National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior

National Park Service

Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation

15 State Street, 6th Floor

Boston, Massachusetts 02109

www.nps.gov/oclp

Cultural Landscape Report for

Chancellorsville

Battlefield

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania

National Military Park

Spotsylvania County, Virginia

Site History

Existing Conditions

Analysis and Evaluation

Treatment Recommendations

By John Auwaerter

Cathy Ponte and Nathan Powers, Student Assistants 

George W. Curry, Project Director

State University of New York

College of Environmental Science and Forestry

Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation

National Park Service, Boston, Massachusetts 2018

A FAMOUS PLACE OF ONE HOUSE 

Chancellorsville is a desolate 

clearing on the southern edge 

of the Wilderness...sweet 

hollyhocks growing near the 

porch remain as sentinels of 

garden beauties long 

since gone.

“Virginia Battle-Fields...

Chancellorsville as it Now 

Looks,” Cleveland PlainDealer, August 12, 1881
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

ii

This report was developed by the Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation in partnership with the Center for 

Cultural Landscape Preservation in the Department of Landscape Architecture, State University of New York College of 

Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, New York. The Olmsted Center promotes the stewardship of significa t 

landscapes through research, planning, and sustainable preservation maintenance. The Olmsted Center accomplishes 

its mission in collaboration with a network of partners including national parks, universities, government agencies, and 

private nonprofit rganizations. Techniques and principles of preservation practice are made available through training 

and publications. The Olmsted Center perpetuates the tradition of the Olmsted firms a d Frederick Law Olmsted’s lifelong 

commitment to people, parks, and public spaces.

Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation

15 State Street, 6th flo r, Boston, MA 02129 www.nps.gov/oclp

This report was prepared under the North Atlantic Coast Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit Task Agreements 

P12AC10824 and P13AC00585, Cooperative Agreement H4503090700, between the National Park Service and the 

University of Rhode Island.

National Park Service, Denver Technical Information Center report # 326/147255

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Auwaerter, John E. (John Eric), 1964- author. | Curry, George W., 

 1940- author. | Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation (U.S.), author. 

 | College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Department of Landscape 

 Architecture, author.

Title: Cultural landscape report for Chancellorsville Battlefi ld : 

 Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, Spotsylvania 

 County, Virginia / by John Auwaerter ; Cathy Ponte and Nathan Powers, 

 student assistants ; George W. Curry, project director.

Description: Boston, Massachusetts : National Park Service Olmsted Center for 

 Landscape Preservation, [2018] | “This report was developed by the Olmsted 

 Center for Landscape Preservation in partnership with the Center for 

 Cultural Landscape Preservation in the Department of Landscape 

 Architecture, State University of New York College of Environmental 

 Science and Forestry, Syracuse, New York”--Provided by publisher. | 

 Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: CCN 2018038126

Subjects: LCSH: Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park (Va.) 

 | Cultural landscapes--Virginia--Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National 

 Military Park. | Landscape assessment--Virginia--Fredericksburg and 

 Spotsylvania National Military Park.

Classific tion: LCC F232.S8 A95 2018 | DDC 975.5/366--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018038126

Publication Credits: Information in this publication may be copied and used with the condition that full credit be given to 

authors and publisher, except where copyright protection is noted in the caption. Appropriate citations and bibliographic 

credits should be made for each use. 

Cover Image: Edwin Forbes, “Gen. Hooker’s Headquarters at the Chancellorsville House, May 1, 1863” (looking northwest 

across the Orange Turnpike/Route 3 and Elys Ford Road intersection), Library of Congress, Digital Id ppmsca 20534.
iii 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS v

FOREWORD xv

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xvii

INTRODUCTION 1

Landscape Overview 2

Project Scope and Methods 4

Summary of Findings 5

1. SITE HISTORY 7

Landscape Origins, to 1800 8

Antebellum Period, 1800–1861 23

Civil War Period, 1861–1865 53

Post-War Period, 1865–1927 87

Early Park Period, 1927–1945 119

Late Park Period, 1945–2015 171

2. EXISTING CONDITIONS 203

Park Management and Use 204

Chancellorsville Battlefi ld Landscape 210

3. ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION 239

National Register Evaluation 240

Cultural Landscape Evaluation 244

Landscape Feature Inventory 

Table 3.0 - Park-Wide Features 261

Table 3.1 - Core Battlefi ld 266

Table 3.2 - Jackson Wounding (Visitor Center) Area Features 288

Table 3.3 - Chancellorsville Inn Site 299

Table 3.4 - Furnace Lands 305

Table 3.5 - Jackson Trail 321

Table 3.6 - Flank Attack Battlefi ld 336

(continued)

Table of Contents
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

iv

4. TREATMENT RECOMMENDATIONS 361

Treatment Framework 363

Treatment Issues and General Guidance 374

SELECTED REFERENCES 395

APPENDICES 399

A. Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation 399

B. List of Draft Landscape Treatment Tasks 401
v 

List of Illustrations

ILLUSTRATIONS

INTRODUCTION FIGURES

0.1 Field sketch of the Chancellorsville Inn, May 1, 1863 1

0.2 Map showing regional location of Chancellorsville Battlefi ld 2

0.3 Map showing local context of Chancellorsville Battlefi ld 2

0.4 Map of Chancellorsville Battlefi ld showing park boundaries and areas used to organize the report 3

0.5 Stuart Drive, 2015 3

0.6 Jackson monument, 2013 3

0.7 Catharine Furnace ruins, 2015 4

0.8 Jackson Trail East, 2015 4

0.9 Flank Attack battlefi ld, 2015 4

SITE HISTORY FIGURES

Section Cover: Chancellorsville Inn ruins, ca. 1867 7

1.1 Geologic formations of eastern Virginia 9

1.2 Map of rock and mineral deposits in the Piedmont bedrock of the Chancellorsville battlefi ld 9

1.3 Mid-18th century map of Virginia showing rivers 10

1.4 Map showing watersheds of the battlefi ld area 10

1.5 Present-day oak-hickory forest in northern Virginia illustrating the character of old-growth woods 11

1.6 Present-day oak savanna created by prescribed burns 11

1.7 Map showing the general location of the Manahoac Confederacy in relation to Chancellorsville 11

1.8 Site of a Manahoac village along the Rappahannock River north of Chancellorsville, 12

1.9 Native people fi hing on a Virginia river , ca. 1590 13

1.10 Map of the landscape recorded by John Smith on his expedition through Virginia, 1624 13

1.11 Map showing 18th century Spotsylvania land holdings, tobacco production, and early roads 14

1.12 Map showing general location of settlement and development at Chancellorsville by 1800 16

1.13 Wilderness Church, built as Simpson’s Meeting House, 1866 17

1.14 A Civil War-period drawing of an unidentified armhouse and barns at Chancellorsville 18

1.15 Route of the Orange Turnpike, 1828 23

1.16 A ca. 1820 map of Spotsylvania County showing major roads and development 24

1.17 Sketch of a typical antebellum rural scene in the Wilderness 25

1.18 Well-preserved remains of a mid-19th century plank road 25

1.19 An 1866 map showing alignment of the Orange Plank Road and Germanna Plank Road 26

1.20 Map of iron and gold mines in Spotsylvania and Orange counties, 1836 27

1.21 Map of the Chancellorsville community in the late antebellum period 28

1.22 Civil War-era map showing location of churches and farms along the Orange Turnpike 29

1.23 Civil War-era drawing of the Chancellorsville Inn annotated to highlight original section 30

1.24 A painting of the Chancellorsville Inn, ca. 1860 31

1.25 View across Fairview from the site of the Chancellorsville Inn, ca. 1880 31

1.26 The Chancellorsville Inn by Edwin Forbes, 1863 32 
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vi

1.27 Dowdall’s Tavern, the Melzi Chancellor house, 1866 34

1.28 The second Wilderness Church building constructed in ca. 1853 34

1.29 The Hawkins Farm, ca. 1880 35

1.30 The Talley farmhouse, ca. 1900 35

1.31 The Bullock Plantation, 1863 36

1.32 The Alrich house, 1866 37

1.33 Civil War-era map of the Wellford Plantation and Catharine Furnace 40

1.34 Conjectured appearance of the Catharine Furnace, ca. 1863 41

1.35 Second-growth woods along Brock Road, ca. 1890 41

1.36 Distant view of the Wellford house, ca. 1935 42

1.37 US Army map showing Chancellorsville on the eve of the Battle of Fredericksburg, 1862 54

1.38 Sketch of US army engineers constructing a pontoon bridge, 1862 55

1.39 Alonso Chappel, “Incident in war for the Union” showing displaced civilians fleei g battle 55

1.40 Map showing action of the Chancellorsville Campaign, May 1–3, 1863 56

1.41 Sketch of US forces on the old Orange Turnpike, 1863 56

1.42 Sketch showing US troops amassed near the Chancellorsville Inn, May 1st 1863 57

1.43 The Chancellorsville Inn during Union occupation on May 1, 1863 57

1.44 Map showing US earthworks (black lines) and troop movements on May 2, 1863 58

1.45 Cross-section diagram of a typical Civil War trench earthwork fortific tion 58

1.46 The Jackson Flank Attack on May 2, 1863 59

1.47 Casualties being treated in makeshift fi ld hospitals, May 2, 1863 60

1.48 Sketch of US troops reinforcing in the fi lds of Fairview, May 2, 1863 60

1.49 Map showing US positions and approximate location of Jackson’s wounding, May 2, 1863 61

1.50 Confederate map of US and Confederate forces at dawn on Saturday, May 3, 1863 62

1.51 Wartime lithograph by Currier & Ives illustrating fi hting at Chancellorsville on May 3, 1863 62 

1.52 Painting of the Battle of Chancellorsville made two years after the battle by Frederick Chapman 63

1.53 Sketch of the Bullock Plantation showing rear US line, 1863 64

1.54 Aftermath of the Battle of 2nd Fredericksburg, 1863 64

1.55 A Confederate map of the Battle of Salem Church, May 3, 1863 65

1.56 Map of the Wilderness battlefi ld showing relationship to Chancellorsville, 1864 67

1.57 “View in the Woods in the Federal Lines on North Side of Orange Plank Road,” 1864 67 

1.58 Battle damage to dense second-growth woods, 1866 68

1.59 US defensive line of earth and timber south of the Orange Plank Road, 1866 68

1.60 Remains of unburied casualties on the wooded Chancellorsville battlefi ld, 1866 69

1.61 The Orange Plank Road (turnpike), 1866 69

1.62 Michler map of the battlefi ld along the old turnpike (Route 3) and River Road, 1867 70

1.63 Ruins of the Chancellorsville Inn from the east, 1866 71

1.64 Ruins of the Chancellorsville Inn, from the west, 1866 71

1.65 Michler map of Fairview/Chancellorsville Inn, Hazel Grove, and Bullock plantations, 1867 72

1.66 Melzi Chancellor’s damaged but still standing house at Locust Grove (Dowdall’s Tavern), 1866 73

1.67 Michler map of Locust Grove, Wilderness Church, and the Hawkins and Talley farms, 1867 74

1.68 Michler map of the Orange Plank Road around the Alrich and Perry farms, 1867 76

1.69 Michler map of the Orange Plank Road and Brock Road, 1867 77

1.70 Michler map of the Catharine Furnace property, 1867 79
vii 

1.71 The Fairview clearing, from the ruins of the Chancellorsville Inn, 1866 87

1.72 US casualties in temporary graves at the Carpenter Farm on Herndon Road, 1866 88

1.73 Fredericksburg National Cemetery, ca. 1875 89

1.74 The Talley Farm with antebellum farmhouse, 1910 90

1.75 The Orange Turnpike (Orange Plank Road, Route 3), ca. 1897 90

1.76 Topographic map showing mines and main roads in the Wilderness, 1887 91

1.77 Map of the Potomac Fredericksburg & Piedmont Railroad through Chancellorsville, 1901 92

1.78 Highway map showing the old Orange Turnpike designated as Route 37, 1927 92

1.79 Union veterans visiting overgrown artillery lunettes at Fairview, 1876 93

1.80 Visitors to the rebuilt Chancellorsville Inn, 1887 93

1.81 The Jackson rock showing its position along the turnpike, ca. 1897 94

1.82 The Jackson rock, ca. 1885 94

1.83 The Jackson monument, ca. 1897 95

1.84 Dedication of the Jackson monument, June 13, 1888 96

1.85 Veterans of the 114th Pennsylvania monument at the dedication of their monument, 1899 96

1.86 27th Indiana Volunteers monument, ca. 1901 97

1.87 Site of the Lee-Jackson bivouac, ca. 1897 97

1.88 The Lee-Jackson bivouac marker, 1937 97

1.89 Chancellorsville Battlefi ld [Park] Association’s plan for the battlefi ld, 1891 98

1.90 The Battlefi ld Park Commission’s map of proposed park lands at Chancellorsville, 1906 99

1.91 Daniel Sickles at the Chancellorsville Inn , 1900 100 

1.92 Map of the Chancellorsville community, 1920s 101

1.93 Chancellorsville showing the rebuilt house with its cupola and antebellum trees, 1884 102

1.94 The Fairview clearing and purported signal-station oak tree, 1876 102

1.95 Postcard of the Chancellorsville Inn during ownership by the Rowley family, ca. 1915 103

1.96 The Hazel Grove clearing, ca. 1900 104

1.97 The second Dowdall’s Tavern, ca. 1897 104

1.98 Melzi Chancellor’s new house, office, d other buildings north of Wilderness Church, ca. 1881 105

1.99 The new Wilderness Church building, ca. 1900 105

1.100 Antebellum Hawkins farmhouse, 1912 105

1.101 The Orange Plank Road in the vicinity of its intersection with Furnace Road, 1890 107

1.102 Ruins of the second (ca. 1872) Chancellorsville Inn, 1935 119

1.103 A postcard of Bloody Lane at Antietam National Battlefi ld showing narrow park property 120

1.104 Map of the national military park showing Antietam plan, ca. 1933 121

1.105 The park commission’s 1930 plan, detail at the Jackson Monument area 123

1.106 Map of the Chancellorsville park, April 1931 124

1.107 Map of the Chancellorsville battlefi ld surveyed in 1932 124

1.108 McLaws Drive (Furnace Road), ca. 1934 125

1.109 The Hazel Grove-Fairview vista after clearing, ca. 1933 125

1.110 A temporary wood tablet designed by the War Department, 1935 126 

1.111 Workers from the Chancellorsville CCC camp grading a bank along Elys Ford Road, August 22, 1935 127

1.112 The central headquarters and museum building in Fredericksburg 127

1.113 The visitor contact station at Fredericksburg battlefi ld 128

1.114 Map of park property acquired at Chancellorsville by June 1934 129

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Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

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1.115 Map of park land along the Jackson Trail, 1943 129

1.116 Plan of the Chancellorsville CCC camp as developed by 1937 130

1.117 The Chancellorsville CCC camp, 1944 130

1.118 CCC enrollees building rustic picnic tables at the Chancellorsville CCC camp, ca. 1935 130

1.119 Chancellorsville utility-garage building built by the CCC, 1940 131

1.120 Park plans for the Chancellorsville utility area south of the CCC Camp, 1940 131

1.121 Park plans for the unrealized Chancellorsville employee’s residence on Hooker Drive, 1940 131

1.122 Stuart Drive, ca. 1934 132

1.123 Plan of the Chancellorsville park drives as completed by 1942 132

1.124 The triangular intersection of Berry-Paxton, Sickles, and Stuart drives, 1935 133

1.125 Miles Drive (River Road) at Route 3, 1935 133

1.126 The Bivouac Road (Furnace Road) bridge over the Ni River, 1935 133

1.127 CCC crews at work on installing a rustic log railing along Stuart Drive, 1936 133

1.128 The parking area a along Sickles Drive for the Catharine Furnace and Archer-Thomas Foot Trail, 1935 134

1.129 Jackson Trail East near Brock Road, 1935 134

1.130 Buildings at the Trigg farmstead along the planned Jackson Trail West, 1939 135

1.131 The recently completed Jackson Trail East from Brock Road, 1940 135

1.132 CCC enrollees at work on the stone ford across Poplar Run on Jackson Trail West, 1940 135

1.133 Map of foot trails developed by the park service by 1943 136

1.134 The Mott-Carr foot trail, 1935 137

1.135 A recently completed rustic bridge on the Mott-Carr foot trail, 1935 137

1.136 Wood steps an stone landing on the Captain Dimick Trail, 1935 137

1.137 Stone steps built by the CCC on Gunners Trail at Stuart Drive, 1936 137

1.138 The Furnace picnic grounds, 1935 138

1.139 A rustic stone-faced fi eplace-barbecue at the Furnace or Vista picnic grounds built by the CCC, 1935 138

1.140 The wading pool at the Vista picnic grounds, 1935 138

1.141 Example of a park-service roadside planting plan for the west end of Furnace Road drawn in 1934 139

1.142 McLaws Drive after completion of roadside planting, 1935 139

1.143 CCC crews transplanting a tree for planting along the park drives, 1935 139

1.144 CCC crews planting pines to screen the Kennedy house at Hazel Grove, 1937 140

1.145 CCC crews sodding trenches, probably along Hooker Drive, 1935 140

1.146 Slocum’s Line following clearing and sodding, 1935 140

1.147 Plan locating the US artillery lunette at Fairview that was restored in 1936 141

1.148 CCC crews building concealed drainage in the restored artillery lunette at Fairview, 1936 141

1.149 The Fairview-Hazel Grove vista clearing following improvement by the CCC, 1936 141

1.150 Stacked-rail worm fences along Bullock Drive, 1936 142

1.151 The Catharine Furnace ruins, ca. 1935 142

1.152 Drawing of the buildings in the Catharine Furnace complex surrounding the blast furnace stack, 1935 143

1.153 Lee and Jackson cedars at the bivouac site, 1942 143

1.154 Identific tion tablet at Apex of Hooker’s Last Line, ca. 1935 144

1.155 Standard Colonial Revival narrative sign designed by the National Park Service, ca. 1935 144

1.156 The park’s second generation, rustic-style narrative sign and battlefi ld map, 1938 144

1.157 A rustic narrative marker, 1937 145

1.158 A rustic sign that provided direction to the ruins of the Chancellorsville Inn, 1937 145
ix 

1.159 The Jackson Wounding area showing picnic grounds, 1935 145

1.160 The Jackson monument, looking west along Route 3 (turnpike), 1936 145

1.161 Map of the Jackson Wounding Area, 1940 146

1.162 Chancellorsville visitor contact station from south of Route 3, ca. 1936 146

1.163 Close-up of the visitor contact station, ca. 1936 146

1.164 Jackson monument showing new alignment of the entry drive, 1942 147

1.165 Sign at the entrance to the Jackson Memorial Wild Flower Preserve, ca. 1937 148

1.166 A path in the Jackson Memorial Wild Flower Preserve, 1940 148

1.167 Map of the Chancellorsville community by the 1940s 149

1.168 Route 3 (Orange Turnpike), 1934 150 

1.169 Aerial photograph of eastern Chancellorsville, 1936 150

1.170 Ruins of the second Chancellorsville Inn, ca. 1940 151

1.171 Rowley bungalow along Route 3, ca. 1940 151

1.172 HABS plan of the original Chancellorsville In, 1935 152

1.173 Aerial photograph of western Chancellorsville, 1936 153

1.174 Route 3 (Orange Turnpike) across from Dowdall’s Tavern, ca. 1935 153

1.175 Intersection of Route 3 (Orange Turnpike) and Brock Road, 1935 154

1.176 Orange Plank Road at the intersection with Catharpin Road, ca. 1935 155

1.177 Distant view of the brick Wellford house and Jackson Trail East, 1937 156

1.178 Orange Plank Road looking southeast toward McLaws Drive and Furnace Road, 1950 171

1.179 Park map of Chancellorsville battlefi ld, 1951 171

1.180 Visitors arriving by bus at the Chancellorsville visitor contact station, 1952 172

1.181 Jackson Trail West, 1953 172

1.182 MISSION 66-era plan showing tour route and stops, 1955 173

1.183 MISSION 66-era plan showing new buildings, roads, and land acquisition, 1957 174

1.184 Construction underway on the Chancellorsville visitor center, December 1961 175

1.185 Site plan for the visitor center project and nearby utility area, May 1961 175

1.186 Newly completed Chancellorsville visitor center, November 1963 175

1.187 Site of the old visitor contact station, August 1963 176

1.188 One of the three employee residences nearing completion, December 1961 176

1.189 Updated narrative marker (Happel sign) installed as a MISSION 66 improvement, 1963 176

1.190 One of the new tour-stop signs, ca. 1960 177

1.191 A MISSION 66-era rustic sign at the east approach to Chancellorsville along Route 3, 1963 177

1.192 Salem Church looking south across Route 3 showing the rural character of the area, ca. 1960 177

1.193 Map showing development near the Chancellorsville and Wilderness park units, 1973/1977 178

1.194 Map showing new subdivisions and commercial development along the Route 3, 1994 179

1.195 Salem Church showing extent of suburban development, ca. 1995 180

1.196 Map of the Chancellorsville park boundary as expanded in 1989 180

1.197 Aerial photograph of Chancellorsville Battlefi ld showing residential subdivisions, 2003 181

1.198 Houses in the Spring Creek subdivision from Jackson Trail West, 2013 182

1.199 Jackson Flank Attack area showing land conserved by the park and not-for-profit pa tners, 2013 182

1.200 The Civil War Trust’s First Day Battlefi ld at Chancellorsville site, 2013 185

1.201 The park’s land status map showing tracts acquired by the park in the core of Chancellorsville, 2003 184

1.202 Recently expanded Route 3 with the visitor center to the right, looking southwest, 1975 185

List of Illustrations
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

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1.203 Recently expanded Route 3 and the Chancellorsville Inn site, 1975 185

1.204 Fairview clearing and vista to Hazel Grove showing the Johnston construction yard, 1975 186

1.205 The Jackson Flank Attack battlefi ld, looking west with Route 3 at left, 1975 186

1.206 The new stop 8 at the Jackson Flank Attack, 2013 186

1.207 Map of the Chancellorsville community showing development by the 2010s 188 

1.208 Dairy barn at Hazel Grove/Presidential Resorts, looking northeast, 1986 189

1.209 154th New York Volunteers monument at site of Dowdall’s Tavern, 2015 189

SITE HISTORY DRAWINGS

1.1 Period Plan, 1800–1861 51

1.2 Period Plan, 1861–1865 85

1.3 Period Plan, 1865–1927 117

1.4 Period Plan, 1927–1945 167

1.5 Period Plan Detail, 1927–1945 169

1.6 Period Plan, 1945–2015 199

1.7 Period Plan Detail, 1945–2015 201

EXISTING CONDITIONS FIGURES

Section cover: Sickles Drive and Jackson Trail East at the Catharine Furnace ruins 203

2.1 Map of the Chancellorsville Battlefi ld driving tour, from the park brochure 205

2.2 Map of Chancellorsville Battlefi ld showing current land ownership 205

2.3 Map of Chancellorsville Battlefi ld showing daily traffic olumes 206

2.4 Map of the Chancellorsville History Trail 207

2.5 Detail of Spotsylvania County Greenway Trail Plan showing proposed trails 208

2.6 Map of hydrological systems in and around Chancellorsville Battlefi ld 209

2.7 Old Plank Road looking north toward the Chancellorsville Inn site, 2015 210

2.8 Map of Chancellorsville Battlefi ld showing extent of park lands, with distances from the core 211

2.9 Suburban houses showing older and more modest development along public road frontage, 2015 212

2.10 A typical newer house in the large subdivisions that adjoin the park, 2015 212

2.11 Wilderness Presidential Resorts, from near the park boundary at Hazel Grove, 2013 212

2.12 The Civil War Trust’s First Day at Chancellorsville site, looking west along Route 3, 2015 213

2.13 A fi ld and 20th-century house on the privately-owned Locust Grove (Dowdall’s Tavern) site, 2015 214

2.14 Monument to the 154th New York, 2015 214

2.15 A standard War Department-style identific tion tablet along Bullock Drive, 2015 214

2.16 A narrative sign (Happel sign) along River Road, 2015 215

2.17 Typical signs used to identify Chancellorsville Battlefi ld along the main roads, 2015 215

2.18 Stacked rail fences at the entrance to Stuart Drive, 2013 215

2.19 Typical park drive roadbed, shoulders, and intersection, 2015 215

2.20 Standard park drive drainage showing swale and culvert with stone headwall, 2013 216

2.21 Typical stone tree ring, 2013 216

2.22 Jackson’s Corps Line that runs perpendicular to Bullock Drive, 2013 216

2.23 Pender’s Line from the Chancellorsville History Trail, 2015 216

2.24 Anderson’s gun pit from Furnace Road, 2013 217

2.25 The Jackson monument, with Route 3 at right, 2015 217
xi 

2.26 The Jackson rock, with Route 3 in the background, 2015 217

2.27 The Chancellorsville visitor center, 2013 218

2.28 MISSION 66-era sign at the entrance to the visitor center along Route 3, 2013 218

2.29 Bullock Drive, 2013 218

2.30 The Bullock house site and Bullock clearing, 2013 218

2.31 Mineral Springs Road, 2015 219

2.32 Hooker Drive, 2013 219

2.33 The Chancellorsville maintenance garage, 2013 219

2.34 Overview of the Chancellorsville Inn site, 2013 220

2.35 The Chancellorsville Inn site, foundation walls, and original stone entrance steps, 2013 220

2.36 Cannons at the Chancellorsville Inn site, 2013 220

2.37 Stuart Drive, 2015 221

2.38 Double culvert that carries Stuart Drive over headwaters of the Lewis Run, 2015 221

2.39 One of six artillery pieces at Hazel Grove and the Fairview-Hazel Grove vista clearing, 2013 221

2.40 Monument to the 27th Indiana Infantry, 2013 222

2.41 US gun pits at Fairview, 2013 222

2.42 External view of the Chancellor Cemetery, 2013 222

2.43 Internal view of the Chancellor Cemetery, 2013 222

2.44 Slocum’s Line along Slocum Drive, 2013 223

2.45 The 114th Pennsylvania Volunteers monument, 2013 223

2.46 Sickles Drive, 2015 223

2.47 The Sickles Drive bridge over the Lewis Run, 2013 224

2.48 McLaws Drive, 2013 224

2.49 The clearing at McLaws Wedge, 2013 224

2.50 The Lee-Jackson Bivouac site, 2013 224

2.51 Detail of the Lee- Jackson Bivouac monument, 2015 224

2.52 Furnace Road, 2013 225

2.53 Furnace Road with a rustic stone-lined ditch in the shoulder, 2013 225

2.54 The Maury monument, 2013 225

2.55 The Catharine Furnace site, 2015 226

2.56 Jackson Trail East, 2015 226

2.57 Entrance to Jackson Trail East from Brock Road, 2015 226

2.58 A poured concrete culvert (bridge) that carries Jackson Trail East over Brock Run, 2013 227

2.59 The Wellford clearing, 2015 227

2.60 Driveways and residential development of Jackson Trail East, 2013 227

2.61 A large clearing with a recently built house off Jackson Trail East, 2013 227

2.62 The stone ford at the crossing of Brock Run on Jackson Trail West, 2013 228

2.63 Battle-period Stephens Farm clearing from Jackson Trail West, 2013 228

2.64 Former Trigg Farm from Jackson Trail West along the unfini hed railroad corridor, 2013 228

2.65 West end of Jackson Trail West at Brock Road, 2013 228

2.66 Burton Farm parcel from Orange Plank Road, 2013 229

2.67 Northern Jackson Take-Off parcel and Black Meadow Road (Route 640), 2013 229

2.68 1.4-acre parcel along the south side of Route 3, 2013 229

2.69 Entrance to Stop 8 at the Flank Attack Battlefi ld, 2015 230

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Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

xii

2.70 Flank Attack Battlefi ld from the ridge west of Stop 8, 2015 230

2.71 Flank Attack battlefi ld from near Stop 8 to houses off Winfi ld Oaks Drive, 2015 230

2.72 Hawkins Farm with the farmhouse at right center, 2013 230

2.73 Wilderness Baptist Church from the fi lds of the Wagner Farm, 2013 231

2.74 The Wilderness Baptist Church cemetery and entry sign, 2013 231

2.75 Wagner Farm, 2015 231

EXISTING CONDITIONS DRAWINGS

2.1 Existing Conditions Plan, Overall 233

2.2 Existing Conditions Plan Detail, Jackson Wounding Area 235

2.3 Existing Conditions Plan Detail, Chancellorsville Inn Site 237

ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION FIGURES

Section cover: The Chancellorsville Inn site with image of inn (ca. 1860) superimposed 239

3.1 Comparison of changes in natural systems 246

3.2 Comparison of changes in spatial character 247

3.3 Comparison of changes in land use 248

3.4 Comparison of changes in circulation 250

3.5 Comparison of changes in topography 252

3.6 Comparison of changes in vegetation 253

3.7 Comparison of changes in buildings and structures 255

3.8 Comparison of changes in views and vistas 257

3.9 Comparison of changes in small-scale features 258

3.10 Comparison of changes in archaeological sites 260

ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION DRAWINGS

3.1 Analysis and Evaluation Plan, Core Park 349

3.2 Analysis and Evaluation Plan Detail, Jackson Wounding Area 351

3.3 Analysis and Evaluation Plan Detail, Chancellorsville Inn Site 353

3.4 Analysis and Evaluation Plan, Furnace Lands 355

3.5 Analysis and Evaluation Plan, Jackson Trail 357

3.6 Analysis and Evaluation Plan, Flank Attack Battlefi ld 359

TREATMENT FIGURES

Section cover: Woods along Furnace Road showing simulated screening of modern house 361

4.1 Chancellorsville’s fi lds, woods, and trails, 2011 362

4.2 Map of existing and proposed county Greenway Trails through Chancellorsville Battlefi ld 369

4.3 One of the alternative explorations for realignment of the Route 3 and Elys Ford Road intersection 370

4.4 State arterial management plan for Route 3 through Chancellorsville Battlefi ld, 2018 370

4.5 Map of the Chancellorsville showing Battlefi ld Landscape and Historic Park Landscape areas 372

4.6 Contemporary masonry entrance sign to Shiloh National Park 378

4.7 Contemporary rustic entrance sign to Shiloh National Park 378

4.8 Simulation of a new identific tion tablet at the Catharine Furnace 379
xiii 

4.9 Suggested marker for the Jackson Trail 380

4.10 A recent military position marker at the Civil War Trust’s First Day property 382

4.11 A timber-frame ghost building at St. Mary’s City 386

4.12 Interpretive ruin of the President’s House at Independence National Historical Park 386

4.13 Fences used to interpret the site of the Ziegler farmstead at Gettysburg National Military Park 387

4.14 Property acquired by the Civil War Trust in 2016 adjacent to the Jackson’s Take-Off parcel 390

4.15 Simulation of plantings along Furnace Road to screen residential development 391

List of Illustrations
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

xiv
xv 

Foreword

FOREWORD

The 1863 Battle of Chancellorsville was fought by massive armies in a confusing landscape of tangled woods dotted 

by clearings of small farms and plantations. Destruction, not only to human life, but also to property, left a lasting 

mark upon the local community that had been transformed into a battlefi ld. The confused nature of the combat was 

in part due to the confusing nature of the environment in which it occurred. The Cultural Landscape Report for the 

Chancellorsville Battlefi ld is the result of tremendous research that helps us to untangle this landscape and better 

understand not only what happened, but where it happened and how this site has evolved and changed. 

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park will celebrate its centenary in 2027. Land incorporated 

into the park has grown to over 2,000 acres within the authorized boundary of the Chancellorsville Battlefi ld. As 

increased commercial and residential development brings additional traffic o the battlefi ld, planning for the future 

becomes ever more important for park managers. The guidance provided by this Cultural Landscape Report will 

benefit us as e make decisions regarding management of the battlefi ld’s significa t historic and commemorative 

resources. It is a welcomed addition to the park’s planning and management library. We, and those who come after 

us, are grateful for the exceptional work of John Auwaerter and George Curry from the State University of New York 

College of Environmental Science and Forestry, with the support of the Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation, 

for tackling this project, bringing it to fruition, and developing an exceptional report. 

Kirsten Talken-Spaulding

Park Superintendent

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

xvi
xvii 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors acknowledge the many people who contributed to completion of the Cultural Landscape Report for 

Chancellorsville Battlefiel . The report is the product of a collaborative effort among park staff, the Olmsted Center 

for Landscape Preservation, and the Department of Landscape Architecture at the State University of New York 

(SUNY) College of Environmental Science and Forestry. 

From Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, the authors extend special thanks to Eric Mink, 

Historian and Cultural Resource Specialist, for serving as project lead and assisting with research, coordinating input 

from park staff, organizing site visits and meetings, reviewing drafts, and helping with fi alizing the report. Many 

thanks also to Gregg Kneipp, Natural Resource Manager, for his ongoing assistance with mapping and answering 

many questions about the complex land ownership issues at Chancellorsville. Thanks also to park staff involved in 

workshops and meetings related to planning and treatment of the Chancellorsville landscape, as well as ongoing 

project administration, including Superintendent (retired) Lucy Lawless, Superintendent (retired) Russ Smith, 

Superintendent Kiristen Talken-Spaulding, Historian Noel Harrison, Chief Historian John Hennessy, Chief of 

Maintenance Brian Dennis, Park Ranger Frank O’Reilly, and Park Ranger Beth Parnicza. 

From the Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation, the authors thank Bob Page, Director, and Eliot Foulds, 

Senior Project Manager, for providing coordination between the university and the park, assisting with research and 

fi al printing, and lending support and guidance throughout the project. 

At SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, special thanks to landscape architecture graduate students 

Cathy Ponte and Nathan Powers. Cathy undertook the initial site history research and developed drafts of the fir t 

two site history periods. Nathan developed existing conditions plans and drafts of the landscape feature inventory, 

and assisted with fi ld work. Many thanks also to landscape architecture Assistant Professor Margaret Bryant and 

students Bill Elliot, Greg Ernst, Erica Grohol, Victoria Kam, Chris Kraus, Matt Leach, Livia Liu, Esvin Secaida, 

Mike Sheldon, and Lauren Ziska for exploring landscape treatment issues and design solutions in a studio on the 

Chancellorsville Battlefi ld landscape. 

The authors would like to acknowledge that the report owes much to prior historical research on the Chancellorsville 

Battlefi ld and the larger national military park, especially Noel Harrison’s research on battlefi ld properties 

(“Gazetteer,” 1986, and Chancellorsville Battlefield Sit s, 1990); Joan Zenzen’s research on park records in the 

National Archives for the park’s administrative history (“At the Crossroads of Preservation and Development,” 

2011); Pat Sullivan’s research on the Chancellors in his blog, “Spotsylvania Memory;” Donald Pfanz’s research on 

park monuments (“History Through Eyes of Stone,” 2006); and park historians Noel Harrison, John Hennessy, Eric 

Mink, and Donald Pfanz for their entries in the park blog, “Mysteries and Conundrums.”

John Auwaerter

George W. Curry

SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry

Syracuse, New York

Acknowledgments
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

xviii
1 

Introduction

Introduction

Chancellorsville Battlefield is a landscape of fields 

and woods with subtle traces of war, commemorative 

markers, park drives, and trails. At the time of the 

battle in May 1863, Chancellorsville was a remote, 

rural community of scattered farms and small 

plantations named after its most prominent residents, 

the Chancellor family. One of the three Chancellor 

plantations included a large brick house known as the 

Chancellorsville Inn that was the physical and social 

heart of the community (fig. 0. ). 

On April 30, 1863, federal forces began to wrest control 

of Fredericksburg from the Confederates, leading 

to fighting that stretched across a ten-mile corridor 

south of the Rappahannock and Rapidan rivers and 

west to Chancellorsville. Here, the US Army of the 

Potomac under General Joseph Hooker clashed 

during three days of fighting on May 1, 2, and 3 against 

the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia under 

General Robert E. Lee. The Union’s most notorious 

defeat of the battle resulted from General “Stonewall” 

Jackson’s surprise attack on the US right flank on 

May 2, 1863. Heavy fighting ruined the landscape 

and left the Chancellorsville Inn a burned-out shell. 

Casualties numbered more than 30,000, among whom 

was General Jackson, who was mortally wounded in 

the woods west of the inn. The Confederate victory at 

Chancellorsville emboldened General Lee to invade 

the North, leading to the Battle of Gettysburg two 

months later. 

The national military park at Chancellorsville 

Battlefi ld, established in 1927 and constructed 

between ca. 1931 and 1943 with the last major park 

additions dedicated on the centennial of the battle 

in 1963, commemorates and preserves a battle that is 

widely considered General Lee’s greatest victory.1

 

Chancellorsville’s fate in the Civil War was due in 

large part to its strategic location halfway between the 

warring capitals of Washington, D.C. and Richmond, 

Virginia (fig. 0.2).

This location, today just one hour from both 

metropolises along Interstate 95, has made Spotsylvania 

County a prime market for suburban development. 

Within this setting that has changed considerably 

since 1863, Chancellorsville Battlefi ld does not have 

a defini g image, due not only the way it intermingles 

with residential subdivisions and busy roads, but also 

to the few number of commemorative works and 

the visually subtle character of the battlefi ld. The 

Figure 0.1. The Chancellorsville Inn, looking northwest across the intersection of the Orange Plank Road and Orange Turnpike, May 1, 1863. 

(Lithograph of Edwin Forbes sketch, Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, FRSP 983)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

2

landscape requires careful study not only to understand 

its history, but also to navigate across its far-flu g parts. 

The National Park Service and its partners are working 

to preserve unprotected battlefi ld lands and enhance 

the landscape’s historic character and contemporary 

use. This Cultural Landscape Report (CLR) provides 

the park with the fir t comprehensive documentation 

and planning for Chancellorsville Battlefi ld. Its 

fi dings are intended to inform stewardship and 

interpretation of the historic landscape, and aid public 

appreciation of the hallowed ground where so many 

gave their lives in service. 

LANDSCAPE OVERVIEW

Chancellorsville Battlefi ld is one of four units of 

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military 

Park, and includes the remote Salem Church Battlefi ld 

where fi hting continued on May 4, 1863 (fig. 0.3). 2

 To 

the west is the Wilderness Battlefi ld unit of the park. 

Route 3, the historic spine of the battlefi ld, is today a 

busy divided four-lane highway that extends through 

the core of the park. It and other heavily-travelled 

public roads and suburban housing subdivisions 

provide a prosaic backdrop to the park’s hallowed 

ground.

