May 2-3, 1863. In this vicinity, holding Hooker's original center, Slocum's Corps curved northwestward (reader's right rear) to form an interior line behind Howard's Corps. When Jackson smashed Howard, Slocum's western line fell also. The rest of . . . — — Map (db m3645) HM
May 2-3, 1863. Units of Slocum's Federal XII Corps held this line. Its left extended a little beyond the Orange Plank Road (reader's left) where it connected with the right of Couch's II Corps. A mile to the southeast the Orange Plank Road . . . — — Map (db m3646) HM
May 2, 1863. Having lost the Furnace, the 23rd Georgia Regiment established a new line here in the bed of the Unfinished Railroad. Other troops reinforced the position. During late afternoon, while Jackson's front lines were hitting the Federal . . . — — Map (db m3906) HM
Jackson's marching soldiers filled this narrow road from shoulder to shoulder making it slow and tedious work for any mounted officer to pass along the column. One of Stonewall's aides, Captain James Power Smith, attempted to catch up to the General . . . — — Map (db m3920) HM
Jackson's most direct route toward the enemy's flank lay in the right turn onto the Brock Road here. Instead of following that route he turned left, or southward, proceeded a quarter of a mile, and then turned right into a parallel woods road. This . . . — — Map (db m3921) HM
May 2, 1863. Deluding the enemy was the secret of Jackson's success. Since his troops had been observed from Federal signal stations as they marched across the front of Hooker's army, he turned them south on the Brock Road to create the impression . . . — — Map (db m3927) HM
If a balloonist had been high overhead, Jackson's column might have resembled a huge serpent as it wound through the forest. Closer up, it became thousands of marchers in worn battle dress. From this point, they stretched back about six miles to the . . . — — Map (db m3929) HM
May 2, 1863. Hour by hour, the long gray columns of Jackson's Corps splashed through the shallow ford here, which was not stone-paved then, stirring the crossing into a mud hole. Before the water of this branch of Poplar Run ran clear again in its . . . — — Map (db m3931) HM
"Stonewall" Jackson's way here was a woodland road west of and parallel to the Brock Road. This park trail approximates the old appearance. No tar, asphalt, or cement highway existed in the 1860's. Even the best of that time, the stone turnpikes . . . — — Map (db m3932) HM
May 2, 1863. The head of Jackson's column reached this point about 12:30 p.m. Eight miles away, the rear , under fire of Federal guns, was closing up near the Catharine Furnace. Jackson planned to turn the column right onto the Plank Road (1 mile . . . — — Map (db m3934) HM
May 2, 1863. Jackson's two leading lines, battling the tangled undergrowth and the retreating Federal XI Corps, became disorganized. In this vicinity, Jackson halted his successful advance and ordered A.P. Hill's Division to the front. While the . . . — — Map (db m3954) HM
May 3, 1863. At daylight Hooker ordered the withdrawal of Sickles' troops from this height, called Hazel Grove, key position of Hooker's front after Jackson's flanking movement. Promptly occupying it with Archer's Confederate Brigade, Stuart, now in . . . — — Map (db m14681) HM
May 1, 1863, Union troops advancing toward Fredericksburg along this road, the Orange Plank, met the Confederates about a mile to your left and retreated to this point. Hooker, not waiting to be attacked, ordered these troops back to . . . — — Map (db m15151) HM
May 3-6, 1863. The Confederate trench remains crossing the Bullock Road at this point mark a line held by “Stonewall” Jackson’s Corps after the severe fighting of May 3. Jackson’s forces, now commanded by “Jeb” Stuart, held Hooker’s army within its . . . — — Map (db m93585) HM
May 3-6, 1863. About noon on May 3, Hooker’s army fell back to a new position covering the roads to Ely’s and United States fords. With the center here, the right of his line rested on the Rapidan and the left on the Rappahannock. On May 4, Hooker’s . . . — — Map (db m155623) HM
[Marker is a map of the battlefield. Captions are below:]
While A.P. Hill's Division moved up to take over Jackson's front line, Rodes' and Colston's divisions, intermingled by their rapid advance, fell back to regroup.
Jackson's . . . — — Map (db m171420) HM
Federal soldiers of the 12th Corps built these earthworks on May 1, 1863. "Stonewall" Jackson's flank attack the following day placed them in Confederate hands. At about 6:00 a.m. on May 3, North Carolinians under William Dorsey Pender and Georgians . . . — — Map (db m5457) HM
The gentle mounds that meander through Spotsylvania Court House battlefield once looked like the reconstructed earthwork in front of you. The armies built more than 12 miles of trenches here, using whatever tools they could find. Lee's last line, . . . — — Map (db m10282) HM
This cemetery is the final resting place for six Civil War veterans. Only three of the six have military style headstones.
