The Civil War Traveler's CompanionTell us about your favorite places to stay or eat on Civil War Battlefields. If you want to write a review of a Civil War B&B, this is the perfect place to post it.
Everything depends on time. You're flying into DC. First off, when you get there dump the Charger and get a Sebring unless you're sensitive to the sun! Trust me, its worth it. You have to remember that Manassas and Fredricksburg are within the DC metro area so its been 'suburbanized' - YOU MUST SEE GETTYSBURG. I would start your trip there (2 days), then head south to Sharpsburg (1 day), from Shaprsburg go to Harper's Ferry (its worth at best an afternoon). From Harper's Ferry, you can check out Shepherdstown, WV and/or Leesburg, VA. Then I would go to Fredricksburg. Fredricksburg is now a DC suburb, but nevertheless you can still see Marye's Heights, you can still go to Burnside's headquarters, you can still see the spot where Jackson was shot (where there is a monument). From Fredricksburg you're an easy ride to Richmond (Museum of the Confederacy), or perhaps you might want to mix and match it and go to the Peninsula and see Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown to throw in a little Colonial era.
Since you're going to Fredericksburg, you should visit Spotsylvania Court House, The Wilderness and Chancellorsville. They're all pretty much in the same area. At Spotsylvania, visit the Bloody Angle and walk out to the monument where a Yankee unit approached from. Walk back to the angle. You'll walk into a depression that'll hide you from the Confederate view and that'll explain why the angle was so bloody. Men had a chance to pause, rest and then storm that one spot with only one volley fired by the Confederates. You should also go slightly west and you'll see why Upton attacked in the place where he did. It was a blind approach that allowed for only two volleys before the attacker would slam into the Confederate positions.
Thanks Gents. I see the weather is looking good at the moment. Temperatures of 30 Degrees + are hotter than we ever get over here. I have been to Gettysburg before, and I agree, it is a must see. I have also been to the battlefields around Fredericksburg. There is so much to see in that area that I need another visit. Most of all I am looking forward to the Valley and Blue Ridge.
I forgot to mention that I usually come back from these trips with more questions than answers. The last time, I got very good replies to my questions about Fredericksburg, Wilderness and The Crater. So hopefully I will have more.
Also if you're in Virginia, I would like to recommend the Emmerson Creek Pottery in Bedford (they make nice pottery), in Independence there is Fox Creek Leathers which makes nice leather jackets if you're into motorcycles. I'm not affiliated with either of them, but I know of places like this from Florida up to the Canadian border because my wife and I drive to Florida every year to get out of the cold and for Memorial Day we go to PA, MD, WV and/or PA.
Don't know if you have come across the pond yet, but if so, I hope you are enjoying your trip BR!! I live in the DC Metro area and have gotten to visit alot of the battlefields from Gettysburg down to Richmond, and of all of the fields, I would have to say that Malvern Hill is the closest to its Civil War appearance as any. Seeing as you have been there on your last excursion, if if you have any pictures looking from the Union lines toward the Confederate lines, try and compare them to contemporary pictures taken during the war, and you can see that they are practically identical. The NPS has done a superb job of clearing the tree line back and making it look almost like the the land that Union and Confederate soldiers fought on.
I love Gettysburg, but my only qualm with it is that it has become very much a shrine. I like monuments, but I feel Gettysburg has a few too many large and gaudy ones. Looking from LRT down and seeing the Pennsylvania memorial kinda detracts a little from it all. But there isn't too much we can do about it. I still love the place though. Antietam is also spectacular. Well, I know its supposed to be hot this week and next, so stay cool. Enjoy your visit!!
Well, thats another visit completed. Already seems hard to believe that this time yesterday I was in Virginia. I picked up my hire car at Dulles. This was supposed to be a Dodge Charger, but turned out to be a Mercury Grand Marquis. This is a l-o-o-o-o-ng car, but was quite nice to drive. I headed for Winchester. Using Winchester as a base, I visited Antietam, Harpers Ferry, Gettysburg, Kernstown and Cedar Creek. I then travelled down the Skyline Drive to Waynesboro. From Waynesboro, I visited New Market. My next stop was Culpepper. Again using Culpepper as a base, I visited Wilderness, Spotsylvannia and Brandy Station. Here are a few thoughts on what I found.
Antietam - One of the best preserved battlefields I have seen. A compact field compared to some of the other major engagements. I did the taped driving tour and walked all of the paths. Highlights were walking the path around the cornfield and Burnsides Bridge.
Harpers Ferry - Many people would dismiss the Town for being too touristy, but I enjoyed my visit. Exhibits on the 1862 battle, and John Browns raid. I finally found out what the 'Engine House' was. This was used to store a fire engine in case of emergency at the arsenal.
Gettysburg - I last visited the town in early March 1999. I was impressed, and knew that one day I would return. Big mistake. Not in summer! Nose to tail convoys of tour buses. When I last visited, most of the souvenier shops were closed, and so were not too obtrusive. But this time! I really am not ready for General Picketts Chicken Buffet.
Kernstown - Total opposite to Gettysburg. Site of 1862 1st Winchester and 1864 Kernstown. I thought the site was deserted. The visitor centre was closed, but two of the most dedicated Civil War preservationists you could meet turned up. These two men were restoring and maintaining the field and house which sat in the middle of the 1864 battle. Although the visitor centre was not due to open, they opened up because I had come so far! Well worth a visit.
Cedar Creek - Another well preserved site, with small visitor centre.
New Market - This battlefield may well have one of the best Civil War museums in Virginia. The field itself is also well preserved. A visit to New Market helps provide an understanding of the Geography of the whole valley region, especially with regard to mountain passes. Some fantastic country and roads, just wish I had been riding the Triumph.
Wilderness and Spotsylvannia - Actually my third visit to these fields. Wilderness remains one of my favourites. On this trip I visited some of the less 'popular' areas such as Todds Tavern and Laurel Hill. I did notice what I think are new developments on the Western edge of the field on Route 3. Ronald Bloody Macdonald and co.
Brandy Station - There is a driving tour of what was quite a large field. As this is all on public roads and traffic was heavy I decided against it.
All in all another good visit. One thing I have learned, is that visits to some of the smaller fields are quite often the most rewarding.
Glad you enjoyed your trip, Blockaderunner. Maybe next year you could make it to New Orleans. No battle sites right-here (the town surrendered in 1862 when the Union navy came upriver), but we have a great Confederate Museum, and are not too far from Vicksburg.
There are also the remains of Fort Phillip and Fort Jackson - "remains", because they had fallen into serious disrepair before Hurricane Katrina and were damaged further by the Hurricane. They were the downriver forts that tried without success to stop Admiral Farragut's invasion of New Orleans in April 1862.
Interesting that you should mention New Orleans. I had an idea for my next visit to drive from New Orleans to Jackson, then Vicksburg and possibly as far as Shiloh.
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