The Chancellorsville Battlefi ld unit consists of over 

2,000 acres within the authorized boundary, with 

additional battlefi ld land outside of park boundaries 

conserved through easements and ownership by park 

partners (fig. 0.4). esidential subdivisions are adjacent 

to large parts of the park. Originally laid out as narrow 

strips of park land along key military positions and 

routes, most of the Chancellorsville Battlefi ld unit is 

organized along a network of scenic park drives that tie 

into the surrounding 

public highways (fig.

0.5). 

The core battlefi ld 

area consists the largest 

contiguous acreage of 

park land, centered on 

the visitor center along 

Route 3 at the site of 

Jackson’s wounding, 

marked by a monument 

dedicated in 1888 

(fig. 0.6). The core 

battlefi ld also includes 

the Bullock House 

Figure 0.2. Map showing location of Chancellorsville between 

Washington and Richmond, and the general extent of the Chancellorsville 

Campaign (green shaded area). (SUNY ESF)

Figure 0.3. Context of Chancellorsville Battlefield, showing relationship to Fredericksburg and Interstate 95, 

and location of Route 3 through the core of the park. Park lands that comprise the Chancellorsville Battlefield

unit are shown in green with red outline. (SUNY ESF) 
3 

Introduction

Figure 0.4. Map of the Chancellorsville Battlefield unit showing park and partner property, and the four main areas used to organize this 

report. Park-owned lands are outlined in red; park authorized boundaries for Chancellorsville are outlined in orange, Wilderness in blue. 

The blue dashed lines are boundaries of partner-owned battlefield. Yellow lines indicate lands on which NPS owns an easement. (SUNY ESF) 

Figure 0.5. Stuart Drive, one of a network of park drives that provide 

access through the Chancellorsville Battlefield park, looking north, 

2015. The drive commemorates Confederate General J. E. B. Stuart. 

(SUNY ESF)

Figure 0.6. The monument to General “Stonewall” Jackson, 

dedicated in 1888 near the site of his mortal wounding (visitor 

center area), looking east with Route 3 at right, 2013. (SUNY ESF)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

4

site, Fairview and Hazel Grove artillery positions, and 

Chancellorsville Inn site. To the south of the core are 

the park lands within the historic 4,648-acre Catharine 

Furnace property, including the site where Generals 

Lee and Jackson bivouacked on the night before the 

march to the flank ttack, and the site of the Catharine 

Furnace—the only visible antebellum building ruin 

(fig. 0.7). Ex ending south from the furnace ruins is 

the Jackson Trail, a fi e-mile-long rustic park road 

built between 1939 and 1943 to evoke the character of 

the mine and woods roads through which Jackson led 

his troops to attack the U.S. right (fig. 0.8). The trail 

continues along Brock Road and Route 3 to the Flank 

Attack Battlefi ld, site of “Stonewall” Jackson’s famous 

surprise attack on the US left flank (fig. 0.9) This area, 

incorporated into the park in 1998, consists of both 

federal property and private inholdings. 

PROJECT SCOPE AND METHODS

The cultural landscape of Chancellorsville Battlefi ld 

represents a number of challenges in historic 

preservation, interpretation, and contemporary park 

operations. Although a large amount of historical and 

cultural data has been collected over the decades since 

the park was created, it has never been synthesized 

and analyzed for the purposes of managing the 

park’s cultural landscape. In addition to intrusion 

of highway traffic d suburban development in the 

park’s historic setting, key parts of the battlefi ld 

remain outside of park boundaries or have been lost 

to suburban development, such as the Dowdall’s 

Tavern and Hazel Grove. Existing fi lds and woods 

do not accurately refle t the historic patterns that 

influe ced lines of battle and troop movement in 1863. 

Defensive earthworks are hidden beneath vegetation 

and are slowly eroding. Signage and wayfi ding do not 

adequately reinforce the battlefi ld’s historic sense of 

place or the identity of the national military park. 

This Cultural Landscape Report has been developed 

to address these issues. It provides a comprehensive 

history of the Chancellorsville Battlefi ld landscape, 

inventories and evaluates all landscape characteristics 

Figure 0.7. The Catharine Furnace site, looking southwest at the 

furnace stack ruins, 2015. (SUNY ESF)

Figure 0.8. Jackson Trail (East), looking east from Brock Road, 2015. 

(SUNY ESF)

Figure 0.9. The Flank Attack Battlefield, looking east toward 

Wilderness Church, 2015. (SUNY ESF)
5 

Introduction

and features according to National Park Service 

methods, and provides treatment recommendations 

to preserve and enhance the historic character of the 

battlefi ld and its setting, in keeping with the Secretary 

of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic 

Properties. 

A Cultural Landscape Report (CLR) is the primary 

document for management of historically significa t 

landscapes in the National Park System. This report 

for Chancellorsville Battlefi ld has been developed 

according to the Guide to Cultural Landscape Reports: 

Contents, Process, and Techniques (National Park 

Service, 1998), and contains CLR Part I (site history, 

existing conditions, analysis and evaluation), and 

CLR Part II (treatment). The project area is the land 

within the authorized park boundary (see fig. 0.7).

Surrounding properties in which there is federal 

interest or which are owned by park partners are 

addressed to the extent they inform the history or 

existing use and character of the landscape. Remote 

properties associated with the Chancellorsville 

Campaign, notably Salem Church that is owned by the 

park and the First Day at Chancellorsville site owned 

by the Civil War Trust, are also outside the project area, 

but are referenced as part of the larger setting of the 

park. 

Overall, research for this Cultural Landscape 

Report has been undertaken at a thorough level of 

investigation.3

 Historical research focused on holdings 

in the park archives and park reports, consultation 

with park staff, and historical documentation available 

online. A comprehensive history of land ownership 

is beyond the scope of this project. Where historical 

information on land ownership and boundaries was 

available, it was included in the text and plans. 

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

Site History

The site history chapter is a narrative of the physical 

development of the battlefi ld landscape and related 

contexts from pre-history to present, with an emphasis 

on the antebellum, Civil War, and park periods that 

inform understanding of the existing landscape. It is 

organized into six periods, each defi ed by changes 

in land-use, landscape character, and ownership: 

Landscape Origins, including Native American history 

and the earliest European settlement, to 1800; the 

Antebellum Period, covering development of the rural 

Chancellorsville community between 1800 and 1861; 

the Civil War Period, 1861–65; the Post-War Period, 

addressing the reconstruction of the Chancellorsville 

community and early commemorative efforts between 

1865 and 1927; the Early Park Period, covering the 

initial development of the national military park 

between 1927 and 1945; and the Late Park Period, 

covering development of the park from 1945 to 

the present. Each period ends with a summary of 

landscape changes during the period, organized by 

landscape characteristics and illustrated on one or 

more period plans(Drawings 1.1–1.7).

The site history narrative is organized into sections that 

address the larger setting of the Chancellorsville; the 

Chancellorsville community that addresses the Civil 

War-era plantations and farms presented by location 

along roads except for the 4,000-acre Catharine 

Furnace property; and the commemorative landscape 

and national military park landscape for the post-Civil 

War periods. 

Existing Conditions

The Existing Conditions chapter provides a concise 

description of the cultural landscape illustrated 

with maps and photographs. Most of the existing 

conditions documentation was undertaken between 

2014 and 2016, with some updates to 2018. The chapter 

begins with overviews of park management and use, 
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

6

property ownership, the drive and trail systems, natural 

resources, and facilities maintenance. The description 

of the cultural landscape documents the setting, 

partner-conserved battlefi ld land, and park-wide 

features. The park-owned landscape is organized by 

four geographic areas of the park (see fig. 0.7): C re 

Battlefi ld, Furnace Lands, Jackson Trail, and the Flank 

Attack Battlefi ld (fig. 0.14). The visitor center area 

(Jackson Wounding site) and Chancellorsville Inn site 

are documented as detail areas of the Core Battlefi ld.

Existing conditions of the landscape are documented 

on Drawings 2.1, 2.2, and 2.3.

Analysis and Evaluation

The Analysis and Evaluation chapter, which documents 

the historical significa ce of the landscape and 

evaluates its historic characteristics and features, 

is organized into two parts. The fir t evaluates the 

historical significa ce of the landscape according to the 

criteria established by the National Register of Historic 

Places. Most of this significa ce is documented on 

recently completed National Register documentation 

for the park. The second part, based on National Park 

Service cultural landscape methods, inventories and 

evaluates the cultural landscape to assess changes in 

landscape character since the Battle of Chancellorsville 

in 1863, and the historic period of park development 

between 1927 and 1963. Landscape features are 

inventoried in Tables 3.1–3.6, which correspond to 

the four geographic areas of the park and two detail 

areas (see fig. 0.7). This inventory address all landscape 

features within the park boundary, including those on 

private inholdings as well as those on partner-owned 

battlefi ld property outside the park boundary. Each 

feature is keyed to Drawings 3.1–3.6, which graphically 

document non-contributing features and features 

removed since the end of the historic periods in 1863 

and 1963. 

Treatment Recommendations

The Treatment Recommendations chapter, which is 

based on the fi dings of the Analysis and Evaluation, 

begins with a framework to guide decisions about the 

future management of the Chancellorsville landscape 

based the park’s enabling legislation, National Park 

Service policies, current park planning, and related 

external planning. The framework concludes with a 

treatment philosophy intended as a guiding vision for 

landscape management, which prioritizes preservation 

of the battlefi ld landscape but also addresses 

stewardship of resources related to historic park 

development. The second section identifies andscape 

treatment issues and provides general guidance on 

potential solutions. The issues range from the visual 

identity of the Chancellorsville Battlefi ld park unit 

and park drive/trail systems, to loss of fi ld and 

forest patterns as they relate to the 1863 battlefi ld 

landscape. The recommendations are presented 

as general guidance in part because specific asks 

cannot be determined at present due to unknowns 

related to the future of Route 3 and development of 

adjoining private property, and the need to coordinate 

treatment with the other three units of Fredericksburg 

and Spotsylvania National Military Park. A list of 

preliminary treatment tasks generated through research 

for this Cultural Landscape Report and workshops 

with park staff is in Appendix B. 

ENDNOTES, INTRODUCTION

1. American Battlefi ld Trust, “Chancellorsville,” 

https://www.battlefi lds.org/learn/civil-war/battles/

chancellorsville (accessed June 20, 2018).

2. The Chancellorsville park unit also includes the remote 

Jackson Shrine, where General Stonewall Jackson died 

following his mortal wounding at Chancellorsville. 

3. As defi ed in the Cultural Resource Management 

Guideline (DO-28, 1998), “thorough” means research in 

selected published and documentary sources of known 

or presumed relevance that are readily accessible without 

extensive travel and that promise expeditious extraction of 

relevant data; interviewing all knowledgeable persons who 

are readily available, non-destructive investigation, and 

presenting fi dings in no greater detail than required by 

the task directive. National Park Service, NPS-28: Cultural 

Resource Management Guideline, web edition, June 11, 

1998, http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books /

nps28/28contents.htm, 17-19.
7 

1. Site History, to 1800

Site History

LANDSCAPE ORIGINS, TO 1800

ANTEBELLUM PERIOD, 1800–1861

CIVIL WAR PERIOD, 1861–1865

POST-WAR PERIOD, 1865–1927

EARLY PARK PERIOD, 1927–1945

LATE PARK PERIOD, 1945–2015

FRSP .3110R (ca.1867)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

8

The forests, clearings, rolling topography, and numerous rivers and creeks that influe ced troop movements 

during the Battle of Chancellorsville originated long 

before the Civil War. Native-American land use and 

early European settlement activity before 1800 also 

established patterns in the landscape that would infl -

ence not only the battlefi ld, but also the character of 

the later commemorative park. 

NATURAL HISTORY

The Battle of Chancellorsville was fought on the 

eastern edge of the Piedmont plateau, a physiographic 

region across central Virginia between the Tidewater 

on the east and the Blue Ridge Mountains (part of the 

Appalachian Mountain Range) on the west (fig. 1.1).

The Piedmont was formed millions of years ago during 

the tectonic collisions that created the Appalachians. 

The force of these geologic processes resulted in a rippled expanse of metamorphic bedrock angled slightly 

toward the coast. Primarily composed of gneiss, schist 

and quartzite, this terrain eroded into low rounded hills 

and shallow valleys. The metamorphic bedrock around 

Chancellorsville contained schist and slates associated with deposits of gold and iron ore (fig. 1.2). The 

presence of these valued metals gave rise to numerous 

mining ventures throughout the region. The soils above 

the bedrock in this area were characterized by low 

fertility and acidity, conditions that would contribute to 

the area’s low agricultural productivity.2

 

The eastern fi ld of the Chancellorsville campaign extended to the Fall Line, the transitional zone separating 

the Piedmont from the Coastal Plain (see fig. 1.1). The 

term Fall Line (or Fall Zone) came from the numerous waterfalls and rapids that occurred along rivers at 

the elevation change between the harder metamorphic 

The Battle of Chancellorsville was inextricably 

tied to the landscape in which it took place—a 

rural community within a heavily wooded 

and sparsely-settled region known as The Wilderness, 

once a frontier of European colonial settlement. To a 

late nineteenth century writer, Chancellorsville was 

“a famous place of one house”—a reference to the 

community’s namesake and most prominent building, the Chancellorsville Inn.1

 The battle that raged at 

and around the inn between May 1 and 3, 1863 greatly 

scarred the landscape. After the end of the war, the 

community rebuilt and interest slowly developed in 

commemorating the battle and preserving the battlefi ld. In 1927, six decades after the end of the war, this 

interest culminated in establishment of Fredericksburg 

and Spotsylvania National Military Park. Begun by the 

War Department and completed by the National Park 

Service in the 1930s with the help of federal work-relief 

programs, the park preserved mostly narrow tracts 

along the key defensive lines. During the second half 

of the 20th century, as the park preserved more of the 

battlefi ld to interpret the significa t events of 1863, 

the once remote and sparsely settled character of the 

Wilderness began to give way to suburban housing 

developments and heavy automobile traffic

Despite the intrusion of modern life, many of the open 

fi lds and woods that saw the battle’s destruction and 

heavy toll on both US and Confederate forces still 

evoke their scarred history. The landscape remains a 

witness to the great tragedy that swept through rural 

Chancellorsville in the spring of 1863.

LANDSCAPE ORIGINS, TO 1800
9 

1. Site History, to 1800

rocks of the Piedmont and the softer and more quickly 

eroding sedimentary rocks of the coastal plain. The 

bedrock of the Coastal Plan was covered with sand and 

gravel deposited from the eroding uplands that would 

prove more agriculturally productive than the soils of 

the Piedmont lands to the west.3

Drainage in the Blue Ridge Mountains coursed down 

almost 1,000 feet toward the Coastal Plain through 

several watersheds, two of which covered the battlefi ld. The Rappahannock River and its main tributary, the Rapidan River, drained the northern part of 

the battlefi ld (fig. 1.3). After the rocky pass of the Fall 

Line west of Fredericksburg, the river widened across 

the fl t coastal plain with its numerous tidal marshes 

until it reached the Chesapeake Bay. The second 

watershed draining the southern part of the battlefi ld fl wed southeast into the Mattaponi River before 

joining the York River. These watersheds were drained 

by a vast network of small rivers and creeks, locally 

known as runs, which eroded the ground into ravines 

Figure 1.1. Geologic formations of 

eastern Virginia showing location of 

Chancellorsville within the Piedmont 

region south of the Rappahannock 

River, and Fredericksburg’s location 

on the Fall Line. (SUNY ESF)

Figure 1.2. Map of rock and mineral deposits in the Piedmont bedrock of the Chancellorsville battlefield. The yellow band 

indicates the iron and gold region associated with talcose slates, and pink indicates granite and gneiss. The dark lines are 

major roads (Orange Plank Road highlighted in green). (Detail, Thomas Ridgeway, Geologic Map of the State of Virginia, 1862, 

Library of Congress, map g3881c. cw0465850, annotated by SUNY ESF)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

10

and gullies. The major Rappahannock tributaries draining the 

battlefi ld area included Mineral 

Springs Run (Mine Run), Mott’s 

Run, Little Hunting Run, and 

Big Hunting Run (fig. 1.4). To the 

south, the major tributaries of the 

York River system in the battlefi ld 

included the Ni River (also spelled 

Ny), Lewis Run, and Poplar Run. 

These waterways contributed to 

a water-rich landscape that long 

supported forest ecosystems, and 

also influe ced later patterns of 

roads and farms.4

The Piedmont region was south of 

the glaciers of the last Ice Age that 

reached as far as Pennsylvania. At 

Figure 1.3. A mid-18th century map showing the twisting course of the Rappahannock River and its southern tributary, the Rapidan River 

(originally, Rapid Anne River), outlined in red. The York River is the next major system to the south, outlined in green. The minor tributaries 

near Chancellorsville are not shown. This map also illustrates the extent of European settlement by 1755, including the location of Germanna 

and the Tubal furnace. (Detail, Fry and Jefferson, “A Map of the Most Inhabited Part of Virginia,” 1755, Library of Congress, map G3880 

1755 F72, annotated by SUNY ESF)

Figure 1.4. Map showing watersheds of the battlefield area, with tributaries of the 

Rappahannock River in red, those of the York River to the south in yellow, and the divide 

shown by different ground shades. This watershed divide provided a natural high ground that 

may have served as a route of Native American trails and the first European roads. Current 

Chancellorsville park boundaries the orange lines. (SUNY ESF)
11 

1. Site History, to 1800

that time, Virginia was covered by a coniferous boreal 

forest dominated by spruce. Midway between the 

colder glaciated regions to the north and the warmer 

coastal areas to the southeast, the Virginia landscape 

developed a highly diverse ecology that encompassed 

the southern and northern distribution limits of many 

species. As the glaciers retreated about 12,000 years 

ago, the warming climate enabled broadleaf hardwood 

species to dominate the Piedmont’s forest system.5

 Oak 

and hickory species, in particular, thrived in the area’s 

acidic soils and dominated upland plant communities 

(fig. 1.5). eneath the forest cover was lush understory of small trees and shrubs that included fl wering 

dogwood, sassafras, mountain laurel, and hazelnut.6

 

This abundance of plants supported wide varieties of 

wildlife such as deer, bear, and turkeys.7

Humans were also an integral part of this ecosystem, 

having lived in the area for thousands of years prior to 

the arrival of Europeans. They influe ced the plant and 

animal communities found in the region by creating or 

using clearings in the forests for cultivating crops and 

attracting animals for hunting.8

 Intentional woodland 

clearing techniques, along with natural fi es, created 

savanna-like forest systems throughout the Piedmont 

(fig. 1.6). These landscapes were recorded in the vicinity of the Chancellorsville battlefi ld as late as the 1670s, 

although their exact location and extent is unknown.9

MANAHOAC CONFEDERACY

The Chancellorsville battlefi ld was once within the 

homeland of the Siouan-speaking Manahoac Confederacy (fig. 1.7). These people, who lived primarily near 

the banks of the Rappahannock River, were allied with 

the Monacan nation that lived along the James River as 

well as other linguistically related tribes in the Piedmont region. These closely allied nations developed 

long-standing tool making, hunting, and agricultural 

traditions. They established the practice of burying 

their dead in large mounds which distinguished them 

from other groups outside of the Piedmont.10

The rivers of the Piedmont supported long distance 

trade between Siouan speaking nations such as the 

Figure 1.5. Present-day oak-hickory forest in northern Virginia 

illustrating the character of old-growth woods that most likely 

covered the Chancellorsville battlefield prior to European settlement 

in the 18th century. (Gary P. Fleming, photograph of Great Falls Park, 

Fairfax County, Virginia Natural Heritage Program)

Figure 1.6. Present-day oak savanna created by prescribed burns, 

illustrating character of clearings created or managed by Native 

Americans and recorded by 17th century European explorers in the 

Piedmont. (Gary P. Fleming, photograph of Quantico Marine Base, 

Prince William County, Virginia Natural Heritage Program)

Figure 1.7. General location of the Manahoac Confederacy in 

relation to Chancellorsville and other Native American peoples 

in the Virginia Piedmont (dark shaded area). (SUNY ESF, based on 

Egloff and Woodward, First People: The Early Indians of Virginia, 

1992)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

12

Manahoac and neighboring nations, including the 

powerful Powatan Confederacy on the Atlantic coast. 

Trading was carried out in dugout canoes and on foot 

through networks of overland trails.11 Goods traded by 

the Siouan-speaking nations included copper mined 

from the western edge of the Piedmont and high quality 

locally abundant quartz stone. At the time of contact 

with Europeans in 1608, there was a thriving Siouanspeaking population of about 10,000 people that was 

actively engaged in complex trade and political relationships with other nations on lands that would one 

day be known as Virginia.12 

During the 17th century, numerous Manahoac villages 

existed along the banks of the Rapidan and Rappahannock rivers upstream of the Fall Line. These villages 

were protected by wooden palisades and contained 

dome-shaped buildings constructed of bark and reed.13

In his 1935 study of the Manahoac people, archaeologist David Bushnell described the location of one 

village on the banks of the Rappahannock River near 

present day US Ford, northeast of the Chancellorsville 

(fig. 1.8). An agricultural people, Manahoac villages 

often took advantage of the higher fertility of alluvial 

soil for growing traditional symbiotic crops such as 

corn, bean, squash, and tobacco. Manahoac villagers 

used axes quarried from local stone and fi e to clear 

patches of forest for their farms. The forest edge created by these clearings also facilitated the domestication of wild grapes, sun fl wers, and fruit trees. The 

abundance of edible plants and game animals refle ted 

how the Manahoac people directly benefi ed from the 

ecological conditions that resulted from their traditional land management techniques.14

Hunting animals such as deer and turkey, as well as 

fi hing, expanded the dietary options of Manahoac, 

who engaged in seasonal hunting and fi hing expeditions, utilizing temporary camps along the Rappahannock River and its reaches. The camp “Mahaskahod” 

Figure 1.8. Photograph looking southeast across the site of a Manahoac village along the Rappahannock River north of Chancellorsville, ca. 

1935. (David I. Bushnell Jr., “The Manahoac Tribes in Virginia, 1608,” Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, vol. 94, no. 8, 1935, annotated 

by SUNY ESF)
13 

1. Site History, to 1800

was located near present-day Fredericksburg at a location that enabled Manahoac hunters to capitalize on 

prime fi hing spots near the falls and the rapids. Stone 

fi h traps were utilized here and at other at strategic 

points along the river to ease catching fi h with woven 

nets and spears (fig. 1.9). ahaskahod was one of the 

Manahoac settlements recorded in the documents of 

noted European explorer John Smith, who identified

the area around Chancellorsville as the center of the 

Manahoac homeland (fig 1.10) 15 Another camp may 

have been located along streams and wetlands at the 

head of the Ni River, where the Chancellor family later 

developed the Fairview plantation.16

Following arrival of Europeans during the 17th century, 

the people of the Manahoac Confederacy appeared 

to have relocated. Conditions such as war and disease 

may have inspired them to join their dwindling numbers with other Siouan speaking nations living farther 

south.17 By the time European explorer John Lederer 

traveled up the Rappahannock River in the late 17th

century, he recorded no villages or encounters with 

members of the Manahoac Confederacy. Instead, he 

noted only savanna-like meadows punctuating the forest, suggesting sites where the Manahoac people had 

recently lived and farmed.18

ENGLISH COLONIZATION AND SETTLEMENT 

John Smith’s 1608 river expeditions were the beginning 

of Europeans exploration into the Virginia Piedmont 

following waterways and Native American trails. 

Despite these ventures during the fir t half of the 17th

century, permanent settlements in Britain’s Virginia 

Colony remained concentrated in the Tidewater east of 

Figure 1.9. Native people fishing on a Virginia river using dugout 

canoes, stone fish traps, spears and nets, a practice followed by 

the Manahoac people, from a sixteenth-century engraving. (Detail, 

engraving by Theodor de Bry after drawings of John White, in 

Thomas Harriot, A Briefe and True Report of the New Found Land 

of Virginia, 1590)

Figure 1.10. Detail of a 1624 map of the landscape recorded by John Smith on his expedition through Virginia 

showing the homeland of the Manahoac people near the Chancellorsville battlefield (highlighted in green). Also 

shown are four documented Manahoac villages or camps along the Rappahannock and Rapidan rivers. (Detail, John 

Smith, “Map of Virginia” from The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles, 1624, Library 

of Congress, Digital Id gdc/lhbcb.0262b, annotated by SUNY ESF)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

14

the Fall Line, near the coast (see fig. 1.1). The success 

of tobacco as an export commodity, however, gradually encouraged territorial expansion since farmers 

were compelled to seek out new fertile soils to grow 

this nutrient-depleting and labor-intensive crop. Port 

towns such as Petersburg, Richmond, and Fredericksburg were established along the Fall Line, at the farthest 

point inland where the rivers could accommodate large 

European ships that plied the tobacco export trade.19

Through the 18th century, the majority of European 

settlers in the Piedmont region remained near the Fall 

Line, close to roads that provided access to ports. Lack 

of good roads, isolation, and the threat of attack by Native Americans discouraged European colonists from 

settling and cultivating the interior areas of the Piedmont. The remoteness and sparsely-settled character 

of the portion of this frontier region south of the Rappahannock and Rapidan rivers probably gave rise to its 

identity as the Wilderness.20

EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT IN THE WILDERNESS 

The earliest European settlement in the Wilderness was 

organized by Alexander Spotswood (ca. 1676–1740), a 

military veteran with an entrepreneurial spirit. Shortly 

after being appointed as Lieutenant Governor of 

Virginia in 1710, Spotswood led an expedition of land 

speculators to look at the development potential of the 

colonial frontier in the Virginia Piedmont and beyond. 

Capitalizing on the discovery of bog iron near the 

Rapidan River, Spotswood invited investors to partner 

with him on purchasing land that could be mined as 

well as farmed. He used frontier defense as an excuse 

to acquire thousands of acres of this resource-rich land 

and to settle a community of German miners in 1714 

at his new frontier town, Germanna, located along the 

Rapidan River northwest of Chancellorsville (fig. 1.11,

see also fig. 1.3) 21

Spotswood’s iron industry required extensive timber 

resources. Large tracts of forest south of the Rapidan 

and Rappahannock rivers were cleared for surface 

Figure 1.11. Map showing 18th century Spotsylvania land holdings, tobacco production, and early roads in relation 

to the Chancellorsville battlefield. (SUNY ESF based on Paula Felder, Forgotten Companions: The First Settlers of 

Spotsylvania County and Fredericksburg Town, 1982, and James R. Mansfield, A History of Early Spotsylvania, 1977)
15 

1. Site History, to 1800

pit iron ore mines and to produce the vast amount of 

charcoal necessary to fuel a blast furnace. The Tubal 

Furnace, Virginia’s fir t blast furnace for smelting iron, 

may have been constructed as early as 1716 near what 

would later be called US Ford on the Rappahannock 

River, just east of the conflue ce with the Rapidan River. By 1720, Spotswood formally established the Iron 

Mine Company, which controlled 22,000 acres known 

as the Iron Mine Tract. This tract extended south of the 

Rappahannock and Rapidan rivers across the area that 

would later be settled as Chancellorsville.22

To encourage his iron industry and settlement at 

Germanna, Spotswood ordered construction of the 

Germanna Road to provide a more direct connection 

to the Tidewater than the river and mountain roads 

that probably followed Native American trails. Built 

in 1716, the new road extended west from the Rappahannock River at the Fall Line through the future 

site of Chancellorsville to Germanna, following the 

general alignment of present-day Route 3 (see fig. 1.11).

The road may have followed sections of earlier roads 

that headed west toward the Blue Ridge Mountains, 

which were generally referred to as “mountain roads.” 

The Germanna Road was one of the fir t well-traveled 

east-west thoroughfares in the region, facilitating the 

export of Spotswood iron while also encouraging more 

settlement.23 Spotswood organized his growing settlement into a county that was established in 1721, named 

Spotsylvania—Latin for Spotswood (Spots forest)—

with its seat at Germanna. As Spotswood’s personal 

land holdings and wealth increased, however, people 

began to question his authority, and he lost his position 

as lieutenant governor in 1722.24

After his political misfortune, Spotswood continued 

to live in Germanna directing the Iron Mining Company and other business ventures. He remained the 

largest single landowner in the region, with title to 

80,000 acres, including the Iron Mine Tract. While he 

established agricultural plantations and grain mills, his 

primary product remained iron. Spotswood lost his 

German workers over disputes about inadequate living 

conditions and broken contracts, and began staffing his 

mines and plantations with enslaved Africans, who had 

little legal recourse to object to their treatment.25

In addition to populating the landscape with his workers, Spotswood also leased his lands to tobacco farmers, who cleared large areas of the forested landscape. 

According to English law, property had to be settled in 

order for landowners to retain title, so Spotswood and 

other colonial landholders offered many incentives for 

farmers to settle. Between 1723 and 1726, the number 

of households in Spotsylvania County increased from 

150 to 230. Much of the growth took place in the eastern part of the county and included the establishment 

of Fredericksburg near the Fall Line in 1728.26

The agricultural economy of the county was initially 

driven by tobacco. Tobacco production grew significantly during the 1720s; by 1726, tobacco cultivation 

was taking place as far west as the Rapidan River in 

the western part of the county that was separated as 

Orange County in 1734. Spotswood’s lands where 

much of the Battle of Chancellorsville took place were 

some of the most heavily farmed during this period 

(see fig. 1.11). Cen us records from this time document 

that 1,347,459 tobacco plants were cultivated in the 

area, amounting to approximately 26% of the county’s 

productivity. This agricultural boom as well as the success of Spotswood’s iron company brought increased 

wealth to county residents, but at the cost of major 

deforestation and depletion of soil fertility.27

The agricultural productivity of the Wilderness did not 

last long, most likely due to the low fertility of the soils 

that could not support successive tobacco crops. This 

impact was recorded as early as the 1730s by William 

Byrd II, a prominent Virginia plantation owner and 

member of Virginia’s Governor’s Council. In 1732, he 

visited Spotswood’s Tubal Furnace northeast of Chancellorsville, starting from the bustling port town of 

Fredericksburg. Traveling west through the Wilderness 

and future Chancellorsville battlefi ld, Byrd noted seeing very few plantations and long stretches of old fi lds 

covered in saplings, which were most likely abandoned 

tobacco fi lds or cut-over forests harvested to fuel iron 

furnaces.28
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

16

The growth of Fredericksburg and decline of tobacco 

farming in the Wilderness corresponded with Germanna losing its status as county seat to Fredericksburg 

in 1738. The economic demise of the area was also due 

to decline of Spotswood’s iron industry following his 

death in 1740. Such depressed conditions probably 

reinforced notions of the region as a wilderness. Despite this, settlers continued to stake out relatively small 

farms and plantations in the region amid successional 

old fi lds and second-growth woods, where they grew 

grain, corn, and smaller amounts of tobacco.29

EARLY SETTLEMENT AT CHANCELLORSVILLE 

Settlement in the eastern part of the Wilderness was 

supported by several regional roads that converged 

there with the Germanna Road. One of these was 

Baylor’s Mountain Road (current Orange Plank Road, 

Route 621), which ran to the southwest (see fig. 1.11).

This road was built by prominent landowner Robert 

Taliaferro in ca. 1730 to provide passage from Baylor’s 

Mountain in the Blue Ridge, north and east toward the 

newly established town of Fredericksburg. To the west, 

another road extended southwest from the Germanna 

Road, initially called Thomas Carr’s Road (present 

Brock Road) after the person who petitioned for its 

construction in 1722.30 To the east, Elys (originally Elley’s) Ford Road, an old road that probably predated 

construction of the Germanna Road in 1716, extended 

northwest to the Rapidan River. Built and maintained 

by local landowners, these early roads ranged in size 

from small bridle paths following the most direct routes 

to wider roads that wound along hilly uplands for the 

driest passage.31

Settlers in the Chancellorsville area prior to 1781 

were most likely tenants of Spotswood heirs, who 

established small farms and taverns. By 1777, a tavern 

known as Raines’ Ordinary had been established at 

or near the later site of the Fairview house, south of 

the Germanna Road (Route 3) (fig. 1.12) 32 This was 

the second tavern along the Germanna Road within 

the Wilderness, following the Wilderness Tavern that 

opened in ca. 1775 about three miles to the west. The 

Figure 1.12. Map showing general location of settlement and development at Chancellorsville by 1800. Property boundaries are not shown 

due to lack of documentation. The orange lines indicate the existing Chancellorsville battlefield park boundaries. (SUNY ESF
17 

1. Site History, to 1800

only major landowner aside from the Spotswoods may 

have been the Brock family, who established a plantation at the headwaters of the Mattaponi River by the 

middle of the 18th century, probably on land acquired 

from the Spotswoods. The plantation, known as Poplar 

Neck, extended along the vicinity of present-day 

Brock Road and Herndon Road through the Catharine 

Furnace property and north across Route 3, including 

the future site of Wilderness Church. The plantation 

was subdivided among the heirs by the 1770s.33 The 

mansion house may have been the house that was later 

owned by the Hull family during the early 19th century, 

located at the conflue ce of the Ni River and Poplar 

Run, where the Wellford family built their house in 

1838 (see fig. 1.12). Another tract may have been sold to 

the Gatewood family, who built a house along the south 

side of the Germanna Road (Route 3) near its intersection with Baylor’s Mountain Road (Route 621) by the 

late 18th century. Taking advantage of traffic n these 

two important roads, the Gatewoods opened a tavern 

in the house as early as 1792, a business that was taken 

over in the fir t half of the 19th century by the Dowdall 

family.34

By 1778, John Simpson, a ward of the Brock family, sold 

a one-acre parcel of his inherited land along the Germanna Road (Route 3) that included a building known 

as Simpson’s Meeting House (see fig. 1.12). e sold the 

property to a Baptist congregation organized by Joseph 

Bledsoe, Lewis Craig, and A. Dudley. Baptist churches 

had taken hold in Virginia starting in the 1760s as an 

alternative to the established Anglican Church, and 

had grown quickly in popularity. The congregation 

renamed the building the Wilderness Baptist Church, 

using the name of the area prior to its association with 

the Chancellor family. Built before 1778, this was a rectangular white-painted gable-front frame building, set 

500 feet back from the intersection of Germanna Road 

(fig. 1.13). A large grove of pine trees, probably Virginia 

pine that was a common successional species on old 

fi lds, was either planted or maintained around the 

building. Ten years later, this small remote church had 

130 members under the ministries of Aaron Bledsoe 

and Edward Elly.35

Soon after the end of the Revolution in 1781, Alexander Spotswood’s grandson, John Spotswood, sold 

and leased additional property within the Iron Mine 

Tract to pay off accumulated debts. In October 1794, he 

wrote James Madison of the attributes of this property: 

“My Iron mine tract of 22,000 Acres, 10 Miles above 

[west of] Fredericksburg; fronting many Miles on the 

river, where there Are Situations for every kind of water 

Works—exclusive of the river, fi e Inland never failing 

Streams, with An Inexhaustable [sic] fund of Iron ore 

the best in America for casting...”36 Spotswood sold all 

of this untenanted land, which included the later sites 

of the Catharine Furnace, Fairview, and Chancellorsville Inn, to Henry Lee, the father of Civil War General 

Robert E. Lee.37 

Henry Lee soon faced serious debt of his own and 

began disposing of his Iron Mine Tract property. In 

1797, he sold 103 acres and leased another 323 acres 

along the Ni River about a mile south of the Germanna 

Road to the Maury family, who built a house on the 

property, north of present-day Furnace Road (see fig.

1.12). Here, they grew tobacco.38 In 1799, Lee sold a 

tract west and south of the intersection of Elys Ford 

Road and the Germanna Road to Charles Bullard. This 

Figure 1.13. The building initially constructed as Simpson’s Meeting 

House and home of Wilderness Church beginning in 1778, showing 

it as reconstructed in 1853, photographed 1866. The surrounding 

grove of pines sheltered the original building. No image of the 

18th-century building survives. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania 

National Military Park, FRSP 1520)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

18

tract may have been the site of Raines Ordinary that 

had been built by 1777. Bullard maintained a house 

on the property, located about 2,000 feet southwest of 

the intersection. This may have been the old ordinary, 

or possibly a new log house that he built soon after 

his purchase of the property. The house, later known 

as Fairview, was on an high ground that sloped down 

toward headwaters of the Ni River, near a spring where 

the Manahoac people may have once maintained a 

seasonal camp. The Carpenter family may have established another farm by 1800 along present-day Herndon Road within or near the old Brock plantation.39

These early houses were typically one or two rooms in 

size, with a gable roof, small windows, and exterior end 

chimneys (fig. 1.14). They were typically built of large 

squared timbers or logs, and had small frame sheds 

and barns to the side. Wood fences, initially of stripped 

stacked logs, enclosed the buildings and accompanying 

gardens and pastures.40 

The Bullards, Maurys, Carpenters, Gatewoods, and 

Brocks were just some of the families that had settled 

in the Wilderness during the late 18th century. By 

1800, Spotsylvania County had a population of approximately 11,000, but more than half were enslaved 

African-Americans who powered the plantation 

economy. This tally did not include Fredericksburg, 

which had emerged as a prosperous town.41 Farming 

and commerce throughout the region and beyond were 

supported by an improving network of earthen roads, 

which included the fir t turnpike or toll roads built at 

the end of the 18th century. A combination of existing 

roads from Fredericksburg to Orange County would 

become a turnpike soon after the turn of the century, 

encouraging new settlement, farms, churches, and taverns that would form the Chancellorsville community 

of the antebellum period.

LANDSCAPE OVERVIEW, 1800 42

While little is known about the details of the landscape 

that today comprises Chancellorsville Battlefi ld at 

the end of the 18th century, it was certainly within a 

sparsely settled area with a patchwork of open fi lds 

dominated by expanses of second-growth woods. Travelers heading west on the Germanna Road (Route 3) 

around 1800 would have journeyed from a largely open 

and agricultural landscape near Fredericksburg toward 

a far less developed and more wild appearing landscape as they approached the future Chancellorsville 

battlefi ld. From here west, in the region known as the 

Wilderness, were dense woodlands, abandoned fi lds 

thick with young trees and scrub, some abandoned iron 

mines, and occasional small farms and plantations. The 

Gatewood family’s tavern along the Germanna Road 

(Route 3) across from the Wilderness Baptist Church, 

would have been a welcome stop for the often arduous 

drive, which became notorious for sticky clay mud that 

coated wagon wheels and horse hooves.43 About fi e 

miles west of Chancellorsville travelers encountered a 

large clearing with the Wilderness Tavern and Ellwood 

plantation, where the Wilderness Run crossed the Germanna Road. Northeast of the future battlefi ld near 

the Rappahannock River was the site of Spotswood’s 

Tubal iron works, which were established around 

1716 and closed in the 1740s. Traces of the Manahoac 

people’s villages and hunting camps had probably long 

disappeared by 1800, but European roads still followed 

their trails. 