Charles Chewning, 9th VA. Cavalry. Private Chewning received a sabre wound to his left thigh at Second Manassas in . . . — — Map (db m155962) HM
This cemetery is the final resting place for six Civil War veterans. Only three of the six have military-style headstones.
Charles Chewning, 9th Virginia Cavalry. Private Chewning received a sabre wound to his left thigh at Second Manassas . . . — — Map (db m216685) HM
Erected to mark the line of battle of the 114th Reg't. Pennsylvania Vol's. on the memorable 3rd day of May 1863, where it lost 3 officers and 35 enlisted men killed List of Killed Major Joseph S. Chandler Captain Frank Eliot, Co. F. Lieu't. . . . — — Map (db m3639) HM WM
At about 7:00 a.m. on May 3, a dangerous gap in the Union line opened near the Orange Turnpike, 1/4 mile to your right. Federal troops on your right, led by Hiram Berry, retreated about 1/2 mile and established a new position. The blue-clad soldiers . . . — — Map (db m12789) HM
Near this spot around 9:15 p.m. on the night of May 2, 1863, the Confederate cause suffered disaster. As "Stonewall" Jackson and his party returned from their reconnaissance down the Mountain Road, Confederate musketry erupted south of the Plank . . . — — Map (db m3978) HM
Confederate General Richard S. Ewell responded quickly to Upton’s breakthrough at Dole’s Salient. Wading into the melee, he shouted to the outnumbered defenders: “Don’t run, boys. I will have enough men here in five minutes to eat up every . . . — — Map (db m66232) HM
Erected and dedicated May 12, 1918, by the Spotsylvania Chapter United Daughters of the Confederacy, Confederated Southern Memorial Association and citizens of Spotsylvania County, to commemorate and perpetuate the valor and patriotism of the . . . — — Map (db m10436) WM
The trenches in front of you belonged to General James H. Lane’s North Carolina brigade. Shortly after dawn, May 12, Union forces captured the East Angle, one-half mile behind you, and bore down on Lane’s men in this part of the Muleshoe Salient. . . . — — Map (db m66233) HM
Here on the morning of May 6, 1864, Confederate General Robert E. Lee and his army faced perhaps their greatest crisis. Soon after dawn, hundreds of disorganized Confederates tumbled from the woods to your left, driven by a powerful Union . . . — — Map (db m6058) HM
In the dank, pre-dawn light of May 12, 1864, Confederates huddled along these muddy works could hear the rumble of Union troops coming toward them. Moments later the first of 20,000 Union soldiers poured over the works like a wave, engaging . . . — — Map (db m66227) HM
These gentile mounds are all that remain of the formidable earthworks held by George Doles' Georgia Brigade. The trenches running perpendicular to the main line are called traverses and made these works appear like a series of three-sided roofless . . . — — Map (db m10297) HM
Once schoolmates, friends, and neighbors, they came here as soldiers from Yorkville, South Carolina; Pen Yan, New York; Clarksville, Virginia; Barre, Vermont; and a hundred other towns, North and South. Their deaths in these woods on May 5 and 6, . . . — — Map (db m155885) HM
Education was the responsibility of parents and churches until after the Civil War. Wealthier families hired tutors or sent their children to private schools. Poor children often learned a trade and received a basic education as apprentices.
