Random OT: Civil War Battlefields
It’s cold, NCAA Tourneys on, Hockey is tomorrow, we are all drinking our favorite beverages. My question is aside from Gettysburg, what Civil War battlefields would the dads, war buffs and history nerds recommend? My kids will be going to Gettysburg on their school DC trip, so that’s out.
I’m driving south this summer for a family vacation and my kids are really into the Civil War, they play an online multiplayer Civil War game on line (War of Rights) and are obsessed.
Any particular battlefields/monuments that are worth a day or half day that you have been to?
Used to live adjacent to Bull Run/Manassas. Definitely worth the trip.
March 22nd, 2024 at 11:11 PM ^
Antietam and Fredricksburg
I would guess Sharpsburg, Maryland would be worth a stop, where the battle of Antietam took place.
If you make it to Chattanooga, TN, there is civil war memorabilia everywhere, hotels feel haunted with it.
I live right next to Antietam. Just built a new interpretive center. You can either walk or drive it. Its big too. Ive lived here just over 2 years and havent seen half of it yet. Plenty of other battlefields around too in Harpers Ferry and South Mountain.
If you've made it to Chattanooga - then Lookout Mountain is good and the short drive to see the Chickamauga battlefield is a must. You can follow the course of the battle field and basically stand where Longstreet took the extra time to align his troops before shattering the US center and then follow along to where Thomas rallied them and, arguably, prevented a wholesale collapse in the West.
May as well read up on the great locomotive chase if in/around Chattanooga and Atlanta.
And Kennesaw mountain battlefield north of Atlanta.
The Atlanta History Center is a great place to visit for civil war history. They have one of the actual trains (the Texas) that was involved in the chase.
March 23rd, 2024 at 12:54 AM ^
And another of the trains (The General) is at The Southern Museum in downtown Kennesaw along with an entire three or four room exhibit dedicated to the chase.
Chickamauga is one of the best battlefield parks. After Gettysburg, I might rate it #2. You might stop by Charleston and go to Ft. Sumter and the battery. And it's such a beautiful city. As for Antietam, your boys will love the bloody alley and Burnside Bridge.
March 22nd, 2024 at 10:20 PM ^
Two hour drive from Sharpsburg is the Flight 93 Memorial. Highly recommend it.
I sort of figured you'd be more into Revolutionary War battlefields where we kicked some British ass.
Many years ago, we went to Yorktown, and of course, as a descendant of those on the losing side of it, I looked at my quite English father and said, looking around the landscape, "This is where we lost all this, eh?"
March 22nd, 2024 at 10:55 PM ^
My ancestors may well have been on both sides as I had relatives in North Carolina and UK at time. Rest were still bouncing about in Europe.
I feel a certain level of ambivalence toward the Revolution.
Hensons: Indeed, but we spend Thanksgiving in Philadelphia every year so valley forge and Trenton have been checked off. And my half-drunk, Friday-night edgelord bullshit does not apply to the threads I start. No one should take that seriously.
Wasn’t there a battle on Shrute Farms?
You beat me to it. The northernmost battle of the Civil War!
You both beet me to it.
+1 I see what you did there
Appomattox.
March 22nd, 2024 at 10:43 PM ^
Part of what makes March Madness fun for me is reading about obscure schools that make the tournament. Today’s contestant is Longwood, located in - I’m not making this up - Farmville, Virginia. Anyway, according to the Wikipedia:
In early April 1865 both Gens. Robert E. Leeand Ulysses S. Grant marched past the north end of campus on Lee's retreat to Appomattox just days before the end of the American Civil War;
Their history includes this fun story:
A popular myth holds that whenever the college changed its name, a fire broke out on campus.
Except it’s not a myth, it’s happened four times!
March 22nd, 2024 at 11:05 PM ^
It's the Circle of Life.
EDIT: I'm just glad I spelled it properly from memory.
Antietam is one of the better ones, even though you will be reading signs that point out that the woods over there stand where the Cornfield was, and that field is where the East Woods were, but there's a fair amount of cool relics and places like Burnside's Bridge are still extant, so the differences between the modern and historical battlefields are not huge.