Natural Systems and Features

In 1800, the Chancellorsville battlefi ld landscape 

was most likely dense, second-growth woods that had 

grown back over the previous four decades followFigure 1.14. A Civil War-period drawing of an unidentified 

farmhouse and barns at Chancellorsville illustrating the general 

character and layout of first-generation buildings erected in the 

late 18th and early 19th centuries. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania 

National Military Park archives, FRSP 1701)
19 

1. Site History, to 1800

ing abandonment of large-scale tobacco farming in 

the 1730s and iron mining in the 1740s. These woods 

may have been dominated by pioneer species such as 

Virginia pine (Pinus virginiana) and Eastern red-cedar 

(Juniperus virginiana) that were undergoing succession 

to mature forest of oak and hickory. Wetland meadows 

or swamps characterized shallow valleys with meandering rivers, such as along the Ni River near the present 

site of Catharine Furnace. 

Spatial Organization

The Chancellorsville battlefi ld landscape in 1800 was 

characterized by road corridors and scattered farm 

clearings, which included the Bullard farm south and 

west of the Route 3 and Elys Ford Road intersection, 

the Maury farm to the south near the Catharine Furnace site, and the Gatewood farm and tavern along the 

south side of Route 3 east of the intersection of the Orange Plank Road. Another farm clearing may have been 

maintained by the Carpenter family along Herndon 

Road, and by the Brocks near the Ni River (Wellford 

House site). The wooded and enclosed landscape was 

a marked change from the earlier open character that 

resulted from widespread tobacco growing and timber 

harvesting to fuel iron furnaces. 

Land Use

Chancellorsville battlefi ld in 1800 was used for agriculture, dwelling places and a tavern, and roads, but 

most of the land was undeveloped. Wilderness Church, 

built prior to 1778 as Simpson’s Meeting House, and 

Gatewood’s Tavern across the Germanna Road, were 

the only community gathering places. Although still 

rich in iron ore, mining operations had ceased decades 

earlier, leaving abandoned open pits, some of which 

may have existed around the later site of the Catharine 

Furnace and along the Mine Run east of Elys Ford 

Road. Little is known about agricultural crops in the 

Wilderness prior to 1800, but would have included gardens close to the houses, pastures, and perhaps market 

crops. 

Circulation

In 1800, the main east-west roads through the Chancellorsville battlefi ld were the Germanna Road (following present Route 3), which had been laid out in 

1716 and extended from Germanna on the west to 

Fredericksburg on the east; River Road, which paralleled the Rappahannock River and existed by 1716, 

probably following an old Indian trail; and Baylor’s 

Mountain Road, which may have followed portions of 

the River Road, joined the Germanna Road through 

Chancellorsville, and then veered southwest toward the 

Shenandoah Mountains along present Orange Plank 

Road (Route 621). Apparently because of the overlap 

with other roads heading west toward the Blue Ridge, 

the Germanna Road through Chancellorsville was also 

known as the Mountain Road. 

North-south roads included Elys Ford Road, an early 

route dating before 1716 that extended from the river 

south along present Old Plank Road (Route 610); and 

Brock Road, originally Thomas Carr’s Road, built in 

ca. 1722 and later named after the Brock family that 

had a plantation nearby. This road was also known as 

Herndon Road, for the Herndon family that lived south 

of the battlefi ld along the Ni River, near Catharpin 

Road. The northern part of this road branched as it approached the Germanna Road (present Herndon Road 

forming the east leg, Brock Road the west leg). 

Topography

Built changes in the natural landform of the Chancellorsville battlefi ld landscape by 1800 included graded 

roadbeds and depressions created through open-pit 

mining. These iron pits, in use between ca. 1710 and 

1740, were long abandoned by 1800. 

Vegetation

The primary managed vegetation in the Chancellorsville battlefi ld landscape in 1800 was composed of 

agricultural crops. The specific arieties and extent of 

these crops are unknown. Agricultural fi lds were most 

likely along fertile and level uplands. Most farms probably had orchards and kitchen gardens for domestic 

crops. A large grove of pines, probably Virginia pine 
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

20

(Pinus virginiana) may have been planted or maintained around Wilderness Church for religious symbolism and or to provide a windbreak. A dominant pioneer 

species, Virginia pine would have been a familiar tree 

on old tobacco fi lds that had been abandoned beginning in the 1730s. 

Buildings and Structures

There were six known buildings in the Chancellorsville 

battlefi ld landscape in 1800: Gatewood’s Tavern (later 

called Dowdall’s Tavern) built prior to 1792, probably 

a one and one-half story frame house with a tall gable 

roof and side chimneys; the Wilderness Baptist Church, 

built prior to 1778 as Simpson’s Meeting House, a 

simple gable-roof frame building north of the Germanna Road; the Maury house, built in ca. 1797, a house of 

undetermined type and size north of present-day Furnace Road; and the Hull mansion, a presumably large 

building which may have been the Brock plantation 

house at the later site of the Wellford house near the 

conflue ce of the Poplar Run and Ni River. By 1800, 

Charles Bullard had probably built a log house, later 

known as Fairview, southwest of the intersection of 

Route 3 and Elys Ford Road, soon after he purchased 

the property in 1799. The Carpenter family may have 

built another farmhouse by 1800 along Herndon Road 

at the western side of the battlefi ld. Each of these 

properties would have had one or more frame or log 

barns and sheds. 

Views and Vistas

With extensive woodlands and relatively level topography, the Chancellorsville battlefi ld landscape in 1800 

had few expansive views or vistas, except along straight 

sections of road. Minor views were across farm fi lds 

and open wetland meadows along the Ni River and 

other meandering streams. 

Small-Scale Features

There is little documentation on small-scale features in 

the Chancellorsville battlefi ld landscape in 1800. The 

Dowdall, Bullard, Maury, and Carpenter farms, and the 

Brock/Hull mansion had fences around their fi lds and 

houses to protect gardens and livestock. Wilderness 

Church most likely was also enclosed by a fence. These 

were probably worm fences, built of unmilled and split 

stacked logs.

Archeological Sites

There is no record of archeological sites within the 

Chancellorsville battlefi ld landscape in 1800. Traces 

of Native American life in the area had probably long 

vanished by 1800, with the exception of roads that followed trails. In the larger region, there were abandoned 

mine pits from the Tubal furnace. 

ENDNOTES, PRE-1800

1 The Chancellorsville Inn was historically part of the 

800-acre Chancellor plantation named Fairview; that 

name is today associated with the land south of Route 

3. There is no historical record of the inn being called 

Fairview.

2 J. Lonsdale, “Geology of the Gold-Pyrite Belt of the 

Northeastern Piedmont Virginia” (PhD diss., University of 

Virginia, 1927); John Milner Associates, Inc. and HNTB, 

“Draft Cultural Landscape Assessments: Sunken Road, 

Salem Church, and Chancellorsville Inn of Fredericksburg 

Spotsylvania National Military Park” (Unpublished report 

prepared for the National Park Service, 2004), 27, 36-37.

3 Milner, 27.

4 Ralph Happel, “A History of the Fredericksburg and 

Spotsylvania County Battlefi lds Memorial National 

Military Park” (Unpublished National Park Service report, 

1955), 1-2; Milner, 27, 37. The name of the Ni River was 

derived from the primary river, the Mattaponi. It fl ws 

into the Po River to become the Poni River. The Mat, Ta, 

and Matta are other tributaries, all named from parts of 

the name Mattaponi.

5 Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation 

“The Natural Communities of Virginia, Classific tion of 

Ecological Community Groups, Second Approximation 

(Version 2.5),” section “The Piedmont Plateau,” http://

www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural_heritage/ncoverview.html 

(accessed June 21, 2013).

6 Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation 

“The Natural Communities of Virginia, Classific tion of 

Ecological Community Groups, Second Approximation 
21 

1. Site History, to 1800

(Version 2.5),” section “The Piedmont Plateau,” http://

www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural_heritage/ncoverview.html 

(accessed June 21, 2013).

6 Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation 

“The Natural Communities of Virginia, Classific tion of 

Ecological Community Groups, Second Approximation 

(Version 2.5),” section “Acidic Oak-Hickory Forests,” 

http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural_heritage/natural_

communities/ncTIIIc.shtml (accessed June 21, 2013).

7 National Park Service “Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania 

National Military Park, Nature and Science,” section 

“Plants,” http://www.nps.gov/frsp/naturescience/plants.

htm (accessed June 15, 2013); Virginia Department of 

Education/Prince William Network, “Virginia’s First 

People: Past and Present, History,” section “1600s,” http://

virginiaindians.pwnet.org/history/1600s.php (accessed 

June 21, 2013).

8 Virginia Department of Education/Prince William 

Network “Virginia’s First People: Past and Present, 

Geography,” section “Climate & Vegetation,” http://

virginiaindians.pwnet.org/geography/climate_vegetation.

php (accessed June 21, 2013)

9 John Lederer, The Discoveries of John Lederer, In three 

several marches from Virginia, to the West of Carolina, 

and other parts of the Continent: Begun in March 1669, 

and ended in September 1670 (London, 1672), 21, online 

transcript, http://rla.unc.edu/Archives/accounts/Lederer/

LedererText.html (accessed June 21, 2013).

10 “Virginia’s First People: Past and Present, History,” 

section “1600s.” 

11 David I. Bushnell Jr., “The Manahoac Tribes in 

Virginia, 1608,” Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, 

94 (1935), 12.

12 “Virginia’s First People: Past and Present, History,” 

section “1600s.”

13 Ibid.

14 Virginia Department of Education/Prince William 

Network “Virginia’s First People: Past and Present, 

Geography (2013),” section “Climate & Vegetation,” 

http://virginiaindians.pwnet.org/geography/climate_

vegetation.php (accessed June 21, 2013).

15 Happel, 2.

16 Noel G. Harrison, “Gazetteer of Historic Sites Related 

to the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military 

Park, Volume 1” (Unpublished report prepared for the 

National Park Service, 1986), 184.

17 “Virginia’s First People: Past and Present, History,” 

section “1600s.”

18 Bushnell, 9.

19 Paula Felder, Forgotten Companions: The First Settlers of 

Spotsylvania County and Fredericksburg Town (with notes 

on early land use) (Fredericksburg: Historic Publications 

of Fredericksburg, 1982), 4-5; Virginia Department of 

Transportation (DOT), “History of Virginia Roads,” 

http://www.virginiadot.org/about/resources/historyofrds.

pdf (accessed July 15, 2013).

20 History of Virginia Roads. The name Wilderness was in 

use by 1751, when the “Wilderness Run” was documented 

on Fry and Jefferson, “A Map of the Most Inhabited Part 

of Virginia,” published 1755, Library of Congress, digital 

ID g3880xt00370.

21 Felder, 10-13. Colonial governors did not often reside 

in the colonies and left most of the day-to-day governance 

to the lieutenant governors who represented them on 

colonial soil.

22 Felder, 10-13.

23 James R. Mansfi ld, A History of Early Spotsylvania

(Orange, Virginia: Green Publishers, Inc., 1977), 131-135.

24 Felder, 13.

25 Felder, 25; Mansfi ld, 31.

26 Felder, 20.

27 Felder, 30-31.

28 Mansfi ld, 13, 48; Felder, 228-229. A drop in tobacco 

prices beginning in 1728 may also have encouraged largescale plantations to take more land out of cultivation in 

order to help regulate the export commodity’s value. It 

was not until the Virginia Inspection Acts of 1730 that 

European buyers gained enough confi ence in the quality 

of Virginia tobacco for the commodity price to again rise 

and production to be profi able again on a large scale.

29 Avery O. Craven, Soil Exhaustion as a Factor in the 

Agricultural History of Virginia and Maryland, 1606-

1860 (Columbia, South Carolina: University of Southern 

Carolina Press, 2006), 25-72. 

30 Mansfi ld, 134.

31 Felder, 18; Mansfi ld, 131.

32 Noel G. Harrison, Chancellorsville Battlefield Sit s 

(Lynchburg, Virginia: H. E. Howard, 1990), 99. The exact 

location and dates of operation of Raines Ordinary are not 

known. 

33 Mansfi ld, 134; Virginia County Records, Spotsylvania 

County, 1721-1800, http://brittlebooks.library.illinois.

edu/brittlebooks_open/Books2009-09/virghi0001vircou/

virghi0001vircou_ocr.txt (accessed march 27, 2014). No 

additional information was found on the Brock plantation 

at Chancellorsville. 

34 Harrison, 62, 83-84; Pat Sullivan blog, “Spotsylvania 

Memory,” “The Chancellors, Part 1,” March 24, 2012, 

http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2012/03/

chancellors-part-1.html (accessed March 20, 2014). 

Sullivan cites 1745 as the construction date of the tavern/
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

22

house later owned by the Dowdalls, but Harrison does 

not; the attribution to the Dowdall family constructing the 

house is inaccurate based on Harrison’s documentation 

that they bought the property in 1849. 

35 Photograph of Wilderness Church, ca. 1861–65, 

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park 

archives, FRSP 1000R; Robert B. Semple, A History of 

the Rise and Progress of Baptists in Virginia (Richmond, 

Virginia: Pitt & Dickinson Publishers, 1892), 202-204; 

“Wilderness Church, Rebuilt and Rededicated 121 Years 

after Organization,” Fredericksburg Daily Star, September 

10, 1899; “History of the Wilderness Baptist Church, 

Spotsylvania County, Virginia (1778-2009), http://www.

wildernessbaptistchurch.org/history/History %20of%20

the%20Wilderness%20Baptist%20Church.pdf (accessed 

March 19, 2014). 

36 Alexander Spotswood to James Madison, 

October 30, 1794, National Archives, “Founders 

Online,” http://founders.archives.gov/documents/

Madison/01-15-02-0279 (accessed June 3, 2014).

37 Felder, 213.

38 Mansfi ld, 183; Harrison, 55.

39 Spotsylvania County Deed Book “R”, page 518, 

August 31, 1809; Harrison, 184-185. The possibility that 

the Fairview house was built by Bullard is supported by

reference in this deed to a house on the property acquired 

by Richard and Ann (later Chancellor) Pound: Charles 

Bullard sold to Richard Pound for $500.00, “a tract of land 

on the west side of ‘Elly’s Road, now corner to Ludwell 

Lee, south side of Mountain Road [Route 3/Germanna 

Road] to Lee’s, 230 acres with all house, fences, woods, 

ways, waters, watercourses, etc.”

40 “Innovation in Early Settlers’ Houses in Virginia and 

Maryland,” http://www.milaminvirginia.com/Links/

HOUSES/colonial_virginia_and_maryland_houses.html 

(accessed March 14, 2014).

41 Traceries, “Historic Architectural Survey of 

Spotsylvania County Virginia” (Unpublished report, 

1996), 19, on Virginia Department of Historic Resources 

and Spotsylvania County, Virginia Department of 

Planning, http://planninglab2008.files. ordpress.

com/2008/01/hictoric-architectural-suvey-of-spotsy-cova.pdf, 1996) (accessed July 21, 2013). 

42 No period plan is included due to lack of 

documentation on the appearance of the landscape in 

1800.

43 Mansfi ld, 131. 
23 

1. Site History, 1800–1861

The beginning of the 19th century was a time of optimism in the Wilderness and the growing rural community that became known as Chancellorsville. Investors 

experimented with improved roads, a canal on the 

Rappahannock River, and a railroad heading west from 

Fredericksburg, and iron mining made a resurgence in 

the large tracts of woodland. Despite these developments, the Wilderness remained sparsely settled and 

heavily forested—a remote and obscure place in the 

decades before the Civil War. 

ROADS AND RURAL SETTLEMENT

Western expansion during the early 19th century 

encouraged many in the former colonies to abandon 

marginal farms in search of larger and more productive 

lands. Many Spotsylvania farmers sought their fortune 

west of the Appalachians, such as the Maury family 

that left their house and farm off Furnace Road for 

Tennessee in 1810.1

 These new settlements and heavier 

wagons created a demand for improved roads, which 

maintained trade and social ties with earlier populations in Virginia’s long-settled Tidewater. 

One of the earliest improved roads through the 

Wilderness was the Orange Turnpike (current Routes 

3 and 20), a private toll road developed by the Swift 

Run Gap Turnpike Company beginning in 1810 to 

connect Fredericksburg to the Swift Run Gap in the 

Blue Ridge Mountains, via Orange Court House (Orange). The turnpike was designed to replace earlier 

east-west roads referred to as “mountain roads,” 

and followed the old Germanna Road between 

Fredericksburg and the Wilderness Run (fig. 1.15).

The turnpike was completed through the eastern 

Wilderness by ca. 1813 and to Orange Court House 

by 1822, but was never extended to Swift Run Gap, 

and thus became known as the Orange Turnpike. 

The company was authorized to condemn private 

property for construction of the turnpike, which 

straightened earlier road alignments by filli g lowlands 

and bridging streams. A portion of the Germanna Road 

between Elys Ford Road and Bullock Road may have 

been bypassed for the new turnpike, which was built 

on fill ac oss the lowlands of the Ni River headwaters. 

This abandoned alignment was later known as the old 

mountain road. The company also condemned one 

acre south of the turnpike near Elys Ford Road for a 

toll gate, but never built it. It apparently chose a different location to the east, at the crest of a hill just before 

the intersection with Furnace Road (present McLaws 

Drive). By placing the tollgate here, the company could 

charge tolls on traffic eading to Fredericksburg from 

the Catharine Furnace lands. South of the tollgate was a 

small dwelling for the toll keeper.2 

Roads such as the Orange Turnpike served to unite 

rural settlement in the Wilderness and throughout 

Spotsylvania County. The low population density, selfsuffi ent nature of farms and plantations, and limited 

industry did not foster towns or even small cross-road 

hamlets. Instead, development was widely dispersed 

ANTEBELLUM PERIOD, 1800–1861

Figure 1.15. Route of the Orange Turnpike showing relationship to the 

older Baylor’s Mountain Road and Germanna Road as documented on an 

1828 map of Virginia. The current park lands are shown in green. (Detail, 

Herman Boye, “A Map of the State of Virginia,” 1828, corrected in 1859, 

Library of Congress, digital ID g3880ct001508, annotated by SUNY ESF)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

24

along the main roads, with the most prominent places 

at road intersections. As evident on a map of the county 

made around 1820, the countryside outside of Fredericksburg was characterized by scattered taverns, mills, 

and churches, such as Proctor’s Tavern near the site of 

Salem Church, Todd’s Tavern along Brock Road south 

of Chancellorsville, numerous mills along creeks and 

rivers, and residences that also functioned as inns and 

post offices, uch as Gatewood’s (later Dowdall’s) 

Tavern (fig. 1.16)

Rural agricultural properties in Spotsylvania County 

generally included large farms known as plantations, 

and smaller market or subsistence farms (fig. 1.17). The 

plantations, which often had romantic names such as 

Hazel Grove and Forest Hall, were characterized by 

extensive agricultural operations based on slave labor. 

By 1850, 554 plantation owners in Spotsylvania County 

owned nearly 7,500 slaves, with an average of eleven 

slaves per owner. In comparison to the great plantations of the Tidewater and even the eastern parts of 

Spotsylvania County, those in and near the Wilderness 

were modest in size.3

Farm buildings were clustered either close to the 

public road, or set back in the middle of farm fi lds 

and accessed by a private road. The typical Wilderness 

farmhouse of the early 19th century was constructed of 

logs, wood framing, and sometimes brick, with exterior 

end chimneys, a gable roof, and clapboard siding. Outbuildings were often grouped to the side or rear of the 

house, and typically included a kitchen, barn, smoke 

house, dairy, sheds, and in the case of larger farms and 

plantations, slave cabins. Livestock barns were not 

common as farmers generally favored open log stables. 

Trees, which provided shade and blocked winds, were 

planted near buildings, and most farms had an orchard, 

which was often a requirement placed in deeds of sale. 

Figure 1.16. A ca. 1820 map of Spotsylvania County showing major roads and development outside of Fredericksburg, annotated to show 

later antebellum development and current park lands (green areas). (Detail, John Wood and Herman Boye, Map of Spotsylvania County, ca. 

1820, Library of Virginia, digital image 18_0041_002, annotated by SUNY ESF) 
25 

1. Site History, 1800–1861

These core areas of a farm were enclosed by fences 

with an ornamental character, such as whitewashed 

picket fences. Utilitarian wood fences often enclosed 

the surrounding fi lds. These may have included crossand-rail, Virginia stake and rail, or Virginia snake types. 

Most antebellum agriculture in the area involved grain 

and livestock production, with some tobacco. Mainstay 

crops included corn, oats, potatoes, and hay.4

Plantation owners and farmers relied on the Orange 

Turnpike to get their products to markets in Fredericksburg, Culpeper, and other larger towns in the region. 

The turnpike company, however, was not able to 

maintain its road in good condition in the often poorly 

drained and muddy conditions of Spotsylvania County. 

In 1832, the Swift Run Turnpike Company reported, 

“The road extends to Orange court-house (36 1/8 

miles), about 30 of which are in very good order—the 

remaining portion is only tolerable.”5

 

A common practice for travelers on such poorly maintained roads was to bring along a wooden plank to 

give traction to wheels that got stuck in the mud. Such 

use of planks may have led to the idea of covering an 

entire roadbed with wood planks, a practice that began 

in the late 1840s. An improvement on the 18th century 

method of corduroy roads built of unmilled logs, plank 

roads used thick, abutted timbers milled with a fl t top 

surface, and were set on sleepers to keep the timbers 

above wet ground (fig.

1.18). To save costs, the 

road companies often 

covered only half of the 

roadbed in planks, leaving 

half in earth and gravel for 

use as a passing lane.6

The condition of the 

Orange Turnpike apparently continued to 

worsen through the 1840s, 

because by the end of the decade, a new company was 

formed to build a plank road in its place. Incorporated 

in 1850, the Fredericksburg and Valley Plank Road 

Company was chartered by the state to build a plank 

road from Fredericksburg west to the Shenandoah Valley town of Harrisonburg. The company was also authorized to build a spur to Culpeper. According to the 

company’s state charter, these roads were to be constructed with planks at least eight feet wide, on a grade 

not to exceed three degrees, and with toll gates every 

fi e miles. An unpaved way was also maintained next to 

the planked portion of the road.7

 Construction of the 

new roads, completed in 1852, required an enormous 

quantity of timber cut from nearby forests. The cutting 

of the forests for these roads was another chapter in the 

story of clear-cutting that had begun once again with 

revival of the iron industry in the area in the 1830s. By 

Figure 1.17. Sketch of a typical antebellum rural scene in the 

Wilderness showing a small farm along Ely’s Ford Road, above the 

banks of the Rapidan River. (Detail, W. A. Waud, “8th Penn Cavalry, 

crossing at Ely’s Ford,” Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National 

Military Park, FRSP 980)

Figure 1.18. Well-preserved remains of a mid-19th century plank road 

in Illinois similar in character to the Orange Plank Road, showing 

plank roadbed at right and earth bed at left, photographed ca. 1913. 

(Illinois Transportation System Report, 1913, Illinois State Museum)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

26

the 1850s, large tracts of the Wilderness were young 

successional woods characterized by shrub thickets, 

young pine trees, brambles, and vines.

The main plank road, which became known as the 

Orange Plank Road (probably because like its turnpike 

predecessor, it was not completed beyond Orange 

Court House) followed the Orange Turnpike from 

Fredericksburg and turned south a mile and a half past 

Salem Church onto a pre-existing road (current Route 

610) before rejoining the turnpike at the intersection 

with Elys Ford Road at Chancellorsville (fig. 1.19).

The company may have left the straighter alignment of 

the turnpike at this point to keep the plank road at the 

less-than-three percent grade that was stipulated in its 

state charter. At Elys Ford Road in Chancellorsville, the 

plank road rejoined the Orange Turnpike alignment for 

about a mile before turning south at Wilderness Church 

onto the old Baylor’s Mountain Road to Orange Court 

House (current Route 621). A mile and a half beyond 

Wilderness Church on the new plank road was the 

intersection of the company’s Germanna Plank Road, 

which extended north on an entirely new alignment, 

and crossed the Orange Turnpike near Wilderness Run, 

where it continued northwest on the old Germanna 

Road (present Route 3) toward Culpepper across the 

Rapidan River. The Fredericksburg and Valley Plank 

Road Company maintained the Orange Plank Road 

and Germanna Plank Road for at least a decade.8

While the plank roads remained important for local 

traffic, hey were facing increasing competition for 

long-haul traffic om railroads. This competitionalso 

doomed a canal on the Rappahannock River built in 

the 1840s to extend navigation above the Fall Line.9 

Having focused on plank road and canal construction, 

Spotsylvanians invested in railroads too late to reap the 

benefits bei g experienced by neighboring counties. By 

the time the east-west Fredericksburg & Gordonsville 

Railroad Company was incorporated in 1853, other 

nearby lines were well established and the demand 

was not enough to make the new enterprise viable. On 

the eve of the Civil War, there was only the unfini hed 

grade (see fig. 1.19) 10

IRON MINING

Mining became a major part of the Chancellorsville 

community during the antebellum period, a revival of 

the industry that traced back to Alexander Spotswood 

in the early 18th century. Deposits of iron ore and gold 

remained along the gold-pyrite belt, which extended 

southwest to northeast across the Wilderness and north 

of the Rappahannock River. Gold had always been 

Figure 1.19. An 1866 map showing alignment of the Orange Plank Road (highlighted in green) and Germanna Plank Road (highlighted in 

red) in relation to the earlier Orange Turnpike (highlighted in orange). The map also shows the route of the incomplete Fredericksburg & 

Gordonsville Railroad, begun in 1853. (Detail, J. Hotchkiss, “The Battlefields of Virginia, No. 2,” 1866, Library of Congress, digital ID cw0481000, 

annotated by SUNY ESF)
27 

1. Site History, 1800–1861

in demand, but iron ore experienced a large increase 

in demand during the early 19th century for railroads, 

buildings, and domestic goods such as pans and stoves. 

The location of Chancellorsville near to East Coast 

ports, its improved turnpike, and the availability of 

cheap slave labor made mining in the region economically viable by the 1830s. Mining operations involved 

digging surface pits and required timber and water—

both in ample supply in the area—to power the mills 

and furnaces used to process the raw iron ore and goldladen rock. Iron deposits were visible on the surface at 

ore outcroppings known as gossans that were common 

along ravines and eroded hillsides. The exposed raw 

iron of these gossans oxidized, giving the rock a distinctive deep brown or red gloss appearance.11 

By the mid-1830s, there were numerous active iron and 

gold mines in the gold-pyrite belt through the Wilderness (fig. 1.20). ortheast of Chancellorsville near the 

Rappahannock River was the U.S. Mine, a gold mine 

founded in part by Sanford Chancellor, the brother of 

George Chancellor. A ford across the river, as well as a 

road leading north from Chancellorsville, took on the 

name of the mine. Small gold mines or prospects were 

near Dowdall’s Tavern, south of Hazel Grove, off Brock 

Road, and on the Trigg farm. South of Fairview and 

Hazel Grove and northeast of the Chancellorsville Inn 

were iron mines that were operated by the Fredericksburg Iron and Steel Manufacturing Company (Catharine Furnace), which was founded by John Wellford in 

1836. Gold mining slowed in the region in 1848, when 

prospectors headed west during the California Gold 

Rush, and iron mining ceased around the same time 

due to changes in the market.12

THE CHANCELLORSVILLE COMMUNITY

After the turn of the century, settlement on the old 

Spotswood Iron Mine Tract in the eastern Wilderness 

continued following sale of land to former tenants 

and newcomers such as the Lees, Maurys, and Bullards. Soon, the Chancellors, who arrived during the 

fir t decade of the century, would lend their name 

to the community and its most prominent landmark, 

known as the Chancellorsville Inn, or simply, Chancellorsville.13 In addition to being large property owners, 

family members held prominent positions in the community, such as inn keeper, post master, school board 

member, and minister, in addition to owning mines 

and mills. George Chancellor and his wife, Ann Pound, 

Figure 1.20. Map of iron (triangle) and gold (square) mines in Spotsylvania and Orange counties, 1836. This map 

may have been drawn prior to establishment of Catharine Furnace in 1836. (Detail, W. A. Jackson, “Fredericksburg 

and Philadelphia Mining District Map,” 1836, Virginia Historical Society, F221 1836:1, annotated by SUNY ESF)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

28

developed the 800-acre Fairview plantation that included the Chancellorsville Inn. George and Ann’s son 

Melzi established the adjoining plantations of Hazel 

Grove and Locust Grove, the latter of which included 

Dowdall’s Tavern. A fourth Chancellor plantation, 

Forest Hall, was founded by Sanford Chancellor, the 

brother of George Chancellor. The 650-acre plantation 

was located off U.S. Ford Road, northwest of Fairview 

and south of the Rappahannock River.14

While the Chancellors were the dominant landowners 

along the Orange Turnpike, there were other families 

and features that lent their names to place during the 

antebellum period. Along Brock Road was Cooktown, 

Lewis Mill was along Catharpin Road, and Todd’s 

Tavern was along Brock Road south of Chancellorsville. Fredericksburg remained the regional urban 

center where courts and most businesses, schools, and 

churches were located.15

The plantations, farms, and buildings in Chancellorsville were mostly along the main roads, which formed 

the structure of the rural community, along with the 

Catharine Furnace property. This was the largest tract 

in the area, and sprawled across more than 4,000 acres 

south of the Orange Turnpike, from the Orange Plank 

Road (Route 610) on the east to Herndon Road on the 

west, and south to near Catharpin Road. Unlike the 

plantations and farms, its landscape was not structured 

along the public roads, but rather at sites of iron ore, 

water, timber, and other resources necessary for iron 

production.16

Figure 1.21. Map of the Chancellorsville community in the late antebellum period, showing major properties (upper case), smaller farms, 

prominent buildings, main roads, and patterns of fields and fo est. Current park boundaries are shown in orange. (SUNY ESF)
29 

1. Site History, 1800–1861

Orange Turnpike

The Orange Turnpike, built through Chancellorsville in 

ca. 1813, was rebuilt in 1852 between the Chancellorsville Inn and Wilderness Church as the Orange Plank 

Road. This improvement left sections of the turnpike to 

the west and east, subsequently known as the Old Turnpike, unimproved. The entire corridor was the most 

developed part of Chancellorsville, although significa t 

stretches were wooded. Properties along the turnpike 

included the Chancellor family plantations of Fairview, 

Hazel Grove, and Locust Grove, along with a number 

of other farms belonging to the Luckett, Hawkins, Talley, and McGee families (fig. 1.21). ilderness Church 

was one of three Baptist churches along the turnpike 

within Spotsylvania County, along with Zoan Church 

near Old Mine Road and Salem Church closer to 

Fredericksburg (fig. 1.22). These churches were located 

to serve local communities, rather than at set twentymile distances as had been the colonial practice of the 

Church of England.17

Eastern Turnpike Farms

The turnpike’s eastern approach to Chancellorsville 

transitioned from the relative open countryside toward 

the more wooded character of the Wilderness (see 

fig. 1.22). The turnpike here was lined by several small 

farms that created an open corridor that stretched for 

more than a mile west from Zoan Church and Old 

Mine Road. The farms closest to Chancellorsville occupied a crest known as McGee’s Hill, named after the 

farm owned by the McGee family. East of the hill along 

the north side of the turnpike, in the vicinity of the 

present First Day battlefi ld, was the 275-acre farm of 

Reuben McGee, who lived there with fi e family members and a laborer. On the eve of the Civil War, McGee 

managed 100 improved acres, where he raised corn, 

oats, potatoes, and kept two horses, two dairy cos, four 

cattle, and eleven hogs. The house was located 300 

yards east of Lick Run, surrounded by a wattle fence.18

Two of Reuben McGee’s sons established farms nearby, 

probably on the family land. Absalom McGee settled 

with his family on the north side of the turnpike west 

of the main homestead around 1860. Just beyond the 

crest of the hill and close to the road, he built a whitepainted two and one-half story frame house with a 

cellar, with a barn toward the rear side. Little is known 

about A. McGee’s property or his farm operation. Minor roads extended into the pine woods to the north, 

one of which led to the house of his brother, Ebenezer McGee, who owned a sixty-acre tract within the 

woods south of River Road and north of Mott’s Run. 

Ebenezer McGee probably settled with his wife and 

seven children on the property in the mid-1850s, when 

he built a small frame house with a brick chimney. By 

1860, E. McGee’s sixty-acre property had twenty improved acres, and he owned a horse, three dairy cows, 

three cattle and fif een hogs. A lane extended north to 

River Road. 19

 Across the turnpike and east from the Absalom McGee 

house was a small clearing with a little frame house 

on property that was part of the 593-acre Alrich farm, 

Figure 1.22. A Civil War-era map showing location of three Baptist churches along the Orange Turnpike, including Wilderness (1744), Salem 

(1844), and Zoan (1854), and the corridor of small farms on the eastern approach to Chancellorsville. The green areas indicate forest cover, 

and the blue and red dashed lines are US and Confederate lines of defense. (Detail, J. Hotchkiss, “Sketch of the battles of Chancellorsville, 

Salem Church, and Fredericksburg, May 2, 3, and 4, 1863,” Library of Congress, g3884c, annotated by SUNY ESF)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

30

which extended south to the Orange Plank Road. The 

house may have been quarters for Alrich farmhands. 

The house was probably constructed around 1815 as a 

dwelling for the keeper of the Orange Turnpike tollgate that most likely operated at the crest of McGee’s 

Hill until the turnpike ceased business in ca. 1850. Just 

to the west of the clearing was the road to Catharine 

Furnace, and beyond was an extensive tract of woods 

known as the Great Meadow Swamp, at the headwaters 

of the Mott Run (present Nine Mile Run). This swamp 

may have developed from failure of a culvert that carried the creek beneath the turnpike. Judging from its 

name, the area was probably once open, but by 1860 

had become forested.20 

Chancellorsville (Fairview Plantation)

West of the McGee farms and the Great Meadow 

Swamp was the fir t plantation of the Chancellor family 

in the Wilderness, known as Fairview and later called 

Chancellorsville.21 The property had been settled by 

Charles Bullard as a 230-acre farm in 1799. Bullard sold 

the farm to Richard Pound and his wife Nancy (Ann) 

in 1809. The farm had a log house, later known as Fairview, south of Germanna Road (Orange Turnpike) near 

headwaters of the Ni River and a spring. The house 

may have dated back to Raines’ Ordinary that was in 

operation by 1777, or it may have been a newer structure built by Bullard soon after he purchased the property in 1799. Here, the Pounds raised four children.22

In 1811, Richard Pound died, and he was buried to 

the rear (east) of the log house on a small parcel that 

would become the Chancellor family cemetery. He left 

Ann with four young daughters and unpaid obligations 

from his purchase of the property. William Lorman, 

the half-brother of Ann and a wealthy merchant from 

Baltimore, paid off these debts and acquired title to the 

230-acre farm in 1813, providing Ann with a right to life 

estate. That same year, Ann was granted a license for an 

ordinary—an inn or tavern that would take advantage 

of traffic n the new Orange Turnpike, which was just 

being built through the area along the alignment of the 

Germanna Road. Ann may have operated this ordinary, 

the second on the property after Raine’s, from her log 

house.23

Soon after acquiring the 230-acre farm, William Lorman began to purchase surrounding property, which 

would bring the total extent of the family’s holdings to 

854 acres. According to period deeds, the plantation 

extended from an eastern point at the turnpike bordering the McGee farm, north across River Road, west 

along the border of the Bullock plantation, southwest 

along Bullock Road (Old Mine Road), south and east 

along what would later be the Catharine Furnace lands, 

and then east to Mott’s Run and the Great Meadow 

Swamp back to the McGee farm (see fig. 1.21) 24 In 

addition to acquiring this land, Lorman also paid for 

construction of a new brick house (Chancellorsville 

Inn) at the northwest corner of Elys Ford Road and the 

new turnpike as a wedding present to Ann upon her 

marriage in 1814 to George Chancellor. The building, completed by the spring of 1816, was a two-story, 

symmetrical fi e-bay center-hall house with center 

entrances on the front and rear (fig. 1.23). t was the 

largest and grandest house in the area. Here, the couple 

raised fi e children of their own, in addition to the four 

from Ann’s fir t marriage.25

This house served not only as the Chancellors’ home, 

but also as a new location for the ordinary. In March 

1816, George Chancellor paid for an advertisement 

in the Virginia Herald welcoming visitors to his “new 

Figure 1.23. A Civil War-era drawing of the rear (north) side of the 

Chancellorsville Inn annotated to highlight original two-story five

bay center section built by 1816 as a wedding gift from William 

Lorman. At right is an outbuilding. (Detail of Alfred Waud sketch, 

“Scene at Chancellorsville,” Library of Congress, digital Id ppmsca 

19397, annotated by SUNY ESF)
31 

1. Site History, 1800–1861

Brick building, which is large and 

commodious for the entertainment 

of travellors [sic]...it is directly in 

the forks of Eley’s [sic] road and 

the Turnpike...”26 The business 

fl urished, allowing the Chancellors 

to enlarge the house with flan ing 

two-story wings and a two-story 

porch inset across the front of the 

original building, facing the turnpike 

(fig. 1.24). This enlargement, completed around 1825, was followed by 

a two-story kitchen wing built off the 

rear of the east wing, and a small one-story shed-roof 

wing between the kitchen wing and original section. 

The entire house was set on a raised whitewashed brick 

foundation. 

With these last additions, the large house measured 

approximately 106 feet long across the front and sixtytwo feet front to back, and contained twenty-eight 

rooms. Off the right side of the main entrance and center entrance hall was the gentleman’s parlor, and across 

the hall was the ladies’ parlor. The west wing addition 

contained a post office d a family sitting room, and 

the east wing contained the dining room, off of which 

was the kitchen. The inn also included a bar.27

The building’s prominence, both in scale and style, 

refle ted an aesthetic of wealth and comfort associated 

with Southern plantations during the antebellum period.28 In contrast to grander plantations that often had 

their houses set back from public roads and on promontories, the location of the Chancellor house close 

to the road was determined by its intended use for 

turnpike-related commerce, as well as by the relatively 

modest means of its owners. Its surrounding formal 

grounds, enclosed by a white-washed picket fence, 

were not expansive and suggested more of a vernacular 

farmhouse yard or even a village lot, rather than a plantation house. These grounds included a line of elm and 

poplar trees across the front facing the turnpike, and a 

central entrance walk.29 The front two-story porch of 

the inn allowed visitors to gaze across the broad open 

fi lds of the plantation, which extended southwest 

toward the family’s old log house (fig. 1.25). The Chancellors named their plantation Fairview, presumably a 

reference to this view with its serene bucolic landscape 

that contrasted with the surrounding forests and mining operations of the Wilderness.