In . . . — — Map (db m3710) HM
The monument across the road marks where General Elisha Franklin Paxton, commander of the famed Stonewall Brigade, fell on May 3, 1863. Before the war, Frank Paxton had practiced law in "Stonewall" Jackson's hometown of Lexington, Virginia. When, in . . . — — Map (db m155624) HM
On 19 May 1864 Confederate forces commanded by Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell attacked Brig. Gen. Robert O. Tyler's heavy artillery division on the Union right flank near the Harris farm, Bloomsbury, about one-quarter mile northwest. Newly arrived from . . . — — Map (db m3656) 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 m3641) 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 contending . . . — — Map (db m3643) HM
On May 12, 1864, the pastures, potato patches, and crop-lots of Willis Landram's farm would become North America's most notorious killing field. Just before dawn, 20,000 Union soldiers swarmed past the Landram house toward the main Confederate . . . — — Map (db m10317) HM
The sharp turn in the Confederate works here is called the “East Angle.” It marks the apex of the Muleshoe Salient and was one of the most vulnerable points on Lee’s line. Lee fortified the place heavily and placed upwards of 30 cannon . . . — — Map (db m66226) HM
...I have done my best, but with the force I now have I cannot attack again.... General Gouverneur K. Warren, USA
General Gouverneur K. Warren le the Army of the Potomac’s march to Spotsylvania. As morning dawned, Warren . . . — — Map (db m199414) HM
Throughout May 12, Confederates here waged a battle for critical minutes and hours. When Union troops swarmed over the east face of the Muleshoe Salient before dawn, Robert E. Lee knew instantly that the position – even if regained . . . — — Map (db m23847) HM
To reach the Union army's right flank, Jackson would have to march his corps twelve miles over narrow, unpaved roads. The general hoped to have his men moving by dawn on May 2, but he got an unusually late start. It was past 7 a.m. before his . . . — — Map (db m158943) HM
In commemoration of the deeds of the First Regiment Heavy Artillery Massachusetts Volunteers (Armed as Infantry) Three hundred and ninety eight of whose members fell within an hour around this spot during an action fought May 13, 1864 Between a . . . — — Map (db m155952) HM
Like his father before him, Samuel Powell became involved in politics. In 1906, he served as a Representative on the Republican Committee and in that same year, lost his run for chairman to R.C. Blaydes. In 1910, he lost to Blaydes again. Powell . . . — — Map (db m216694) HM
These woods saw some of the heaviest fighting of the Battle of the Wilderness. On May 5, then again on May 6, 1864 ragged Union and Confederate battle lines surged back and forth on both sides of the Orange Plank Road. The stalemate here finally . . . — — Map (db m5390) 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 m12794) HM
In memory of
Sophia M. Silva 1980 - 1996
Kathryn "Kati" N. Lisk 1984 - 1997
Kristen M. Lisk 1982 - 1997
they were taken from us too soon. — — Map (db m3671) HM
Had you been here in 1864, you would have been standing at the edge of a field that stretched from here to the Confederate works. Upton's men advanced four abreast in a column up this road. When they reached this point, they silently deployed into a . . . — — Map (db m169704) HM
Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Wilderness, and Spotsylvania—this is the bloodiest landscape in North America. No place more vividly reflects the Civil War's tragic cost in all its forms. A city bombarded, bloodied, and looted. Farms large and . . . — — Map (db m171418) HM
Assault on the Muleshoe Emory Upton's success on May 10 prompted Grant to repeat the attack on a much larger scale. This time the target of the assault was the Muleshoe Salient, a huge outward bulge in the center of the Confederate line. If . . . — — Map (db m10736) HM
Following the fight for the "Bloody Angle," Lee constructed this new line of works across the base of the Muleshoe. Unwilling to attack the Confederates in their new position, Grant shifted east toward the Fredericksburg Road (modern Route 208). . . . — — Map (db m10281) HM
Organized in January 1862, the 1st Massachusetts Heavy Artillery spent most of its first two years of service in the defenses of Washington, D.C. Trained as artillerists, the regiment manned the large-caliber cannons in the forts that protected the . . . — — Map (db m73747) HM
The Civil War devastated Central Virginia. Four major battles were fought within a fifteen-mile radius of where you now stand and resulted in more than 100,000 casualties. The National Park Service protects portions of these battlefields, but . . . — — Map (db m155953) HM
(sidebar)
On May 4, 1864, Union Gen. George Meade’s Army of the Potomac crossed the Rappahannock River to engage Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia and to destroy it. The attack began the Overland Campaign, part . . . — — Map (db m165259) HM
This post-war photograph of the Harrison House and farm was taken from the northwest not far from where the trail crossed the paved road. Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell, commanding the Confederates defending the salient, made his headquarters here on the . . . — — Map (db m10284) 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 m3610) HM
