Is this right?

[gary]

"There are five routes from Washington, D.C. to Richmond, Virginia. The westernmost is through the Shenandoah Valley where an invading army's movement could be screened by the Blue Ridge Mountains. They could then spring forth from the Rockfish Gap (near Waynesboro), march east along a rolling plain and into Richmond. However, the Blue Ridge also allows for the defender to enter unseen through one of the numerous gaps and cut that same invading army off from its supply and from Washington, D.C. The second is along the Orange and Alexandria Railroad which runs west from Alexandria towards Warrenton, then south from Culpepper Court House to Orange Court House before swinging east along the Central Rail Road past Louisa Court House to Hanover Court House and then turning south to Richmond. Circuitous, it offered the defender numerous opportunities to outflank the attacker. The third is along the Fredericksburg-Richmond Railroad line. It has the advantage of being the most direct of all land routes. To useit one had to cross the 100 yard wide Rappahannock River at Fredericksburg. The fourth route requires a seaborne landing on the Yorktown Peninsuala - the tip of which stood Fortress Monroe which was still in Union hands. The Peninsula is bordered on the north by the York RIverwhich connects to the Mattapony river and the Pamunky River. South of the Yorktown Peninsula is the James River which flows right through Richmond. Near the center of the Peninsula is the Chickhominy River which runs west to east before turning south and spilling out into the James River at Sandy Point Plantation. To approach Richmond North of the Chickahominy allows the Confederates to use that river as a defensive barrier. If on the other hand one remained south of the Chickahominy, there were several roads (Williamsburg, Darbytown, Charley City Road) an invading army could use to march on to Richmond. The fifth and final route also requires a seaborne landing but this time south of the James River near the Norfolk Navy Yard. The army would then march west towards Petersburg before turning north to Richmond. Any Union general leading his army towards Richmond would have to follow one of these five routes. Along these routes many of the significant battles of the Civil War were to be fought."

Comments please on the accuracy of the above statement.

[hoosier]

I suppose that, theoretically, there could have been other routes. But the concluding statement, "Along these routes many of the significant battles of the Civil War were to be fought" is certainly accurate.

It is also true that the Fredericksburg-Richmond rail line would have been the most direct of all the land routes. That's basically the route followed by I-95 today.