Outbuildings associated with the Chancellor house 

were sited outside of the ornamental picket fence, on 

the west side of the house and at the rear in an area in 

Virginia plantations typically referred to as the yard. 

Here, they were inconspicuous to approaching visitors. 

Figure 1.24. A painting of the Chancellorsville Inn made by Sue 

Vespasian Chancellor, who grew up in the house, looking northwest 

across the turnpike, ca. 1860. The painting shows the flanking wings 

and front porch built in ca. 1825, and fenced grounds. The rear right 

wing is the kitchen added in ca. 1825. The tall center section is the 

original house. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military 

Park, FRSP 976-7-35)

Figure 1.25. A later photograph of the view across Fairview from 

the site of the Chancellorsville Inn, looking southwest toward 

the Fairview cemetery and Hazel Grove, ca. 1880. This view was 

probably little changed from the antebellum years, except for 

different fences around the fields. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania 

National Military Park, FRSP 1816)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

32

There were at least three gable-roof 

frame outbuildings to the west of the 

house, and another at the rear (fig.

1.26). These buildings and others 

most likely were used as a smoke 

house, storage shed, dairy, blacksmith shop, privies, and barns. The 

yard was enclosed by a white-washed 

fi e-plank fence that extended to Elys 

Ford Road. Cabins for the Chancellors’ roughly twenty slaves were probably located within or just outside the 

yard, at the rear or west side of the house.30

George Chancellor’s death in 1836 left the running 

of the tavern and plantation to his wife Ann and their 

children. Three years later, Ann’s half-brother William 

Lorman, who still held legal title to the 854-acre Fairview plantation, died and the property passed to Ann 

and her children. In the deed transferring the property, 

Lorman reserved the right of his heirs to extract iron 

ore from the property, although there is no record 

that mining took place after this time.31 The inn and 

tavern remained open throughout these changes, and 

its management was taken up by the husbands of two 

Chancellor daughters, beginning with James Chartters 

who took over the business in 1836 following George 

Chancellor’s death. The heyday of the inn continued 

into the 1840s, when a traveler who lodged there described Chancellorsville as “one of the most celebrated 

houses in Virginia.”32 Chartters remained in charge 

until Jacob Appler took over in ca. 1852. That year, Appler advertised in the local paper,

....this well-known Tavern is prepared to accommodate 

all whom business or pleasure may induce to patronize 

him. His table will at all times be provided with the best 

the market affords, and if polite attention to the comfort 

of his guests will avail anything, he pledges himself 

that the house shall not at least lose any of its former 

reputation.33

Appler ran the inn only for a short while. By ca. 1854, 

he left to pursue business opportunities elsewhere, 

beginning a decade of changing ownership at the 

Chancellorsville Inn and rest of the Fairview plantation. Without an adult male heir to claim legal title, the 

family decided to sell the 854-acre plantation to John 

C. Pettus, a postmaster, “excepting one acre of the said 

land lying around the graveyard with the free right of 

way to the same.”34 This was the fence-enclosed Chancellor family cemetery at the rear of the old Fairview 

house. Pettus allowed the Chancellor family to remain 

in residence and operate the inn and plantation. For an 

unknown reason, Pettus sold the property fi e years 

later in 1859 to Dr. Samuel S. Guy, a homeopathic 

physician and resident of Brooklyn, New York who 

intended to keep the inn open. As of the 1860 census, 

Guy lived in the house with his wife Eliza and four 

children who were between the ages of two and eleven. 

Soon after this time, Frances Pound Chancellor, who 

had grown up at Chancellorsville and lived at Forest 

Hall near U.S. Ford, moved with her seven children 

to the Chancellorsville Inn following the death of her 

husband Sanford Chancellor in 1860. Ann Chancellor 

also presumably continued to live at the inn, where she 

operated the tavern until her death in 1861.35

Outside of the Chancellorsville Inn complex, much 

of the Fairview plantation was devoted to agriculture. 

The 300 acres of improved farmland were worked by 

the Chancellor family’s slaves, who in 1860 included 

twenty people overseen in the years prior to the battle 

by James Moxley, who lived with his wife Roberta 

and children at the old Fairview log house. The small, 

one-story house was approximately thirty feet long and 

Figure 1.26. The Chancellorsville Inn looking northwest from near 

the Orange Plank Road showing outbuildings in the yard to the 

west, and another along the Orange Plank Road in the fields to 

the south, 1863. (Detail of sketch by Edwin Forbes, Fredericksburg 

and Spotsylvania National Military Park, FRSP 984)
33 

1. Site History, 1800–1861

twenty feet wide, with three or four rooms and a stone 

chimney. It was within a rectangular fenced yard that 

included a well thirty-fi e yards from the house, an 

outbuilding, and peach orchard in the back. The surrounding fi lds were used in 1860 as pasture for horses, 

cattle, hogs, and sheep, and for growing crops of hay, 

potatoes, wheat, oats, and corn. Small sheds or barns 

were located in the fi lds, including two along the east 

side of the Orange Plank Road, south of the turnpike. 

The fi lds were enclosed by stacked rail fences and bordered by woods that separated the plantation from the 

Bullock plantation to the north and the iron company 

lands to the south. Amounting to nearly 500 acres, forested land constituted the largest part of the Fairview 

plantation.36

Hazel Grove 

As the fir t generation of Chancellor children matured, 

some moved from Fairview to establish plantations 

of their own. Melzi Chancellor, the eldest son of Ann 

and George Chancellor, stayed the closest to home. In 

1837, he married and established a plantation adjoining the west side of Fairview and south of the Orange 

Turnpike, a 292-acre property named Hazel Grove, 

perhaps after the thickets of hazel alder that grew 

along the banks of the Ni River and Lewis Run. To the 

south, the property bordered the Catharine Furnace 

company lands, and to the west was Locust Grove with 

Dowdall’s Tavern. Little is known about agricultural 

operations at Hazel Grove, which Chancellor may have 

managed as part of his adjoining Locust Grove plantation, which included Dowdall’s Tavern that he acquired 

in 1857.37

Melzi Chancellor and his wife had a large family of ten 

children, and in 1860 he owned seven slaves. The family lived in the Hazel Grove house located three-quarters of a mile south of the turnpike on a plain above the 

conflue ce of the Ni River and Lewis Run. The house 

was a frame building, probably constructed when Melzi 

purchased the property in 1837, with a log stable, a 

springhouse, and slave quarters. Melzi Chancellor 

moved from Hazel Grove to Dowdall’s Tavern in 1859. 

After this time, his son George Chancellor probably 

took over the Hazel Grove plantation.38

The entrance lane from the turnpike, Hazel Grove 

Road (present Wilderness Resorts entry road) had two 

forks and extended south to the clearing around the 

house through a narrow corridor in the pine woods—

which one observer in the 1860s described as forming 

a “little canyon.” This was probably a forest of Virginia 

pine, which typically grew on old fi lds. South of the 

Hazel Grove house, a minor road connected to the 

Catharine Furnace. Another road ran northeast from 

the house to the old Fairview house through a long 

clearing (present Hazel Grove-Fairview vista clearing)

that provided a link between the two family plantations.39

At the turnpike entrance to Hazel Grove were three 

buildings in a small clearing. On the east side of the 

lane was a log building that was probably constructed 

by Melzi Chancellor around 1840 as a schoolhouse 

for his children and other children in the community. 

Across the lane were one or two other frame structures 

that may have been built as stables. Around 1860, the 

schoolhouse was converted to a blacksmith shop operated by Cornelius Guard, who may have lived there or 

in the buildings across the lane with his wife and six 

children. They managed ten acres of improved land, 

where they maintained a horse, three dairy cows, three 

cattle, and twenty pigs.40

Locust Grove, Wilderness Church, 

Hawkins and Talley Farms

West of Hazel Grove within the present area of the 

Flank Attack battlefi ld was a large clearing containing 

Wilderness Church, the Hawkins and Talley farms, and 

the plantation Locust Grove, which included Dowdall’s 

Tavern and adjoined the west side of Hazel Grove. 

Melzi Chancellor acquired this 315-acre property, 

which he named Locust Grove, from P. Bower Dowdall 

(also spelled Dowdell), who had purchased the property in 1849, probably from the Gatewood family that 

had owned the property since the 1790s. The Dowdalls 

remained on the property until August 1859, when 

Melzi moved into the house with his family.41
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

34

The Dowdalls had operated a tavern in the house, continuing a business that had been run by the Gatewoods 

as early as 1792. The Dowdalls also maintained a post 

office t the tavern between 1856 and 1859. Despite his 

familiarity with running a tavern from his childhood 

home at the Chancellorsville Inn, Melzi Chancellor 

closed the business and used the house only a residence. The building consisted of the original one and 

one-half story house that existed by 1820 and may have 

been much older (fig. 1.27). t featured a steep gable 

roof and end chimneys, with a taller, twostory addition on the west side that was probably added by Bower Dowdall in ca. 1849 to 

house the tavern. The grounds around the 

house were enclosed by a whitewashed plank 

fence, and were shaded by numerous trees, 

most likely including locust that inspired 

Melzi’s name for the plantation. There were 

at least four outbuildings within this fenced 

area.42

Locust Grove included 150 acres of improved farmland, most of which was south of the 

turnpike but also included fi lds to the north, adjoining Wilderness Church. By 1860, the farm counted two 

horses, two mules, fi e dairy cows, seven cattle, two 

oxen, sixteen sheep, and thirty-two pigs, and produced 

corn, oats, tobacco, wool, Irish potatoes, butter, and hay.43

Across the Orange Turnpike from Dowdall’s 

Tavern was Wilderness Church, a congregation in which Melzi Chancellor had become 

active prior to purchasing Locust Grove. 

Both he and his mother Ann had been longtime members of the Goshen Association, a 

network of Baptist congregations in Virginia that was establishing new churches in 

Spotsylvania County during the fir t half of 

the 19th century. Melzi Chancellor had been ordained 

around 1835, and in ca. 1853, he became minister of 

Wilderness Church, six years before moving across the 

street to Dowdall’s Tavern. 

During his fir t year of ministry, Melzi Chancellor 

oversaw construction of a new building to replace the 

old Wilderness Church that had been constructed prior 

to 1778 as Simpson’s Meeting House. The new building maintained the same site, located on the one-acre 

tract acquired by the church in 1778. The new building, 

which faced south toward the turnpike, was a two and 

one-half story frame building with a gable front containing a fan-light attic window and two entrance doors 

(fig. 1.28). The interior featured balconies where African American were required to worship. The church 

property was enclosed by rail fences and a grove of 

Figure 1.27. Dowdall’s Tavern, the Melzi Chancellor house most likely 

built prior to 1790, looking southwest from the turnpike (Orange 

Plank Road), showing war-torn condition, 1866. Later wings are 

on the right side of the house. Chancellor named the property 

Locust Grove, perhaps a reference to locust trees around the house. 

(Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, FRSP 1076)

Figure 1.28. The second Wilderness Church building constructed 

in ca. 1853, looking northwest from the turnpike (Orange Plank 

Road) showing the surrounding grove of pines and stacked rail 

fence that had been rebuilt after the battle, 1866. The buildings 

in the right distance were constructed after the war by Melzi 

Chancellor. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military 

Park, FRSP 1000R)
35 

1. Site History, 1800–1861

tall pine trees sheltered the building. At the rear of the 

property was a spring.44

Comprising part of the same large clearing as Locust 

Grove and Wilderness Church was a 594-acre farm that 

was the long-time home of the Hawkins family. During 

the 18th century, the property may have been owned 

by the Brock or Simpson family, who in 1774 owned 

the adjoining one-acre property containing Wilderness Church. In 1860, the head of the household at 

the Hawkins Farm was Thomas W. Downer, who lived 

there with his wife, a Hawkins, and several other family members. Downer managed 200 improved acres, 

where he grew corn, oats, and Irish potatoes. The farm 

also included four horses, seven dairy cows, fi e cattle, 

and fif een pigs. The family owned seven slaves.45

The farmstead was located in the middle of the fi lds 

approximately 1,500 feet north of the turnpike and 

northwest of Wilderness Church (fig. 1.29). The farmhouse was a wood one and one-half story building with 

a separate kitchen structure, along with a granary, and 

smokehouse. These buildings were located within a 

rectangular fenced yard that had shade trees, and north 

of the house, an orchard and cemetery. Access was by 

a lane that began as two legs through a small patch of 

woods at the turnpike, where a slave cabin was located. 

The expansive fi lds surrounding the house were 

fenced and irregularly shaped.46

Across the turnpike from the Hawkins Farm 

and west of the Orange Plank Road was the 

Talley Farm, a 126-acre property that was 

occupied in 1860 by James M. Talley, his wife, 

two young children, and another person. The 

family owned one slave. Probably established 

early in the 19th century, this farm by 1860 

had sixty improved acres used for growing 

corn, oats, tobacco, and Irish potatoes. The 

family also kept three horses, two dairy cows, 

and another cow.47

The Talley farmstead was similar in organization to 

Dowdall’s Tavern, but the house was close to the road. 

It featured a fenced rectangular yard that included 

at least four outbuildings and some shade trees. The 

house, probably built at the start of the century, was 

a one and one-half story building of log construction 

with clapboard siding, a side-gable roof, and an exterior 

end chimney on the east side (fig. 1.30). A lower wing 

extended off the west side.48

Luckett Farm

At the far western side of Chancellorsville, about one 

mile west of the Talley and Hawkins farms near the 

intersection of the turnpike with Brock Road, was a 

small farm clearing that was the home in 1860 of John 

F. Powell, his wife, and four children. They probably 

rented the property from Mary Anne Jones. John R. 

Luckett, a farmer and carpenter who was living with 

his wife in rented quarters near Wilderness Church, 

Figure 1.29. A later view of the Hawkins Farm, looking northwest 

from pine-tree enclosed the yard of Wilderness Church, ca. 1880. 

The farmhouse was beneath the tall trees in the center of the 

photograph. This landscape was little changed from the antebellum 

period. (The Albert Kern Collection at Dayton History, K.5.9.337)

Figure 1.30. A later photograph of the Talley farmhouse, looking 

west with the turnpike toward the right, ca. 1900. (Fredericksburg 

and Spotyslvania National Military Park, Museum Collection)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

36

purchased the property from Jones in February 1861. 

The Powells may have remained as tenants of the Lucketts. In 1860, the farm had two dairy cows, two cattle, 

and fi e pigs. The Luckett house was located south 

of the turnpike and a minor road that ran diagonally 

between Brock Road and the turnpike. It was a frame, 

one and one-half story building with a chimney on the 

north side, and at least one outbuilding. The house was 

toward the middle of an unfenced fi ld of perhaps fift 

acres, surrounded by extensive tracts of woods.49

Elys Ford Road and River Road

Elys Ford Road and River Road led northwest and 

northeast from the Chancellorsville intersection. Aside 

from the area around the inn, the roads were sparsely 

settled during the antebellum period, with the Bullock 

Plantation on Elys Ford Road and Decker (Grady) 

Farm along River Road by 1860 (see fig. 1.21).

About a half mile to the north of the turnpike, Elys 

Ford Road intersected Mineral Springs Road, which 

was also known as Old Mine Road. It paralleled the 

Mineral Spring Run, also known as the Mine Run. This 

name came from the iron mines on the banks north of 

the creek that probably dated to the 18th-century operations of Tubal Furnace. The road extended southwest 

to the turnpike through the Bullock Plantation and 

along the boundary of Chancellorsville Plantation. This 

western section of Old Mine Road was also known as 

Bullock Road.

North of Mineral Springs Road, Elys Ford Road 

branched with the road to U.S. Ford, a crossing on the 

Rappahannock established in ca. 1835, close to the site 

of the Tubal Furnace. About three-quarters of a mile to 

the north of the intersection was Kalbach’s Sawmill, a 

lumber mill built prior to 1859. Farther north, U.S. Ford 

Road passed through the plantation of George Chancellor’s brother, Sanford, known as Forest Hall.50

Bullock Plantation (Woodlawn) 

North of the Chancellorsville Inn was the plantation 

owned in 1860 by Oscar Bullock, who lived there with 

four family members. Known at one time as Woodlawn, the 300-acre plantation may have been previously 

owned by the Chandler family. It included an eightyacre oblong clearing along Elys Ford Road extending 

north beyond the intersection with U.S. Ford Road and 

south toward the Chancellorsville Inn. A spring, known 

as Bullock’s Spring, was located in a clearing on the east 

side of the road, south of Mineral Springs Road. Oscar 

Bullock owned fi e slaves and grew corn, oats, tobacco, 

and Irish potatoes. His livestock included a horse, two 

mules, two dairy cows, fi e cattle, two oxen, and twelve 

pigs.51

The Bullock house, described as a “large white house,” 

was built in 1849–50 on a rise in the middle of the farm 

fi lds, approximately 500 feet southwest of the intersection of Bullock Road and Elys Ford Road, and accessed 

by a short lane off the latter. It was a two-story building 

with a side gable roof, clapboard siding, exterior end 

chimneys, and porches on the front and rear (fig. 1.31).

The house was shaded by a grove of trees and probably 

faced east. Outbuildings were to the rear (west) of the 

house and included one “slave house,” a larger gableroof barn, and a smaller barn or shed.52

Decker (Grady) Farm

River Road near Chancellorsville was mostly wooded, 

except for a small farm along the north side of the road, 

over a half mile east of the Chancellorsville Inn. By the 

early 1860s, the property was occupied by the Decker 

or Grady families, and included a house set close to the 

road within a small fenced yard that had two outbuildFigure 1.31. The Bullock Plantation looking southwest across Ely’s 

Ford Road with the house and surrounding trees in the distance, 

1863. (Detail, Alfred R. Waud, “Centre of Our Line of Battle,” Library 

of Congress, digital Id ppmsca 20882)
37 

1. Site History, 1800–1861

ings to the rear. Two small fenced fi lds flan ed the 

yard, and a larger but narrow fi ld extended north 

toward Mineral Spring Run. A minor road, known as 

Horse Pen Road by the early 1860s, extended northeast 

through the woods toward Mineral Spring Road.53

Orange Plank Road and Catharpin Road

The eastern section of the Orange Plank Road (present 

Old Plank Road, Route 610) south of the turnpike was a 

continuation of Elys Ford Road. Improved with a plank 

surface in 1852, it probably followed the alignment of a 

much earlier road along the natural watershed divide. 

Two miles south from the turnpike was the intersection with Catharpin Road, which ran to the southwest 

across the unfini hed railroad and the Ni River toward 

Brock Road. This road was built prior to 1768 and was 

initially called Piney Branch Road; the crossing over the 

Ni River was known as Burbridges Bridge. At the intersection of the Orange Plank Road and Catharpin Road 

was the Alrich farm, and to the east was the Perry farm 

(see fig. 1.21). Pi ey Branch Church and a cluster of 

small farms belonging to the Lewis and Young families 

were along Catharpin Road near the Ni River.54

Alrich and Perry Farms

The Alrich (also spelled Aldrich) Farm was a relatively 

large property of 593 acres that was probably settled at 

the beginning of the century. During the 1820s, it was 

owned by B. Gatewood, who ran a tavern or store there 

known as “New Store.” His relative operated another 

tavern in the area across from Wilderness Church, later 

known as Dowdall’s Tavern. In 1860, John R. Alrich 

was head of the farm and lived there with his wife, two 

children, and a servant. He managed 300 acres of improved land where he grew wheat, corn, oats, and Irish 

potatoes, and kept seven horses, fif een dairy cows, six 

cattle, three sheep, and fourteen pigs.55 

The farmhouse, at the northwest corner of the intersection was a one and one-half story frame building with a 

steep gable roof, front porch, and an interior chimney 

(fig. 1.32). To the south was a board-and-batten building that may have been a barn or store. These buildings 

were within a rectangular yard enclosed by rail and 

picket fences, with an orchard at the rear. Across the 

street on the north side of the plank road were stables 

or barns and a large fenced fi ld.56

To the east of the Alrich Farm was the Perry Farm, a 

200-acre property that had been settled by 1836. In 

1860, Jonathan Perry lived there with his wife Elizabeth 

and two adult family members or employees who had 

one young child, along with a teenage laborer. Perry 

managed sixty acres of improved land, where he kept 

two horses, four dairy cows, two cattle, and fi e pigs, 

and raised wheat, corn, oats, white potatoes, and hay. 

The farm also produced butter and honey. The farmhouse, located on the north side of the road, was purportedly a large building. It was within a fenced yard 

that included an orchard, surrounded by fi lds.57

Young Farm, Piney Branch Church, and Lewis Farms

About a mile south on Catharpin Road from the Alrich 

Farm was a narrow farm clearing extending east from 

the road, north of the Ni River. This was the Young 

Farm, one of two farms owned by free black families 

in the Chancellorsville area, along with the Cook Farm 

on Brock Road. By 1860, the farm was occupied by 

Humphrey and Patsy Young, who had at least seven 

children, the youngest born in 1841.58

About three-quarters of a mile beyond the graded route 

of the unfini hed railroad, Catharpin Road crossed the 

Ni River. Here, the woods gave way to clearings and 

open marshes along the river. On the south side of the 

Figure 1.32. The Alrich house looking northwest from the Orange 

Plank Road, 1866. The outbuilding at left would have been near the 

corner of Cartharpin Road. (Benjamin J. Lossing, Pictorial History of 

the Civil War...Volume III, 1868)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

38

road just beyond the river was Piney Branch Church, 

initially built as an Anglican church in ca. 1768, and 

reorganized as a Baptist church in 1789. It was a frame 

building that was painted yellow, and hence was also 

known as Yellow Church or Little Yellow Church. The 

church was in a large clearing with three farms that belonged to R. Lewis, G. Lewis, and Widow Lewis. These 

were south of the Wellford Plantation and the Catharine Furnace property. The G. Lewis farm included a 

mill along a dammed section of the Cattail Branch of 

the Ni River.59 

Orange Plank Road and Germanna Road 

The western section of the Orange Plank Road (present Route 621) in Chancellorsville, which was built in 

ca. 1725 as Baylor’s Mountain Road and improved with 

a plank surface in 1852, extended through a mostly 

wooded area. Just south of the turnpike was the intersection with an unnamed eastern leg of Brock Road 

(present Herndon Road), which ran due south. A mile 

and half to the south was the terminus of the Germanna Plank Road built in 1852 concurrent with the 

Orange Plank Road, and about a half mile farther west 

was the intersection of Brock Road (western leg). Aside 

from the Talley Farm that fronted on the turnpike, there 

were just three clearings along the road: at the terminus 

of the Germanna Plank Road, at the Hickman (Wolfree) house, and at the Burton Farm (see fig. 1.21).

Hickman (Wolfree) House

The house at the intersection of the Germanna Plank 

Road and the Orange Plank Road was home of Ben 

Hickman during antebellum period. The house was 

close to the south side of the Orange Plank Road and 

included an outbuilding at the rear. Across the street 

was a larger rectangular fenced clearing at the terminus 

of the Germanna Plank Road, with no buildings. The 

house was a toll gate for both plank roads, and thus was 

probably built in 1852 at the same time as the plank 

roads.60

Burton Farm

The Burton Farm occupied a small clearing on a hill 

north of the Orange Plank Road and south of the Lewis 

Run, within a larger 680-acre property that was owned 

by the estate of James Gordon, formerly a resident 

of Abermarle County, Virginia. In 1860, the house 

was home to the Burton and Sorrel families. The rise, 

known as Burton Hill, allowed for expansive views 

north across the Talley Farm and Orange Turnpike 

toward Wilderness Church and the Hawkins Farm. The 

house and an outbuilding were located on the north 

side of the plank road, south and west of the Lewis 

Run. It is unknown whether the property was used for 

farming by 1860.61

Brock Road

Brock Road, laid out in ca. 1722 under Thomas Carr 

as a route to Germanna, was a minor road during 

the antebellum years that extended from the Orange 

Turnpike (Germanna Road) south and east toward 

Spotsylvania Court House (see fig. 1.21) 62 It also had 

an east leg of about two miles in length, later known as 

Herndon Road, that ran north to the plank road and 

turnpike near Dowdall’s Tavern. The name Brock came 

from the Brock Plantation, “Poplar Neck,” and Herndon from the Herndon Plantation farther to the south. 

Like all other roads in Chancellorsville, Brock Road 

passed through woods and scattered farm clearings. 

By 1860s, these belonged to the Cook, Stephens, Trigg, 

and Fitzhugh families. On the east leg (Herndon Road), 

there was one farm clearing belonging to the Carpenter 

family.

Cook Farm

The Cook Farm was a small clearing on the north side 

of Brock Road between the Orange Plank Road on the 

north and the east leg of Brock Road (Herndon Road) 

on the south. The eighty-acre farm was owned during 

the antebellum years by William Cook and Catherine 

Acors, who were free blacks. Cook was born around 

1800, the son of a black father and an English mother. 

He and his wife had at least ten children. The surrounding area became known as Cooktown.63

By the early 1860s, the Cook Farm consisted of a 

roughly rectangular fenced clearing with a small fenced 

yard around the house and barn, set well back from 
39 

1. Site History, 1800–1861

Brock Road. A minor road ran north from the house 

into the woods, where it joined two other woods roads 

that may have been used as mining roads in the adjoining iron company tract. 

Stephens, Trigg, and Fitzhugh Farms

The Stephens and Trigg farms were two adjoining 

properties, probably belonging to the same extended 

family, that formed a relatively large clearing west of 

where Brock Road crossed the Poplar (Brock) Run. 

The unfini hed grade of the Fredericksburg and 

Gordonsville Railroad, built between 1853 and 1857, 

crossed through the center of the clearing. The woods 

west and south of the farms were mined for gold prior 

to 1849.64 

The Stephen and Trigg fi lds were separated from 

Brock Road by woods, except at the railroad crossing. Both farmsteads, which were approximately 200 

feet apart, consisted of a farmhouse and outbuildings 

within small rectangular fenced yards, set well back 

from Brock Road toward the south side of larger fenced 

fi lds that bordered the railroad bed on the south. The 

entrance lanes to both farms ran parallel to one another 

from Brock Road. Other farm roads, which would later 

be incorporated into Jackson Trail West, led from the 

Stephens house north through the woods to Brock 

Road, and another led south from the Trigg farmhouse, 

across the railbed and Poplar Run. To the south were 

fi lds or open wetlands along the Poplar Run.65

In the woods north of the Stephens Farm and south 

of Brock Road along one of the farm roads (present 

Jackson Trail West) was a clearing with a house that 

belonged at one time to the Hawkins family. This may 

have been the eighteenth-century homestead of the 

family that later settled the farm adjacent to Wilderness 

Church. Across the road was a family cemetery.66

South of the Stephens and Trigg farms and west of 

Brock Road was the Fitzhugh farm. It featured a rectangular fenced clearing surrounded by woods on all sides, 

except at the road. The farmhouse was set back and 

accessed by a lane off Brock Road. Pitzer Run coursed 

through the clearing.67

Carpenter Farm

The Carpenter Farm, owned by James and Elizabeth 

Carpenter, was a clearing to either side of the east leg of 

Brock Road (Herndon Road), about a mile and a half 

south of the Orange Turnpike. The farm may have been 

established around 1800; by the 1860s, the Carpenters 

were described as elderly.68

The Carpenter farmhouse was located close to the road 

on the west side, and had at least three outbuildings 

nearby. Unlike most other farms, the buildings were 

apparently not within a fenced yard. Fences extended 

along both sides of the road.69

Catharine Furnace Property 

The largest single property at Chancellorsville during 

the antebellum period was a tract of over 4,000 acres 

south of Fairview and Hazel Grove used for mining 

during the regional revival of the iron industry in the 

1830s and 1840s. Mining on this property was reintroduced by John Spotswood Wellford (also spelled 

Welford), a successful Fredericksburg farmer and merchant named after Alexander Spotswood’s grandson, 

John, a family friend. Wellford had fir t looked into iron 

mining at Chancellorsville in the 1820s, when he tried 

to interest an investor in the large tract, which was then 

up for sale. He wrote in 1823 that the property, which 

abounded with ore close to the surface, was “about 

ten miles on a turnpike road [Orange Turnpike] from 

this place [Fredericksburg] to the land, I understand 

the tract is a large one and for sale, the land is generally very poor and consequently may be purchased 

cheap.”70 

Wellford was not successful in attracting interest until 

more than a decade later, when he partnered with four 

investors to found the Fredericksburg Iron and Steel 

Manufacturing Company, which was chartered by 

the state as a joint stock company on March 21, 1836. 

The state authorized creation of the company “for the 

manufacture of iron, steel and materials of the like 

nature,” with the right to own real estate not to exceed 5,000 acres—an amount refle ting the size of the 

subject tract at Chancellorsville. The total stock of the 
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

40

company to be raised by subscription was authorized 

up to $150,000.71

Within a year, the fi e partners had acquired the entire 

Chancellorsville property: an expansive forested tract 

of 4,648 acres along the Ni River south of Fairview, Hazel Grove, and Locust Grove, and probably extending 

from the Orange Turnpike (Route 3) on the east toward 

the east leg of Brock Road (Herndon Road) on the west 

(see fig. 1.21). The property included the site of the 

Maury house built in ca. 1797, which had been rebuilt 

in brick by the Pulliam family in 1821. At this date, 

the Pulliams owned seventy-nine acres and sixteen 

slaves, twelve cattle, and fi e mules. To the south near 

the conflue ce of the Ni River and Poplar Run was the 

Hull mansion, which may have been part of the 18thcentury Brock Plantation known as Poplar Neck.72 The 

primary access to the furnace property was from a road 

that ran southwest from the Orange Turnpike, across 

the Orange Plank Road, and to the Ni River (fig. 1.33).

This was most likely in part a pre-existing road to the 

Hull mansion and the Maury-Pulliam farm that became 

known as Furnace Road.

John S. Wellford served as manager of the iron company, and within a few years, he and other Wellford family 

members owned the majority of the stock. The Wellfords managed a large workforce consisting of paid employees who served managerial and high-skill positions, 

and at least eighty-six enslaved workers, including 

some who were “hired” seasonally from local farms. In 

addition to working at processing and manufacturing 

iron, company slaves and employees also harvested vast 

amounts of timber and processed it into charcoal to 

fuel the iron furnace. Rough roads throughout the forest were built to connect the mines and timber harvesting sites to the blast 

furnace complex.73

The company may 

have built or maintained other buildings on its property, 

including one near 

the entrance along 

Furnace Road west 

of the Orange Plank 

Road, and another 

building north the 

railroad, between 

the furnace and 

Brock (Herndon) 

Road.74

The complex of iron smelting and manufacturing 

works was sited beneath a bluff on the west side of 

the Ni River, along Furnace Road one mile from the 

turnpike and central to the iron mines in the surrounding woods (fig. 1.34). The main part of the complex 

was a stone blast furnace named after John Wellford’s 

mother, Catharine, that measured 36 feet tall and 30 

feet square at the base. In March 1837, the Catharine 

Furnace began operation. The main buildings surrounding the furnace on the lower level of the complex 

included a coal (charcoal) house partly built of stone 

that measured 30 feet wide and 100 feet long; an engine 

house measuring 20 feet wide and 70 feet long, containFigure 1.33. A Civil War-era map of the eastern part of the iron 

company property showing the Wellford Plantation and Catharine 

Furnace established in ca. 1837 along the Ni River south of Hazel 

Grove. The uncolored areas east of the Wellford Plantation were 

probably forested. (Detail, J. Hotchkiss , “Sketch of the battles 

of Chancellorsville, Salem Church, and Fredericksburg, May 2, 3, 

and 4, 1863,” Library of Congress, digital Id g3884c, annotated by 

SUNY ESF) 
41 

1. Site History, 1800–1861

ing a 14 horse-power suction engine used to force air 

into the furnace; a casting house for the manufacture 

of iron goods, which measured 30 feet wide and 50 feet 

long with sheds on each side; and a bridge house that 

connected the lower buildings with the building on top 

of the bluff. Smaller buildings included a ball house, 

pattern house, smoke house, and a blacksmith shop. On 

top of the bluff were an office d large boarding house 

for workers. Horses, mules, wagons, 

carts, piles of raw ore, and stacks of 

pig iron refi ed from the blast process 

also characterized the complex.75

Iron ore for the Catharine Furnace 

was extracted from open pit surface 

mines typically with pick axes, and 

hauled back on mule-drawn carts to 

the blast furnace for processing. The 

early mines, which reached depths 

upwards of 20 feet, were located 

primarily within a quarter mile of 

the furnace. As these pits became 

depleted, ore was obtained from 

more distant portions of the 4,648-

acre tract, and even from lands 

of neighboring farmers. Charcoal 

production occurred at timber harvesting sites throughout the property. Such harvesting 

required clearing of an estimated 300 to 400 acres of 

forest per year. Wood was typically stacked near where 

it was harvested in circular patterns with open space 

in the middle that created a chimney as the wood was 

prepared for the slow burning process that produced 

charcoal. The long-lingering smoke of these fi es was 

most likely familiar to residents throughout Chancellorsville. Within a short time, these forest clearings 

regenerated with dense successional vegetation that 

included pioneer tree species such as Virginia pine, 

poplar, and red-cedar (fig. 1.35) 76

The Wellfords maintained their primary residence in 

Fredericksburg, but lived on the mine property when 

the furnace was in operation. Their Chancellorsville 

house, located near the conflue ce of the Poplar Run 

and Ni River south of the Catharine Furnace, was built 

in 1838 on or near the site of the Hull mansion, which 

may have been part of the 18th-century Brock Plantation. The new house, which may have incorporated 

part of the old mansion, was two stories and built of 

brick, with eight rooms, a kitchen, and offices (fi

1.36, see also fig. 1.33). earby was another house for 

servants, along with at least seven other outbuildings, 

including a spring house and stables that could accomFigure 1.34. Conjectured appearance of the Catharine Furnace 

(structure with stack in center) and other buildings of the iron 

processing and manufacturing complex, looking west showing 

relationship to the bluff. This rendering may illustrate changes made 

during the Civil War after 1861. The furnace stack was originally a 

truncated pyramid; the rendering shows only the hardened masonry 

core. (Stuart M. Barnette drawing, Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania 

National Military Park, FRSP 2539)

Figure 1.35. Second-growth woods along Brock Road at an unidentified location showing 

dense character typical after a decade and more of successional growth, photographed ca. 

1890. These conditions were characteristic of many wooded areas of Chancellorsville that 

had been harvested for charcoal production during the antebellum period. (Fredericksburg 

and Spotsylvania National Military Park, FRSP 672)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

42

modate forty to fift horses. The house was part of an 

agricultural plantation that included approximately 600 

improved acres within the furnace company property. 

Here, John Wellford grew crops and raised livestock 

that provided food for his family, enslaved workers, and 

employees. Such provisions were typical of the plantation economy and necessary given the remote location 

of the furnace.77

The Fredericksburg Iron and Steel Manufacturing 

Company was active for a decade following its fir t successful production in early 1837. The company sold its 

pig iron to a number of other iron manufacturers in the 

state, as well as to outlets in New York, Boston, Providence, and South Carolina. Although its trade in pig 

iron and manufactured goods was steady, the company 

was not profi able, so John Wellford looked to federal government contracts to bolster the company. In 

September 1841, he signed a contract with the Navy to 

deliver 70,000 rounds of 32-pound shot, and another in 

1843, thus securing a steady stream of revenue that accounted for nearly all of the company’s business by this 

time. Wellford signed other contracts between 1844 

and 1846 to produce artillery shells for the Army. With 

the outbreak of the Mexican War in 1846, the Navy 

was negotiating major contracts with the company, but 

they were never signed due to the sudden 

death of John Wellford in December 1846. 

The company completed remaining orders for 

the Army and Navy by March 1847, and then 

William Wellford decided to suspend further 

operations at the furnace.78

By June 1847, William Wellford and the other 

owners of the company put the 4,648-acre 

property, including the furnace and plantation, up for auction. No buyers bid on the 

property, nor at a subsequent auction in 

December 1847. By 1852, efforts were still 

underway to sell the property, but to no 

avail. The Wellford family kept its majority interest and 

maintained the plantation, but the furnace complex 

stayed shuttered. The Wellford house by this date was 

occupied by James Diggs and his family, who most 

likely served as caretakers for the entire property. He 

managed four horses, six mules, six dairy cows, nine 

cattle, six oxen, twenty-three sheep, and nineteen hogs 

on the plantation, and raised wheat, corn, and oats. 

Despite its idle state, the works were considered significant enough to be included in an 1859 guide to Virginia 

ironworks, which noted: “Catharine Steam Charcoal 

Furnace, owned by J. S. Wellford’s heirs and others...

stands where the Fredericksburg and Valley Plank Road 

[Orange Plank Road] crosses the Nye [sic] River...

was built about 1837 and abandoned in 1846 [sic], the 

hematite ores used were from three banks within a halfmile of the furnace.”79 

LANDSCAPE OVERVIEW, 1861 (DRAWING 1.1)

By 1861, the landscape in and around the future Chancellorsville battlefi ld park was a patchwork of modest 

plantations and farms, road corridors, and extensive 

tracts of woods. Much of these woods was characterized by dense successional growth that grew back in the 

wake of failed agriculture uses, timber harvesting for 

fuel and road building, and mining operations. 

Although remote and sparsely settled, the Chancellorsville community occupied an important crossroads 

where the Orange Turnpike (Route 3) and Orange 

Figure 1.36. Distant view of the Wellford house built in 1838, looking 

south along the entrance road later known as Jackson’s Trail, ca. 

1935. The post and wire fence dates to after the Civil War. The gate 

in the foreground most likely marks the entrance to the plantation 

just south of the railroad crossing. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania 

National Military Park, FRSP 883a)
43 

1. Site History, 1800–1861

Plank Road (Routes 610 and 621)converged, roughly 

halfway between the major cities of Washington to the 

north and Richmond to the south. The turnpike formed 

the main corridor and core of the community, along 

which were the three Chancellor family plantations, 

Wilderness Church, and two taverns. The name of the 

church refle ted the original name of the community 

that still persisted into the mid-19th century.

The area south of the turnpike and plank road was a 

less developed area than the turnpike corridor, with 

smaller farm openings in the woods and the expansive 

acreage of the Catharine Furnace company. A feature 

that cut across the natural topography and roadside 

settlement patterns was the unfini hed grade of the 

Fredericksburg & Gordonsville Railroad, which ran 

through farm clearings and a corridor within the woods 

south of Chancellorsville. 