This trail leads to Fairview, a key Union position. The fighting that occurred between here and Fairview on May 3, 1863, was some of the most desperate of the war—exceeding, for the time engaged, both Antietam and Gettysburg. Signs along the trail . . . — — Map (db m112316) HM
The Wilderness of today looks different than it did in 1864. Then it was a patchwork of second-growth forest. Brush obscured, briars grabbed, and thickets disrupted the battle lines. One solder described the combat here as "bushwhacking...on a . . . — — Map (db m7516) HM
With the fighting at the Bloody Angle at an impasse, Grant and Lee looked elsewhere for opportunities to attack. Coincidentally, both men turned their attention to Heth’s Salient, here on the eastern face of the Muleshoe. Grant sought a weak point . . . — — Map (db m66235) HM
After four days of probing attacks, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant ordered a frontal assault against the Confederate lines at Spotsylvania Court House on 12 May 1864. The focal point of the attack was the Muleshoe Salient, an outward bulge in the . . . — — Map (db m8915) 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 m3637) HM
Some of the Civil War's heaviest fighting occurred along the Orange Plank Road on May 5 and 6, 1864. One of two major roads passing through the Wilderness, the Plank Road became a magnet for both armies as they struggled to maneuver through the . . . — — Map (db m155923) HM
Samuel Peter Powell was born on January 26, 1880 to James L. Powell, Jr. ad Carrie Elizabeth Jones Powell. He was the oldest of nine children. His father was a surviving Civil War veteran and served as Commonwealth Attorney in Spotsylvania. He . . . — — Map (db m148377) HM
(South Face): On this Spot fell mortally wounded Thomas J. Jackson Lt. Gen. C.S.A. May 2nd 1863 (East Face): There is Jackson standing like a stone wall Bee at Manassas. (North Face): Could I have directed events, I should have chosen for the good . . . — — Map (db m3975) HM
"You can go forward then." With those words "Stonewall" Jackson unleashed one of the most famous and successful attacks of the Civil War. On the afternoon of May 2, 1862, Jackson led 30,000 men of his Second Corps to a point just beyond the Union . . . — — Map (db m3941) HM
The effort to erect a monument at the site of Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson's mortal wounding began in February 1887, when Fredericksburg newspaper editor Rufus Merchant founded the Stonewall Jackson Monument Association. On June 13, 1888, a crowd of . . . — — Map (db m3977) HM
About 10 a.m. on May 2, 1863, Confederate General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's flanking column approached this then-cleared ridge on the Furnace Road. Union infantrymen perched in trees at Hazel Grove, three-quarters of a mile to the . . . — — Map (db m3585) HM
Near here stood the hospital tent to which the wounded "Stonewall" Jackson was brought during the Battle of Chancellorsville. In that tent his left arm was amputated on May 3, 1863. He died seven days later at Guinea. — — Map (db m3515) HM
Shortly after 8 a.m., May 2, "Stonewall" Jackson's corps marched down the hill behind you and passed Catharine Furnace, bound for the Union Army's right flank. When the Federals spotted Jackson's column, they assumed the Confederates were . . . — — Map (db m3604) 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 m3636) HM
Brigadier General and Brevet Major General United States Volunteers commanding the 4th Division V Corps Army of the Potomac was mortally wounded near this spot May 6, 1864 and died two days later in the field hospital of Hill’s Confederate Corps: He . . . — — Map (db m6062) HM WM
Representatives from local African American churches organized the Spotsylvania Sunday School Union in 1905 to secure a secondary school for black children. The Union, led by educator John J. Wright, purchased 158.5 acres here in 1910 and later . . . — — Map (db m148423) HM
Joseph Farmer Sanford was born in 1819, the son of Lawrence Sanford and Apphia Farmer in Stafford County, Virginia. In 1835, he married Agnes I. M. Crawford of Orange, Virginia. His early career was that of the keeper of the U.S. Hotel in . . . — — Map (db m148390) 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 m12785) HM
Pursued by British Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton, the Marquis de Lafayette camped just west of here near Corbin’s Bridge on 2 June during the campaign of 1781. Commanding more than 3,000 Continental soldiers and militia, Lafayette sought to move . . . — — Map (db m59533) HM
The building complex known collectively as Wilderness Tavern appeared in the early 19th century to serve the needs of travellers. Located on either side of the Fredericksburg-Orange Turnpike, the original roadbed of which survives today as the . . . — — Map (db m7499) HM
These one hundred and sixty-two acres known as the Landram Farm, were presented to the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park by the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States Commandery of the State of Pennsylvania and . . . — — Map (db m10327) HM
These stone chimneys are all that remain of the Landram house, a prominent landmark during the Spotsylvania Campaign. The Confederate picket reserve stood here shivering in the early morning fog on May 12, 1864 when the silence was suddenly . . . — — Map (db m10326) HM