I live within an hour of Chancellorsville/The Wilderness, Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania Court House, Bull Run, and Brandy Station, and can attest that most of them are of the "on this site once stood X" variety. The Bull Run/Manassas battlefield is worth a visit if passing by, but probably not worth going far out of your way. If you are coming to any of these battlefields bar Bull Run, make sure you and your family are fully informed on tick bite prevention, because ticks are very common in the tall grass around here in summer.
If you ever go north, make a point of visiting Fort Ticonderoga. Great museum and stunning views.
Yeah. I’ll second the tick advice for Antietam. They are everywhere! Permethrin is your friend.
Logged in to second the recommendation for Antietam. I had the opportunity to visit that site on a cool blustery Fall weekday, was one of only a handful of people at the entire site, and it felt like I could see back in time. Almost a spiritual experience knowing what happened there.
That’s moving. Thank you. My children have direct ancestors who fought on both sides at Antietam, including my great3 grandfather who was in the 24th MI in the Iron Brigade. So I’m leaning toward going there.
As well as the others recommended here, I would also strongly recommend Camp Sumter in Andersonville, GA.
Camp Sumter was only in operation for fourteen months, however, during that time 45,000 Union soldiers were imprisoned there, and nearly 13,000 died from disease, poor sanitation, malnutrition, overcrowding, or exposure.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andersonville_Prison
I had 2 uncles die in Gettysburg while fighting with the 57th regiment of PA and another lost a leg in this battle and returned to be a farmer and have a family. One more of these brothers fought all the way to the end of the war. He captured the confederate flag three days before Gen. Lee surrendered the last major Confederate army at Saylor's Creek, VA. As a result, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor on May 10, 1865. However, like so many survivors of any war, he struggled afterwards, never married but lived to the age of 73 in the town that he grew up and that I later grew up, Mercer, PA.
I am grateful and proud for their enormous sacrifice for a more perfect Union.
Small world. My greatx3 grandfather was also in the 24th Michigan, Company C. Wounded at the Fredericksburg Crossing during the Battle of Chancellorsville, then wounded a second time in the first day's action at Gettysburg. Limped for the rest of his life.
He's why I have this username.
Well, yeah. It's a great battlefield. And both sides of your past can shed a tear when you envision A. P. Hill's corps marching up from Harper's Ferry. A very dramatic moment in the Civil War.
March 22nd, 2024 at 11:09 PM ^
I had a similar reaction at Antietam. I was there 20 years ago in the early spring -- right about this time of year. Anyway, as soon as I entered the park, I had the sensation of passing back in time, probably because there has been very little development of the land. The Burnside Bridge was/is still there. The Dunker Church was still there and I hope still is. There was a grayness to the day, so it almost seemed like I was looking at Brady/Gardner photographs without the dead bodies.
I love Gettysburg (it has been years since I was there), but the experience at Antietam is entirely different. There is very little commercial interference with the experience.
March 22nd, 2024 at 11:54 PM ^
The original Dunkers Church was lost to a fire in the early 1900s (IIRC) but the replacement is identical to the original.
Agree with visiting Antietam. Gettysburg can be a bit touristy at times but Antietam is like traveling back in time.
Agree with all the above. I’ve been to several in the area and Antietam was my favorite.
I have been to Fort Ticonderoga. I actually have a customer there. Summers are also beautiful on Lake Champlain.
March 22nd, 2024 at 10:59 PM ^
On Ticonderoga - great revolutionary war battle fought and won (on Lake Champlain) by General Benedict Arnold one of the great Revolutionary War Generals (before he became the infamous Benedict Arnold)
March 23rd, 2024 at 12:05 PM ^
Agree with Antietam. It has a very somber, humbling, almost haunting feel to it, especially at “Bloody Lane,” or the sunken road.
I went back to look up the numbers and 23,000 men from both sides were wounded, killed, or listed as MIA in that battle and they didn’t feel very far away when I saw it.
"It’s cold, NCAA Tourneys on,..."
Yep, it's cold!!!
Can't wait until June.
Antietam by far. Best battlefield experience in my opinion. Taught American history for nearly 15 years and can share that it’s one of the most well-preserved and in-tact locations. Also has amazing topography that is beautiful and unique. Don’t miss it.
You can fit in other important parts of that campaign, too: Harper's Ferry and South Mountain are short drives away. And well worth it.
