Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania

The Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Wilderness, and Spotsylvania battlefields are some of the most well-preserved and best-interpreted in the country. Here, visitors can gain a real sense of how brutal and destructive the Civil War was. The battlefields are also excellent examples of how the war changed the American landscape forever. The town of Fredericksburg was bombarded and looted by Union troops, while farms large and small were ruined throughout the area. Thousands of refugees were forced into the countryside, and more than 85,000 men were wounded or killed in these battles. The interpretive centers at each site help to tell the stories of the people who lived through this tragic time in American history.