JeffFromSyracuse
Sergeant
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2020
- Location
- Philly Suburbs
It's been a couple of chaotic months at work, and I needed a break. Fortunately, the three day weekend and the proximity of Virginia battlefields within an easy drive gave me the opportunity to tour a number of fields I have never been to before and/or wanted to revisit. I made it to a total of 9 battlefields between Saturday and Sunday. The weather was... not ideal (rainy, mid-50s with a breeze), but conditions help up enough to keep most of me dry. Here's a recap of my trip.
1) I started my trip early Saturday morning at my MIL's in the Harrisburg area, and I was able to follow Route 15 most of the way down. My first stop was a wayside marker in Remington, formerly known as Rappahannock Station. (I didn't get a picture). The stop wasn't long - they're developing a park, but it's not open to the public yet.
2) I crossed the Rapidan and made the quick drive to the Kelly's Ford markers along Newby's Shop Road (Route 673). An operating sod farm keeps the fields wide open, and the open vista in front of where the interpretive markers are placed gives visitors a good sense of what the battlefield looked like.
3) The best part about battlefield in Virginia is how darn close together all of these sites are. Within ten minutes, I was at my next stop - Buford's Knoll, one of three trails on the Brandy Station battlefield. The hill was impressive for sure, but the interpretive signs on the trail are all worn out. Fortunately, I had downloaded the ABT app and was able to piece together the story of the area. The red clay was slick mud, and I had to be careful on my way back down!
4) Next was the St. James Church trail. Again, the interpretive signs were worn out, and the ABT app focused on the church that used to stand there, not
the fact that this was an important area of combat.
5) My final stop at Brandy Station was at Fleetwood Hill. This was the best spot to visit of the three. The signs were in good shape and gave a clear sense of what occurred at the site. I had to sit in the car for a few minutes to let a rain shower pass. This was around 10:45, and it was fortunately the last significant rain of the day.
6) After touring this field, I got back in the car and made a 20 minute drive to the Cedar Mountain Battlefield. It would have been faster, but I missed the exit to stay on 15 where it splits from 29 and had to turn around. Cedar Mountain is a nice field, well interpreted and preserved. It had several trail options that were well maintained. The namesake Cedar Mountain is behind the battlefield in this picture.
1) I started my trip early Saturday morning at my MIL's in the Harrisburg area, and I was able to follow Route 15 most of the way down. My first stop was a wayside marker in Remington, formerly known as Rappahannock Station. (I didn't get a picture). The stop wasn't long - they're developing a park, but it's not open to the public yet.
2) I crossed the Rapidan and made the quick drive to the Kelly's Ford markers along Newby's Shop Road (Route 673). An operating sod farm keeps the fields wide open, and the open vista in front of where the interpretive markers are placed gives visitors a good sense of what the battlefield looked like.
3) The best part about battlefield in Virginia is how darn close together all of these sites are. Within ten minutes, I was at my next stop - Buford's Knoll, one of three trails on the Brandy Station battlefield. The hill was impressive for sure, but the interpretive signs on the trail are all worn out. Fortunately, I had downloaded the ABT app and was able to piece together the story of the area. The red clay was slick mud, and I had to be careful on my way back down!
4) Next was the St. James Church trail. Again, the interpretive signs were worn out, and the ABT app focused on the church that used to stand there, not
the fact that this was an important area of combat.
5) My final stop at Brandy Station was at Fleetwood Hill. This was the best spot to visit of the three. The signs were in good shape and gave a clear sense of what occurred at the site. I had to sit in the car for a few minutes to let a rain shower pass. This was around 10:45, and it was fortunately the last significant rain of the day.
6) After touring this field, I got back in the car and made a 20 minute drive to the Cedar Mountain Battlefield. It would have been faster, but I missed the exit to stay on 15 where it splits from 29 and had to turn around. Cedar Mountain is a nice field, well interpreted and preserved. It had several trail options that were well maintained. The namesake Cedar Mountain is behind the battlefield in this picture.