Natural Systems and Features

In 1861, natural systems and features within Chancellorsville battlefi ld consisted of natural geology and 

landforms, streams, and woods. During the antebellum period, there were changes to the geology and 

landforms through mining that extracted iron and gold 

deposits, and building of the Orange Turnpike, Orange 

Plank Road, and Fredericksburg & Gordonsville Railroad. The streams in the area, the largest of which were 

the Ni River, Poplar Run, Big Hunting Run, Mineral 

Spring Run, and Mott’s Run, remained little changed 

in course. Just one creek, the Cattail Branch of the Ni 

River on the Lewis farm off Catharpin Road south of 

the park, was dammed to create a millpond. Building of 

the Orange Turnpike in 1813 may have led to creation 

of the Great Meadow Swamp by restricting the outfl w 

of a tributary of Mott’s Run. 

The woods of Chancellorsville underwent the greatest change of any natural systems during this period. 

Dense pine woods, such as south of the turnpike at 

the entrance to Hazel Grove, grew on abandoned 

fi lds and were dominated by Virginia pine, a common successional species. Large swaths of the woods 

to the south had been logged to produce charcoal to 

power the Catharine Furnace during its active years 

between 1837 and 1847, but by 1861, these areas were 

most likely dense with young pioneer tree species such 

as Virginia pine, poplar, and Eastern red-cedar. The 

extent of these areas of second growth is not known, 

but if the Catharine Furnace was consuming timber 

across 300 to 400 acres per year, it is likely that an area 

upwards of 3,500 acres south of Fairview and Hazel 

Grove had been cleared between 1837 and 1847. Many 

other acres may have been cleared for construction 

of the plank roads during the 1850s, and farmers and 

plantation owners certainly harvested timber on their 

property for fuel and fence building. 

Spatial Organization

In 1861, the spatial character of the Chancellorsville 

battlefi ld landscape was defi ed by patterns of woods, 

farm fi lds, and road corridors. Some openings may 

have also occurred naturally as marshes along larger 

streams. By 1861, approximately three-quarters of the 

landscape was forested.

The farm clearings occurred along public roads, either 

as individual fi lds, or clustered with adjoining farms to 

form larger clearings. They ranged from approximately 

100 acres to 500 acres in extent. In 1861, the largest 

clearing was created by Locust Grove and the Hawkins 

and Talley farms at the intersection of the turnpike and 

plank road surrounding Wilderness Church, followed 

by the clearings of Fairview and Hazel Grove, and the 

Stephens and Trigg farms along Brock Road. There was 

also a large opening along the Ni River containing the 

Catharine Furnace and Wellford plantation, known as 

Furnace Hollow. By 1861, forest clearings made as part 

of mining operations for the Catharine Furnace had 

probably disappeared through successional growth. 

Most of the farms in Chancellorsville contained a yard 

surrounding the farmhouse that was enclosed by a 

fence and encompassed outbuildings and an orchard. 

Surrounding the yards were farm fi lds, defi ed either 

by fences along the roads or between individual fi lds, 

or by surrounding woods. 
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

44

The Chancellorsville Inn had the most developed 

spatial organization of the domestic yards. It featured 

an inner rectangular space surrounding the inn that 

defi ed formal and ornamental grounds. The space was 

set apart from the turnpike by a row of trees. Surrounding this area was the utilitarian yard with the outbuildings and slave cabins. A row of trees separated this yard 

from the open fi ld to the west. 

Wilderness Church, set amid the open fi lds of the 

Hawkins farm, was defi ed by a one-acre fenceenclosed church yard. The yard was open, except in 

the rear and sides of the church building, which were 

enclosed by a grove of tall pine trees. 

Land Use

Throughout the antebellum period, agriculture and 

residential were the dominant land uses in the Chancellorsville battlefi ld landscape, followed by commerce, 

industry (iron mining, mills), and religion (Wilderness 

Church). These all relied in part on access provided by 

the Orange Turnpike and Orange Plank Road. A railroad planned to connect Fredericksburg and Gordonsville (near Orange Court House) was begun, but never 

completed, and thus did not spur changes in land use 

during this period. 

Circulation

In 1861, the primary circulation through Chancellorsville was the Orange Plank Road, which featured an 

eight-foot wide timber-paved surface with an unpaved 

way parallel to it. The Germanna Plank Road (also 

known as the Culpeper Plank Road), built by the same 

company, ran northeast toward Wilderness Tavern. 

In 1861, the Fredericksburg and Valley Plank Road 

Company was still in business. It may have maintained 

a tollgate at or near the Hickman (Wolfree) house at 

the southern terminus of the Germanna Plank Road on 

the Orange Plank Road. An earlier tollgate maintained 

by the turnpike company on McGee’s Hill east of the 

Chancellorsville Inn and new plank road was probably 

abandoned after the company ceased business in ca. 

1850.

By 1861, the unplanked sections of the Orange Turnpike east of the Chancellorsville Inn and west of Wilderness Church were known as the “old turnpike” and 

were still important transportation routes, but had lost 

much use when the Catharine Furnace had ceased in 

the 1840s. The Fredericksburg & Gordonsville Railroad, begun in 1852, probably gave hope for improved 

transportation of heavy goods such as iron, but it remained just a cleared corridor in 1857, without bridges 

across the Ni River or other major crossings. 

In the woods west of the Chancellorsville Inn and 

north of the Orange Plank Road (turnpike) was a section of old road that may have been a remnant of the 

old Germanna Road that was bypassed with construction of the Orange Turnpike across the lowlands at the 

headwaters of the Ni River in 1813. This road was referred to by local residents as the “old mountain road,” 

apparently a name used for several roads heading west 

to the Blue Ridge Mountains. 

Chancellorsville was crossed by a number of secondary 

roads heading north and south. These were all narrow, 

unpaved roads that wound along high ground, with 

small bridges or fords across streams. Furnace Road 

used to carry heavy traffic om the Catharine Furnace 

when it was in operation between 1836 and 1847, but 

was probably little used by 1861 except to provide access to the Wellford family’s plantation. Former mining 

roads—abandoned for mining purposes for at least 

fourteen years by 1861—extended from the furnace 

and plantation into the surrounding woods. The number and extent of these roads is not known.81 

Topography

Conspicuous built changes to the natural landform 

of the Chancellorsville battlefi ld landscape in 1861 

included the raised embankments of the Orange 

Turnpike, Orange Plank Road, and unfini hed Fredericksburg & Gordonsville Railroad. Examples of these 

embankments or causeways included the stretch of the 

turnpike across the headwaters of Mott’s Run east of 

the Chancellorsville Inn and the headwaters of the Ni 

River to the west. The railroad grade featured a high 

causeway—upwards of 10 feet—where the railroad 
45 

1. Site History, 1800–1861

crossed the lowlands of the Ni River north of the Wellford plantation. 

Iron mining resulted in topographic changes to the 

land, primarily along the sides of ravines and valleys 

where iron outcroppings occurred. The open pit mines 

created large depressions in the earth upwards of 20 

feet deep. By 1861, these mines had been abandoned 

for between fourteen and twenty four years. Most were 

probably concealed by dense successional growth. 

Vegetation

Most managed vegetation in the Chancellorsville 

battlefi ld landscape by 1861 was related to agriculture. 

Dominant crops included grains such as corn, wheat, 

and oats, with lesser amounts of potatoes, hay, and 

tobacco. Pastures were maintained for grazing livestock. A number of farms, such as those belonging to 

the Hawkins, Alrich, Perry, and McGee families, along 

with the Chancellors at the Fairview plantation, had 

orchards, including peach and apple. Each farm also 

had a garden for production of vegetables for domestic 

consumption. Given the relatively small extent of farm 

fi lds, hedgerows were not common. Scattered individual trees were found in some of the fi lds, such as at 

Fairview, and along roads.

The Chancellorsville Inn featured ornamental grounds 

in the inner yard surrounding the house, with turf 

and a row of trees inside the picket fence, and another 

outside along the turnpike. The inner row consisted of 

American elms and poplars, which had whitewashed 

trunks to a height equal to the white-washed brick 

foundation of the inn.82 There were no shrubs along 

the foundation. Around farmhouses, shade trees were 

common and may have included specimen oak, poplar, 

elm, and locust. Hazel—perhaps hazel alder, a small 

shrub often found along stream banks in the area—was 

presumably Melzi Chancellor’s inspiration for naming his plantation Hazel Grove, while locust—black 

locust or honey locust trees found on old fi lds or near 

streams—were his inspiration for naming the Dowdall 

farm Locust Grove. 

Wilderness Church featured a grove of mature pine 

trees, probably Virginia pines, around the sides and 

rear of the building. These may have dated back to the 

eighteenth century, perhaps from old-fi ld succession 

on former tobacco fi lds. They most likely functioned 

as a windbreak, and perhaps were also valued for religious symbolism of life everlasting. 

Buildings and Structures

The majority of buildings within the Chancellorsville 

battlefi ld landscape by 1861 were associated with agriculture. Most houses had been constructed since 1800, 

except for Dowdall’s Tavern (Locust Grove, rebuilt by 

1820), the Hull mansion (site of the Wellford house), 

the Maury house, and the old Fairview log house, 

among a few others. The Alrich house on Orange Plank 

Road and the Talley house on the turnpike also refle ted eighteenth-century building traditions.83

Farm houses were generally close to the road, one or 

one-and-one-half stories tall with steep gable roofs, and 

often with additions and wings. The earliest buildings 

used log construction that was protected by painted 

weatherboard (clapboards); only three known houses 

at Chancellorsville were of brick—the Chancellorsville 

Inn (ca. 1816), the Pulliam house that replaced the 

Maury house in 1821, and the Wellford house (1838). 

Chimneys were brick and located outside of the wall 

in typical Southern fashion to keep excess heat out of 

the house. Outbuildings were exposed log or frame 

construction, and generally located at the rear or sides 

of the main house. They may have included kitchens, 

dairies, smoke houses, and storehouses. Plantations 

and farms with slaves had separate living quarters for 

them, known as slave cabins or slave houses. Some 

properties, such as the Wellford plantation also contained a spring house that was used for water supply 

and refrigeration. 

The largest and most prominent building was the 

Chancellorsville Inn, built in 1816 and expanded with 

side wings and a rear kitchen wing between ca. 1825 

and 1830. The Wellford house, at a full two stories in 

height, was also relatively large, although it was in a 

less conspicuous location. Wilderness Church, which 
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

46

was rebuilt in 1853, was the second most prominent 

building at Chancellorsville, with its gable front facing 

the Orange Turnpike, fan-light window, two entrance 

doors, and a balcony level. There were also large buildings in the Catharine Furnace complex along the Ni 

River, but these were well out of view from the public 

roads. This complex included approximately ten buildings, the largest of which was 100 feet long (slightly less 

than the Chancellorsville Inn, which measured 106 feet 

across its front), but only one story tall. 

Views and Vistas

The primary views and vistas in the antebellum Chancellorsville battlefi ld landscape were along the cleared 

corridors of the turnpike, plank roads, and unfini hed 

railroad grade. Secondary roads, such as Brock Road, 

Elys Ford Road, and Catharpin Road also allowed 

for vistas, but they were limited due to the winding 

alignment of the roads that would have lent a sense of 

mystery and isolation. Where roads passed farm clearings, the narrow vistas opened to broader prospects 

across the agricultural fi lds. Such views were probably a welcome feature in the heavily wooded region. 

One of the most notable of these views was from the 

Chancellorsville Inn looking southwest across the 

plantation’s fi lds toward Hazel Grove. This view took 

in not only the broad sweep of open fi lds, but also the 

outline of low hills in the distance. It was this view that 

probably lent the plantation its name, Fairview. Many 

of the other farmhouses at Chancellorsville enjoyed 

similar respite from the enclosure of the forest due to 

their upland location, which afforded views across the 

surrounding fi lds. One of these included the top of 

Burton’s Hill along the Orange Plank Road, from where 

there were views north across the farms surrounding 

Wilderness Church.

Small-Scale Features

The dominant small-scale features in the Chancellorsville battlefi ld landscape in 1861 were fences that 

enclosed farm fi lds and house yards. Fences were typically unmilled rails or logs, including stacked cross and 

rail fences (stacked rails supported by diagonal stakes), 

Virginia stake and rail (vertical stake supporting stacked 

rails), Virginia snake fence (stacked rails in a zig-zag 

pattern), and wattle (interwoven branches). The yards 

around the farmhouses and outbuildings often had a 

more ornamental fence, either of planks or pickets that 

were whitewashed. The Fairview cemetery was enclosed by a white picket fence.

Little record survives of small-scale features within the 

yards surrounding farmhouses and other buildings at 

Chancellorsville, but may have included such things 

as benches, hitching posts, and pumps. The Chancellorsville Inn had a pump well near the entrance gate. 

Another well may have existed to the north of the inn, 

and the Fairview house also had a well.

The iron processing and manufacturing complex at the 

Catharine Furnace had numerous small-scale features 

during its active years between 1837 and 1847, not 

limited to stacks of iron pig, piles of raw iron ore, wagons, shovels, etc. Most of these features may have been 

removed after the iron manufacturing works closed. 

Archeological Sites

Archeological sites within the Chancellorsville battlefi ld landscape at the end of the antebellum period 

were mostly related to mining operations from the 

Catharine Furnace. Abandoned mine pits were along 

the iron banks south of the Miner Springs Run, and 

northwest of the Catharine Furnace, along with many 

other undetermined locations. There were burials in 

the Chancellor family cemetery near the old Fairview 

house dating back to 1812, with the most recent grave 

for Sanford Chancellor, who died in 1860. 
47 

1. Site History, 1800–1861

ENDNOTES, 1800–1861

1 Noel G. Harrison, “Gazetteer of Historic Sites Related 

to the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military 

Park, Volume I” (Unpublished National Park Service 

report, 1986), 208. 

2 Ralph Happel, “A History of the Fredericksburg and 

Spotsylvania County Battlefi lds Memorial National 

Military Park” (Unpublished National Park Service report, 

1955), 15; Seventeenth Annual Report...of the Board of 

Public Works to the General Assembly of Virginia, January 

17, 1833 (Richmond: Samuel Shepherd & Co., 1833), 68; 

William Knox (as agent for the Swift Run Gap Turnpike 

Co.), to William Lorman, “1 acre south of the Turnpike...

being the same land that was condemned pursuant to 

the provisions of the Swift Run Turnpike Company for 

the purpose of erecting a toll house...” cited in John 

Milner Associates, Inc. and HNTB, “Draft Cultural 

Landscape Assessments Sunken Road, Salem Church, 

Chancellorsville Inn” (Unpublished report prepared 

for the National Park Service, February 26, 2004), 

Appendix I; Noel Harrison, Chancellorsville Battlefield

Sites (Lynchburg, Virginia: H. E. Howard, 1990), “Newton 

House,” 28.

3 Candice Roland, “Agricultural Context for the 

Rappahannock River Valley, 1860-1900” (unpublished 

online paper), 3, http://www.candiceroland.org/wpcontent/uploads/2013/10/agricultural-context-corrected.

pdf3 (accessed November 4, 2014).

4 Harrison, Gazetteer, description of farm properties; 

Nathaniel Michler, “Map of Chancellorsville Battlefi ld,” 

1867, Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military 

Park archives [hereafter, FRSP archives], showing 

arrangement of farm buildings, fences, and orchards; Eric 

Sloan, Our Vanishing Landscape (New York: Ballantine 

Books, 1955), 30.

5 Seventeenth Annual Report...of the Board of Public 

Works, 1833, 68.

6 Sloan, 84-85; Virginia Department of Transportation 

http://www.virginiadot.org/about/resources/historyofrds.

pdf (accessed July 2013).

7 “An Act to incorporate the Fredericksburg and Valley 

plank road company,” Acts of the General Assembly of 

Virginia...1849 & 1850 (Richmond: Ritchie, 1850), 77.

8 “An Act to incorporate the Fredericksburg and Valley 

plank road company,” 77; Happel, 15-16; “Fredericksburg 

and Valley Plank Road Company Records, 1850-1862,” 

OCLC number 86147512. The company ceased operating 

in 1862. 

9 Ralph Happel, “The Chancellors of Chancellorsville,” 

The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, 

1963, online version, 150th Wilderness & Spotsylvania 

Courthouse website, http://www.150spotsylvania.com/

assets/chancellors-of-chancellorsville.pdf (accessed July 

21, 2013), 1.

10 Happel, “A History,” 16.

11 John T. Lonsdale, “Geology of the Gold-Pyrite Belt 

of the Northeastern Piedmont Virginia” (PhD diss., 

University of Virginia, 1927).

12 Harrison, Gazetteer, 216-224; “Gold in Virginia,” 

Virginia Division of Mineral Resources Publication 19

(Charlottesville, 1980), 45; “Henry Ford Buys Vaucluse 

Gold Mine,” Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, August 24, 

1929, 1; Sean P. Adams, “Iron from the Wilderness: The 

History of Virginia’s Catharine Furnace” (Unpublished 

National Park Service report, Northeast Region History 

Program, 2011), 7. Some Spotsylvania gold mines 

continued to operate until the late 19th century. John T. 

Lonsdale, “Geology of the Gold-Pyrite Belt.”

13 The use of the name “Chancellorsville” for the 

house is documented in deeds for the property from the 

1850s and early 1860s, reproduced in Daniel Crozier, 

“Archaeological Investigation and Stabilization of the 

Chancellorsville Inn” (Unpublished report prepared 

for the National Park Service, Temple University, 1979), 

212-224. An 1839 deed, for example, states: “all that 

certain tract or parcel of land on which the tavern called 

Chancellorsville stands...”

14 Pat Sullivan, “The Chancellors, Part I,” “Spotsylvania 

Memory” blog, http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.

com/2012/03/chancellors-part-1.html (accessed October 

31, 2014).

15 The actual antebellum limits of the Chancellorsville 

community and other places in the area remains 

unknown, since there was no correlation to political, 

postal, or school district boundaries.

16 “Draft Cultural Landscape Assessments Sunken 

Road, Salem Church, Chancellorsville Inn,” Appendix A; 

Harrison, Gazetteer; Michler, Map of Chancellorsville 

Battlefi ld, 1867.

17 Eric Mink, comments on fir t CLR draft, August 15, 

2014.

18 Harrison, Chancellorsville Battlefield Sites, 49.

19 Harrison, Chancellorsville Battlefield Sit s, 46-50; 

Michler, Map of Chancellorsville Battlefi ld, 1867.

20 Harrison, Chancellorsville Battlefield Sit s, 28-29; 

Michler, Map of Chancellorsville Battlefi ld, 1867; “Map 

of the Battle of Chancellorsville, Saturday, May 2nd 1863,” 

ca. 1870, Library of Congress, map G3884C36S5.

21 Harrison, Chancellorsville Battlefield Sit s, 99. The 

earliest found reference to the 852-acre Chancellor 

plantation being called “Chancellorsville” is in an 1859 

deed from John C. Pettus to Samuel S. Guy, in Cozier, 221.

22 Spotsylvania County Deed Book “R” , page 518- 

August 31, 1809; Harrison, 184-185. Charles Bullard sold 

to Richard Pound for $500.00, “a tract of land on the 

west side of ‘Elly’s’ Road, now corner to Ludwell Lee, 

south side of Mountain Road [Orange Turnpike] to Lee’s, 
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

48

230 acres with all house, fences, woods, ways, waters, 

watercourses, etc.”

23 Harrison, Gazetteer, 184; Indenture, John M. Herndon 

and William Lorman, September 27, 1813, in Crozier, 207.

24 Deed, William Lorman to Ann and Frances Chancellor 

et al, March 9, 1839, in Crozier, 212. This same deed 

description is found in subsequent property deeds into the 

early 20th century.

25 Harrison, Gazetteer, 195; Happel, “The Chancellors 

of Chancellorsville,” 2; Crozier, 2-3, figu e 96, 193; 

recollection of Mrs. Vespasian Chancellor, in Stuart M. 

Barnette, “The Ruins of Chancellorsville Inn, A Narrative 

Description of How the Investigation was Conducted 

in the Year 1935” (Unpublished report prepared for the 

National Park Service, 1975), 2. No documentation of the 

property additions after 1809 have been found; the earliest 

documentation of the property being 842 acres is in an 

1839 indenture, in Crozier, 212.

26 Virginia Herald, March 6, 1816, quoted in Crozier, 2.

27 Recollection of Sue Chancellor Vespasian, July 9, 1935, 

transcript in Barnette. 

28 John Michael Vlach, Back of the Big House, The 

Architecture of Plantation Slavery (Chapel Hill: University 

of North Carolina Press, 1993), 5.

29 Post-war photograph of ruined house showing lines 

of trees that appear to include elms and poplars, FRSP 

3110R.

30 No documentation was found on outbuildings 

associated with the Chancellorsville Inn aside from those 

pictured in battle-period sketches and paintings. 

31 Deed, William Lorman to Ann Chancellor, 

Spotsylvania County land records, book KK, page 12, 

March 9 1839 (reserves Iron ore).

32 Harrison, Chancellorsville Battlefield Sit s, 16. 

33 Fredericksburg News, January 9, 1852 (circa), cited in 

Crozier, 6.

34 Spotsylvania County deed book PP, page 560, 

September 22, 1854, cited in King to John A. Jamison, May 

18,1967, park historian’s files, FR P archives; Record for 

John C Pettus, US Appointments of US Postmasters, 1832-

1971, ancestry.com (accessed November 5, 2014).

35 1860 census figu es, in Harrison, Gazetteer, 195; 

Crozier, 6; “Draft Cultural Landscape Assessments Sunken 

Road, Salem Church, Chancellorsville Inn,” 34; “List 

of Members of the American Institute of Homeopathy 

Residing in the State of New York,” Documents of the 

Senate of the State of New York (Albany: Argus Company, 

1870), 774; Harrison, Chancellorsville Battlefield Sit s, 99.

36 Harrison, Chancellorsville Battlefield Sit s, 99; Harrison, 

Gazetteer, 195-198; Vlach, 33-34; Crozier, 5; Edwin Forbes 

sketch of Chancellorsville, 1863, FRSP 388.

37 Harrison, Gazetteer, 176; Edward V. Peyton, 

updated by Church Council, “History of the Wilderness 

Baptist Church, Spotsylvania County, Virginia 

(1778-2009),” unpublished paper, 4, http://www.

wildernessbaptistchurch.org/history/History% 20of%20

the%20Wilderness %20Baptist%20Church.pdf (accessed 

March 19, 2014). Ann Chancellor was known to read 

Italian novels, which may have inspired her selection of 

the name “Melzi.”

38 Harrison, Chancellorsville Battlefield Sit s, 54. Federal 

burial corps recorded moving 35 US remains from “Geo. 

Chancellor’s Farm” in 1866-68—probably a reference to 

Hazel Grove. 

39 Michler, Map of Chancellorsville Battlefi ld, 1867; 

Harrison, Gazetteer, 176. There is no known image of the 

Hazel Grove house.

40 Harrison, Gazetteer, 171-172; Harrison, 

Chancellorsville Battlefield Sit s, 87.

41 Harrison, Chancellorsville Battlefield Sit s, 83-84.

42 1860 census figu es, in Harrison, Gazetteer, 166; 

Harrison, Chancellorsville Battlefield Sit s, 83-84. The 1820 

Wood-Boye map of Spotsylvania identifies he property as 

“H. Gatewood’s.”

43 Harrison, Chancellorsville Battlefield Sit s, 83-84; 

Harrison, Gazetteer, 171; A. R. Waud, “Dowdall’s Tavern, 

Howards Hd. Qtrs,” May 2, 1863, Library of Congress, 

22467u.

44 Peyton, “History of Wilderness Baptist Church,” 4; Pat 

Sullivan blog, “Spotsylvania Memory,” “The Chancellors, 

Part 1,” March 24, 2012, http://spotsylvaniamemory.

blogspot.com/2012/03/chancellors-part-1.html (accessed 

March 20, 2014).

45 Harrison, Gazetteer, 157; Robert Krick, “Civilians 

in the Midst of Battle,” Fredericksburg.com, August 

17, 2002, http://fredericksburg.com/CivilWar/Battle/

chanc_story?dy=08172002&fn=695970 (accessed March 

25, 2014).

46 Michler, Map of Chancellorsville Battlefi ld, 1867; 

Harrison, Gazetteer, 157; Memorandum, Historian Noel 

Harrison to Chief Historian, March 3, 1991, including 

sketch map and history of Hawking Farm based on oral 

interviews, Hawkins farm place file, FR P archives. 

47 Harrison, Gazetteer, 152.

48 Krick, “Civilians in the Midst of Battle.”

49 Krick, “Civilians in the Midst of Battle;” Michler, 

Map of Chancellorsville Battlefi ld, 1867; Harrison, 

Chancellorsville Battlefield Sit s, 70.

50 Harrison, Chancellorsville Battlefield Sit s, 155.

51 1860 census figu es, in Harrison, Gazetteer, 201.
49 

1. Site History, 1800–1861

52 Harrison, Chancellorsville Battlefield Sit s, 11; Michler, 

Map of Chancellorsville Battlefi ld, 1867.

53 Michler, Map of Chancellorsville Battlefi ld, 1867; J. 

Hotchiss, “Sketch of the Battlefi lds of Chancellorsville, 

Salem Church, and Fredericksburg, May 2, 3, and 4, 1863” 

(Part of Report of General R. E. Lee, Series I, Vol. XXV, 

Part I, page 795), Library of Virginia, map 00054. In the 

woods south of River Road was a small clearing with 

two buildings. The use and ownership of the property is 

unknown; it is marked on the Michler map as “ruins.”

54 “History of Piney Branch Baptist Church,” undated 

article, http://www.pineybranchbc.org/documents.html 

(accessed March 26, 2014). The name Catharpin was 

probably an elision of Catharine Furnace and Piney 

Branch. 

55 Harrison, Gazetteer, 212; Wood and Boye, Map of 

Spotsylvania County, ca. 1820. 

56 Michler, Map of Chancellorsville Battlefi ld, 1867.

57 Michler, Map of Chancellorsville Battlefi ld, 1867. The 

Perry Farm was not inventoried in Harrison, Gazetteer; no 

information was found on the Perry family, the size of the 

farm, or the appearance of the house, or the crops grown. 

58 Pat Sullivan, “Atwell Young, the Black Confederate,” 

“Spotsylvania Memory” blog, December 30, 2013, http://

spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2013_12_01_archive.

html (accessed March 27, 2014). The Young Farm was not 

inventoried in Harrison, “Gazetteer;” no information was 

found on the size of the farm, or the appearance of the 

house, or the crops grown.

59 History of Piney Branch Baptist Church; Map of 

Spotsylvania County, ca. 1865, Library of Congress, 

G3883S65S5186-M2. No documentation was found on 

the Lewis family, the size of the farm, or the appearance of 

the house, or the crops grown.

60 Michler, Map of Wilderness Battlefi ld, 1867; 

Interview with B. L. Haney, in Ruth Graham, Historical 

Assistant, “Report of Field Investigation, August 26–

September 2, 1935,” National Archives II, RG 79, Central 

Classified iles, 1933–49, Box 2466, file B anch of Historic 

Sits, Fredericksburg National Military Park, Reports 

(research courtesy of Joan Zenzen). No documentation 

was found on the size of the property or the appearance of 

the house. Given the small size of the clearings, it appears 

there was no farming on the property.

61 Harrison, Chancellorsville Battlefield Sit s, 66-69; 

Michler, Map of Chancellorsville Battlefi ld, 1867.

62 Gilmer map of Spotsylvania County, 1863, Pat Sullivan, 

“Atwell Young, the Black Confederate,” “Spotsylvania 

Memory” blog. Brock Road was also known during the 

early 19th century as Herndon’s Road and Brock’s Shop 

Road.

63 Pat Sullivan, “Atwell Young, the Black Confederate,” 

“Spotsylvania Memory” blog.

64 These farms were not inventoried in Harrison, 

Gazetteer. No documentation was found on the Trigg 

or Stephens families, the size of the two farms, the 

appearance of the houses, or what crops were grown on 

the land.

65 Michler, Map of Wilderness Battlefi ld, 1867.

66 Memorandum, Noel Harrison to Chief Historian, 

March 10, 1991, FRSP Place Files, Hawkins Farm.

67 Gilmer map of Spotsylvania County, 1863. This farm 

was not inventoried in Harrison, Gazetteer; no additional 

information was found. The relationship of the Chatham 

Fitzhughs to this farm family is not known.

68 John Hennessy, “The Obscure Carpenter Farm 

and a Soldiers’ Grave,” “Mysteries and Conundrums” 

blog, November 1, 2010, http://npsfrsp.wordpress.

com/2010/11/01/the-obscure-carpenter-farm-and-asoldiers-grave/ (accessed March 27, 2014).

69 Michler, Map of Wilderness Battlefi ld, 1867.

70 Wellford to Samuel G. Wright, January 31, 1823, 

quoted in Adams, Iron from the Wilderness, 17. It is 

possible that this tract consisted of part of the old Brock p\

Plantation.

71 Acts of the General Assembly of Virginia, Passed at the 

Session of 1835-36 (Richmond: Thomas Ritchie, 1836), 43; 

O. F. Northington, Jr., “The Revival of the Iron Industry 

in Eastern Virginia as Exemplified y the History of the 

Catharine Furnace in Spotsylvania County,” William and 

Mary Quarterly, vol. 16, no. 1 (January 1936), 73, 74. The 

four partners were Francis Deane, John Heth, Edward 

Carmichael, and Alexander Henderson.

72 Acts of the General Assembly of Virginia, Passed at the 

Session of 1835-36, 43; Northington, 73, 74; Harrison, 

Chancellorsville Battlefield Sit s, 55.

73 Northington, 74; Adams, “Iron from the Wilderness,” 

21, 53. See this report for a complete history of Catharine 

Furnace. 

74 Harrison, Chancellorsville Battlefield Sit s, 62; Michler, 

Map of Chancellorsville Battlefi ld, 1867; Gilmer map of 

Spotsylvania County, 1863.

75 1847 inventory of company assets, in Northington, 75-

76.

76 Adams, 38-39, 46, 53; photographs of young woods in 

Chancellorsville vicinity, ca. 1860s, FRSP 672, 825, 2637. 

77; 1847 inventory of company assets, in Northington, 

76; Michler, Map of Chancellorsville Battlefi ld, 1867; 

Adams, 60-62; Harrison, Chancellorsville Battlefield Sit s,

62; J. Hotchkiss, “Sketch of the battles of Chancellorsville, 

Salem Church, and Fredericksburg, May 2, 3, and 4, 1863,” 

ca. 1866, Library of Congress map g3884c.. 

78 Adams, 23-24, 28-29.
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

50

79 Harrison, Chancellorsville Battlefield Sit s, 62; Adams, 

31.

80 Recollection of Private David Kyle, “Wounding of 

Stonewall Jackson Trail,” http://www.nps.gov/frsp/jacktr.

htm (accessed April 21, 2014).

81 The mine road that predated Jackson Trail East to 

Brock Road was not built until ca. 1862.

82 Photograph of the ruined Chancellorsville Inn showing 

whitewashed trunks, 1866, photograph FRSP 1534.

83 The exact dates of construction for these houses is 

not known. There is little detail available on the history or 

architecture of the buildings at Chancellorsville in 1861, 

with the exception of the Chancellorsville Inn. 
Pulliam house (ca.1821)

(Maury house,

ca.1797–1821)

Owned by iron

COOK FARM company

(ca.1820)

80 acres

HICKMAN 

Tollgate (ca.1852)

LUCKETT FARM

(Powell)

(pre-1860)

Chancellor

cemetery (ca.1812)

To Chancellor heirs, 1 acre

(1854)

BULLOCK PLANTATION

(Woodlawn)

(ca.1849)

300 acres

BURTON FARM

(pre-1860)

CARPENTER FARM

Fairview house (ca.1799)

HAWKINS FARM

(pre-1830)

594 acres

Chancellorsville Inn

(ca.1816)

ABSALOM

McGEE FARM

(ca.1861)

PERRY FARM

PineyBranch

(Yellow) Church

(ca.1768)

R. LEWIS

YOUNG FARM

(ca.1830)

WIDOW

LEWIS

G. LEWIS LEWIS

MILL

TRIGG FARM

Haney

(Henry)

FITZHUGH

FARM

STEPHENS 

FARM

WELLFORD

PLANTATION

ALRICH

FARM

(ca.1800)

593 acres

TALLEY FARM

(pre-1830)

126 acres

Melzi Chancellor

E. Decker

(Grady)

HAZEL GROVE

Catharine

Furnace 

(built 1837,

closed 1847)

WILDERNESS CHURCH (1853)

(Replaced Simpson’s Meeting

House / Wilderness Church, BROCK ROAD

pre-1778–1853)

ORANGE PLANK ROAD (1853)

GERMANNA PLANK ROAD (ca.1852)

ORANGE PLANK ROAD (1852)

 OLD TURNPIKE

FURNACE ROAD

FURNACE ROAD

CATHARPIN ROAD

RIVER ROAD 

Graded rail bed (begun 1853;

left incomplete, 1857)

PILTZER RUN

NI RIVER

Bullock’s 

Spring

GREAT

MEADOW

SWAMP

(Herndon Road)

BROCK ROAD

BIG HU NTING RUN

LITTLE HUNTING RUN

To

Culpeper

To

Orange

Court House To Fredericksburg

To Fredericksburg

To Spotsylvania

Court House NI RIVER

Stable (?)

Blacksmith shop

(old schoolhouse,

ca.1840)

LEWIS RUN

MINERAL SPRINGS RUN (Mine Run)

MOTT’S RUN

House

(ca.1837)

POPLA R RUN

CATTA IL BRANCH

Unidentified

building

(possible iron

company building)

Baylor’s Mountain Road (ca. 1725) 

Presumed old

mountain road

(pre-1716)

F R E D E R I C K S B U R G & G O R D O N S V I L L E R A I L R O A D

Melzi Chancellor

292 acres

Guy/Chancellor

Plantation

854 acres

Dowdall’s Tavern LOCUST 

GROVE

315 acres

ELYS FORD ROAD

US FORD ROAD

Peach

orchard

CATHARINE FURNACE PROPERTY

Fredericksburg Iron and Steel

Manufacturing Company)

(established 1836)

Wellford et al, 4,648 acres

Thomas Carr’s

Road (ca. 1722)

Barn

(part of Fairview)

SEE INSET

Pine

grove,

spring

ORANGE PLANK ROAD (1852)

Bullock

house

(pre-1790,

house 

ca.1820)

(pre-1800?)

FURNACE

HOLLOW

Presumed bypassed section 

of old mountain road

(Germanna Road)

 OLD TURNPIKE 

Wellford

house (1838)

Horse Pen Road

BURTON

HILL

Burbridges

Bridge

Piney Branch Road

(pre-1768)

To site of Tubal

Furnace (ca.1716–70)

Cooktown

Probably mine

roads (1837–1847)

Unidentified

buildings

Also known as

Lewis Run,

Mine Creek

Possible

mine company

house

Possible

mine company

building

Wheat,

corn,

oats

Wheat, rye, corn,

oats, potatoes,

pasture

Corn,

oats,

tobacco,

potatoes

pasture

Corn, oats,

tobacco,

potatoes,

pasture

Corn,

oats,

potatoes,

pasture

Corn, oats,

tobacco,

potatoes, hay,

pasture

Wheat,

corn, oats,

potatoes, hay,

pasture

Pine woods

Unidentified 

building

Iron banks

To Brock Road

Raine’s Ordinary

 (ca.1777–?)

Ebenezer 

McGee Farm

(pre-1856)

60 acres

To Wilderness

Tavern

McGEE’S

HILL

Presumed

Alrich Farm quarters

(possible former

turnpike tollkeeper’s 

dwelling)

Presumed site

of turnpike tollgate

(ca.1813-1850)

(pre-1797)

House

Stables

Orange Turnpike

(ca. 1813)

Orange Turnpike (ca. 1813)

Germanna Road (ca. 1716)

(pre-1836)

200 acres

REUBEN McGEE

FARM

(pre-1840?)

275 acres

Corn,

oats,

potatoes,

pasture

Wheat, corn,

oats, potatoes,

hay

LICK RUN

Estate of James Gordon

(680 acres)

“New Store”

Hull mansion

(pre-1800–1838)

Possible 18th century 

Brock plantation house 

(”Poplar Neck”)

Barn or

tobacco

house

To Sanford Chancellor

plantation, Forest Hall

Second-growth woods

Approximately 3,500 acres

(Timber harvesting for

 charcoal production, ca.1837-47)

To Kalmbach’s

Sawmill

(pre-1716)

(Pre-1716)

Approximate boundary

of 854-acre Chancellorsville

plantation (Fairview)

(after 1813)

Part of Catharine

Furnace Company

M

property INERAL SPRINGS ROAD (Old Mine Road)

BULLOCK ROAD (OLD MINE ROAD)

CHANCELLORSVILLE (Fairview) Part of Locust Grove

Slave cabin

House

Cemetery

Hawkins

Cemetery

Oak

Orange Turnpike

(ca.1813)

Fairview spring

(Pre-1860)

(Pre-1860)

Furnace Road section

between plank

road and turnpike

(ca. 1813)

INSET Chancellorsville Inn

Barns

Possible sites 

of slave cabins,

additional outbuildings

Elms and poplars

Stone steps

Kitchen

wing

(ca.1830)

Inset

porch

Well

Entrance walk

Painted picket fence

Cultivated field

Painted 5-plank fence

ORANGE PLANK ROAD

ELY’S FORD ROAD

Yard

Stacked rail fences

Original section (1816)

Side wings (ca.1825)

(OLD TURNPIKE)

Outbuilding

DRAWN BY

1. NPS and Spotsylvania County GIS data

2. Photo/postcard, Chancellorsville Inn, ca. 1860, FRSP 2187

3. Gilmer, Map of Spotsylvania, 1863

4. Michler, Chancellorsville Battlefield map, 1867

5. Hotchkiss, Map of the Battle of Chancellorsville, ca.1870

6. CBA, Map of Chancellorsville, VA, 1891

7. Jeck, Historic Overlay map, ca.1980

LEGEND

SOURCES

1. Plan shows landscape in 1861 prior to outbreak of the Civil War.

2. All features shown at approximate location and scale.

3. All property boundaries not shown due to lack of documentation.

4. All iron mines not shown due to lock of documentation. 

5. Sites of removed features labeled in italics (not all features removed

 during the period are shown due to lack of documentation. 

