Trip to Virginia in April

[cbreedon]

I don't post on here a whole lot but I'd like some advice....

My wife and I are taking a trip to Virginia, DC and Maryland in April.

Our loose itinerary is:
Manassas probably the 1st day after landing at Dulles. It is only a few miles.

Then down to Williamsburg/Jamestown area.

Then over the Chesapeake bridge/tunnel up to Rehoboth Beach and visit Dogfish Head Brewery.

Then through Annapolis to DC for a day or so.

My question is: We want to hit another battlefield on the way to Williamsburg. I know there are several along the way but I am not sure which would a good one to visit? We went to Gettysburg and Antietem a couple of years ago and enjoyed them.

Also are there any other good things to hit in the areas mentioned. Breweries, restaurants, historical attractions, etc?

Thanks

[wheres_my_horse]

Assuming you are going down 29/17 from Manassas to 95 towards Norfolk, you have Battlefield Brewing in Fredericksburg and Williamsburg Ale Werks. Never been to either, they are on my list.

King's Arms Tavern in Williamsburg is good period food.

[cbreedon]

What about battlefields? We want to hit one on the way from Manassas to Williamsburg. Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville are on the way. Of the two which is the more interesting?

[mmescher]

Unfortunately, both Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville suffer from fringe development as the I-95 corridor has developed. When you see Manassas or Antietam, they were relatively unified battles with large tracts of land preserved early while the area was still rural.

In Fredericksburg, a lot of the battle involved crossing the river, skirmishing in town, and then the attack on the Stone Wall at the base of Marye's Heights. The town has swallowed this part and the only remnant is a small part of the stone wall that looks directly into back yards not many feet away. The Slaughter Pen area south of town is less developed and CWPT just acquired a big chunk of it so you don't have to imagine open landscape as much.

Some of the elements of Chancellorsville are almost completely obliterated and development is encroaching on other portions. The area around Salem Church is, with the exception of the church itself, buried under strip malls and similar development. The main battlefield is still heavily wooded second growth so you have none of the sweeping vistas of some of the more open fields. I haven't been there in years so I don't know how much development has further encroached on it. But around the visitor center you can walk in the woods a short distance and get some idea of what it was like to try to conduct an organized battle in an area where it was hard to see more than 50 yards in the woods. If you are coming in early April, you will have greater visibility in the woods than if you are coming later.

Of the two, it is hard to say which is the more interesting because they are both so incredibly damaged. Spotsylvania and the Wilderness might also be options but the Wilderness is also broken up by development (at least they named some of the streets after the generals) and I haven't been to Spotsylvania.

A possible option is to visit as much of all of them as your time allows, enjoying the remaining portions of each.

In the Williamsburg/Jamestown area, I would recommend the NPS area with the location of the original fort over the state run Festival Park.

Michael Mescher

[Bitter_Bierce]

Unfortunately, both Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville suffer from fringe development as the I-95 corridor has developed.

Is this a reason not to visit them? The OP did not ask about only wanting to visit well-preserved sites.

... town has swallowed this part and the only remnant is a small part of the stone wall that looks directly into back yards not many feet away.

To not take the Sunken Road walking tour at Fredericksburg because the town has grown up to it's edge would be missing what is a great experience. It includes a walk through one of the most picturesque National Cemeteries associated with the Civil War. That's also a very quite older neighborhood that harmonizes well with the historic surroundings. Yeah, a pity it wasn't preserved intact, but that's no reason to forgo a visit.

The area around Salem Church is, with the exception of the church itself, buried under strip malls and similar development.

Yeah, very unfortunate, but two nice regimental monuments nearby and the church still retains some battle damage. Serves as a good model on why perservation is important and should be visited for that reason.

I haven't been there (Chancellorsville) in years so I don't know how much development has further encroached on it.

So if you haven't been there in years, why do you even feel you are qualified to write about it? You mentioned the Civil War Trust at the Slaughter Pen Farm, but don't bother mentioning the site of one of the greatest preservation victories of recent years at Chancellorsville: the Civil War Trust's property which saves a hefty portion of the first day's field. Yeah, there's a new upscale housing development nearby. Ouch.... I can see somebody's roof! Oh, poo! Power lines cross the property! Why'd they even bother saving it?

The main battlefield is still heavily wooded second growth so you have none of the sweeping vistas of some of the more open fields.

Huh? Did you miss Chancellorsville clearing. About a mile long and half a mile wide. Historically there were less trees there making it a plain. Chancellorsville clearing includes Fairview Heights from which you can see the distant Hazel Grove area. Fairview Height's impressive set of artillery lunettes are part of that sweeping vista. How'd you manage to miss it. It's only a short drive from the visitor center. Guess you didn't take the complete driving tour.

...around the visitor center you can walk in the woods a short distance and get some idea of what it was like to try to conduct an organized battle in an area where it was hard to see more than 50 yards in the woods.

