1999 Road Trip: Fredericksburg Area

Four major battles of the Civil War occurred within a seventeen mile radius in the Fredericksburg, VA area. In no other area was there such heavy and continuous fighting during the war. Combined, the battles were responsible for over 100,000 American casualties. The location midway between the capital of the United States of America (Washington D.C.) and the Confederate States of America (Richmond, VA) along the shortest route between the two was the primary reason the area saw so much bloodshed.

The four battles are:

• The Battle of Fredericksburg

• The Battle of Chancellorsville

• The Battle of the Wilderness

• The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House

Today portions of all four battlefields (plus a few other related sites) are all part of one U.S. National Park.