 

NOTES

Drawing 1.1

Cultural Landscape Report

Chancellorsville Battlefield

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania

National Military Park

Spotsylvania County, Virginia

Antebellum Period

1800–1861

National Park Service

Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation

www.nps.gov/oclp

OLMSTED

for LANDSCAPE PRESERVATION

CENTER

in partnership with 

Department of Landscape Architecture

Center for Cultural Landscape Preservation

SUNY College of Environmental 

Science and Forestry, www.esf.edu/la/cclp

John Auwaerter, Nathan Powers, Cathy Ponte, SUNY ESF

ArcGIS and Adobe Illustrator, 2014

Building

Main Road

Minor Road

Notable View

Fence

Approximate Iron or Gold Mine 

Field or Open Ground

Woods

Specimen Tree, Orchard

River or Stream, Wetland

Feature Removed During Period (dashed line)

Period Property Boundary

Current Park Boundary

0

 Mile

.50 1.0

North
53 

1. Site History, 1861–1865

The Civil War deeply scarred the landscape of Spotsylvania County, a fate sealed by its strategic location 

halfway between the two warring capitols, Richmond 

and Washington, D.C. Although Chancellorsville was 

most impacted by its namesake battle that took place 

between April 30 and May 6, 1863, the community was 

also the scene of fi hting a year later during the Battle 

of the Wilderness, May 5–7, 1864. Two other battles 

also touched the lives of Chancellorsville residents: the 

Battle of Fredericksburg, December 11–15, 1862, and 

the Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse that immediately 

followed the Wilderness on May 8–21, 1864. 

The Battle of Chancellorsville was the fif h most 

devastating in the war in terms of number of casualties.1

 The heavily forested conditions factored heavily into the battle as soldiers struggled through dense 

second-growth woods. Roads and farm clearings thus 

became highly strategic sites where troops could move 

through and survey the terrain unencumbered. Houses 

and churches were taken over as fi ld hospitals, a role 

that increased as the casualties of the battle mounted. 

Troops dug long lines of defensive earthworks in the 

soft ground following clearings and roads, and fi e 

sparked by artillery fi e destroyed fi lds, woods, and 

buildings. 

By the end of the war, the region had suffered major 

population loss as many families chose not to return. 

Familiar landmarks, most notably the Chancellorsville 

Inn, stood in ruins. These became poignant reminders 

of the massive loss of life, property, and livelihoods. 

Between the outbreak of the Civil War and its namesake battle, the Chancellorsville community underwent 

a few changes in ownership and new construction. 

Dr. Samuel S. Guy, who had purchased the 854-acre 

Fairview plantation two years prior to the outbreak 

of the war from John C. Pettus, was facing foreclosure 

due to fi ancial diffi lties, and so Pettus repossessed 

the plantation in March 1861. The Guy family moved 

out of the Chancellorsville Inn, and Pettus rented the 

plantation back to Frances Chancellor, the widow of 

Sanford Chancellor. Two years later in March 1863, 

the property changed hands once again, when it was 

acquired by George Guest and J. Warren Slaughter, who 

took over operation of the Catharine Furnace during 

the closing years of the Civil War. They continued the 

same lease arrangement with the Chancellors. At the 

other end of the turnpike, John Luckett purchased the 

small farm near Brock Road that had been the residence of the Powell family.2

 

In the woods of the Fairview Plantation south of the 

turnpike and northwest of the old Fairview house was 

a building under construction around the time that 

the war broke out, subsequently known as the Van 

Wart house. In late 1860, John Wyckoff, a minister and 

father of Elizabeth Van Wart, had loaned money to Dr. 

Samuel Guy, who then still owned Fairview, purportedly to erect a church. It may have been built by Wyckoff’s

son-in-law, William Van Wart, who was a carpenter. 

Construction ceased by the outbreak of Civil War.3

BEGINNINGS OF WAR 

By the spring of 1861, hostilities between the seceded 

slave-holding states of the new Confederate States of 

America and the US federal government prompted Virginia to fi ally side with fellow slave-based economies. 

The state’s capital of Richmond, about sixty miles south 

of Chancellorsville, was selected as the Confederate 

capital. On April 12, 1861, the fir t fi hting broke out at 

Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor.4

The onset of the war soon brought about a number of 

changes to the Spotsylvania County economy, notably 

the departure of slaves for the US lines, which depleted the plantation economy’s primary workforce. 

Other able-bodied men left their farms and industries, 

including Oscar Bullock, who served in the 30th Virginia 

CIVIL WAR PERIOD, 1861–1865
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

54

Infantry, John Luckett, who enlisted in the 30th Virginia 

Infantry, and John Alrich, who served in the 9th Virginia 

Calvary, as well as William Van Wart, who stopped 

work on the church he was building northwest of Fairview to enlist. 

War brought about a third revival in the region’s iron 

industry through a sudden increase in the demand for 

artillery, which more than doubled the price of iron 

between 1860 and 1861. Prior to the war, only fourteen 

charcoal iron furnaces were operating in the state, 

while twenty-two stood idle.5

 The wartime demand for 

iron encouraged Charles C. Wellford of Lynchburg, 

Virginia—the brother of John Spotswood Wellford—to 

reopen his family’s Fredericksburg Iron and Steel Manufacturing Company plant in Chancellorsville. Since 

the company’s state charter had expired years earlier, 

Wellford applied for a new one, with the more concise 

name of “Catharine Furnace Company.” A bill to incorporate the company was introduced into the state senate in January 1862, but not signed into law until a year 

later, when the company received authority for “mining 

iron ore, and of working and smelting the same into pig 

iron or otherwise, and also for the purpose of manufacturing iron in all its branches and uses.”6 

Charles C. Wellford and his son, Charles B. Wellford 

along with three other investors purchased the 4,648-

acre Chancellorsville property for $23,243 in December 1861, and the furnace was soon in operation 

despite not yet having a state charter, to fulfill a contract 

that the Wellfords secured in January 1862 to supply 

pig iron for the Confederate Navy. Soon after, workers 

began repairing the iron furnace complex along the Ni 

River. By mid or late 1862, the furnace had returned to 

operation, with mining and timber harvesting resuming 

in the surrounding woods. A war-time description of 

the charcoal-producing landscape noted an operation 

in an undetermined area north of Furnace Road: “The 

timber in front of the three rifled p eces had been cut 

away for fuel for the furnace, showing an open fi ld, 

with occasional stacks of cord-wood...”7

Roads were built to access new mines and stands of 

timber, including one that extended southwest from 

Figure 1.37. Detail of a US Army map showing Chancellorsville on the eve of the Battle of Fredericksburg in November 1862. (Army of the 

Potomac, “Map of a Part of Eastern Virginia including Portions of Spotsylvania Co.,” November 1862, National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration, Historical Map & Chart Collection, image CWEVA, annotated by SUNY ESF)
55 

1. Site History, 1861–1865

the Wellford house to Brock Road (Jackson Trail East).8

The fi lds surrounding the Wellford house, which was 

occupied by the Diggs family, were returned to full 

production to provide food for the workers. Since most 

slaves had fled, he company instead turned to employees and soldiers.9

As the Catharine Furnace Company was returning to 

production in the summer and fall of 1862, US forces 

were amassing north of the Rappahannock River preparing to head south to capture Richmond. By November, US Army engineers had surveyed Fredericksburg 

and Spotsylvania County. This map showed the new 

furnace road to Brock Road, fords across the rivers, 

the Chancellorsville Inn, the schoolhouse near Hazel 

Grove, Dowdall’s Tavern, Wilderness Church, and the 

Orange Plank Road together with the old turnpike (fig.

1.37).

In anticipation of the arrival of US forces, the Confederates destroyed the main bridge from the north 

between Fredericksburg and Falmouth. In response, 

US troops engineered pontoon bridges and proceeded 

to attack the city in the fir t Battle of Fredericksburg, 

December 11–15, 1862 (fig. 1.38) 10 Although the battle 

was a Confederate victory, heavy fi hting within the 

town caused many residents to flee est, following the 

Orange Plank Road where they sought shelter in local 

churches and farms (fig. 1.39). ust a few miles west of 

the city, Salem Church assisted refugees that were in 

need of food, medical care, and shelter during the cold 

winter weather.11 The Wellfords moved from Fredericksburg to their plantation house south of the Catharine Furnace, joining or displacing the Diggs family 

caretakers. As more and more people headed west fle -

ing the confl ct, refugees made their way to the former 

Chancellorsville Inn where they, along with drafted 

Confederate soldiers, were welcomed free of charge by 

the Chancellor family. In fi e months, the front lines of 

the war would move west to envelop the Chancellorsville community.12

BATTLE OF CHANCELLORSVILLE 13

The Chancellorsville Campaign, which included the 

Battle of Chancellorsville and the associated battles at 

Salem Church and 2nd Fredericksburg, raged for nearly 

a week along the corridor of the old Orange Turnpike 

from Fredericksburg west into to the Wilderness. The 

US campaign, led by General Joseph Hooker, aimed 

to attack Confederate forces under General Robert E. 

Lee positioned at Fredericksburg and points south by 

approaching on two fronts, from the rear (west) at the 

Wilderness, and from the east at Fredericksburg. US 

troops began to push south and east across the Rappahannock River beginning on April 27, 1863, while 

Confederate forces countered from to the south and 

east (fig. 1.40). US in antry also approached from Elys 

Figure 1.38. Sketch of US army engineers constructing a pontoon 

bridge during the first Battle of Fredericksburg, looking west, 

December 11, 1862. (Alfred Waud drawing, Library of Congress, 

digital Id LCUSZ62-7023)

Figure 1.39. An engraving based on an 1866 painting by Alonso 

Chappel entitled “Incident in war for the Union” showing displaced 

civilians fleeing fighting. (Cover, History of the United States, 1866,

Library of Congress, digital Id LC-USZ62-110974)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

56

30,000 casualties (17,000 US and 13,000 CS). With 

renewed confi ence in their victory, the Confederate 

army marched north to engage US forces two months 

later at Gettysburg.14

First Day – Friday May 1, 1863

Fighting began with the Confederate interception 

of US troops pushing south across the Rappahannock River toward the old Orange Turnpike. The fir t 

skirmishes broke out just west of Old Mine Road and 

Zoan Church, in the open corridor of 

small farms along the turnpike east of 

Chancellorsville, where US troops later 

withdrew (fig. 1.41). The Confederate 

army pushed the US forces into a defensive position around the inn, while 

it took up a position to the south in the 

wooded Catharine Furnace tract south 

of the high grounds at Hazel Grove and 

Fairview. 

The US army spread out along the 

turnpike (Orange Plank Road) between 

the Chancellorsville Inn and the WilFord and Germanna Ford west of Chancellorsville. 

While there were skirmishes throughout the corridor, 

the main action took place in the farm clearings and 

dense woods of Chancellorsville on May 1–3, followed 

by US attacks on the Confederate rear flank t Salem 

Church and Fredericksburg on May 3. The battle ended 

in Confederate victory, as did the fi ht at Salem Church. 

The Chancellorsville Campaign, with over 154,734 

forces engaged (97,382 US and 57,352 CS) came at 

a heavy cost for both sides, resulting in an estimated 

Figure 1.41. Sketch of US forces advancing west on the old Orange Turnpike toward 

the Chancellorsville Inn (rise in distance), May 1, 1863. (Alfred Waud sketch, “Victorious 

Advance of Genl. Sykes (regulars), May 1st,” Library of Congress, digital Id ppmsca-20953)

Figure 1.40. Map showing the general advances, positions, and battle areas of the Chancellorsville Campaign, May 1–3, 1863. Blue 

symbols represent US forces, red symbols Confederate forces. The green shaded areas indicate the general extent of fighting. (SUNY 

ESF, with background of “Map of the Field Operations of the Army of the Potomac...,” Atlas to Accompany the Official Records of the 

Union and Confederate Armies, 1861-1865, US War Department, 1895) 
57 

1. Site History, 1861–1865

derness Church, occupying most of the large clearings 

and buildings. Farm fi lds were trampled, livestock was 

slaughtered to feed the troops, and houses were raided 

for supplies. Civilians who did not flee he battle, like 

the Chancellor family, were often forced into cellars as 

their homes were transformed into military headquarters and hospitals.

The Fairview clearing, with its key location at the intersection of the Orange Plank Road, old turnpike, and 

Elys Ford Road—the US supply line from the north—

became the heart of the US defensive position. Troops 

set up camp in the fi lds and General Joseph Hooker 

established US headquarters at the Chancellorsville Inn 

(fig. 1.42). A large oak 

tree in the middle of 

the Fairview clearing 

may have served as a 

signal station.15 Major 

General Darius Couch, 

Hooker’s second in 

command, occupied 

the Bullock house as 

his headquarters, while 

on the right (west) 

flank, Dowdall’s Tavern 

served as the headquarters for the 11th

Corps under General Oliver Howard. 

The Hawkins farmhouse north of the turnpike was occupied by General 

Carl Schurz, another general of the 11th Corps. Expecting a Confederate attack from the south, US troops 

under General Slocum felled trees and built a long line 

of defensive earthworks from the old turnpike just east 

of the inn, west and south through the woods south 

of the Fairview clearing, while the 11th Corps built 

trenches south of Dowdall’s Tavern (fi s. 1.43, 1.44). 

These works were typically ditches with an earthen 

parapet behind which troops took position, and were 

reinforced with logs and other debris (fig. 1.45). S me 

of the earthworks featured a blockade in front, known 

as an abatis, created from piles of felled trees. Across 

the strategically important Fairview road leading to 

Figure 1.42. Sketch showing US troops amassed at Fairview near the Chancellorsville Inn on May 1st 1863, looking southwest across the 

intersection of Elys Ford Road and the Orange Plank Road. Visible at right is the rear (north) and east sides of the Chancellorsville Inn. 

The chimney in the middle distance is the ruin of a building along the east side of the Orange Plank Road. (Alfred Waud sketch, Library of 

Congress, digital Id ppmsca-19397)

Figure 1.43. The Chancellorsville Inn during US occupation on May 1, 1863, looking northwest from east of 

the Orange Plank road showing US earthworks built south of the Fairview clearing. (Edwin Forbes, “Hooker’s 

Headquarters at the Chancellorsville House, May 1, 1863,” Library of Congress, digital Id ppmsca 20534)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

58

Hazel Grove and Catharine Furnace, opposite the 

old Fairview house, troops put artillery into position 

behind a south-facing line of semi-circular earthworks 

known as lunettes.16

Confederate forces were indeed amassing in the deep 

woods south and east of the Chancellorsville Inn along 

the Orange Plank Road and extending west toward the 

Catharine Furnace. Trenches were built by a division 

under Major General McLaws that extended north 

through the woods along Furnace Road (McLaws 

Drive) toward the old turnpike. Despite their ready 

position to attack the US center, General Robert E. Lee 

reported that at Chancellorsville, 

...the enemy [US] had assumed a position of great 

natural strength, surrounded on all sides by a 

dense forest, filled w th a tangled undergrowth, in 

the midst of which breastworks of logs had been 

constructed, with trees felled in front so as to form 

an almost impenetrable abattis...It was evident that 

a direct attack upon the enemy would be attended 

with great diffi lt and loss, in view of the strength 

of his position and his superiority of numbers.17

Instead of aggressively pushing the smaller Confederate forces farther south, General Hooker ordered his 

troops to pause in Chancellorsville on May 1 while 

awaiting reinforcements. This decision gave Lee and 

Jackson the opportunity to plot a counter attack from 

their bivouac in the woods at the intersection of the 

Figure 1.44. Map showing US earthworks (black lines) and troop movements on May 2, 1863 that culminated in Jackson’s Flank Attack, 

showing dispersal of US positions in relation to Jackson’s attack. The red double lines and red dashed lines indicate Confederate routes and 

positions; the blue and black single lines are US positions. The approximate location of current park property is shaded in green. (“Map of 

the Battle of Chancellorsville, Saturday, May 2nd 1863,” ca. 1870, Library of Congress, digital Id g3884c.cwh00131, annotated by SUNY ESF)

Figure 1.45. Cross-section diagram of a typical Civil War trench earthwork 

fortification. Most at Chancellorsville were more hastily built and did 

not have an abatis. Logs were sometimes used to reinforce the parapets. 

Earthworks around artillery (cannons) known as lunettes featured 

crescent-shaped earthen parapets. (SUNY ESF, based on National Park 

Service website, “Earthworks,” Civil War Defenses of Washington)
59 

1. Site History, 1861–1865

Orange Plank Road and Furnace Road (see fig. 1.44).

Here at the northwest corner of the wooded intersection, the two men plotted a surprise attack on the US’s 

right flank ear Dowdall’s Tavern, according to tradition while seated on crackerboxes in front of a campfi e 

beneath a tall pine tree. Charles Wellford’s son, Charles 

B. Wellford, was recruited to guide Jackson’s troops 

along the recently constructed road (Jackson Trail 

East) that connected the Catharine Furnace with Brock 

Road. Jackson then planned to follow Brock Road and 

Orange Plank Road to the old turnpike, and from there 

launch their surprise attack on the US’s unprotected 

right flank.

Jackson’s Flank Attack – Saturday May 2, 1863 

Believing that the Confederate Army was in retreat, 

approximately 20,000 troops of the US 3rd Corps under 

Major General Daniel Sickles marched south early 

on May 2 from Hazel Grove and Fairview toward the 

Catharine Furnace, where a small contingent of Confederate troops attempted to delay them while Jackson led three divisions of nearly 30,000 men on their 

arduous twelve-mile march toward the US right flank 18

Sickles captured a regiment from Georgia near the unfini hed railroad, but his focus on the area around the 

furnace left the 11th Corps isolated along the turnpike 

near Dowdall’s Tavern. 

As Sickles engaged the Georgia regiment, Jackson’s 

troops marched south beyond the Wellford house, east 

on the mine road toward Brock Road, and then rather 

than following Brock Road, diverted to private farm 

roads through the Stephens and Trigg farms, which 

avoided the intersection of Herndon Road that led 

directly to the US right flank ear Dowdall’s Tavern. 

Jackson’s route then rejoined Brock Road near the 

Cook farm, and continued north to the Orange Plank 

Road intersection. He sent scouts to the hilltop clearing 

of Burton Farm to survey the situation, and discovered 

that the US forces extended farther west than he had 

anticipated, beyond the plank road-turnpike intersection at Wilderness Church. Jackson therefore chose to 

continue northwest along Brock Road and approach 

from farther west on the old turnpike. Around 4 pm, 

he reached the old turnpike and turned east past the 

Luckett farm.

Confederate forces amassed across the old turnpike 

west of Wilderness Church, and at 5:15 pm, began their 

attack on the US right flank. Expe ting the Confederate 

attack from the south and without support of Sickles’ 

3rd Corps that was near Catharine Furnace, the US 11th

Corps was unprepared for the sudden eruption of Confederate soldiers from the west (fig. 1.46). The surprise 

attack threw the US flank i to chaos, and many of the 

largely German-born soldiers of the 11th Corps fled

east toward the US center at Hazel Grove and Fairview. 

As Confederate General Colston reported, “Notwithstanding the tangled and very diffi lt character of the 

woods, and the resistance of the enemy, our troops adFigure 1.46. The Jackson Flank Attack on May 2, 1863, looking southwest toward the Orange Plank Road showing US forces positioned at 

General Howard’s headquarters in Dowdall’s Tavern (house in center distance) at the outbreak of fighting. The building in the woods visible 

in the right distance is Wilderness Church. (A. R. Waud, “Position of the Right of the line of battle May 2nd, 1863–2 miles from Chancellors–

and previous to the Germans running away,” Library of Congress, digital Id L22467u)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

60

vanced with great rapidity, driving the enemy like chaff

before them, but not without loss to themselves.”19

Casualties on both sides quickly mounted, requiring 

treatment of the wounded at fi ld hospitals set up in 

and around farmhouses, barns, and sheds (fig. 1.47)

Stonewall Jackson’s surprise attack from the west 

caused US troops to dramatically reposition the battle 

axis ninety degrees. They scrambled to contain this attack by hastily erecting breastworks out of earth, wood, 

debris, and even dead animals, beginning with a front 

line through the fi lds just east of Dowdall’s Tavern and 

others to either side of Bullock Road. Jackson’s troops 

quickly overtook the new front line and pushed east, 

advancing toward the Fairview 

clearing (fig. 1.48). ere as darkness fell, the Confederate troops, 

who according to General Lee were 

“completely blended and in such 

disorder from their advance though intricate 

woods and over broken ground,” halted.20 US 

troops continued their frenzied construction of 

new west-facing works through the night. According to Confederate Colonel Brockenbrough, 

“During the night, the enemy was not idle, but 

worked like beavers in erecting the most formidable barricades and breastworks, thus partially 

relieving themselves of the panic of the previous 

evening and determining them to give battle.” 

The artillery lunettes at Fairview constructed 

in a line facing south were abandoned and new 

ones built at right angles along the Fairview road, 

facing west. Other lines were built east of Ely’s Ford 

Road, creating a secure zone behind the US center at 

the Chancellorsville Inn.

In early evening following the flank ttack, General Jackson embarked on a reconnaissance mission 

through the dark woods to the extreme front lines east 

of Bullock Road with the help of Private David Kyle, a 

soldier who had grown up on the Bullock Plantation. 

Just after 9 p.m. and accompanied by aides and couriers, Jackson rode his horse through the woods west of 

the Chancellorsville Inn and across from the Van Wart 

house (unfini hed church), along the minor road north 

of the turnpike that may have been a bypassed section 

of the old mountain road (Germanna Road) (fig. 1.49).

This minor road provided concealment from US troops 

along the turnpike and Fairview fi lds to the southeast. 

According to Kyle,

Figure 1.48. Sketch of US troops 

reinforcing in the fields of Fairview

during Jackson’s surprise flank attack,

May 2, 1863. The view is probably 

looking west in the vicinity of the 

plank road. (A. R. Waud, “Couch’s 

Corps forming line of battle in the 

fields at Chancellorsville to cover

the retreat of the Eleventh Corps 

disgracefully running away,” Library 

of Congress, digital Id ppmsca-22527)

Figure 1.47. Casualties of the US 2nd Corps being treated in 

makeshift field hospitals at log outbuildings probably on the Bullock 

Plantation, May 2, 1863. The diamond lozenge sign in between the 

two buildings is the emblem of the US 3rd Corps. (Edwin Forbes, May 

2nd, 1863,” Library of Congress, digital Id ppmsca-20538)
61 

1. Site History, 1861–1865

We went down that old 

Mountain road some four 

hundred yards when we came 

in hearing of the Federals....We 

stayed there I should judge from 

two to four minutes when the 

Gen Jackson turned his horse 

around and started back up 

the road we had come down....

When we were about halfway 

back...he turned his horse head 

toward the south and facing 

the front of our own line of 

Battle he started to leave the old 

Mountain road and just as his 

horses front feet had cleared 

the edge of the road while his 

hind feet was still on the edge 

of the bank there was a single 

shot fi ed...in an instant it was 

taken up and...a volley as if 

from a regiment was fi ed.21

In the dense and dark woods, 

Confederate troops had mistaken the party for US forces and 

seriously wounded Jackson in the shoulder, hand, and 

arm. The firi g aroused the US troops, and fi hting 

erupted across the front line. Jackson was rushed to a 

hospital near the Wilderness Tavern, where his arm was 

amputated. Reverend Beverley Tucker Lacy, the brother 

of the owner of nearby Ellwood plantation, buried 

the arm in the Ellwood family cemetery. Jackson was 

subsequently brought behind enemy lines to Fairfi ld, 

the Chandler plantation twenty-seven miles south of 

Chancellorsville, where he died ten days later.22

Siege of US Headquarters, Sunday May 3, 1863

May 3 proved to be the bloodiest day in the Chancellorsville Campaign, with fi hting on multiple fronts. At 

the heart of the battle, Confederate forces formed an 

enormous encirclement around the Fairview clearing, 

while US troops defended from hastily dug west-facing 

trenches that extended north toward the Bullock 

Plantation, beyond U.S. Ford Road, and east of Elys 

Ford Road (fig. 1.50). Ge eral J. E. B. Stuart, who had 

taken over the 2nd Corps from Jackson, captured Hazel 

Grove, which General Sickles had abandoned for a 

position closer to the turnpike, and there amassed artillery on high ground that overlooked the long clearing 

extending northeast toward Fairview and the newly positioned US artillery. Brigades of Confederate infantry 

advanced through the dense woods surrounding the 

clearing, engaging thousands of US troops (fig. 1.51).

Confederate Brigadier General Lane reported on his 

action:

On Sunday morning, about sunrise, the whole brigade 

was wheeled a little to the left, that the line might be 

perpendicular to the plank road [turnpike], and then, in 

obedience to orders, moved gallantly forward with shouts, 

driving in the enemy’s skirmishers, and handsomely 

charging and carrying their breastworks...The works 

were on a hill, commanded by the Chancellorsville 

[Fairview] hill, which was fortified w th a line of 

earthworks for twenty-eight (28) pieces of artillery 

[lunette positions], running nearly parallel to our 

position, and between four hundred and fi e hundred 

yards distant, with a stream of water intervening. 

As soon as we had dislodged their infantry, these 

guns, with others, opened a murderous fi e of shell, 

grape, and canister upon us, a fresh column of their 

infantry was thrown against us, and with our right 

flank ompletely turned, we were forced to fall back, 

with the loss of about one-third of the command. 23

Figure 1.49. Map showing US positions (heavy lines) and 

approximate location of Jackson’s wounding on the evening of May 

2, noted by label and arrow above “Vanwert”. (Detail, ”Map of the 

Battle of Chancellorsville, Saturday, May 2, 1863,” ca. 1870, Library 

of Congress, digital Id g3884c.cwh00131, annotated by SUNY ESF.)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

62

Figure 1.50. Confederate map 

of US and Confederate forces at 

dawn on Saturday, May 3, 1863 

at the siege of US headquarters 

at the Chancellorsville Inn, and 

the US area of entrenchment and 

retreat (Hooker’s apex) north of 

Elys Ford Road and Mineral Springs 

Road. The double lines indicate 

defensive works, the hatched lines 

are artillery positions. The eastwest US defenses generally date 

to the outbreak of the battle, the 

north-south defenses were built 

in response to Jackson’s surprise 

flank attack on May 2nd. (Detail,

Jedediah Hotchkiss, ”Sketch of the 

Battles of Chancellorsville, Salem 

Church and Fredericksburg, May 2, 

3 and 4 , 1863,” Report of Gen. R. E. 

Lee, Series I, vol. XXV, Part 1, 1895)

Figure 1.51. War-time lithograph 

by Currier & Ives illustrating 

the fighting at Chancellorsville

on May 3, 1863, showing 

Confederates emerging from 

dense woods against US forces. 

(Library of Congress, copy in 

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania 

National Military Park, FRSP 971)
63 

1. Site History, 1861–1865

General Elisha F. “Bull” Paxton led another Confederate brigade through the woods, and was shot in the 

chest in the woods near the Hazel Grove entry road, 

the only Confederate general killed at Chancellorsville. 

Meanwhile, US troops positioned in the woods north 

of the turnpike and in the woods and fi lds of Fairview struggled to maintain their positions. Along the 

turnpike, US Major General Hiram G. Berry was killed 

by a Confederate sharp-shooter as he led his brigade 

against the Confederate assault. The great semi-circle 

of the Confederate attack continued to close in on the 

US headquarters, as General Lee reported,

[Major General Richard H.] Anderson...pressed gallantly 

forward, directly upon Chancellorsville [Inn], his right 

resting upon the plank road [turnpike] and his left 

extending around the furnace, while McLaws made a 

strong demonstration to the right of the road (see fig 1.50). 

As the troops advancing upon the enemy’s front and right, 

converged upon his central position, Anderson effected 

a junction with Jackson’s corps [Stuart’s corps, from 

the west], and the whole line pressed irresistibly on.24

Soon, the fi lds of Fairview surrounding the Chancellorsville Inn were enveloped by fi hting (fig. 1.52).

Artillery fi e hit the Chancellorsville Inn, collapsing the 

two-story front porch and wounding General Hooker, 

while the barrage of artillery caused nearby woods to 

catch fi e. Chancellor family members had been hiding 

in the cellar since the flank ttack, but were ordered 

out early that morning of May 3. Sue Chancellor, then 

eleven years old, remembered coming out of the cellar 

and seeing:

...the chairs were riddled with bullets and the shattered 

columns which had fallen and injured General Hooker...

the piles of legs and arms outside the sitting room window 

and the rows and rows of dead bodies covered with 

canvas...Cannon were booming and missiles of death 

were flyi g in every direction. The sight that met our 

eyes as we came out of the dim light of that basement 

beggars description. The woods around the house were 

a sheet of fi e, the air was filled w th shot and shell, 

horses were running, rearing, and screaming, the men, 

a mass of confusion, moaning, cursing, and praying.25

Fire from continual shelling soon enveloped the Chancellorsville Inn, reducing the once graceful landmark to 

a charred brick shell, scorching the surrounding shade 

trees, and destroying some of the wooden outbuildings. 

The Confederate advance forced a US retreat north to 

the Bullock Plantation (fig. 1.53). B 10 am, the Confederates were in full possession of Fairview and the 

Chancellorsville Inn, amid heavy losses in the numbers 

Figure 1.52. Painting of the Battle of Chancellorsville made two years after the battle by Frederick Chapman (1818-1890) , looking northwest 

across the Fairview clearing depicting the final Confederate assault on the US headquarters at the Chancellorsville Inn, May 3, 1863. (Frederick 

Chapman, “The Battle of Chancellorsville,” 1865, Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, Museum Collection)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

64

of killed, wounded, and taken prisoner that totaled 

more than 17,500.26 General Hooker commanded his 

forces to a fi al defensive apex beyond the triangular 

intersection of Ely’s Ford Road and Mineral Springs 

Road, which had earlier been fortified w th trenches 

paralleling both roads (see fig. 1.50). ere, the 11th

Corps remained entrenched overnight into Monday, 

May 4, while Confederate forces occupied the rest of 

the battlefi ld. 

2nd Fredericksburg and Salem Church, 

Sunday-Monday, May 3–4, 1863

As the battle was raging at Chancellorsville at dawn on 

May 3, the Confederates were facing a setback at the 

eastern front around Fredericksburg. This eastern front 

had been held since the outbreak of the battle by a 

Confederate force of 12,000 troops under Major General Early in an effort to block the advance of 25,000 

US forces of the US 6th Corps under General Sedgwick. 

Sedgwick had crossed the river and occupied the town, 

with the two sides spread out across a two-mile front. 

On May 3, intense fi hting broke out just west of town 

along the Sunken Road at Marye’s Heights, where 

fi hting had taken place just six months earlier in the 

fir t Battle of Fredericksburg. On their third attempt, 

US forces captured the heights after heavy 

losses totaling more than 1,100 (fig. 1.54). This 

victory allowed Sedgwick to continue the US 

advance west along the turnpike to aid the effort at Chancellorsville. 

Confederate forces under General Cadmus 

Wilcox withdrew ahead of Sedgwick across 

the fi lds west of Fredericksburg, and amassed 

behind a wooded ridge at Salem Church, about 

four miles outside of town (fig. 1.55). ilcox 

took the ground south of the turnpike (plank 

road), and Brigadier General Paul Semmes 

took the fi ld to the north where his troops 

built trenches. Artillery was positioned along the road 

between the two lines.27 Wilcox was met there shortly 

after noon by brigades under McLaws and Anderson 

that General Lee had detached following the victory 

at Chancellorsville, bringing the Confederate forces to 

about 10,000. Sedgwick led his 23,000 troops across 

the fi lds east of Fredericksburg and reached a point 

beyond a former toll house on the plank road. Around 

3:30 pm, Sedgwick attacked the Confederate positions 

along the road, churchyard, and in the tangled understory of the woods that must have recalled conditions 

at Chancellorsville, while Confederate sharpshooters 

held the church. Fighting continued until darkness 

fell, and then resumed at dawn, with the most intense 

fi hting shifting to the US right near the Rappahannock 

River before ending in US withdrawal across the river.

Figure 1.53. War-time sketch of the Bullock Plantation showing rear 

US line at the time of the siege on the Chancellorsville Inn, May 3, 

1863, looking southwest with Elys Ford Road in middle ground. The 

artillery in the right foreground are part of the final US position. 

(Alfred Waud sketch, Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National 

Military Park, FRSP 2371)

Figure 1.54. Aftermath of the Battle of 2nd Fredericksburg, showing 

Confederate dead on the Sunken Road at Marye’s Heights, May 3, 

1863. (Matthew Brady photograph, National Archives, College Park, 

Maryland, 111-B-514)
65 

1. Site History, 1861–1865

US WITHDRAWALS, MAY 4–6, 1863

Despite the disapproval of his subordinates, General 

Hooker decided to retreat, instead of pressing the 

aggressive but significa tly weakened Confederate 

forces. On Monday May 4, the US army held its secure 

position at Chancellorsville behind Elys Ford Road and 

Mineral Springs Road, which connected to their supply 

routes across U.S. Ford. To the south, the Confederate 

army, joined late in the day by McLaws and Anderson 

returning from their victory at Salem Church, held the 

Chancellorsville intersection at Fairview. As a fie ce 

rainstorm on May 5 drenched smoldering remains of 

the intense fi e that raged in Chancellorsville on May 

3, the US forces began to withdraw across the Rappahannock River. Meanwhile, Confederate troops began 

to pick up the ravages of the battle. Major General 

McLaws reported, “By the next morning (May 5), the 

enemy had retired from this side of the river, and my 

command was employed in burying the dead, attending 

to the wounded, and collecting arms and accoutrements.”28 Other regiments assisted in the effort while 

bivouacked in tents at clearings and farms south to 

Catharpin Road. By May 6, the last of the US forces had 

withdrawn across the Rappahannock River, leaving 

hundreds of their dead and wounded behind.29

Following the battle, arrangements were made for the 

transfer of wounded US soldiers across enemy lines 

and for the internment of US dead, but many casualties 

remained on the fi ld, often hidden in the tangled and 

burned forest.30 The fi ld hospitals, which included the 

Fairview house and Wilderness Baptist Church, continued to tend to the massive number of casualties on both 

sides, often using every available surface for medical 

purposes. The lack of suffi ent doctors and sanitary 

conditions resulted in many deaths from infection and 

exposure. Amputated limbs and dead bodies littered 

the ground where so many wounded still awaited care, 

completely transforming once welcoming homes and 

churches.31

While some farmers were able to pick up with their 

lives after the battle, many others abandoned their 

farms. Fannie Chancellor and her daughters, who 

Figure 1.55. A Confederate map of the Battle of Salem Church along the Plank Road (turnpike) west of Fredericksburg, May 3, 1863. The 

Confederate position at far right is at Marye’s Heights, scene of fighting during the Battle of 2nd Fredericksburg (Detail, Jed. Hotchkiss, 

”Sketch of the Battles of Chancellorsville, Salem Church and Fredericksburg, May 2, 3 and 4 , 1863,” Report of Gen. R. E. Lee, Series I, vol. 

XXV, Part 1, 1895, annotated by SUNY ESF)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

66

had been left homeless by the traumatic devastation 

of the inn during the battle, were some of those who 

chose not to return.32 The proximity of US troops and 

the promise of the Emancipation Proclamation also 

encouraged any remaining enslaved African Americans 

in the region to head north with the US troops. At the 

Catharine Furnace, Charles Wellford had repairs underway by early 1864 to have the furnace back in blast 

to supply much-needed Confederate ammunition.33 

While the lives of the Chancellorsville residents were 

deeply disrupted by the battle, the Confederate victory 

did much for southern morale. Even after suffering the 

loss of over twenty percent of their fi hting force and 

the death of celebrated Lieutenant General Stonewall 

Jackson, the Confederate troops were emboldened by 

their victory to pursue the retreating US forces, where 

they would meet two months later at the fi lds of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.34

BATTLE OF THE WILDERNESS AND WAR’S END

After being defeated at Gettysburg on July 3, 1863, 

General Lee retreated south, weakened from the 

massive loss of life from the last few intensely violent 

battles. A year later, the new head of the US Army, General Ulysses S. Grant, aggressively pursued Lee across 

Virginia. 

Almost a year to the date after the Battle of Chancellorsville, the Army of the Potomac returned across the 

Rappahannock with no intention of repeating errors from their earlier engagement in the Wilderness. 

Although the battle resulted in no major tactical gain 

for either side, the severe loss of life that resulted from 

fi hting in this forbidding landscape hurt the Confederates far more than the US. While the most intense 

combat took place to the west and south of Chancellorsville, parts of the old battlefi ld were again scarred 

by fi hting. 

US forces under Generals Grant and Meade crossed 

the Rappahannock River on May 4, 1864 and established headquarters near the Wilderness Tavern, with 

plans to move south to more open country (fig. 1.56).

General Hancock’s troops crossed at Elys Ford and 

camped at Chancellorsville and the Alrich Farm on the 

night of May 4, 1864 before advancing southwest on 

Catharpin Road. Confederate forces under General Lee 

approached from the south and west, and established 

headquarters west of Chancellorsville along the Orange 

Plank Road at Widow Tapp’s farm, south of Brock 

Road and north of the unfini hed railroad. 

The US side quickly seized the key intersection of 

Brock Road and the Orange Plank Road, through 

which Stonewall Jackson had led his famous march a 

year earlier. US forces under General George Getty 

constructed trenches along both sides of Brock Road, 

extending from the Germanna (Culpeper) Plank Road 

south to the Stephens and Trigg farms at the terminus 

of the eastern leg of Brock Road (Herndon Road). 

This area, outside of the Wellford’s mine property, was 

heavily wooded, although the underbrush was not as 

thick as elsewhere (fig. 1.57). C nfederate forces under 

General Henry Heth meanwhile built trenches to the 

south along a parallel farm road west of the Stephens 

and Trigg farms. On May 5, intense fi hting broke out 

between these two lines. Field hospitals were set up at 

nearby farms to care for the large number of casualties, 

including four US division hospitals at the Carpenter 

farm along Herndon Road.35

At the Catharine Furnace, which Charles Wellford had 

been preparing for a new blast since it was damaged in 

the previous fi hting, US forces set up camp on May 6 

and set fi e to the furnace, which was deemed a military 

target. One of the US cavalrymen recalled,

In the descent from the upper level [of the furnace 

complex], a scene long to be remembered was 

presented to the vision. Fires had been lighted up 

by the sides of the roads, which revealed, by their 

glare, long lines of infantry, cavalry, and artillery, 

filli g up the tortuous ways in all directions, in a wavy 

motion, like the undulations of some vast serpent.36

On May 7, 1864, after two days of heavy fi hting in the 

Wilderness, General Grant gave orders for the troops 

to disengage, with neither side claiming a clear advantage. Both sides had suffered heavily: approximately 

18,000 dead and wounded on the US side, and more 
67 

1. Site History, 1861–1865

than 10,000 on the Confederate side. Unlike Chancellorsville, General Grant continued to advance south to 

take Richmond, but engaged Lee’s forces once again in 

series of combats centered around Spotsylvania Court 

House that began on May 8. On May 21, 1864, Grant 

disengaged his forces against the weakened Confederate army, and marched onward toward Richmond. 

