We live in Spotsylvania County, Virginia. It is an old county; established in 1721. It's called the 'crossroads' of the Civil War. Four major battles were fought here during the Civil War. It is in this county that the strategy of war shifted from formations marching toward one another loading and firing. This formation strategy is something seen in the Revolutionary War. The British considered the Americans 'cheating' because they hid behind trees and rocks firing from cover. General Grant and General Lee decided to entrench troops behind earthen works strengthened with timbers higher than the soldiers' heads. Then, the fighting was with artillery, calvary, and in areas where the trenches were close - with hand to hand fighting.
36,000 Union soldiers and 24,000 Confederate soldiers were killed, wounded, captured or missing. These battles occurred in May of 1864; it is here that Grant is first accused of being a 'butcher' because of the staggering losses during this particular battle called the Spotsylvania Courthouse Battlefield. Grant knew he could replace his soldiers while Lee could not. The irony of this battle is Grant didn't win any ground, and he withdrew with a loss after ten plus days of intense fighting.
We took a driving tour of this battlefield, and walked a small trail of a little over a mile. Considering the trouble with my back, knees, and feet, I was surprised how well I managed. The weather was glorious today. We are having a down year for leaf peeping because the weather hasn't cooperated for beautiful leaves. That said, I haven't been disappointed with the leaf scenery.
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| Inside the Spotsylvania Battlefield If you'd like to see more pictures of the area, click on the link: |
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