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150th ANNIVERSARY EDITION
2013
Vol XXI
V IRGINIA’S C IVIL W AR
GUIDE TO
B A T T L E F I E L D S
&
S I T E S
INFO BY REGION
Central Virginia
3–14
Tidewater
17–21
Valley & Mountains
26–35
Southside
36–41
Northern Virginia
42–46
CALENDAR
150th Anniversary
22–23
~ DRIVING TOURS ~
Overland
Campaign 14
Peninsula
Campaign 17
Lee’s Retreat
36–37
ON THE WEB
CivilWarTraveler.com/
EAST/VA
The wounding of Stonewall Jackson during the Battle of Chancellorsville. Jackson died at Guinea Station May 10, 1863.
L
VirginiaCivilWar.org
ooking back after 150
years, Virginia in 1863
seems strangely quiet.
The brutal campaigns of 1862,
which touched nearly every part
of the state, were over. The even
bloodier battles in 1864 were
yet to come. So what to make of
Virginia’s Civil War in 1863?
1863 in Virginia
On the military front, Confederate fortunes in Virginia
looked okay as the year began.
Robert E. Lee’s army was still
strong and still in Fredericksburg after fending off Union
attacks there in December. Still,
Union forces occupied a huge
hunk of the state and the sup-
ply of food to Lee’s army, and
to civilians, was becoming a big
problem during that winter and
early spring.
So big, in fact, that simmering discomfort in Richmond —
stoked by an over abundance of
sick and wounded, refugees and
prisoners, and a shortage of food
and other resources to deal with
it all — boiled over in an early
April riot.
Lee was concerned enough
about supplies to dispatch Gen.
James Longstreet to Southside
Virginia, in part to gather food for
his army.
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GUIDE TO VIRGINIA’S CIVIL WAR
1863 in Virginia, cont’d from page 1
Hungry or not, the Confederate army was in good
enough shape to turn back
another Union offensive at
Fredericksburg in early May.
New Union commander Gen.
Joseph Hooker thought he
could get around Lee’s army
instead of attacking it head-on.
That didn’t work either. After
desperate fighting near Chancellorsville, the Union army
was sent packing… again.
Lee’s masterful victory set
the stage for another Confederate march north. But this
time he had to make the trip
without Stonewall Jackson,
who died after being wounded
during the height of the battle.
The Confederates hit the
road toward Pennsylvania in
June, the infantry taking a
route through the northern
Shenandoah Valley, west of
the Blue Ridge mountains.
The leading elements of the
Southern army brushed aside
The Richmond bread riot, April 2, 1863
a Union force in Winchester
while Confederate cavalry —
somewhat chastened by relatively poor
That fall, both armies dispatched signifperformances at Kelly’s Ford and Brandy
icant numbers of troops to fight in Georgia
Station — held off their counterparts east
and Tennessee. The battles at Chickamauga
of the mountains, protecting Lee’s right
(GA) and Chattanooga (TN) diverted atflank.
tention from the Eastern Theater.
For the next couple of months the war’s
While all that was happening down
focus left Virginia as the heavy fighting
south, Lee saw a chance to renew the ofshifted north and south.
fensive in Virginia. After a Union cavalry
Lee’s army limped home after the
foray south of the Rappahanock in OcBattle of Gettysburg ( July 1–3), fighting
tober, Lee launched a “left hook” directed
rearguard actions along the way, including
toward the Union flank and rear. The blow
one near Front Royal, before both armies
forced the Federals back toward Centreville
settled into camps near the Rappahannock
and their Washington defenses. Lee’s plan
and Rapidan rivers west of Fredericksburg.
appeared to be working until Confederate
Gen. A.P. Hill’s troops rashly
attacked a very strong Union
rear guard at Bristoe Station
on the Orange and Alexandria
Railroad. The Oct. 14 defeat at
Bristoe caused the Confederate operation to sputter. Lee’s
last offensive campaign of the
war was over.
A little more than a month
later, it was the Union army’s
turn at frustration. Gen.
