Central Virginia Civil War – Fredericksburg and Area

Excellent walking tour brochures detailing street fighting in the city are available at the Fredericksburg City Visitor Center, 706 Caroline St. Just outside the building are Civil War Trails signs describing city and area Civil War sites. Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park Main visitor center 1013 Lafayette Blvd, Fredericksburg VA 22401 www.nps.gov/frsp, 540-693-3200 (choose … Read more

Virginia Valley & Mountains – Civil War Trails

More Valley Sites Battle of Wytheville A series of five Civil War Trails interpretive signs describes the action on July 18, 1863, as a Federal raiding party marched to the Wytheville area intending to destroy the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad tracks and bridges. In addition, the force planned to destroy telegraph lines and the salt … Read more

Mississippi Civil War – Vicksburg

Following the decisive battle at Champion Hill May 16, 1863, Grant approached the well-fortified Confederate positions surrounding Vicksburg itself. Grant ordered two massive assaults on the city, May 19 and 22, both of which were unsuccessful. Following the bloody failures, Grant settled into a siege. Pemberton in Vicksburg was increasingly isolated as Confederate efforts west … Read more

Pennsylvania Civil War – Gettysburg

Gettysburg National Military Park Podcasts: Gettysburg Civil War Tours One of the best-known and most studied battlefields in the world is visited by well more than a million people a year, so expect crowds and traffic in the peak season. Many believe the three-day battle here July 1–3, 1863, decided the outcome of the war. … Read more

East Tennessee Civil War – Knoxville and Area

Knoxville was the key city in the middle of a contentious area known for divided loyalties. Most of the area was anti-secession and tended to side with the Union cause, making Confederate military control tenuous at best. The East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad and the East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad intersected in Knoxville, creating a … Read more

Central Virginia Civil War – Confederate Capital

Trails”On to Richmond” was the battle cry of Northern politicians, military leaders and newspapermen as the war began. A quick, powerful thrust would cast aside Southern resistance, topple the Confederate capital and end the war. So went the promise. Maps made it look easy. Only 100 miles or so separated the two warring capitals. But … Read more

Western Tennessee Civil War – Shiloh Battlefield and Area

Shiloh National Military Park Shiloh TN 38376 731-689-5696 Cannon The first large-scale battle of the war was fought here near Pittsburg Landing on the Tennessee River April 6-7, 1862. The Confederate Army of the Mississippi led by Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston, marching north from Corinth, Ms, managed to surprise U.S. Grant’s Union army camped near … Read more

Oklahoma (Indian Territory) – Confederate Military Activity Civil War

Civil War came early in Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma). Disputes within the Cherokee Nation, which had been “removed” from the tribe’s Eastern land in the 1830s, fractured the tribe into warring factions well before 1860. Other tribes also were suffering from internal friction. Slavery was not an issue, however, since many prosperous Indian families on … Read more

Tennessee – Civil War Trails

Download the 2016 revision of the Tennessee Trails Map: Tennessee Civil War Trails Map [pdf 1.2MB]  Narrative [pdf 517K] The Tennessee Civil War Trails program began with installation of interpretive signs in the Franklin area and in Blountville. More than a dozen signs in Columbia and Franklin outline a critical phase of Confederate Gen. John … Read more

Alabama Civil War

Although its location insulated the state from much of the major Civil War military activity, Alabama hosted the infant Confederate States of America and fueled the Southern military effort with its young men and critical iron industry. The port of Mobile on the Gulf Coast remained open well into 1864, providing the setting for one … Read more