Civil War Battlefields

The Old Dominion turned into a battleground when the Confederacy named Richmond its Confederate capitol in the spring of 1861. Any hopes of a quick Union victory and end to the conflict were dashed at the Battle of Manassas when young impassioned soldiers fighting for the South overwhelmed their Union counterparts.

When Maj. Gen. John B. McClellan took over the Union forces, he decided that the best strategy to crush the Confederate resistance at Richmond meant approaching from the southeast. While McClellan-led Union troops steam-rolled their way towards Richmond and Robert E. Lee, the Union Armies in Shenandoah Valley were feeling the sting of the Confederates, led by Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson. After defeating his Union foes in June 1862, Stonewall Jackson headed for Richmond.

By then, Robert E. Lee commanded Confederate forces and he staged the “Seven Days” Offensive, which defeated McClellan’s army and thwarted northern designs on the Confederate stronghold. Lee headed back to northern Virginia and joined forces with Stonewall Jackson to defeat another Union army led by General John Pope at the Second Manassas Battle at Bull Run in August 1862.

Fredericksburg, about an hour’s drive from Bull Run Battlefield, became infamously nicknamed “Bloody Angle” when the Confederates overcame Union forces trying to march on Richmond. Federal General Joseph Hooker added his military expertise to the Union Army in the spring of 1863; however, the combined efforts of Lee and Jackson defeated Hooker’s superior numbers at Chancellorsville.

Jackson died soon after, a victim of friendly fire, and Lee headed north where he was defeated at Gettysburg in the summer of 1863. Both armies settled for the summer along the scenic Rappahannock and Rapidan Rivers, now popular with campers, canoeists, and nature lovers.

In spring of 1864 Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, at the request of Abraham Lincoln, took command of the northern troops. Grant’s relentless efforts to rally the Union harvested a major victory on April 9, 1865 when Lee surrendered his Army of Northern Virginia at the Appomattox Court House. However, the Civil War sputtered on for months after that.

The Rivers – Bull Run, Rappahannock, Rapidan, Shenandoah – figure prominently in the Civil War as major battles were named for these natural lines of defense. Now, these scenic wonders draw tourists throughout the Virginia countryside, but their importance in the Civil War can be still be felt in the hushed reverence of the spirit of all the brave young Americans, fighting brother to brother, for liberty.

The cities where the Civil War raged – Manassas, Fredericksburg, Richmond, Harpers Ferry, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Antietam, and Sharpsburg – are all within easy commute from The Grey Horse Inn in The Plains. In addition to scenic back roads wending their way through the heart of Horse and Hunt Country, there are major highways that track the path of the Civil War. Maps and brochures are available.