Chancellorsville National Battlefield, Virginia

March 31, 2009

Chancellorsville is part of a region of Virginia which saw heavy fighting during the Civil War. It lies about 5 miles west of Fredericksburg, 2 miles east of where the Wilderness Campaign of 1864 was fought, and a couple of miles north of Spotslyvania. I did not visit Spotsylvania during my trip. I briefly stopped at a roadside display for the Wilderness campaign. I spent the bulk of my time at Chancellorsville and Fredericksburg.

Chancellorsville is not a city or a town. It was the site of a house owned by a family with the surname Chancellor. The family consisted of a mother and several children, mostly teenage girls if I recall. The house was located at a crossroads (today a busy intersection on Virgina State Highway 3). The family also owned slaves and had a foreman, who lived with his family about 1/4 to 1/2 mile away at a place called Fairview. Heavy fighting occurred at both places and at a place called Hazel Grove.

I drove down to Chancellorsville from Front Royal taking the scenic trip through Shenandoah National Park (my second visit there!).

National Park Visitor Centers exist at both Chancellorsville and Fredericksburg; they provide 20-minute movies about their battles and information and local walking and driving tours. At Chancellorsville, I took the driving tour which has 10 stops. You can see some remnants of the battle and the Park Service has positioned some Civil War-era artillery at various stops on the driving tour.

By the way, the South won this battle (in May, 1863). The North would return the favor at Gettysburg, 2 months later.

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