[The] Federal assaults were not only easily repulsed, but the forces making them were simply slaughtered. Private John Coxe, 2nd South Carolina Infantry
Before you lies Laurel Hill, one of the most important but least understood areas . . . — — Map (db m156386) HM
Although not as famous as the "Bloody Angle," the fighting at Laurel Hill played an important role in the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House. Here the battle began, and here more than 5,000 soldiers suffered or died. The Laurel Hill Trail leads to . . . — — Map (db m149216) HM
Confederate artillery here supported one of the largest infantry attacks of the Civil War. At dawn "Stonewall" Jackson's corps, now led by J.E.B. Stuart, struck the Union line from the west, in the woods to your left-front. At the same time, . . . — — Map (db m3617) HM
The General's countenance showed that he had despaired and was ready to die rather than see the defeat of his army. Isaac G. Bradwell, 3rd Georgia Infantry In these fields on the morning of May 12, 1864, Gen. Robert E. Lee faced a crisis . . . — — Map (db m10426) HM
These well-preserved earthworks which run east and west through the woods are the remains of the defensive position constructed during the fighting at the Bloody Angle. Major General Martin Luther Smith, Lee's chief engineer and designer of the . . . — — Map (db m10283) HM
The famous well at Spotsylvania Courthouse was probably excavate around 1798 at the same time the Tavern and Inn located across the road was established. It dominated the intersection of the Fredericksburg Road, Brock Road and the road to . . . — — Map (db m148412) HM
It was the most successful day of James Longstreet’s career. He had arrived on the Wilderness battlefield early in the day to find the Confederate army in full retreat and in danger of being destroyed. His troops had prevented disaster. Now, at . . . — — Map (db m5392) HM
Judge Charles E. Phelps of the Maryland Court of Appeals erected this granite monument shortly after the turn of the century. On May 8, 1864, Phelps, then colonel of the 7th Maryland, helped lead the headlong charge of the Maryland Brigade across . . . — — Map (db m10255) HM
Near this spot was born
Matthew Fontaine 1806 Maury 1873
——
Pathfinder of the Seas
Author of physical geography of the sea
Founder of the science of meteorology
First to conceive the idea of an Atlantic Cable
Under his direction . . . — — Map (db m3597) HM
These scattered bricks and this shallow depression are all that remain of Matthew Fontaine Maury's birthplace. Maury's parents purchased this house and 103 acres of land from "Lighthorse Harry" Lee, Robert E. Lee's father, in 1797. The future . . . — — Map (db m158851) HM
This short trail leads to the birthplace of Matthew Fontaine Maury, one of America's greatest scientists. By the time of the Civil War, Maury's birthplace was gone, replaced by a simple brick house. Few of the 28,000 Confederate soldiers who . . . — — Map (db m21933) HM
Surrounded on all sides by low ridge lines, Neil MccCoull's house sat in the center of the famous Muleshoe Salient. On the night of May 8, 1864, Confederate engineers built the bulging line of earthworks that wrapped around McCoull's farm to the . . . — — Map (db m10289) HM
This spring has always been important to the McCoull family but on May 12, 1864 it became a vital source of rejuvenation to hundreds of Confederates involved in the fighting at the Bloody Angle. Colonel Charles S. Venable, an aide-de-camp to Lee, . . . — — Map (db m10291) HM
(Front):South Carolina McGowan's Brigade Brig. Gen. Samuel McGowan 1st S.C. Infantry Col. Comillus W. McCreary Orr's Rifles Lt. Col. George McD. Miller 12th S.C. Infantry Maj. Thomas F. Clyburne 13th S.C. Infantry Col. Benjamin T. . . . — — Map (db m19073) WM
Most public buildings rarely survive in their original state. The County jail is no exception. By 1876, County records indicate the cells on the upper floor being used for some other purpose. The jail report stated this use cut off ventilation to . . . — — Map (db m148416) HM
In April 1865, the guns fell silent and the War of the Rebellion came to a close. The pain and suffering did not end, especially for the families of the loved ones who had perished. The search for their final resting place continues even today. . . . — — Map (db m183691) HM
Civil war combat rarely continued after dark, but on the night of May 2, 1863, desperation and fear filled these gloomy woods. At midnight, about 3,000 Union soldiers of Brigadier General David B. Birney's division moved through these woods, intent . . . — — Map (db m112310) HM
When the armies departed the Wilderness, they left behind a disfigured landscape. Trenches twisted like earthen snakes through the woods, and blackened leaves marked the paths of fires. Along the Brock Road, noted one soldier, trees "were scarred . . . — — Map (db m4966) HM
No Turning Back Defeated but undeterred, Grant abandoned Spotsylvania's blood-soaked fields on May 21 and continued south -- toward Richmond and ultimate victory. In his wake he left a scarred landscape pitted with thousands of graves.
The . . . — — Map (db m10740) HM
The War of the Rebellion came to a close in April 1865. A war-weary Spotsylvania County turned its attention to restoring homes, farms and life. It was a difficult undertaking. The County had seen four major battles and hundreds of skirmishes for . . . — — Map (db m183696) HM
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