George Meade, who took over
for Hooker shortly before
Gettysburg, had been stung by
criticism that he not been aggressive enough. He launched
a campaign of his own in late
November, hoping to strike a
blow against the Confederates
south of the Rapidan River.
Like Lee’s ill-fated October
campaign, Meade’s effort sputtered, this time after inconclusive fighting in the last days of
the month at Mine Run.
So 1863 limped to a close
with the armies in winter
camps not all that far away
from where they were the
previous winter. Virginia’s short interlude
was over. But both sides knew the war was
far from over and that Virginia would once
again take center stage.
150th Anniversary
Event Highlights 2013
H
ere are the highlights of Virginia’s
150th anniversary commemoration
schedule. Please see CivilWarTraveler.com/
events for more information, changes and
updates.
MARCH
Mosby raids – Commemorated at Fairfax
(March 9) and Herndon (March 17). 703591-0506 (Fairfax) and herndonhistoicalsociety.org (Herndon)
An Independent Newspaper © Copyright 2013
PAGE ONE HISTORY PUBLICATIONS
The Guide to Virginia’s Civil War is published annually.
Free copies are available at most Virginia Civil War
sites and selected local/regional visitor centers. For a
free copy by mail, visit CivilWarTraveler.com, click
on a “Free Info” button, and fill out the form (check
Virginia). A copy of the newspaper and other related
Civil War travel information will be sent to you.
PO Box 4232
Richmond VA 23220-4232
www.civilwartraveler.com/EAST/VA
[email protected]
Editor / Publisher
Don Pierce
804-399-5737
Associate Publisher Norma Pierce
Explosion at the Confederate Laboratory (March 13, 1863) – Talks and living
history March 9 at Historic Tredegar in
Richmond. nps.gov/rich
Battle of Kelly’s Ford (March 17, 1863)
– Commemorated with a tour and ball
(March 16) and a symposium (March 17).
brandystationfoundation.com
APRIL
Bread Riot in Richmond (April 2, 1863) –
Tour in Richmond April 6. nps.gov/rich
Siege of Suffolk (April 11-May 4, 1863) –
•VantourfromLeeHallinNewport
News April 20. leehall.org
MAY
Battle of Chancellorsville (May 1-5,
1863) –
•Rangerprograms,allsortsoftoursand
living history on the battlefield west of
Fredericksburg April 27-May 5. Realtime walking tours May 1-4. nps.gov/frsp.
•ReenactmentMay3-5.Seebattleofchancellorsville.com
•MedicalprogramsatEllwood(fowb.
org) and Kenmore in Fredericksburg
(kenmore.org) May 4-5.
Death of Stonewall Jackson (May 10,
1863) –
•Specialrangerprogramsplannedatthe
Stonewall Jackson Shrine (Guinea Station) May 9 and 10. nps.gov/frsp
•TalkandspecialexhibitattheMuseum
of the Confederacy in Richmond May
10–12. (moc.org)
JUNE
Roads to Gettysburg
Battle of Brandy Station ( June 9, 1863) –
Special in-depth tour of the battlefield June
8, tours of the Graffiti House visitor center
June 7–9. brandystationfoundation.com
Second Battle of Winchester ( June
13–15, 1863) – Car-caravan tour and tours
of Star Fort June 14, living history at Star
Fort and seminar and tour both June 15.
shenandoahatwar.org
Battles at Aldie, Middleburg and Upperville ( June 17–21, 1863) – Living history,
special exhibits, talks and a reenactment
June 14-16. mosbyheritagearea.org
Note: Living history programs representing camps on the roads to (and from) Gettysburg are planned. See civilwartraveler.com/
events for details.
JULY
Battle of Wapping Heights ( July 23,
1863) – “On this day” tour planned near
Front Royal July 23. shenandoahatwar.org
OCTOBER
Battle of Bristoe Station (Oct. 14, 1863)
– Campaign symposium Sept. 14–15, bus
tour Oct. 5 and living history weekend at
the Bristoe Station Battlefield Heritage
Park Oct. 12–14. 703-366-3049.
NOVEMBER
Mine Run Campaign (Nov. 27-Dec. 2,
1863) – Commemoration of the campaign
Nov. 16. visitorangevirginia.com . u