalion, which held this position on December 13, 1862. Prior to the assault of Union infantry, artillery blanketed this . . . — — Map (db m21901) HM
The South had few more ardent advocates for independence that Maxcy Gregg of South Carolina. He argued for secession long before most. He sought not just the protection of slavery, but its expansion into the West. And he urged the reopening of the . . . — — Map (db m237552) HM
General Maxcy Gregg fell mortally wounded near this spot on December 13, 1862. Fiery and uncompromising on the issues of slavery and states’ rights, the South Carolina lawyer had been an early and ardent proponent of secession. When war came, . . . — — Map (db m4092) HM
"We were digging and fortifying all night."
Charles E. DeNoon, Mahone's Brigade
Civil War earthworks, sometimes referred to as breastworks, were built in a fashion much different than modern military trenches. Soldiers started at . . . — — Map (db m7530) HM
This monument marks the site of the Ebenezer McGee house, constructed just prior to the Civil War. The McGees were notorious Unionists. Ebenezer and his brother, Absalom, both became scouts for the Federal forces and by 1862 were guiding Federal . . . — — Map (db m244476) HM
On this hill, May 3, 1863, Confederate General "J.E.B." Stuart was notified that General "Stonewall" Jackson had been wounded at Chancellorsville and that he was to take command of Jackson's Corps. Moments before, Stuart had ordered his 1,000 men . . . — — Map (db m3473) HM
On December 13, 1862, nine Confederate cannon on this knoll helped repulse one of two major Union attacks against Jackson's front. At noon, Union infantry crashed into the Confederate infantry line to your right-front. Captain Greenlee Davidson's . . . — — Map (db m213526) HM
On 5 Aug. 1862, two detachments of Union troops left Fredericksburg with the intention of damaging the Orange and Alexandria Railroad. Brig. Gen. John Gibbon led a brigade of some 2,000 men down Telegraph Road toward Hanover Junction, while Col. . . . — — Map (db m1718) HM
Near this spot on the night of May 2, 1863, the Confederacy suffered disaster. As "Stonewall" Jackson and his party returned from a reconnaissance down the Mountain Road, Confederate musketry erupted south of the Plank Road (Route 3). The fire . . . — — Map (db m295211) HM
"The battle of Chancellorsville was lost right there." - Union Staff Officer. Here, in a few hours on the afternoon of May 1, 1863, the Chancellorsville Campaign took a dramatic turn. Just a day earlier, Union Gen. Joseph Hooker had . . . — — Map (db m11419) HM
"The advance was irresistible... in a few minutes the brigade occupied the crest of the hill." -Union brigade commander Col. Sidney Burbank You now stand at the farthest point of the Union infantry advance on May 1. From here, Federal troops . . . — — Map (db m11421) HM
The enemy were in force in my immediate front... the country was favorable for a flank attack." - Gen. Lafayette McLaws "Flanked!" one of the most feared words in any army. It meant that the enemy positioned upon the end of your line could . . . — — Map (db m11425) HM
The Civil War in Spotsylvania County is steeped in McGee family history. Reuben McGee, the patriarch, lived behind you on the opposite side of Lick Run. Among Reuben McGee's five sons were one ardent Confederate (Reuben McGee, Jr.), two Southern . . . — — Map (db m75954) HM
The shell(s) fell pretty thick around me at first but that soon stopped and I went on operating." — Surgeon John Shaw Billings
As the Union army fell back, the structures atop this ridge made convenient targets for Confederate . . . — — Map (db m75955) HM
They tore up five of our sheets and about 12 dresses and undergarments into strips for bandage. — Harriet McGee
Union Surgeon John Shaw Billings moved his field hospital to the relative safety of Absalom McGee's house, which stood on . . . — — Map (db m75956) HM
The Rebel Band plays in the distance a triumphant air, as if to mock the sorrow of my heart. — Friedrich Emil Grossman, USA
As the sun dipped below the horizon in front of them, Confederate generals disagreed on whether to advance to . . . — — Map (db m75957) HM
"We were in a perfect jungle of rank vines and undergrowth." - Col. A. J. McBride, 10th Georgia Infantry, CSA Few Civil War sites evoke such indelible, mental images as the Wilderness. Densely forested and dark, fighting in the Wilderness of . . . — — Map (db m158884) HM
"On the first day of the Chancellorsville fight...[our] farm was between our and the enemy's lines of battle." -James H. Leitch, farmer. The Battle of Chancellorsville started here - amid the homes of families living along the Orange . . . — — Map (db m158920) HM
"If possible before the battle I will try to be better posted about the rebble armey." - Local spy Isaac Silver Both armies employed soldiers as spies or scouts, but some of the most valuable information came from local civilians. The . . . — — Map (db m158926) HM
Among the Union troops facing the closing grip of Confederate forces were the experienced veterans of the 5th New York Infantry and the novice soldiers of the 146th New York Infantry. The Confederates, however, did not discriminate between “green” . . . — — Map (db m158939) HM
Few communities suffered more in the face of war than did Spotsylvania County. For two years armies traversed, occupied, or fought over this ground. Most residents simply tried to stay out of the way; a few left altogether. Virtually every farm . . . — — Map (db m5621) HM
