Things to do / Travel Guide
Address:Fredricksburg, Virginia
The fight to reunify America is commemorated through tours and solemn reflection at the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia. The Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, the second-largest military park in the world, covers the sites of the battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Wilderness and Spotsylvania, as well as Chatham Manor, Salem Church, Ellwood, and the house where Confederate General Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson, died. The park provides the opportunity to learn about the area, and includes ranger-guided and self-guided walking and driving tours at each site.
In December 1862, the Union Army of the Potomac, under the command of Ambrose Burnside, launched a disastrous assault on Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia at the Battle of Fredericksburg, ending a campaign to attack the Confederate capital at Richmond. In May 1863, at the Battle of Chancellorsville, Union forces, now under the command of Joseph Hooker, suffered another devastating defeat against Lee's army, though it was half the size of the Union force. Lee's victory was bittersweet, as it came with the loss of General Jackson, Lee's closest compatriot. In May 1864, the Battle of Wilderness, between Ulysses S. Grant's and Lee's armies, was fought with no clear victor and severe casualties on both sides. Less than a week later, the two generals met again at the Battle of Spotsylvania, another bloody and indecisive battle, though the Confederate forces never recovered their initiative afterwards. In 1927, the sites of these four battles, as well as Chatham Manor, Salem Church, Ellwood, and the place of Jackson's death were designated the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park.
To fully experience the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park can take as long as two full days, and visitors are encouraged to start at the visitor center at either Fredericksburg or Chancellorsville Battlefield, where they can enjoy a 22-minute orientation film of the park. Each of the battlefields hosts a guided walking tour, a driving tour, and a self-guided audio tour. The four historical buildings at the park – Chatham Manor, Salem Church, Ellwood and the Stonewall Jackson Shrine – offer self-guided walking tours. After their experience at the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, visitors can find plenty of restaurants within walking distance, from pizza to Asian cuisine.
To get to the Fredericksburg Battlefield at the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park: Take I-95 to exit 130 East, then turn left onto Lafayette Boulevard. To get to the Chancellorsville Battlefield: Take I-95 to exit 130A, and continue west for approximately seven miles. To get to the Wilderness Battlefield: Take I-95 to exit 130A, then turn left onto Route 20. To get to the Spotsylvania Court House Battlefield: Take I-95 to Massaponax Church Road, then travel west and turn right onto Brock Road.
Visit the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park and relive Civil War history.