Almost a year later, on April 9, 1865, General Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House.

Figure 1.56. Map of the Wilderness battlefield showing eastern part 

that extended across the earlier Chancellorsville battlefield and 

the route of Jackson’s march through the Trigg and Stevens farms 

and on Brock Road. (Detail, C. W. Howell, “Map of the battle fields

of the Wilderness, May 5th, 6th, and 7th, 1864,” 1865, annotated 

by SUNY ESF)

Figure 1.57. “View in the Woods in the Federal Lines on North Side of 

Orange Plank Road,” ca. May 1864. These woods (exact location not 

known) were older and had not recently been clearcut for farming 

or charcoal production. (From Fredericksburg: City of Hospitals, Item 

#90, Library of Congress, image 2009634199)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

68

WAR EFFECTS ON THE CHANCELLORSVILLE 

COMMUNITY

By 1865, Chancellorsville and the Wilderness had 

entered the national consciousness as the backdrop 

for some of the war’s most dramatic battles. Memoirs, 

newspaper articles, fi tion, and romanticized illustrations brought the gloomy and forbidding woods, the 

confusing chaos of battles, and the emotional impact of 

the war into the lives of people far across the country. 

Although the overall rural and forested character of the 

landscape remained, little of it was not impacted by the 

battles that raged in the area between 1862 and 1864. 

At war’s end, building ruins, torn-up roads, abandoned 

fi lds, and burned and battle-damaged woods characterized the Chancellorsville landscape (fig. 1.58). efensive earthworks crossed fi lds and woods (fig. 1.59).

Makeshift graves for nearly 1,500 US casualties, and 

perhaps a greater number of Confederate casualties, 

had been dug around the Chancellorsville Inn, Bullock 

Plantation, Perry Farm, the Wellford Plantation, and 

Talley Farm, among other sites. Human remains were 

scattered across the battlefi ld where dense woods 

and forest fi es had prevented retrieval, leaving only 

bones remaining amid brush, leaves, and fallen timber 

(fig. 1.60). E orts to identify and reinter the remains 

in proper burial grounds did not begin until 

after the war. While much of the landscape 

was in ruins, some residents were restoring 

their farms by repairing buildings and fence 

lines, leveling defensive earthworks to return 

fi lds to active use, and removing the detritus 

of war.37

The fi hting and passage of troops through 

Chancellorsville tore up the roads, including the privately maintained Orange Plank 

Road. The Fredericksburg and Valley Plank 

Road Company had gone out of business around 1862, 

probably around the time US forces fir t swept through 

the area, so there was no company to rebuild the road.38

For years after the battles, trees lay across the roadbed 

and the planked surface remained impassable, leading to use of the muddy adjoining unplanked lane (fig.

1.61). The old Orange Turnpike was most likely in a 

Figure 1.58. Battle damage to dense second-growth woods in 

an undetermined location in the Wilderness or Chancellorsville 

battlefields, illustrating conditions at war’s end, photographed 

1866. The identity of the person is not known. (Fredericksburg and 

Spotsylvania National Military Park, FRSP 1772)

Figure 1.59. US defensive line of earth and timber 

south of the Orange Plank Road, possibly looking 

northeast along part of General Slocum’s line that 

cut a swath through the woods south of Fairview, 

1866. The person is probably surveying the battlefield 

(Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military 

Park, FRSP 2637)
69 

1. Site History, 1861–1865

similar condition, along with the minor roads throughout the region. Despite the destruction, the roads continued to serve as the structure of the rural community.

Orange Turnpike

Refle ting its role as the primary transportation corridor in the region, the Orange Turnpike, including the 

planked section between the Chancellorsville Inn and 

Wilderness Church, formed the center of the Chancellorsville battlefi ld. The properties along the road, 

notably Fairview with the Chancellorsville Inn, saw the 

greatest destruction. 

Eastern Turnpike Farms

The farms of Reuben McGee and his sons Absalom 

and Ebenezer along the north side of the turnpike east 

of the Chancellorsville Inn witnessed significa t action 

during the Battle of Chancellorsville. The brothers 

were some of the most famous unionists in Spotsylvania County, and may have helped the US army develop 

its plan of attack at Chancellorsville.39 Little is known 

of the action at Ebenezer McGee’s farm, except that 

it was left in ruins (fig. 1.62). euben McGee’s farm, 

which was the scene of the fir t major clash on May 

1, 1863, was not destroyed. The Absalom McGee 

house, known as the White House by soldiers, became 

a hospital on May 1 for US General George Sykes’ 

division, which was engaged to the east. After the US 

troops evacuated the area that day, Confederate forces 

under Captain McCarthy set up batteries across the 

turnpike and east of the house. On the morning of May 

3 as the battle raged around the Chancellorsville Inn, 

Major S. P. Hamilton, a Confederate artillerist, recalled, 

“Captain McCarthy’s position was changed during 

the morning from the left of the road down to a white 

house on the right, having, by this change a fuller view 

of the lines and batteries of the enemy [at Chancellorsville].”40 The Absalom McGee house survived the 

war, but the small house (Newton) across the turnpike 

and east of Furnace Road that may have been a tollgate 

keeper’s house, was left in ruins (see fig. 1.61) 41

Chancellorsville (Fairview Plantation)

The Chancellor plantation’s broad open fi lds, prominent brick house, and location at a key intersection 

made it a prime defensive position that led to tremendous destruction and loss of life there. At the war’s 

end, the bodies of 1,279 US soldiers had been buried at 

Figure 1.60. Remains of unburied casualties in an unidentified part 

of the wooded Chancellorsville battlefield reflecting conditions at 

war’s end, photographed 1866. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania 

National Military Park, FRSP 1034)

Figure 1.61. The Orange Plank Road (turnpike), looking northeast 

at the intersection with Bullock Road showing post-battle 

conditions, photographed 1866. Visible at right is the obstructed 

planked lane; at left is the unplanked lane. (Fredericksburg 

and Spotsylvania National Military Park, FRSP 1516)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

70

Fairview in undetermined locations, probably near the 

Fairview house that had been used as a hospital, and at 

the nearby Chancellor family cemetery.42 The Chancellorsville Inn stood as a poignant ruin, its charred 

brick walls and gaping window openings a haunting 

reminder of the intensity of the battle and the great 

loss infl cted on the community (fi s. 1.63, 1.64). The 

west wing walls were the most intact, and these were 

shored up with wood braces, perhaps in anticipation 

of rebuilding, although the Chancellor family would 

not return. The whitewashed fences surrounding the 

inn were gone, and some of the ornamental trees were 

broken and charred, but several remained relatively unscathed. US trenches lined the front of the house and 

the fi lds to the west (fig. 1.65). The wood frame barns, 

slave cabins, and outbuildings apparently burned down 

along with the house, leaving the brick ruins the only 

standing structure at the once prominent intersection.43 

Across the turnpike from the inn, US artillery lunettes 

lined the Fairview entrance road, with a second perpendicular line that evidenced the shift in strategy following Jackson’s surprise attack from the west. There 

was also a long line of trenches constructed under 

General Slocum through the woods to the south, from 

the Orange Plank Road west to Hazel Grove (see fig.

1.65). The old Fairview house had been pressed into 

use as a Confederate hospital for US prisoners. One of 

the patients described the state of the house following 

the battle: 

It was a dilapidated place and during the battle it had 

been riddled by shot and shell. The ground around 

this cabin [described as 30 feet long and 20 feet wide 

Figure 1.62. The battlefield along the old turnpike (Route 3) and River Road east of the Chancellorsville Inn as surveyed in 1867. The upper 

farm labeled “McGee” is the Absalom McGee farm, and the “R. McGee” farm at the lower right is the Reuben McGee farm. Across from W. 

Stratton is the site of the Newton house on the Alrich Farm property. The W. Stratton, R. McGee, and J. Jett houses were built after 1865. 

The dark lines are earthworks; because this was US survey, it did not document the line of Confederate works (McLaws’ line) along Furnace 

Road. (Detail, General Nathaniel Michler, “Chancellorsville,” 1867, Library of Congress, digital Id g3884c cw0528300, annotated by SUNY ESF)
71 

1. Site History, 1861–1865

with three or four rooms]...had at some previous time 

been planted...[in] corn or tobacco. The rows and 

hills left after cultivation were still visible with the hills 

at least six inches higher than the little valleys...44

The house was heavily damaged during the battle, with 

shell holes and missing windows and doors resulting 

from its position just behind the line of US artillery. 

It survived Chancellorsville, but was destroyed by 

1864, probably during the second wave of fi hting 

that swept the region during the Battle of the Wilderness, leaving just the stone chimney. 

In the woods northwest of the Fairview house along 

the south side of the turnpike across from the site 

of Jackson’s wounding was the unfini hed Van Wart 

house (also spelled Van Wert), which was probably 

the unfini hed church of Reverend John Wyckoff

that was most likely built by his son-in-law, William Van Wart. At the time of the Chancellorsville 

Battle, William Van Wart may have been living in 

the building following his release from a Confederate prison in July 1862, and so soldiers identified he 

building as “Van Wart.” The building suffered extensive 

damage during the battle, including what one observer 

described as “shell-torn roof.” The building was most 

likely torn down after the battle.45

Figure 1.63. The ruins of the Chancellorsville Inn, looking northwest across the intersection of the Orange Plank 

Road/old turnpike and Elys Ford Road, 1866. (Library of Congress, digital Id ppmsca- 32808)

Figure 1.64. The ruins of the Chancellorsville Inn, looking 

northeast from the Orange Plank Road, 1866. The trees were 

scarred, but not killed by the battle and building fi e. The 

overgrown area at left may be US trenches. (Fredericksburg and 

Spotsylvania National Military Park, FRSP 3110R)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

72

was behind the Confederate artillery line opposite the 

US line at Fairview. A barn/stable and springhouse apparently survived. The stable that was part of the group 

of buildings along the turnpike at the entrance to Hazel 

Grove was probably destroyed, but the wooden house 

that had been a schoolhouse and later the Guard family’s blacksmith shop survived.46

Locust Grove, Wilderness Church, 

Hawkins and Talley Farms

Locust Grove, the home of Melzi Chancellor since 

1859 with its house long known as Dowdall’s Tavern, 

was at the center of Jackson’s Flank Attack that raged in 

Hazel Grove

Hazel Grove lay in ruins after the battle, with US earthworks along the fi lds and the roads from Fairview and 

the turnpike crossed by earthworks (see fig. 1.65). Thirty-fi e US soldiers were buried at the plantation, which 

the burial corps identified as “Ge . Chancellor’s Farm.” 

The house at Hazel Grove, the residence of Melzi 

Chancellor prior to 1859 and purportedly occupied by 

a family named Sullivan during the war, was destroyed 

or damaged during the fir t day of the battle as US 

troops moved through the area. Any remains may have 

been further damaged during the intense artillery fi e 

on May 3 that occurred around the house site, which 

Figure 1.65. The battlefield at Fairview/Chancellorsville Inn, Hazel Grove, and Bullock plantations as surveyed following the war. The 

dark lines are earthworks; the small curved lines near the Fairview house ruins are artillery lunettes. (Detail, General Nathaniel Michler, 

“Chancellorsville,” 1867, Library of Congress, digital Id g3884c cw0528300, annotated by SUNY ESF)
73 

1. Site History, 1861–1865

the surrounding fi lds on May 2, 1863. Despite its use 

as the headquarters for the US 11th Corps and later as 

a fi ld hospital, the ancient house remained standing, 

although damaged (fi s. 1.66, 1.67). The surrounding 

fi lds had been ravaged with the construction of US 

earthworks to the south, and in a later north-south 

line to the east. Most of the fi ld fences had been taken 

down, but some of the whitewashed plank fences 

around the tavern yard survived the battle. 

Across the street, Melzi Chancellor’s parish at Wilderness Church sustained damage during Jackson’s 

Flank Attack, but was not destroyed. The author J. T. 

Trowbridge visited Wilderness Church in 1865 and 

wrote that it “...showed the marks of such usage as 

every uninhabited house receives at the hands of a wild 

soldiery. Red Mars has little respect of the temples of 

the Prince of Peace.”47 It may have been repaired soon 

after and resumed its use as a place of worship for the 

diminished community.

The Hawkins and Talley farms, which were near where 

Jackson launched his flank ttack, saw significa t action as headquarters and fi ld hospitals, but were not 

destroyed (see fig. 1.67). After the flank ttack, the 

Hawkins family remained in their house, which had 

served as the headquarters of General Carl Schurz of 

the 11th Corps, and presumably continued farming the 

property. Across the old turnpike, Lucy Talley recalled 

that her farmhouse, which was the headquarters of 

General Devens of the 11th Corps, “....was right in the 

midst of the fi ht and was hit by a good many bullets....

the war ended fi ally, but the place was stripped of 

nearly everything.”48 Once the Confederates captured 

the farm on May 2, it was converted into a hospital. 

Thirteen US soldiers were buried at the farm. Like the 

Hawkins, the Talley family returned and repaired their 

farm.

Luckett Farm

At the far western end of Chancellorsville, the Luckett farmhouse witnessed 

Jackson’s march to the flank ttack, 

after turning east onto the turnpike 

from Brock Road. The farm was outside of the battlefi ld and probably saw 

little if any damage during the Battle of 

Chancellorsville. During the Battle of 

the Wilderness, however, it was pressed 

into service as a hospital for the US 5th

Corps.49

Elys Ford Road and River Road

Elys Ford Road, which had served together with U.S. 

Ford Road and Mineral Springs Road as the US lifeline 

during the battle, was bordered to the east by US 

trenches and artillery lunettes that in part formed the 

fi al defensive position on May 3-5. River Road also 

had US trenches crossing it about a half mile east of the 

inn, and to the south parallel to the old turnpike. Aside 

from the lower part of Elys Ford Road at the Chancellorsville Inn, these roads remained largely behind the 

US front. Kalbach’s Sawmill north of the intersection 

of Elys Ford Road and U.S. Ford Road was a prominent 

landmark and hospital on the battlefi ld just behind the 

fi al US lines, where 71 US soldiers were buried. The 

Figure 1.66. Melzi Chancellor’s damaged but still standing house 

at Locust Grove, known as Dowdall’s Tavern, looking southwest 

across the Orange Plank Road showing post-battle condition, 1866. 

(Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, FRSP 1076)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

74

the Bullock house as fi hting continued a short distance to the south. A US soldier recalled, 

At an angle in the breastworks lately constructed stood 

the White House...In front and to the left of this house 

there was excellent opportunity for a view of the active 

combat. The few points in this thickly-wooded region 

to designate locality has brought this unpretentious 

dwelling into distinguished prominence. In its rear a 

large tent had been pitched for the use of army headquarters. The fl ps open, its occupants and their doings 

were plainly in view. General Hooker, in reclining 

posture, still suffering from the blow he received from 

a falling pillar of the Chancellorsville House, was 

surrounded by a number of general and staff-officer 51

Confederate forces advanced as US troops retreated 

east of Elys Ford Road later in the day, leaving the 

mill survived the battle, but was burned in late 1863 or 

1864.50

Bullock Plantation 

The Bullock Plantation, at the front of the fi al US 

defensive line at Chancellorsville, suffered extensive 

damage. The house, which soldiers described as a 

“large white house,” served as General Couch’s headquarters and as a fi ld hospital during May 1 and 2, 

with its doors taken off their hinges for use as operating tables. At sundown on May 2, Confederate shelling 

began from the southwest, and the hospital was moved 

behind the US defensive lines to the north. After the 

destruction of the Chancellorsville Inn on the morning 

of May 3, General Hooker removed his headquarters to 

Figure 1.67. The battlefield at Locust Grove, Wilderness Church, and the Hawkins and Talley farms as surveyed following the war. The dark 

lines are earthworks. (Detail, General Nathaniel Michler, “Chancellorsville,” 1867, and “Wilderness,” 1867, Library of Congress, digital Id 

g3884c cw0528300 and g3884w cw0666000, annotated by SUNY ESF)
75 

1. Site History, 1861–1865

house a charred ruin (see fig. 1.65). Thirty-fi e US 

soldiers were buried on the property.52

In the fall of 1863 several months after the battle, 

Catharine Bullock described its impact on her family:

I once had a home & contentment but through the 

will of God & fate I am homeless. When the dreadful 

battle of Chancellorsville was fought...my home 

was entirely destroyed. The house torn down from 

necessity. Entrenchments cut all over the place. My 

servants all gone to the Yankees. I am now left without 

any support but the labor of my own hand...53 

Decker (Grady) Farm

Along River Road east of the Bullock Plantation, the 

wooded route was mostly in the rear of the US front 

during the battle. The one farm directly on the road, 

belonging to the Decker or Grady family, survived the 

war.54

Orange Plank Road and Catharpin Road

The eastern leg of the Orange Plank Road south of the 

Chancellorsville Inn (Route 610), served as the Confederate approach to the battlefi ld from Fredericksburg. 

The Confederates did not erect defensive works along 

the road.

Alrich and Perry Farms

The Alrich and Perry farms along the Orange Plank 

Road near Catharpin Road were taken over by Confederate forces on May 1, 1863. The Alrich house subsequently fell behind US lines and was used as a hospital 

while the family hid in the cellar. Following the Confederate capture of Chancellorsville on May 3, Confederate troops recaptured the two farms. The Perry house 

served as a Confederate fi ld hospital, and eighty-four 

US soldiers, and perhaps many Confederate casualties, 

were interred at the farm. At the Alrich Farm, Confederate forces camped there for nearly two weeks, as John 

Alrich recalled:

During the fi ht and for nearly two weeks after, the wagon 

trains of the [Confederate] army were on this land and 

[the accompanying animals] grazed the...wheat, rye, 

and grass. Gen. Lee’s reserve ordnance trains camped 

in the clover fi ld...On the clover fi ld there were fift 

wagons and ambulances...the lands were grazed very 

closely. No wheat, rye, or grass was saved that year.55

The Alrich family was disrupted again when US General David Gregg’s division camped at the farm during the Battle of the Wilderness. The adjoining Perry 

farm to the east probably shared a similar experience. 

Despite their occupation, both farms remained largely 

intact by the war’s end (fig. 1.68) 56

Piney Branch Church, Young Farm, and Lewis Farms

The farms along Catharpin Road south of the Alrich 

Farm and the unfini hed railroad corridor saw little 

action during the Battle of Chancellorsville, although 

Confederate troops may have bivouacked in their fi lds 

and taken over the farmhouses. US troops moved 

through the area again during the Battle of the Wilderness.57

Orange Plank Road and Germanna Plank Road 

The western part of the Orange Plank Road (Route 

621) was Jackson’s original planned route for his surprise attack on the US right flank n May 1, 1863, but 

he changed his route to continue north on Brock Road 

to the turnpike. Aside from the crossing of Jackson’s 

march and action near Dowdall’s Tavern during the 

Flank Attack, the western leg of the Orange Plank Road 

saw the most action during the Battle of the Wilderness, when fi hting broke out on May 5, 1864 from the 

Brock Road intersection west. Both plank roads were 

probably in poor condition from battle damage and 

lack of maintenance, since the plank road company had 

gone out of business in ca. 1862.58

Burton Farm and Hickman (Wolfree) House

Around 1861 or 1862, the Hickman house—the tollgate 

at the intersection of the two plank roads—became the 

home of the Wolfree (also spelled Wolfrey) family after 

Ben Hickman died of smallpox at the beginning of the 

war. 

The clearing on Burton Hill provided Stonewall Jackson or his scouts with a prospect to the north of US 

positions along the turnpike-plank road intersection at 

Dowdall’s Tavern, Wilderness Church, and the Talley 
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

76

tense fi hting a short distance to the west. By the war’s 

end, the Burton house had apparently been destroyed, 

but the Hickman house remained standing (fig. 1.69) 60

Brock Road

Much of Brock Road was lined by defensive earthworks thrown up by US forces during the Battle of the 

Wilderness. A broad swath of woods had been cleared 

along the earthwork on the west side of the road from 

the intersection with the Orange Plank Road north to 

the Germanna Plank Road, perhaps to create an abatis 

of felled trees as General Slocum had at Fairview (see 

fig. 1.69). The effect of the battle on the woods around 

the intersection of Brock Road and the plank road was 

described by a writer shortly after the war:

and Hawkins farms on May 2, 1863. According to later 

accounts of Confederate veterans, “from a covert [on 

Burton Hill] they looked down directly across the tree 

tops into the plank road [turnpike]. The entire 11th 

Corps stretched out before their gaze, facing south.”59

Realizing that the US troops had advanced farther west 

than expected, Jackson rerouted his march to continue 

north on Brock Road to reach the turnpike at a more 

westerly point. 

The Burton Farm and the Hickman-Wolfree house presumably saw little direct action during Jackson’s Flank 

Attack on May 2, 1863, since fi hting occurred in the 

farms along the turnpike to the north. Both the Burton 

Farm and the Hickman-Wolfree house may have seen 

action during the Battle of the Wilderness, given inFigure 1.68. The battlefield along the Orange Plank Road around the Alrich and Perry farms southeast of the Chancellorsville Inn, as surveyed 

following the war. (Detail, General Nathaniel Michler, “Chancellorsville,” 1867, Library of Congress, digital Id g3884ccw0528300, annotated 

by SUNY ESF)
77 

1. Site History, 1861–1865

Heavy breastworks thrown up on Brock’s cross-road, 

planks from the plank-road piled up and lashed against 

trees in the woods, to form a shelter for our [US] 

pickets, knapsacks, haversacks, pieces of clothing, 

fragments of harness, tin plates, canteens, some pierced 

with balls, fragments of shells, with here and there a 

round-shot, or a shell unexploded, straps, buckles, 

cartridge-boxes, socks, old shoes, rotting letters, 

desolate tracts of perforated and broken trees.61

Cook Farm

The Cook Farm, in the area along Brock Road known 

as Cooktown south of the Orange Plank Road, witnessed the passing of Jackson’s march on May 2, 1863, 

and US troops burned much of the farm’s fencing for 

fuel. It was not until the Battle of the Wilderness a year 

later that the Cook Farm saw more significa t action. 

US troops built trenches along Brock Road in front of 

the farm, and the Cook farmhouse was used as a hospital. The house, however, survived the battle or was 

rebuilt (see fig. 1.69) 62

Stephens, Trigg, and Fitzhugh Farms

Jackson’s forces marched through the Stephens and 

Trigg farms, and past the old Hawkins house, on their 

way to the flank ttack on May 2, 1863. Aside from this 

brief period of activity, the farms probably saw little 

action. Things changed a year later during the Battle 

of the Wilderness, when US forces built trenches that 

extended across the fi lds south from Brock Road, 

and blocked off the entrance roads to the farms in a 

line that continued northeast across Brock Road (see 

fig. 1.69). As at the Cook Farm, battle damage at the 

Stephens and Trigg farms, aside from the trench building, was apparently not great because both farmhouses 

survived or were rebuilt soon after the war’s end. The 

old Hawkins house north of the Stephens farm, which 

stood just behind the US earthworks, was destroyed at 

this time. To the south, the Fitzhugh Farm was outside 

the fi ld of battle.63

Figure 1.69. The battlefield along the Orange Plank Road and Brock Road southwest of Dowdall’s Tavern, as surveyed following the war. 

(Detail, General Nathaniel Michler, “Chancellorsville,” and “Wilderness” maps, 1867, Library of Congress, digital Id g3884c cw0528300 and 

g3884w cw0666000, annotated by SUNY ESF)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

78

road.64 As many as 2,907 wounded US soldiers were 

brought to the farm between May 5 and 7, 1864; 83 

died. At least twenty-one remains were interred at the 

farm in a temporary military cemetery located north of 

the farm buildings. The Carpenter farmhouse survived 

the war.65

Catharine Furnace Property

Aside from the passing of Jackson’s flank arch and 

skirmishes on May 2, 1863, the Catharine Furnace 

property, including the Wellford Plantation, experienced little destruction during the Battle of Chancellorsville. Action around the Wellford house did, howCarpenter Farm

The farm of James and Elizabeth Carpenter, located 

to the north of the Stephens and Trigg farms along the 

east leg of Brock Road (Herndon Road), was outside 

the line of action during the battles, but was one of the 

closest farms to the US front along Brock Road during 

the Battle of the Wilderness. Four fi ld hospitals for the 

US 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Divisions of the 2nd Corps were 

set up in the fi lds surrounding the farmhouse. According to the army’s chief medical offic , “The site was a 

good one, with good water, and two ambulance roads 

leading to the front, which was only a mile distant”—

perhaps a reference to Herndon Road and a woods 

Figure 1.70. The battlefield at the Catharine Furnace property, showing the area west of the Orange Plank Road and south of Hazel Grove, 

as surveyed following the war. “Wolfert” is Wellford. (Detail, General Nathaniel Michler, “Chancellorsville,” 1867, Library of Congress, digital 

Id g3884c cw0528300, annotated by SUNY ESF)
79 

1. Site History, 1861–1865

ever, lead to at least ten US casualties, who were buried 

at “Wellford’s Farm.”66 

After the battle, Confederate troops camped around 

Catharine Furnace for fi e weeks, during which time 

they used up many of the tools and irons stores, and 

also used approximately 700 panels of two-rail wood 

fencing from the adjoining fi lds for fuel. The Wellfords 

reactivated the furnace once the troops had left, but 

the production lasted less than a year, until US forces 

encamped there around May 6, 1864 during the Battle 

of the Wilderness. To prevent use of the furnace by the 

enemy, they left the complex in ruins. A soldier later 

recalled, “a blast furnace, with its accumulated stores 

of fuel, broke out in grand conflag ation, illuminating a 

vast extent of country by its lurid light.”67 A Confederate report on the Wilderness Campaign issued in November 1864 noted that the furnace had been “burned 

by the enemy” The Wellford house, however, remained 

standing (fig. 1.70) 68

Despite the destruction, the Catharine Furnace Company remained active and may have either rebuilt the 

old furnace, or built a new one nearby. By January 1865, 

the company was hiring slaves to run this furnace, and 

was in business through the remainder of the war to 

fulfill he Confederate government’s need for pig iron. 

Toward the end of the war, J. Warren Slaughter, who 

had part ownership in the Chancellorsville (Fairview) 

plantation, took over leadership of the company from 

Charles Wellford.69

LANDSCAPE OVERVIEW, 1865 (DRAWING 1.2)

By the end of the Civil War in April 1865, the landscape of the Chancellorsville battlefi ld park and 

its surroundings was emerging from calamity. It had 

been nearly two years since the Battle of Chancellorsville, and less than a year since the Wilderness. The 

landscape, with its land scarred by defensive works, 

destroyed buildings and roads, burned woods, and 

toppled trees, conveyed an eerie stillness. The horrors of Chancellorsville were conveyed by artists and 

writers such as Walt Whitman in his memorandum of 

Chancellorsville: 

What history, again I say, can ever give—for who can 

know, the mad, determin’d tussle of the armies, in all their 

separate large and little squads—as this—each steep’d 

from crown to toe in desperate, mortal purports? Who 

know the confl ct hand-to-hand—the many confl cts in 

the dark, those shadowy-tangled, fla hing-moonbeam’d 

woods—the writhing groups and squads—hear through 

the woods the cries, the din, the cracking guns and 

pistols—the distant cannon—the cheers and calls, and 

threats and awful music of the oaths—the indescribable 

mix—the officers’ rders, persuasions, encouragements—

the devils fully rous’d in human hearts.70

Such terrible memories and the physical destruction 

forced many residents away, including the Chancellors 

and Bullocks, while others returned by the war’s end to 

rebuild despite the significa t pall cast by the destruction. Because the Chancellorsville Inn and the rest 

of the Fairview Plantation had been the physical and 

social center of the Chancellorsville community, the 

destruction of these landmarks perpetrated widespread 

despair.

Natural Systems and Features

In 1865, forest remained the dominant natural characteristic of the Chancellorsville battlefi ld landscape, 

but it had been heavily impacted over the course of 

the war by artillery fi e, fi hting, and continued mining 

operations. The forests in the areas of heaviest fi hting had been either cut down to build defensive lines, 

or were damaged by rifle a d cannon fi e that often 

topped and smashed trees. Areas decimated by forest 

fi e, notably around Fairview and the Bullock plantation, were showing fresh green growth beneath charred 

stags by the spring of 1865. The Catharine Furnace 

Company cleared hundreds of acres during its active 

years between 1862 and 1865 to produce charcoal to 

fuel the blast furnace, and where new iron mines were 

opened, such as at the intersection of Jackson Trail East 

and Brock Road. Such destruction fostered a continued 

second-growth, dense character to many parts of the 

forest. Since there were also numerous untended farm 

fi lds, these landscapes also probably contributed to an 

overall increase in successional vegetation. 
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

80

stood abandoned at the war’s end. Iron mining and 

production had made a comeback during the war 

through operations of the Catharine Furnace Company, and may have been ongoing at the time of the war’s 

end, although at an undetermined location of a rebuilt 

furnace. 

Circulation

Circulation patterns in the Chancellorsville battlefi ld 

landscape remained little changed between 1861 and 

1865, although the war had infl cted significa t damage. 

The Orange and Germanna (Culpeper) plank roads 

went from maintained toll roads in 1861 to abandoned 

and ruined condition following the Chancellorsville 

and Wilderness battles. Along with the old Orange 

Turnpike, however, these roads remained the primary 

transportation corridors in the area. Some roads remained partially obstructed by defensive earthworks, 

downed trees, and other debris, such the Orange Plank 

Road, Brock Road, Mineral Springs Road, River Road, 

and the entrance road to Hazel Grove.

The one new road during this period was a mine road 

built by Charles Wellford extending south and west 

from the Wellford plantation to Brock Road to access 

iron mines and wood. This was the road that Wellford 

directed Jackson to take for his shortcut to the flank ttack (general alignment of Jackson Trail East). 

Topography 

The construction of defensive earthworks introduced 

a new type of topographic feature in the Chancellorsville battlefi ld landscape. These were typically 

shallow trenches with low earthen parapets, generally 

less than four feet high. Some of these earthworks may 

have been fortified w th logs and had an abatis in front, 

which was a protective border of felled trees and debris 

intended to function as a blockade. Artillery was typically placed behind earthen parapets in the shape of 

a crescent, known as a lunette. There were more than 

forty lunettes at Chancellorsville and nearly twelve 

miles of trench earthworks erected during the Battle 

of Chancellorsville, not counting miles of earthworks 

Spatial Organization

In 1865, the overall spatial character of the Chancellorsville battlefi ld landscape formed by patterns of 

road corridors and fi lds in the forested region remained little changed since the beginning of the war. 

Exceptions included the creation of open corridors in 

wooded areas along US defensive lines, notably along 

Brock Road south of the Germanna Plank Road, and 

along Slocum’s line in the woods south and east of the 

Fairview clearing. Although many of the fi lds had suffered during the battles and successional growth may 

have begun on those that were abandoned, the relatively short duration of the war left insuffi ent time for 

loss of open space to forest succession. 

In contrast to larger patterns, spatial details within 

individual farms, plantations, and churches were heavily impacted by the war. At the Chancellorsville Inn, 

the loss of fences and outbuildings left the brick ruins 

of the inn standing in a largely open fi ld, with only the 

remaining ornamental trees along the roads providing 

enclosure. The destruction of the old Fairview house 

and its fenced yard and outbuildings also removed a 

long-standing space in the landscape. To the north, 

only a fi ld remained where the Bullock farmstead had 

stood. At farmhouses that survived or were rebuilt, 

many fences were in the process of being rebuilt by the 

war’s end as farms were returned to production. 

Land Use

The most notable change in land use during the Civil 

War period was the successive waves of military operations that swept through Chancellorsville between 

May 1 and 5, 1863, and May 5 and 7, 1864. The changes 

wrought by the war on the landscape would never be 

fully erased. 

Land use in Chancellorsville remained primarily vacant 

or agricultural in 1865, with some properties, such 

as the Alrich and Hawkins farms, slowly returning to 

productivity. Signs of the community’s reemergence 

after four years of war were also evident in the reopening of Wilderness Church. Certain properties, such 

as Fairview, Hazel Grove, and the Bullock Plantation, 
81 

1. Site History, 1861–1865

along Brock Road and off the Orange Plank Road built 

during the Battle of the Wilderness. 

Most of the earthworks were erected by the US Army, 

and consisted of more carefully built works in an 

east-west orientation built prior to Jackson’s Flank 

Attack on May 2, 1863. More hastily built earthworks 

in a north-south orientation were the US response to 

Jackson’s surprise attack. Confederate earthworks from 

the Chancellorsville campaign were primarily in the 

eastern part of the battlefi ld. Confederates also took 

over some of the US earthworks near Bullock Road as 

the front moved east on May 2. 

The US and Confederate earthworks were inconspicuous features in the landscape, made more so by the accumulation of debris and trees used in part to construct 

them. By 1865, the earthworks had probably become 

further obscured due to growth of vegetation and leaf 

litter. 

Other topographic changes in the landscape during this 

period included new or enlarged iron surface pit mines 

associated with reopening of the Catharine Furnace 

during the war years. These included mines near the 

intersection of Brock Road and Furnace Road, and 

possibly some north of Bullock Road. 

Vegetation

The war years saw crops destroyed by troop movements or harvested to feed the armies. Swaths of woodlots were cleared for construction of earthworks, and 

large areas of forest were destroyed by battle-sparked 

fi es. 

The large specimen oak tree in the middle of the 

Fairview clearing, which survived the battle, was 

purportedly used as a US signal station. The nearby 

peach orchard at the old Fairview house was destroyed, 

but other orchards survived or were revived at the 

Hawkins, McGee, Alrich, and Perry farms. At the 

Chancellorsville Inn, some of the elm and poplar trees 

that lined the front of the building had been damaged 

from artillery fi e and the fi e that destroyed the building. 

At the time of the war’s end in April 1865 with fi hting 

well to the south, Chancellorsville farmers had probably begun to repair their fi lds and replant. It was 

the fir t spring planting season since the Battle of the 

Wilderness swept through the area a year earlier. Many 

local residents would have quickly reestablished their 

domestic vegetable gardens to supply much-needed 

food in the war-ravaged economy. 

Buildings and Structures

Very few buildings and structures in Chancellorsville 

survived the war unscathed. Where not fi ed upon, 

buildings were damaged through occupation by troops 

and use as fi ld hospitals. The loss of major buildings, including the Chancellorsville Inn, the Fairview 

house, the Hazel Grove house, and the Bullock house, 

removed landmarks of the community. Barns and 

other outbuildings associated with these houses were 

mostly destroyed as well. While concealed deep within 

the woods, the Catharine Furnace complex was also 

destroyed, the result of a massive fi e during the Battle 

of the Wilderness, but the brick Wellford house to the 

south survived. 

Views and Vistas

Primarily views and vistas in 1865 along road corridors and farm fi lds in the Chancellorsville battlefi ld 

landscape remained little changed from the antebellum 

period, although they took on a new military role. The 

destruction of forests through fi e, artillery damage, 

and for construction of earthworks created openings 

that allowed for new vistas and fi tered views.

The lack of views through the dense, second-growth 

forest that dominated the region played a decisive role 

in the battles of both Chancellorsville and Wilderness. 

Without clear firi g lines, US forces were unable to 

gain an advantage despite their much greater numbers 

as troops dispersed through the woods. The lack of 

visibility in the region also allowed Stonewall Jackson 

to secretly move his troops to the US right flank or his 

famous surprise attack. The clearing on Burton’s Hill, 

however, provided Jackson with key strategic information on US positions in the farms to the north that 
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

82

Civil War period, with widespread structural ruins, 

burials, above-ground human remains, and abandoned 

earthworks. There were approximately 1,496 US burials 

on the battlefi ld and a greater number of uninterred 

remains. There were probably similar or greater numbers for Confederate casualties on the battlefi ld. The 

defensive earthworks that crisscrossed the landscape 

were becoming covered in leaf litter and new growth 

after one to two seasons of abandonment.

ENDNOTES, 1861–1865

1 National Park Service, “Battle of Chancellorsville,” 

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park 

website, http://www.nps.gov/FRSP/chist.htm (accessed 

June 2013). 

2 Noel G. Harrison, Chancellorsville Battlefield Sit s

(Lynchburg, VA: H. E. Howard, Inc., 1990), 17, 70; 

Deed, Wyeth et al to Wyckoff, 1891, in Daniel Crozier, 

“Archaeological Investigation and Stabilization of the 

Chancellorsville Inn” (Unpublished report prepared for 

the National Park Service, Temple University, 1979), 236. 

3 Harrison, Chancellorsville Battlefield Sit s, 89; Nathaniel 

Michler, “Chancellorsville...Prepared...under the 

Authority of the Hon. Secretary of War, 1867” (N.Y. 

Lithographic, Engraving & Printing Co., 1867). Harrison 

also postulates that the Van Wart house may have been 

begun by Melzi Chancellor prior to 1860 while he resided 

at nearby Hazel Grove. 

4 Susanna M. Lee, “Central Virginia at War, 1859-1870: 

When the Homefront Became the Battlefi ld in the 

American Civil War” (PhD dissertation, Department of 

History, North Carolina State University, 2008), 73-82.

5 Sean Patrick Adams, “Iron from the Wilderness: The 

History of Virginia’s Catharine Furnace...Historic 

Resource Study” (Unpublished National Park Service 

report, June 2011), 66; Noel G. Harrison, “Gazetteer 

of Historic Sites Related to the Fredericksburg and 

Spotsylvania National Military Park, Volume I” 

(Unpublished National Park Service report, 1986), 201, 

212.

6 Adams, 64.

7 Major Robert Hardaway recollection, quoted in 

Harrison, Chancellorsville Battlefield Sit s, 58. 

8 Account of Jedediah Hotchkiss’ visit to the Wellford 

House on May 2, 1863, in Harrison, Chancellorsville 

Battlefield Sit s, 65.

allowed him to redirect his flank ttack farther to the 

west.

The views along roads and in the relatively few large 

open fi lds of Chancellorsville, primarily around 

Wilderness Church, and at Fairview and Hazel Grove, 

allowed troops to advance in traditional charges with 

clear firi g lines toward the opposing forces. Artillery 

were set up in the openings with long vistas for firi g 

shot, including the heights of Hazel Grove southwest 

of Fairview, at Fairview facing west across the clearing 

toward the west and south, and at the south point of 

Hooker’s Apex along Elys Ford Road facing southwest 

across the Bullock plantation.