This one puzzles me. The woods at Chancellorsville are nothing like they were during the battle. Visibility was barely 5 yards in 1863, not 50 yards. Todays old growth forest doesn't give the visitor any idea of what the interlaced thickets were like during the battle.

Of the two, it is hard to say which is the more interesting because they are both so incredibly damaged.

Again, I'm sorry, but I think your preceptions of these magnificent battlefields are "incredibly damaged". Its not ALL about what modern buildings can or cannot be seen from them. Look at the ground under your feet. It was soaked with human blood. Compared to say, Seven Pines (Fair Oaks) or the Atlanta area battlefields, I'd say that the F-burg area battlefields are in a remarkably good state of preservation. And downtown Oldtown Fredericksburg is to die for (... and many did).

... and I haven't been to Spotsylvania.

This one made me laugh. The core area of Spotsylvania is the most well preserved of all the F-burg area battlefields yet you somehow managed to not visit it. Again, I have to ask... why do you feel qualified to write a vistor's review of these fields?

A possible option is to visit as much of all of them as your time allows, enjoying the remaining portions of each.

The overall impression of your post is that none of the F-burg area fields are really worth a visit. Just hit 'em on a quick drive-by. Your entire post shows a deep misunderstanding of the Central Virginia battlefields which you admit you've not visited in-depth.

Yes, its nice to have a pristine battlefield, but your missing the whole point of preservation if you're just concerned with what's visible or not visible on the horizon. Again, look at the ground under your feet.

[Chip]

I recently was in Richmond on business and managed to squeeze in Cold Harbor and Gaines Mill. Both are within a mile or so of each other and have nice trail walks. I liked Cold Harbor because many of the earthworks are still intact. Battlefields are just off of 295, north of I-64 and potentially right on the way to Williamsburg.

Have a good trip!

[TheQM]

I would agree with Sam,

Here's a partial list of sites along Route #64 out of Richmomd:

Seven Pines
Savage Station
Glendale
Malvern Hill
Gaines' Mill
Cold Harbor

Spotsylvania Court House, south of Fredericksburg, is still pretty rural.

[GAR]

We made a similar road trip in '09. Williamsburg was great fun and only about 15 minutes away from Jamestown. Driving up the Virginia peninsula from Jamestown, there are several historic plantations, including Belle Aire, which was built by my gggg... grandfather, Richard Bradford. Really. Washington DC has more to offer than can be possibly be seen in just a day or two and should be in cherry bloom are that time. Besides the monuments and historic buildings, you've got the Smithsonian Museums and just across the river, Arlington Cemetery surrounding General R E Lee's former family home which was about half restored when we were there. We walked back across the bridge and saw the Lincoln Memorial, the Viet Nam Wall and the three soldier bronze statue, missed the Korean War Veterans Memorial but wish we hadn't. We had tickets to tour Ford's Theater, but the kids got antsy and we were anxious to get on up to Gettysburg. I always wanted to retrace Booth's escape route from Ford's and see Surratt's Tavern and Mudd's farm, maybe next time. Garrett's farm, where Booth died, has been paved over for a highway on ramp or something. Ain't progress grand? Check it out here, along with other great area things of interest: http://www.civilwartraveler.com/EAST/MD/booth.html
Take lots of pictures of yourselves standing in front of landmarks. It'll be much more interesting to look at later than pictures of just the landmarks by themselves. Have a great time!
Gary

[Radar]

Petersburg Battlefield maybe. It's been years since since I've been there though.

[BobSullivanPress]

Just completed a History trip with my daughter over the summer to this area. We visited many of the sites recommended here. As others have posted, many of the sites require somewhat of a suspension of disbelief on your part, imagining the area without development. If you are heading to Williamsburg from Manassas, I'd pick the Richmond area to visit. Lots of places to see from the 1862 and 1864 campaigns, and you can easily spend a day visiting what you'd like to see.

As a person who visited most of the major sites in Virginia 35 or so years ago, and then visited them again last summer, I believe I can sum my thoughts up: 1. There's a lot more commercial development around most sites. 2. The sites themselves are much better preserved, marked, and interpreted. For example, Ft. Darling (Drewry's Bluff). Visited it in my 20s, there was one gun there at the end of winding trail, all covered over with weeds and hard to find. Just visited it recently. The entire earth fort has been cleared out, marked, interpreted, and all sorts of pictures and such are there. The view of the river is better too. Much better than it was 35 years ago. But some, like Salem Church mentioned above, are worse

Not to hijack this thread, but I took the following book out of the library before our trip: The Complete Civil War Road Trip Guide: More than 400 Civil War Sites, from Antietam to Zagonyi's Charge, by Michael Weeks. You can find it in your library (I did) or online. It's an absolute gold mine of information on places to pick from. As a bonus, it lists every site with an address, so that if you have a GPS you can plug in the information and get there. Understand, I've visited every major Civil War site in Virginia in my lifetime, but I still found this book extremely informative and helpful. Get it before you go.