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ROADTRIP Civil War Sites, Part II Rap p a h a n n o c k R i v e r 17 395 235 3 95 1 495 1 235 95 495 123 95 1 95 1 234 619 610 3 20 3 3 BYP 3 610 639 620 Give a nod to the fallen with this Confederate soldier . Watch out for the trees while playing Frisbee golf in the mostly wooded Pohick Bay Regional Park. Goolrick’s has an old-fashioned lunch counter that moves with modern speed. Confederate soldiers fought twice — in December 1862 and May 1863 — at this stone wall paralleling the Sunken Road. Driver’s route Start here Take the scenic route along the George Washington Memorial Parkway, but don’t dawdle — getting through this trip in one day requires a commitment to motion. Hit the batting cages at Locust Shade Park. The bullet marks that remain on the Old Salem Church were from shots intended for the snipers firing from the upper floor windows. At Chancellorsville Battlefield, rangers will give you a map to find where Stonewall Jackson’s arm was buried. At Hazel Grove — a grassy knoll covered with cannons — imagine the day rounds fired across the farmland at Union troops at Fairview. Be one of those people who stops to read historical roadside markers. This one tells the tragic story of how Stonewall Jackson’s own soldiers accidentally shot him. The current peace at the Ellwood estate belies the bustle of the Federals that used it as a battle headquarters during the Wilderness. VIRGINIA MARYLAND Pohick Bay Regional Park Woodbridge FAIRFAX COUNTY PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY STAFFORD COUNTY SPOTSYLVANIA COUNTY ORANGE CO. ALEXANDRIA ARLINGTON CO. P ot o m a c R i v e r Mount Vernon Dumfries Fredericksburg Wilderness Locust Shade Park PRINCE STREET WASHINGTON STREET G . W . M E M O R I A L P A R K W A Y POHICK BAY DRIVE GUNSTON RD. LOCUST SHADE DRIVE CAROLINE STREET LAFAYETTE BLVD. STUART DRIVE BULLOCK ROAD Fairfax 0 MILES 8 WHERE: Civil War battlefields in Virginia. WHY: Chilling stories of snipers at a church and an amputated arm. HOW FAR: About 65 miles or 90 minutes from Alexandria. Y ou don’t have to be a Civil War buff to appreciate the beauty of the storied countryside on this trip through the Old Dominion — or get a chill conjuring images of the heroic and gruesome struggles of days past. We visit three of the four major Civil War engagements commemorated by the Freder- icksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park: Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and the Wilderness. The entire area, midway be- tween Washington and Richmond, saw more than 100,000 casualties during the Civil War. We begin at a statue you may have driven past a hundred times: a man standing with head bowed, arms folded, facing the south. It marks the spot from which Alexandrians de- parted as Confederate soldiers for the Civil War on May 24, 1861. But the historic heart of the trip doesn’t start until we reach the Fredericksburg Battlefield Visitor’s Center, where you should spring the $2 (seniors $1, younger than 10 free) to see the recently up- dated 22-minute movie. The cinematic history lesson includes De- cember of 1862’s Battle of Fredericksburg as well as 1863’s Chancellorsville campaign — and prepares you to appreciate the Sunken Road adjacent to the center. Don’t miss the photo posted in the parking lot — it was tak- en just a few hours after the intense fighting there on May 3, 1863. The image of fallen soldiers with guns, clothes and equipment strewn about puts you hauntingly in the mid- dle of that day. In fact, about four miles west later that day, the same Union troops attacked Confed- erates at Old Salem Church. The 1844-built Baptist church had been serving as tempo- rary home to civilians displaced by the war, but the refugees found their “home” sudden- ly transformed into a battlefield hospital. Fighting also raged nearby at Hazel Grove and Fairview — the main Battle of Chancel- lorsville, considered by many to be Robert E. Lee’s tactical masterpiece. Today, you can stand on the well-preserved battlefield and examine one of the many cannons that re- mind visitors of the combat there. Finally, we arrive at the Ellwood planta- tion, which turns out to be the most peculiar stop on our trip — it boasts the burial site not of Stonewall Jackson but of his left arm, which was amputated after he was shot by friendly fire on May 2, 1863. This 1790s-built farm served as a field hospital for the Battle of Chancellorsville and as Union headquar- ters a year later during the horrific Battle of the Wilderness. — Susan Straight Road Trip maps are available online at www. washingtonpost.com/roadtrip, as are address- es and hours of operation (be sure to check before you go). Have an idea for a trip? E- mail [email protected]. MAP BY JEROME COOKSON FOR THE WASHINGTON POST; PHOTOS BY SUSAN STRAIGHT FOR THE WASHINGTON POST