In November 1862, Confederate forces under Maj. Gen. John Bell Hood constructed this fort a half mile northeast on the Rappahannock River in an effort to prevent Union gunboats from ascending the river toward Fredericksburg. Four rifled guns of . . . — — Map (db m4123) HM
December 13, 1862. In these gunpits stood 14 cannon of Walker’s Artillery Battalion, guarding the right of the Confederate line. While the youthful Maj. John Pelham’s light and mobile horse artillery, about a mile to the front, daringly challenged . . . — — Map (db m4087) HM
December 13, 1862. “Lee’s War Horse,” Longstreet, easily beat off repeated attacks against Marye’s Heights to the northward. Meanwhile, here in the Hamilton’s Crossing sector “Stonewall” Jackson had more trouble, but his . . . — — Map (db m4088) HM
December 13, 1862. Here in the Lansdowne Valley Longstreet’s right flank joined with “Stonewall” Jackson’s left. Confederate infantry was deployed on the valley floor and cannon rimmed the hills behind, forming a deep pocket in the . . . — — Map (db m4116) HM
December 13, 1862. Here, on the wood’s edge facing the fields of the Lansdowne Valley, Gen. George Pickett’s 9,000 men, including soldiers from Fredericksburg, held a vital part of Lee’s line. The enemy did not attack Pickett’s Division and the men . . . — — Map (db m4124) HM
December 13, 1862. This is Hamilton's Crossing, the crossing of the Old Mine Road over the Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad. Since the railroad was threatened from here to Fredericksburg by long range Federal cannon, Hamilton's . . . — — Map (db m8865) HM
December 13, 1862. This highway, the Old Richmond Stage Road, here passes wartime Smithfield, now the Fredericksburg Country Club. Out of the ravine alongside the present golf links (your left front), Meade’s Division emerged to form lines of battle . . . — — Map (db m110493) HM
As the tumult of battle subsided, new sounds filled the air; the cries and moans of wounded soldiers. Two days of fighting around Salem Church left about 4,000 men killed or wounded. As soon as the battle ended, Confederate surgeons turned the . . . — — Map (db m3510) HM
The Fredericksburg Road, present-day Route 208, was the Army of the Potomac's supply line during the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House. For two weeks in May 1864, wagons shuttled back and forth along the road between the Union army and its supply . . . — — Map (db m3660) HM
This trail leads 0.2 miles to Hamilton’s Crossing on the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad. Named for Captain George Hamilton whos home, “Forest Hill,” once stood on a nearby knoll. Hamilton’s Crossing marks the intersection of the . . . — — Map (db m4086) HM
This footpath leads to the site of Hamilton's Crossing, a critical supply base for Confederate troops camped near Fredericksburg during the winter of 1862-63. Prior to the Civil War, Hamilton's Crossing had been merely a flag-stop on the . . . — — Map (db m21797) HM
Geographical hills and prehistoric navigation points have been a gathering place for practicing religious convictions for thousands of years. This high hill overlooking the river crossing below was an ideal place for these beliefs. The Summer . . . — — Map (db m296491) HM
The low earthworks opposite are the apex of the final Union line at Chancellorsville. After suffering defeat in the massive fighting on May 3, Hooker's army started digging. The result: a powerful, U-shaped line six miles long supported by 100 . . . — — Map (db m295188) HM
You are standing on the right of the Confederate army, held by Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's corps on December 13, 1862. His 35,000 troops spread along a mile front - some in the woods, some in fields, some on ridgetops, some in swampy bottoms. . . . — — Map (db m220051) HM
James Leonard Farmer was born in Texas on 12 Jan. 1920. In 1942, he and other Civil Rights leaders founded the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) in Chicago. CORE used Gandhi-inspired tactics of nonviolent civil . . . — — Map (db m1716) HM
During the winter of 1862-1863, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee maintained his headquarters in a small clearing in the woods in this vicinity. The camp contained only a few tents and nothing but a flag to indicate it was Lee’s headquarters. By . . . — — Map (db m1724) HM
As Union resistance around the Chancellor house dissolved, Robert E. Lee rode into the clearing behind his victorious battalions. Though badly outnumbered, Lee in three days had stopped the initial Union advance, brazenly split his own army to . . . — — Map (db m3818) HM
Over fifteen reported skirmishes between Union and Confederate cavalry occurred at Ely's Ford between 1862 and 1864. Many famous horse-mounted cavalry units known for their bravery, skill, and tenacity on the battlefield played a crucial role in . . . — — Map (db m289262) HM
In 1860, Oscar Bullock and his wife, Catharine, lived in a modest two-and-one-half-story white frame house on this site. With them lived their two infant children and Catharine's 16-year-old brother, David Kyle (who would serve as a guide to . . . — — Map (db m295190) HM
Following the Battle of Fredericksburg in Dec. 1862, Confederate Lt. Gen. James Longstreet established his headquarters in a tent near here. His command center was in close proximity to Generals Robert E. Lee and J. E. B. Stuart. Longstreet . . . — — Map (db m1715) HM
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