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Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville
A Battlefield Guide
Brian K. Burton (Author)
9781496236203
Paperback / softback, published 1 June 2026
168 pages, 22 maps
22.9 x 15.2 x 0.7 cm, 0.234 kg
"The battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville were separated by four and a half months and ten miles, but Brian K. Burton's Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville: A Battlefield Guide reminds us how closely tied together the battles were in action and impact. His text and tour—easy to read and easy to follow—allow readers to explore the key spots of each battlefield in their own right, but he also provides a continuity of action between the two battles that allows each battlefield to shed light on the other."—Chris Mackowski, editor-in-chief of the blog Emerging Civil War and author of numerous books on the Civil War
Through the winter of 1862 and spring of 1863, the U.S. Army and Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia clashed along the Rappahannock River in two major battles. Both demonstrated the height of power for the Confederacy in the Eastern Theater. The Battle of Fredericksburg was a tactically defensive triumph for Lee over the Army of the Potomac. The Battle of Chancellorsville, often described as Lee's masterpiece, was a surprisingly aggressive response to Joseph Hooker's operational flanking maneuver, as Lee sent Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson on a flanking maneuver of his own, dividing an army that already was substantially smaller than its Union counterpart to deliver a crushing blow at a decisive spot. It was in the latter stages of that blow that Jackson was mortally wounded by his own men. The battles, failed campaigns with high casualty rates for the Union, were a lead-up to the armies' meeting at Gettysburg in July 1863. Civil War historian Brian K. Burton provides a clear, concise narrative of the battles and offers a stop-by-stop guide through Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. Illustrated with numerous maps and filled with stories of the people and tactics of both battles, this indispensable guidebook will direct battlefield visitors and armchair historians through the events of these pivotal campaigns.
Acknowledgements Introduction How to Use This Guide The Road to Fredericksburg The Battle of Fredericksburg Overview of the Battle of Fredericksburg, December 11–15, 1862 Stop 1: Stafford Heights, December 9–10 Stop 2: Downtown Fredericksburg, December 11, 5:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m. Stop 3: The Richmond Road, 7:30–11:00 a.m. Stop 4: The Slaughter Pen Farm, 11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. 4a: Meade's Advance, 11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. 4b: Gibbon's Advance, 11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. Stop 5: Prospect Hill, 11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. Stop 6: The Confederate Right, 1:00–3:00 p.m. Stop 7: Meade's Breakthrough, 1:00–3:00 p.m. Stop 8: Jackson's Left, 11:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. 8a: Lane, Pender, and Thomas, 1:00–3:00 p.m. 8b: Latimer's Knoll, 11:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. Stop 9: Lee's Hill, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Stop 10: The Federal Route to Marye's Heights, 11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Stop 11: Marye's Heights, 12:00–6:00 p.m. 11a: The Assaults Near Hanover Street, 12:00–6:00 p.m. 11b: The Assaults Near Prussia and Frederick Streets, 12:00–6:00 p.m. 11c: Confederate Artillery, 12:00–6:00 p.m. The Road to Chancellorsville The Battle of Chancellorsville Stop 1: Hooker Steals a March on Lee, April 27–30 Overview of May 1 Stop 2: The Orange Turnpike, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. 2a: The Federal Advance, 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. 2b: The Confederate Response, 1:00–5:00 p.m. Stop 3: The Orange Plank Road-Furnace Road Crossroads, May 1, 8:00 p.m.–May 2, 7:00 a.m. Overview of May 2 Stop 4: Catharine Furnace, 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. Stop 5: The Orange Plank Road-Brock Road Intersection, 4:00 p.m. Stop 6: The Orange Turnpike, 5:00 p.m. Stop 7: Wilderness Church, 5:30–6:30 p.m. Stop 8: The Orange Turnpike, 6:30–11:00 p.m. Overview of May 3 Stop 9: Bullock Road, 6:00–11:00 a.m. Stop 10: Hazel Grove, May 2, 11:00 p.m.–May 3, 10:00 a.m. 10a: The Confederates Take Hazel Grove, May 2, 11:00 p.m.–May 3, 7:00 a.m. 10b: The Infantry Fight for Fairview, 7:00–10:00 a.m. 10c: The Union Artillery at Fairview, 7:00–10:00 a.m. Stop 11: The Log Line, 8:00–10:00 a.m. Stop 12: Chancellorsville, 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Stop 13: Elys Ford Road, 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Optional Excursion 1: Salem Church Overview of May 4–6 Optional Excursion 2: Guinea Station Appendix A Appendix B Sources For Further Reading