in American military
history. In 1862, when the
Northern Army attempted
a massed charge
against an entrenched
Confederate position, a
Southern artilleryman
looked at the bare slope
that Union forces had
to cross and told a
commanding officer, ‘A
chicken could not live on
that field when we open
on it.’ Sixteen charges
resulted in an estimated
6000 to 8000 Union
casualties.
Fredericksburg &
Spotsylvania National
Military Park (adult/
child $32/10) is not as
immediately compelling
as Manassas because of
the thick forest that still
covers the battlefields,
but the woods themselves
are a sylvan wonder.
Again, the pretty nature
of...well, nature, grows
over graves; the nearby
Battle of the Wilderness
was named for these
thick woods, which
caught fire and killed
hundreds of wounded
soldiers after the
shooting was finished.54 p286
The Drive » From
Fredericksburg, take US 17
south for five miles, after
which 7 becomes VA-2 (also
known as Sandy Lane Dr and
Fredericksburg Turnpike). Follow
this road for 5 more miles,
then turn right onto Stonewall
Jackson Rd (State Rd 606).5 Stonewall
Jackson Shrine
In Chancellorsville,
Robert E Lee,outnumbered two to
one, split his forces and
attacked both flanks of
the Union army. The
audacity of the move
caused the Northern
force to crumble and
flee across the Potomac
River, but the victory
was costly; in the course
of the fighting, Lee’s
ablest general, Stonewall
Jackson, had his arm
shot off by a nervous
Confederate sentry (the
arm is buried near the
Fredericksburg National
Park visitor center; ask
a ranger for directions
there).
The wound was
patched, but Jackson
went on to contract a
fatal dose of pneumonia.
He was taken to what
is now the next stop
on this tour: theStart: 1 Antietam
The Battle of Gettysburg, fought in Gettysburg, PA, in July of 1863, marked the
turning point of the war and the high-water mark of the Confederacy’s attempted
rebellion. Lee never made a gambit as bold as this invasion of the North, and his
army (arguably) never recovered from the defeat it suffered here.
Gettysburg National Military Park (%717-334-1124; http://www.nps.gov/gett; for museum
& visitor center, adult/child/senior $12.50/8.50/11.50; hpark 6am-10pm Apr-Oct, to 7pm Nov-
Mar; museum 8am-6pm Apr-Oct, to 5pm Nov-Mar) does an excellent job of explaining the
course and context of the combat. Look for Little Round Top Hill, where a Union unit
checked a Southern flanking maneuver, and the field of Pickett’s Charge, where the
Confederacy suffered its most crushing defeat up to that point. Following the battle
Abraham Lincoln gave his Gettysburg Address here to mark the victory and the ‘new
birth of the nation’ on said country’s birthday: July 4.
You can easily lose a day here just soaking up the scenery – a gorgeous swath of
rolling hills and lush forest interspersed with hollows, rock formations and farmland.
To get here, jump on US 15 northbound in Frederick, MD during the drive between
Antietam and Washington, DC. Follow 15 north for 35 miles to Gettysburg.GETTYSBURG NATIONAL MILITARY PARK
DETOUR:
VIRGINIA.TRIPS.23
.THE CIVIL WAR TOUR