I took the kids to Antietam, then stopped by Fort Necessity in southern PA the next day. The scale of battle changed so much in the hundred years between those two events.
Shiloh, Chancerslorville, Chickamauga, Spotsylvania
One more… Shiloh is also excellent.
Shiloh is very powerful. Just walking the battlefield is amazing. Vicksburg is different since it was a siege, very large area. The scale of the revolutionary war is just different. Yorktown was frankly underwhelming. Saving Gettysburg for a guided tour when I retire.
March 22nd, 2024 at 11:02 PM ^
Shiloh was a preview of just how brutal the rest of the was going to be. Grant’s first campaign where he demonstrated his unique (for Union generals) will to exploit the North’s advantages on a large scale. That battle was bad news for the Confederacy.
March 22nd, 2024 at 11:50 PM ^
He damn near lost at Shiloh.
It was his willingness to throw troops into the meat grinder that turned the tide and set the tone for his future campaigns.
If going to Shiloh,extra credit given for visiting the home of Buford T. Pusser, which is a short drive away. He is the sheriff that Walking Tall is based on. Dude was a bad ass.
March 23rd, 2024 at 12:17 PM ^
Logged in to second Shiloh. Its been 20+ years since I've been there, but when I went (early Spring) we were the only ones there, and there was a sense that the battlefield hadn't changed much.
Also, for those going to Ft Ticonderoga, you might as well go up on the northway to Plattsburgh to see the area where the Battle of Valcour was fought during the War of 1812, or go a little further south to Saratoga for another key revolutionary war battle site (besides just being a great town generally, whether you're into the ponies or not).
A few options:
Antietam. Beautifully maintained, and they restored the forested areas to what they were at the time of the battle, much easier to visualize the battle. Great for a driving tour because the action moved from the north end to the south end of the battle. You can visit the sites in chronological order. Stopping by South Mountain (where much smaller Confederate force held off most of the Army of the Potomac, allowing the Army of Northern Virginia a chance to concentrate around Sharpsburg) is nearby, and worth stopping.
Bull Run. They have a terrific, Ranger-led walking tour of the main action for the First battle. Short and enlightening, you can visualize McDowell's plan, and see why Jackson's stand saved the day. The Second battle is harder to visualize; the forested areas are not where they were in 1862.
Battle of Seven Days and/or Grant's overland campaign of 1864. There are a series of smaller parks for each of the battles. As with Antietam, you can drive between them and follow the course of one (or both) of the campaigns.
The Shenandoah Valley. Also a lot of smaller parks, which you can visit in chronological order of one of the campaigns. The New Market Battlefield Military Museum is worth seeing.
Fort Stevens, DC. This is part of the system of fortifications around Washington, and where Jubal Early's Corps probed the strength of the system in 1864. Part of the Fort is preserved, and in late June/early July the local Civil War Roundtable hosts a Fort Stevens Day with reenactors, speakers and demonstrations. The group that portrays the 54th Massachusetts (from the movie Glory) often participates. Nearby in Maryland is the Monocacy battle, we're a scratch Union force held off Early for a day, and gave the Federals a chance to reinforce Washington's defenses.
Fredericksburg, the hillside we're the Army of the Potomac launched its futile assaults is preserved.
Those are my thoughts for the area around Washington. If you are going farther west, we can talk about western theater campaigns, or the quasi-guerilla war in Missouri. There are even sites worth seeing in northern New Mexico.
Madmat, thank you. I read your entire post to my wife and we are looking at maps.
Fredericksburg is the one I've always wanted to see. Burnside's repeated direct assaults up Marye's Heights have been so condemned in books that I want to see it for myself. An attack uphill, on open ground that gave no opportunity for a flanking maneuver, against a two-tiered entrenched defensive position with well-manned rifle pits at the base, and interlocking cannon fire from the summit.
It wasn't that he tried it. It's that he tried it 14 times.
I would have all these on my list!
Antietam
Vicksburg
Manassas
Chattanooga
Charleston
The Wilderness
I liked Vicksburg too. I wish I had pulled a Grant and made quick detour to his library. Just a brilliant campaign, maybe the greatest of any American general.
Vicksburg was indeed a great campaign, showing how Grant is so under-rated as a commander. But Second Manassas is the greatest campaign by an American general. Unbelievable stuff. But, still, kudos to Ulysses.