Battlefield Tour

Mendis had a few sites on his list so we did them on Tuesday. It took the whole day but I can't believe how much we were able to fit in!We started off in Fredericksburg at the visitor's center. We took a ranger guided tour there which was really interesting. 

 There is a sunken road at this battle field too.It's on the left. The mansion was turned into a hospital and is now the home of the university president there.

The  bullets tore through this house that is right beside the sunken road that day. That was incredible to see. In fact there were so many bullets flying that they tore through a tree leaving just a torn up stump. It was a good size tree. Our ranger told us they took the stump to the Smithsonian so when we got there later I looked for it and sure enough I found it:

Here is the stump...amazing!

 

 I was amazed by the story behind this monument. A southern soldier heard the moans of the wounded and came out to give them all water no matter what side they were on. The northerners thought he was coming out to kill them so they were screaming at first. What a brave man he was.

We decided to grab some lunch before we pressed on and found the mother of all restaurant and shopping areas. Wow we were kinda jealous of all that convenience just right there. It was fun picking from a million possibilities but ended up at Chick Fila. Our first lemonade shakes were a hit!

Next we drove to Chancellorsville which is just a few miles away. 

This is where Stonewall Jackson was shot by friendly fire. It was interesting to hear the story behind that. From Chancellorsville we drove to the Wilderness and took a car driving tour through that battlefield.

 After the Wilderness tour we went to see Spotsylvania. Another interesting tour. The soldiers dug trenches and salients so fast and you can still see remains of them today.

What a history filled day. I simply can't believe we fit all this in AND drove all the way back to Williamsburg again lol. Yup we put some miles on that vehicle for sure.