Small-Scale Features

Small-scale features in the Chancellorsville battlefi ld 

landscape most impacted during the Civil War period 

were fences. Because they inhibited troop movements, 

a large percentage were taken down during the battles, 

or were destroyed during fi hting. Many were also 

used for fuel. Around the Chancellorsville Inn, there 

were no remains in 1865 of the whitewashed picket and 

plank fences that defi ed the surrounding yards. At 

Dowdall’s Tavern, however, some of the surrounding 

whitewashed plank fences survived. As farmers began 

to return fi lds to productivity, reintroduce livestock, 

and reestablish gardens, fences began to reappear in the 

landscape at the war’s end. 

After the battles, the forests and fi lds of Chancellorsville were littered with debris from the fi hting, including such things as rucksacks, arms, munitions, diaries 

and personal mementoes, and clothing, in addition 

to human remains. Troops collected valuable materials during the aftermath of the battles, and scavengers 

likely scoured the landscape as well. Accumulation of 

leaf litter and growth of vegetation by the spring of 

1865 may have concealed any remaining debris from 

view. 

Archaeological Sites

Archeological sites became a defini g characteristic of 

the Chancellorsville battlefi ld landscape during the 
83 

1. Site History, 1861–1865

9 Adams citing O. F. Northington, “The Revival of the 

Iron Industry in Eastern Virginia as Exemplified y the 

History of Catharine Furnace in Spotsylvania County” 

(1936), 65, 67.

10 National Park Service “Fredericksburg and 

Spotsylvania National Military Park, (2013)” section 

“Battle of Chancellorsville,” http://www.nps.gov/FRSP/

fredhist.htm (accessed June 2013). 

11 John Milner Associates, Inc. and HNTB, “Draft 

Cultural Landscape Assessments Sunken Road, Salem 

Church, Chancellorsville Inn” (Unpublished report 

prepared for the National Park Service, February 26, 

2004), 28.

12 Ralph Happel, “The Chancellors of Chancellorsville,” 

The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, 1963, 

online version, 150th Wilderness & Spotsylvania 

Courthouse website, http://www.150spotsylvania.com/

assets/chancellors-of-chancellorsville.pdf (accessed July 

2013), 7.

13 Unless otherwise noted, this account of the 

Chancellorsville campaign is based on Ralph Happel, 

“A History of the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania 

County Battlefi lds Memorial National Military Park” 

(Unpublished National Park Service report, 1955); battle 

accounts on the park website, http://www.nps.gov/frsp/

historyculture/cvillehistory.htm; and battle accounts on 

Civil War Trust website, “Chancellorsville,” http://www.

civilwar.org/battlefi lds/chancellorsville.html. 

14 Gary W. Gallagher, ed. Chancellorsville: The Battle 

and its Aftermath (Chapel Hill: The University of North 

Carolina Press, 1996), xi; National Park Service, “Battle 

of Chancellorsville,” “Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania 

National Military Park website, http://www.nps.gov/FRSP/

chist.htm (accessed June 2013).

15 Von Schon & Garner, “Map of Chancellorsville, 

VA. The Property of the Chancellorsville Battlefi ld 

Association,” August 1891, FRSP historian’s office This 

map indicates the oak tree was used as a signal station.

16 The use of logs and abatis in US earthworks at 

Chancellorsville is documented in “Report of General R. 

E. Lee,” Report of General Robert E. Lee and Subordinate 

Reports of the Battle of Chancellorsville (Richmond: R. M. 

Smith, 1864), 8-9.

17 “Report General R. E. Lee,” 7-8.

18 Happel, A History, 20; Adams, 69.

19 “Report of Brigadier General Colston,” in Report of 

General Robert E. Lee, 43.

20 Report of General R. E. Lee, 8-9.

21 Recollection of Private David Kyle, “Wounding of 

Stonewall Jackson Trail,” http://www.nps.gov/frsp/jacktr.

htm (accessed April 21, 2014).

22 G. Frank Willis, “Ellwood, Historical Data, Historic 

Structure Report,” (Unpublished National Park Service 

Denver Service Center report, 1980), 17-19. 

23 “Report of Brigadier General Lane,” in Report of 

General Robert E. Lee, 60. 

24 Report of General Robert E. Lee, 10.

25 Recollection of Sue Chancellor, National Park Service 

Civil War Series website, “The Battle of Chancellorsville,” 

http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/civil_

war_series/8/sec2.htm (accessed April 30, 2014).

26 Happel, “The Chancellors of Chancellorsville;” Report 

of General Robert E. Lee, 10.

27 Jed. Hotchkiss, “Sketch of the Battles of 

Chancellorsville, Salem Church and Fredericksburg, May 

2, 3 and 4 , 1863,” Report of Gen. R. E. Lee, Series I, vol. 

XXV, Part 1 (Washington: General Printing Office, 1895

28 “Report of Major General McLaws,” in Report of 

General Robert E. Lee, 1864, 8-9.

29 Crozier, 26-27.

30 Gallagher, 191. 

31 Gallagher, 174-176, 184-190.

32 Happel, “The Chancellors of Chancellorsville.”

33 Adams, 70.

34 Happel, A History, 20.

35 John Hennessy, “The Obscure Carpenter Farm, 

and a Soldier’s Grave,” Mysteries and Conundrums 

blog, http://npsfrsp.wordpress.com/2010/11/01/theobscure-carpenter-farm-and-a-soldiers-grave/ (accessed 

November 3, 2014); “Hospital Burial Site on the Carpenter 

Farm Located. Wilderness Battlefi ld. Then and Now...”, 

http://spotsylvaniacw.blogspot.com/2012/02/hospitalburial-site-on-carpenter-farm.html (accessed November 

25, 2014).

36 Quoted in Adams, 71.

37 As shown on the Michler maps of Chancellorsville and 

the Wilderness, 1867.

38 Fredericksburg and Valley Plank Road Company 

records, 1850-1862, catalog entry, State government 

records collection, 30030, BPW 260, Library of Virginia. 

It is presumed the company went out of business in 1862 

based on the extent of company records. 

39 Harrison, Chancellorsville Battlefield Sit s, 49.

40 Quoted in Harrison, Chancellorsville Battlefield ites, 

50.

41 Harrison, Chancellorsville Battlefield Sit s, 29-30.
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

84

61 John Townsend Trowbridge, The South: A Tour of Its 

Battlefields and Ruin d Cities... (Hartford: L. Stebbins, 

1866), 125.

62 Spotsylvania Memory, “Atwell Young, the 

Black Confederate,” December 30, 2013, http://

spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2013/12/atwell-youngblack-confederate.html (accessed November 24, 2014).

63 Memorandum, Noel Harrison to Chief Historian, 

March 10, 1991, FRSP research files or Hawkins Farm.

64 Quoted in Hennessey, “The Obscure Carpenter Farm, 

and a Soldier’s Grave.”

65 Michler, Wilderness map, 1867; Report of Surgeon 

McParlin, cited in Hennessey, “The Obscure Carpenter 

Farm, and a Soldier’s Grave,” response by Todd Berkoff. 

66 Harrison, Chancellorsville Battlefield Sit s,65.

67 Asa B. Isham, 1883, cited in Clarence Geier and 

Kimberly D. Sancomb, “An Archaeological Survey of 

Selected Sections and Sites on the Chancellorsville 

Battlefi ld, Part II:...Catharine Furnace Project Area” 

(Unpublished report prepared for the National Park 

Service by James Madison University, January 2003), 31.

68 Quoted in Adams, 72; Account of J W. Trigg, quoted in 

Geier and Sancomb, 30.

69 Adams, 72.

70 Walt Whitman, memorandum on Battle of 

Chancellorsville, May 12, 1863, quoted in Noel G. 

Harrison, “Walt Whitman’s Battles of Chancellorsville,” 

Mysteries and Conundrums blog, http://npsfrsp.

wordpress.com/2013/01/31/walt-whitmans-battles-ofchancellorsville-horrifi -wounds-night-fi hting-andother-strange-and-fearful-pictures/ (accessed November 

3, 2014).

42 Harrison, Chancellorsville Battlefield Sit s, citing 

Trowbridge, 153.

43 Harrison, Chancellorsville Battlefield Sit s, 20; 

Photograph of Chancellorsville Inn with timber braces, ca. 

1865, FRSP 2171.

44 Cited in Harrison, Chancellorsville Battlefield Sit s, 99-

100.

45 Harrison, Chancellorsville Battlefield Sit s, 89, 92; 

Michler, Map of Chancellorsville Battlefi ld, 1867. The 

Michler map does not show the Van Wert building.

46 Harrison, Gazetteer, 177; Interview with Mr. Jones, 

in Ruth Graham, Historical Assistant, “Report of Field 

Investigation, August 26–September 2, 1935,” National 

Archives II, RG 79, Central Classified iles, 1933–49, Box 

2466, file B anch of Historic Sits, Fredericksburg National 

Military Park, Reports.

47 Quoted in Harrison, Gazetteer, 162.

48 Quoted in Harrison, Gazetteer, 153.

49 The Luckett house is shown on Michler, Wilderness 

Battlefi ld map, 1867. 

50 Harrison, Chancellorsville Battlefield Sit s, 155.

51 Account of a solider in the 118th Pennsylvania Infantry, 

from Smith, 188-189, cited in Harrison, Chancellorsville 

Battlefield Sit s, 13.

52 Harrison, Chancellorsville Battlefield Sit s, 15.

53 Catharine Bullock to Confederate Secretary of the 

Treasury Christopher Memminger, October 1863, quoted 

in Harrison, Chancellorsville Battlefield Sit s, 15. 

54 Michler, Chancellorsville Battlefi ld map, 1867. 

55 John Alrich file, c ted in Harrison, Chancellorsville 

Battlefield Sit s, 44.

56 Harrison, Chancellorsville Battlefield Sit s, 41-44; 

Michler, Chancellorsville Battlefi ld map, 1867; National 

Park Service, “Battle of Todd’s Tavern,” http://www.nps.

gov/frsp/todds.htm (accessed May 5, 2014). 

57 National Park Service, “Battle of Todd’s Tavern.”

58 Interview with B. L. Haney, in Ruth Graham, Historical 

Assistant, “Report of Field Investigation, August 26–

September 2, 1935.” 

59 Augustus Hamlin, account published in the Boston 

Journal, ca. 1900, quoted in Harrison, Chancellorsville 

Battlefield Sit s, 67.

60 Michler, Wilderness Battlefi ld map, 1867; Harrison, 

148. Harrison states the Burton house was probably 

destroyed during the war; however, Michler seems to 

indicate two buildings, but whether one of these was the 

house or a rebuilt house is not known. 
Brick House (former

Pulliam house,

owned by

iron company) COOK FARM

HICKMAN (Wolfree)

Plank road tollgate

LUCKETT FARM

(Powell)

Van Wart building

(Unfinished church,

ca. 1861–1863)

BULLOCK

PLANTATION

BURTON FARM

CARPENTER FARM

Fairview

house

(ca.1799–1863)

Ruins (chimney)

HAWKINS

FARM

U.S. Headquarters

May 1-3, 1863

Chancellorsville Inn

ruins

ABSALOM

McGEE

FARM

NEWTON

(ruins)

PERRY FARM

Piney Branch

(Yellow) Church

R. LEWIS YOUNG FARM

WIDOW

LEWIS

G. LEWIS

LEWIS MILL

TRIGG FARM

Haney

(Henry)

FITZHUGH 

FARM

STEPHENS

FARM

ALRICH

FARM

TALLEY FARM

E. Decker

(Grady)

Catharine

Furnace 

(reactivated 1862, 

complex ruined 1864)

WILDERNESS

CHURCH 

BROCK ROAD

ORANGE PLANK ROAD 

GERMANNA (CULPEPER) PLANK ROAD 

ORANGE PLANK ROAD

 OLD TURNPIKE

FURNACE ROAD

CATHARPIN ROAD

MINERAL SPRING ROAD

BULLOCK ROAD

RIVER ROAD

Unfinished railroad

(graded rail bed)

Bullock’s 

Spring

(Herndon Road)

BROCK ROAD

To

Wilderness

Tavern

To Fredericksburg

To Fredericksburg

To Spotsylvania

Court House

Blacksmith shop

(old schoolhouse)

House

(ca.1837–63)

CATTA IL B RANCH

Melzi Chancellor

Sullivan residence

Site of Gen. Howard’s Hdqtrs.,

May 1-2, 1863

ELYS FORD ROAD

US FORD ROAD

CATHARINE FURNACE PROPERTY (Catharine Furnace Company)

(reopened 1862, closed 1864 )

Wellford et al, 4,648 acres

SEE INSET

ORANGE PLANK ROAD

FURNACE

HOLLOW

 OLD TURNPIKE 

Wellford house

(Diggs) 

Horse Pen Road

Ebenezer

McGee Farm

(ruins)

BURTON

HILL

Burbridges

Bridge

Cooktown

Probably mine

roads (1837-1847)

Unidentified

buildings

Also known as

Lewis Run,

Mine Creek

Possible

mine company

house

Possible

mine company

building

Melzi Chancellor

Route of Jackson’s Flank

March, May 2, 1863

Site of Lee-Jackson

Bivouac, May 1, 1863

McLaw’s Line

May 1-3, 1863

Felled trees

(abatis) (1863)

Approx. site of Jackson’s

wounding, May 2, 1863

U.S. gun pits

May 1-2, 1863

May 2-3, 1863

Jackson’s 

Flank Attack

May 2, 1863

 Battle of

Chancellorsville

May 1, 1863

Cemetery

Battle of the Wilderness

Confederate works

May 4-5, 1864

Battle of the Wilderness

U.S. works, May 4-5, 1864

Dowdall’s Tavern

Position of U.S. Army

(entrenched)

May 3, 1863

North-south U.S.

works erected after

Jackson’s flank attack;

east-west works

erected prior

Route of U.S. retreat

Route of U.S. retreat

White House

Site of Couch’s Headquarters

May 1-3, 1863

(Bullock house ruins)

General Slocum’s Line

May 1-2, 1863

General direction of

General Sickels’ pursuit

of Jackson, May 1, 1863

Approx. site of General

Berry’s wounding

May 3, 1863

Approximate site of 

Stuart’s 2nd Corps artillery

May 3, 1863

Route of Jackson’s Flank

March, May 2, 1863

Approximate site

General Paxton’s wounding

May 3, 1863

To Lee’s

headquarters

Widow Tapp farm

Site of fierce

fighting

May 5, 1864

Site of Gen. Carl Schurz’s 

Headquarters, May 1-2, 1863

Site of Gen. Charles Devens’

Headquarters, May 1-2, 1863

Iron mines probably opened

in 1862

Apex of 

Hooker’s Last Line

trenches

REUBEN McGEE

FARM

New mine road

to Brock Road

(ca. 1862)

Union 5th Corps 

hospital, May 1864

Confederates observe

western advance of Union

troops; change course of

Jackson’s march, 

May 2, 1863 Jackson’s original 

planned route of 

attack Site of

McCarthy’s batteries

May 2-3, 1863

White House

General Posey’s Line

May 1-2, 1863

J.E.B. Stuart

headquarters

May 1, 1863

Pender’s Line

2nd Division hospital site

To Kalmbach’s

Sawmill

FURNACE ROAD

PILTZER RUN

NI RIVER

GREAT

MEADOW

SWAMP

BIG HU NTING RUN

LITTLE HUNTING RUN

NI RIVER

LEWIS RUN

MOTT’S RUN

POPLA R RUN

McGEE’S

HILL

LICK RUN

MINERAL SPRINGS RUN (Mine Run)

CHANCELLORSVILLE (Fairview)

HAZEL GROVE

LOCUST GROVE

WELLFORD

PLANTATION

Approximate boundary

of 854-acre Chancellorsville

plantation (Fairview) (Old Mine Road)

700 fence panels

destroyed (1863)

Hawkins house

(ca.1800–64)

Cemetery

Union signal

station

Center of battle

May 3, 1863

3rd Division hospital site

1st Division hospital site

U.S. 2nd Corps hospitals, May 1864

4th Division hospital site

Military cemetery

Anderson’s Line

gun pit

OLD MOUNTAIN

ROAD

Jackson’s Corps

Line

Couch’s

Line

Oak Spring

INSET Chancellorsville Inn

Barns

Probable sites 

of slave cabins,

outbuildings

(lost in battle)

Damaged trees

(elms and popars)

Stone steps

Well

Removed/ruined fence lines

ORANGE PLANK ROAD

ELY’S FORD ROAD

Inn ruins (brick walls,

foundations)

(OLD TURNPIKE)

Elm

Elm Elm

Elm

DRAWN BY

1. NPS and Spotsylvania County GIS data

2. Photo/postcard, Chancellorsville Inn, ca. 1860, FRSP 2187

3. Gilmer, Map of Spotsylvania, 1863

4. Michler, Chancellorsville Battlefield map, 1867

5. Hotchkiss, Map of the Battle of Chancellorsville, ca.1870

6. Bigelow, Chancellorsville Battlefield maps, 1910

7. Jeck, Historic Overlay map, ca.1980

LEGEND

SOURCES

1. Plan shows landscape in 1865 at end of the Civil War.

2. All features shown at approximate location and scale.

3. All property boundaries not shown due to lack of documentation.

4. All iron mines not shown due to lock of documentation.

5. Sites of removed features labeled in italics. 

 

 

NOTES

Drawing 1.2

Cultural Landscape Report

Chancellorsville Battlefield

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania

National Military Park

Spotsylvania County, Virginia

Civil War Period

1861–1865

National Park Service

Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation

www.nps.gov/oclp

OLMSTED

for LANDSCAPE PRESERVATION

CENTER

in partnership with 

Department of Landscape Architecture

Center for Cultural Landscape Preservation

SUNY College of Environmental 

Science and Forestry, www.esf.edu/la/cclp

John Auwaerter, Nathan Powers, Cathy Ponte, SUNY ESF

ArcGIS and Adobe Illustrator, 2014

Building

Major Road, Minor Road

Notable View, Iron Mine Site (active 1862–64) 

Fence

Chancellorsville Earthworks:

Confederate, U.S., Both, Artillery Lunette

0

 Mile

.50 1.0

North

Wilderness Earthworks: Confederate, U.S.

Route of Jackson’s Flank March, May 2, 1863

Field or Open Ground

Woods

Specimen Tree, Orchard

River or Stream, Wetland

Feature Removed During Period (dashed line), Ruin

Period Property Boundary

Current Park Boundary
87 

1. Site History, 1865–1927

After the Civil War, Chancellorsville slowly returned 

to a quiet farming community, but visiting veterans 

and the persistent traces of war kept the violent events 

of 1863 ever in residents’ minds. The area remained 

remote and heavily wooded, with little new developments prior to the age of automobiles and improved 

roads that followed World War I. Unlike battlefi lds of 

Union victory that were developed into commemorative landscapes during the late 19th century, Chancellorsville—remembered as a battlefi ld of Confederate 

victory— saw only the placement of a few small monuments into the early 20th century.

AFTERMATH AND REINTERMENT

At the war’s end in April 1865—less than a year after 

fi hting had ceased at the Wilderness— much of the 

wide and dispersed battlefi ld of Chancellorsville, 

from the still-standing Dowdall’s Tavern and Wilderness Church to the ruins of the Bullock Plantation, 

Hazel Grove, Fairview, and the Chancellorsville Inn, 

stood in melancholy stillness. Once busy roads, active 

fi lds, and well-kept grounds were left in a tangled and 

torn-up mess, a condition that persisted for years after 

the battles (fig. 1.71). ohn Townsend Trowbridge, in 

his account of the worn-torn South published in 1866, 

passed through Chancellorsville with his guide Elijah, 

who was raised in the area:

“Hyer we come to the Chancellorsville farm. Many a 

poo’ soldier’s knapsack was emptied of his clothes, after 

the battle, along this road!” said Elijah...The road runs 

through a large open fi ld bounded by woods. The marks 

of hard fi hting were visible from afar off. A growth of 

saplings edging the woods on the south had been killed 

by volleys of musketry: they looked like thickets of 

bean-poles. The ground everywhere, in the fi ld and in 

the woods, was strewed with mementos of the battle,—

rotting knapsacks and haversacks, battered canteens 

and tin cups, and fragments of clothing...On each side 

of the road were breastworks and rifle-p ts extending 

into the woods. The clearing, once a well-fenced farm 

of grain-fi lds and cover-lots, was a dreary and deserted 

common. Of the Chancellorsville House, formerly a large 

brick tavern, only the half-fallen walls and chimneystacks remained... “Every place ye see these big bunches 

of weeds, that’s whar tha’ was hosses or men buried,” 

said Elijah...1

While the physical rebuilding presented the community 

with a daunting task, the most pressing concern after 

the war’s end was securing proper interment for the 

thousands of dead that remained on the battlefi ld, 

many only skeletal remains that still lay where they 

had fallen, or in temporary unmarked graves as Elijah 

pointed out. Only a small number were identified w th 

temporary headboards, mainly near fi ld hospitals such 

as at the Carpenter Farm (fig. 1.72). These conditions 

at Chancellorsville refle ted larger patterns across the 

South, where only 101,736 of the total 359,520 total US 

dead had been buried in permanent graves according to 

wartime procedures, a proportion that was similar for 

Confederate casualties. Without systematic identific -

tion protocols by either army, the vast majority of the 

POST-WAR PERIOD, 1865–1927

Figure 1.71. The Fairview clearing, looking southwest from the 

ruins of the Chancellorsville Inn across the former well-tended 

grounds, 1866. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military 

Park, FRSP 2636)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

88

uninterred were unidentifi ble after several years of 

exposure to the elements.2

As troops were being sent home in June 1865, the War 

Department—the federal executive department responsible for the United States military establishment— 

began the enormous task of recovering bodies from 

battlefi lds and temporary cemeteries across the East, 

and moving the US remains to national cemeteries created as permanent places of interment and commemoration, including one established at Fredericksburg. 

For Confederate remains and some US remains, the 

War Department returned them to families for burial in 

private cemeteries. In 1866, local residents established 

a Confederate cemetery at Spotsylvania Court House, 

and in 1867, the Ladies Memorial Association of Fredericksburg acquired land adjacent to the Fredericksburg City Cemetery as a place to reinter the Confederate remains from area battlefi lds.3 

The federal recovery and reburial effort at Chancellorsville began with the arrival of the 1st U.S. Veteran 

Volunteers, who established an initial camp in the 

Wilderness Battlefi ld on June 11, 1865, and would 

continue its work for another two years.4

 Since a permanent national cemetery had not yet been established 

in the area, two temporary cemeteries, one along the 

Orange Turnpike at Saunders Field in the Wilderness 

and the other along the Orange Plank Road west of 

Brock Road, were established to inter the large number 

of uninterred remains scattered in the woods at Chancellorsville and the Wilderness. The burial regiment 

tramped through woods, thickets, fi lds, and swamps 

collecting skulls and bones in their rucksacks, while 

burying soldiers in place where the bodies had not yet 

fully decomposed due to wet conditions. These burials 

were in addition to cemeteries dug during or soon after 

the battle that contained upwards of 1,500 US remains 

and a likely equal number of Confederate burials, 

located at the Chancellorsville Inn, the Bullock Plantation, Hazel Grove, and the Perry, Talley, and Carpenter 

farms, among other sites.5

Despite the federal search and recovery efforts that 

were getting underway, local residents remained 

concerned about the desecration of remains, both US 

and Confederate, on the battlefi lds. On December 1, 

1865, George E. Chancellor, the son of Melzi Chancellor, wrote the Secretary of War: “If [the bodies] are not 

taken up and car[r]ied to some bur[y]ing ground they 

will soon all be ploughed over the by the Farmers as a 

great many of them are in the cultivated fi lds.”6 Chancellor offered to collect the remains and inter them in 

three national cemeteries he proposed be established at 

Chancellorsville, Wilderness, and Spotsylvania Court 

House.7

Chancellor’s offer followed the federal government’s 

establishment of the national cemetery in Fredericksburg in July 1865, one of fift established by Congress 

between 1865 and 1868. The War Department chose 

not to establish separate cemeteries at each of the 

battlefi lds as George Chancellor had offered, and 

instead interred most of the US casualties from the 

county’s four battlefi lds at the Fredericksburg cemetery. Over the next two years, the search and recovery 

efforts reinterred 1,279 US remains from around the 

Chancellorsville Inn, 35 from the Bullock Plantation, 

35 from Fairview, 40 from Hazel Grove, 10 from the 

Wellford Plantation, 84 from the Perry Farm, and 13 

from the Talley Farm, as well as thousands of additional 

Figure 1.72. US casualties from the Battle of the Wilderness in 

temporary graves at the Carpenter Farm on Herndon Road, 1866. 

(Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, FRSP 

1033a)
89 

1. Site History, 1865–1927

unidentified keletal remains. By 1867, Fredericksburg 

National Cemetery contained the remains of 15,243 

US soldiers, only 2,473 of which were identified (fig

1.73). Some Chancellorsville remains were also interred 

in a smaller national cemetery established in Culpeper 

northwest of Chancellorsville in 1867, where 1,350 US 

soldiers were reinterred by 1867, of which only 448 

were identified 8

RECOVERY AND REBUILDING

While some farmers had returned their lands to 

productivity soon after the end of the war as George 

Chancellor had written, others had to wait for completion of the reinterment effort in 1867. The community’s 

reconstruction was slow and made especially diffi lt 

by the extensive physical damage and looting, hunger 

and lingering emotional trauma, lack of funding for 

road repairs, and overall depression and a diminished 

workforce that characterized the economy of Spotsylvania County and much of the South. White farmers, 

such as the Alrich and Talley families, often held on to 

their land, but had little money to hire laborers or improve their farms. Coupled with lack of industrial jobs, 

black residents of Spotsylvania County who chose to 

remain thus often had few good employment opportunities, and some 3,700 left for Northern cities or went 

to work in big plantations in the Deep South. However, 

more than 4,600 chose to remain in the county, and 

established their own farms, homes, churches, and 

schools.9

 

An overall decline in the county during the post-war 

decades was refle ted in its population statistics, which 

included Fredericksburg. In 1860, the county had approximately 16,000 inhabitants; by 1865, its population 

had decreased to under 12,000 (approximately 3,500 

in Fredericksburg). By 1880, the population rose to 

14,800, a statistic that most likely refle t the growth of 

Fredericksburg, which became incorporated as a city 

in 1879, but may have also refle ted a growing number 

of farms. At this time, the county was divided into four 

magisterial districts, with the northwestern quarter 

including Chancellorsville organized as Chancellor 

Township. These four rural townships continued to 

lose population for many decades, as refle ted in the 

overall population of the county that fell to 10,571, 

a number that included growth in Fredericksburg’s 

population.10 

Agriculture and Industry

The population drop in Spotsylvania County through 

the late 19th century was closely tied to changes in 

agriculture, beginning with a severe post-war decline 

that saw a loss of 43% of the county’s improved land 

between 1860 and 1870. After this time, the number 

of farms increased through the turn of the century as 

farmers reclaimed land and larger plantations were 

subdivided. At Chancellorsville, numerous small farms 

were cleared from the woods along the old turnpike 

near Brock Road, along Brock Road south of the Orange Plank Road, southwest of the Wellford house, and 

along Catharpin Road. Some of the old farm owners 

turned to tenants as a way to hold on to their land in 

the new economy of a paid labor force.11

Corn and wheat remained the dominant crops after 

the Civil War, along with tobacco (for chewing), and 

livestock. Many farmers also continued to maintain orchards, a trend that probably increased after 1880 with 

advances in fruit growing. Beginning in 1890, the total 

value of farm products in Spotsylvania County began 

to rise dramatically due to improvements in transportaFigure 1.73. Fredericksburg National Cemetery, the reinterment 

site for most of the battlefield casualties at Chancellorsville, 

photographed ca. 1875. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National 

Military Park, FRSP 764)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

90

tion, better farming practices, and mechanization that 

reduced the need for labor, which in turn may have exacerbated the county’s continued population decline. 

Production began to shift from grain and tobacco to 

dairy and vegetables. Farm landscapes changed with 

introduction of new products, such as barbed-wire 

fencing that became widely available in the late 19th 

century with rise of dairy farming (fig. 1.74) 12

Timber and mining operations were part of the Spotsylvania economy during the post war decades and into 

the early 20th century, but were much reduced from the 

antebellum heyday. The vast second-growth forests 

of the Wilderness were also cleared for timber, but 

primarily low-grade wood for ties and pulp. The 

Catharine Furnace experienced a brief revival in the 

1880s, but faced still competition from new iron and 

steel production in the Pittsburg area. Subsequent 

mining operations in the region near Chancellorsville 

extracted gold, lead, and zinc, but these operations 

ceased after World War I.13

TRANSPORTATION

Roads in Spotsylvania County remained in poor 

condition after the war and well into the 20th century, 

making it diffi lt to transport farm, timber, and mining products by wagon. Eclipsed by railroads, roads 

throughout the state generally fell to county control 

and deteriorated to a condition worse than that of the 

pre-turnpike era in the 18th century. Without the fi ancing of plank road companies or a public roads bureau 

during the post-war period, the Orange Plank Road, 

Germanna Plank Road, and the old turnpike became 

little more than rutted, poorly-maintained dirt tracks 

(fig. 1.75, see lso 1.74). Despite their poor condition, 

the plank roads and turnpike remained the primary 

transportation routes through Chancellorsville during the post-war decades (fig. 1.76). econdary roads, 

such as Brock Road and Elys Ford Road often fared 

worse as the surrounding woods encroached into the 

road corridor. Some public roads degraded into minor 

tracks or trails that were apparently unused by vehicles. 

This may have been the fate of Mineral Springs Road, 

Bullock Road, and the section of Brock Road north of 

the Orange Plank Road.14

The main transportation corridor for freight and passengers during the post-war period was the Fredericksburg & Gordonsville Railroad, which had been chartered in 1853 but remained incomplete during the Civil 

War. It was fi ally completed through Chancellorsville 

in 1872, when eighteen miles of standard-gauge track 

was laid from Fredericksburg west to Parker Store on 

the Orange Plank Road in the Wilderness. This work 

included construction of stone-arch bride across the 

Figure 1.75. The Orange Turnpike (Orange Plank Road, Route 3) 

looking east from Dowdall’s Tavern showing poor condition of 

the roadbed, ca. 1897. The old plank lane was probably on the left 

half of the roadbed. (The Albert Kern Collection at Dayton History, 

object K.5.9.072)

Figure 1.74. The Talley Farm on the old turnpike (Route 3), looking 

east showing the antebellum farmhouse and recently introduced 

barbed-wire fencing to contain livestock, photographed 1910. 

(Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, Museum 

Collection)
91 

1. Site History, 1865–1927

Ni River near the old Wellford Plantation. The line 

was bought by the Fredericksburg Orange and Charlottesville Railroad, with the stipulation that the line 

be completed to Orange in 1873. It failed to meet this 

deadline, and in 1876, the line was purchased by the 

Royal Land Company of Virginia to transport coal, 

iron, and timber from its vast land holdings in Virginia 

and West Virginia, with a planned extension east to the 

Potomac River. The company renamed the line the Potomac Fredericksburg and Piedmont (PF&P) Railroad, 

and rebuilt the 38-mile stretch between Fredericksburg 

and Orange into a narrow gauge (three foot) line. Construction of this section through Chancellorsville was 

completed in 1877.15

The PF&P never completed its line into the West 

Virginia coal country, but did become profi able as a 

common carrier, although it was never a great line as 

refle ted in its nickname, the “Poor Folks and Preachers” railroad. In 1901, for example, the line listed a 

profit f $28,516 in freight revenue (lumber accounting 

for 64%) and $8,438 in passenger revenue.16 Through 

Chancellorsville, the line included a number of stops. 

The most important, as recognized by the US Geological Survey, was at the crossing of Brock Road, which 

included one or more buildings and was known as 

Brock Station by 1887 (see fig. 1.76). B 1901, there was 

also a station with a building on Catharpin Road south 

of the Alrich farm, known as Alrich Station (fig. 1.77).

There were also whistle stops at the Stephens Farm 

(Rosemont) just west of Brock Road, and at the Catharine Furnace where Furnace Road crossed the line.17

After World War I, the PF&P struggled and was sold in 

foreclosure in 1925 to the Orange and Fredericksburg 

Figure 1.76. A government topographic map showing mines and main roads in the Wilderness, 1887. Mineral Springs Road, Bullock Road, 

Furnace Road, and the section of Brock Road north of the Orange Plank Road may have been abandoned for vehicular use by this time. 

The Potomac Fredericksburg, and Piedmont railroad was the primary route for freight through the region prior to World War I. (Detail, US 

Geographic Survey, Spotsylvania Quadrangle, 1887, annotated by SUNY ESF)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

92

Railroad Company, which rebuilt the line in standard 

gauge and renamed it the Virginia Central Railway. The 

US Geologic Survey identified no tations along the 

line at Chancellorsville in 1925, only “Parker” to the 

west and “Chancellor” (formerly Screamerville) to the 

east.18

Profi ability of such secondary rail lines during the 

1920s was declining in response to growing use of 

motorized vehicles and improvement of public roads. 

In 1906, Virginia created the State Highway Commission, which had responsibility for the main traveled 

roads in the state, and in 1909, regular funding was 

created through annual state highway appropriations. 

After World War I, highway funding and organization 

improvements continued, with designation of a state 

system of highway numbers in 1925. Highway improvements in Spotsylvania County by the mid-1920s included only a few roads. One of these was the old Orange 

Turnpike through Chancellorsville (Route 3), which 

was designated as Route 37 (fig. 1.78). The highway 

ran through Fredericksburg northwest to Culpeper to 

Winchester. By 1927, the section through Chancellorsville had been improved with a graded soil and gravel 

surface, but had not been paved in asphalt. To the east, 

US 1, the Tidewater Trail and main north-south road in 

the region, was paved in 1927. The improvement of the 

turnpike as Route 37 spurred development toward the 

very end of this period, including a gas station at the 

corner of Elys Ford Road.19

REMEMBERING THE BATTLEFIELD: 

A FAMOUS PLACE OF ONE HOUSE

Given its remote location and poor roads, the dispersed 

and largely wooded character of its battlefi ld, and its 

association with Confederate victory, Chancellorsville 

was slow to receive the attention that was given to the 

battlefi lds of US victory, such as Gettysburg, Antietam, and Vicksburg. Despite this, Chancellorsville—the 

community associated with the Chancellorsville Inn—

was not forgotten by veterans, family and friends of the 

fallen, and community leaders during the post-Civil 

War decades.

Battlefield ourism

Commemoration on the battlefi lds of Spotsylvania 

County initially focused on the national cemetery and 

Confederate cemeteries, where headstones provided 

a lasting memory of the fallen. Commemoration often 

included strewing of fl wers on graves, a practice that 

was formalized in 1868 with the national designation of 

May 30th as Decoration Day. The fir t monuments apart 

from the grave markers were four standard upright 

cannon tubes that were placed around the fla staff

in the national cemetery in 1868 (see fig. 1.73). So n, 

returning veterans, families of the fallen, and tourFigure 1.77. Map of the Potomac Fredericksburg & Piedmont 

Railroad with its four stations through Chancellorsville, from 

Stephens to Alrich, 1901. Parker was a stop at Parker Store on 

the Orange Plank Road in the Wilderness. (Detail, Rand McNally, 

“Virginia,” from Enlarged Business Atlas and Shipping Guide, 1901)

Figure 1.78. Highway map showing the old Orange Turnpike 

designated as Route 37 through Chancellorsville, 1927. 

Chancellorsville is located where the “37” designation is shown 

west of Fredericksburg. This section was identified as improved 

(dashed red line) but not paved (sold red line). (Detail, Rand McNally, 

Auto Road Atlas, Delaware Maryland Virginia West Virginia, 1927)
93 

1. Site History, 1865–1927

ists were not satisfied w th just visiting the graves, but 

wanted to connect with the places where the battles 

had occurred. In 1868, for example, a group of church 

members from Washington visited Fredericksburg, and 

after some refreshment from their trip, “repaired to the 

battle grounds to see what is yet visible of the results of 

one of the hardest fought battles of the rebellion, and to 

see relics for themselves and friends.”20 Many visitors 

also eagerly scoured the landscape for relics of the war 

to take as souvenirs. Tour guides, some of whom were 

local residents, often provided romantic accounts of 

the battle to the excitement of visitors, 

making remnants such as overgrown artillery lunettes and the lonely chimney of the 

Fairview house come to life (fig. 1.79) 21

If a reporter’s visit to Chancellorsville 

battlefi ld in 1881 was typical, such tours 

began in Fredericksburg, stopped fir t 

at Salem Church, known as the “church 

full of bullets,” and proceeded along the 

turnpike (Route 3)—“a red clay road 

bordered by pine and oak and poor cornfi lds in which were negro cabins made 

of logs”—before turning onto Furnace 

Road (McLaws Drive). Here, visitors proceeded along 

the Confederate right and stopped under a “towering 

pine tree” at the corner of the Orange Plank Road 

(Route 610), “where Lee and Jackson sat up on 

their cracker boxes on the evening of May 1 when 

they planned their daring attack upon Hooker’s 

11th Corps.” Tours then proceeded north up the 

plank road to the “desolate clearing” of Fairview 

to see the Chancellorsville Inn, with its “gable end 

near the roof, showing where shells knocked for 

admission as they paused in their screaming fi ht.” 

The next stop was often the wooded site where 

General Stonewall Jackson was wounded, on the 

north side of the turnpike near Bullock Road. 

Here, bullet holes in the trees were kept fresh “by such 

of the great leader’s admirers as hungered to bear away 

with them the fellow bits of lead of those that flew o 

their deadly work so long ago.” Visitors also went to the 

clearings of Hazel Grove and Fairview, and west to the 

fi lds where Jackson mounted his famous flank ttack 

around Dowdall’s Tavern.22

By the early 1870s, the volume of tourists was enough 

for the community to once again support an inn. By 

1872, the Chancellorsville Inn had been rebuilt as a 

much smaller building by its new owner, John Walzl, 

returning the community’s most famous landmark and 

reinforcing the site as a popular destination for battlefi ld visitors (fig. 1.80). he rebuilt house retained the 

evidence of battle—artillery scars in the west wall—

Figure 1.79. Union veterans visiting the Chancellorsville battlefield

on the overgrown artillery lunettes at Fairview, looking southeast 

with the ruins of the Fairview house in the left background, 1876. 

(Photographs of War Scenes, ca. 1870s–1890s, David M. Rubenstein 

Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University)

Figure 1.80. Visitors to the rebuilt Chancellorsville Inn, looking 

southeast with the former central front porch at right, 1887. The 

elm tree in front of the house predated the war. (Fredericksburg 

and Spotsylvania National Military Park, FRSP 2159)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

94

along with the original stone entrance steps 

and the famous two-story front porch where 

General Sickles had been injured, although 

with a different style of columns and railings. 

The house also was updated with a fashionable Second Empire (French) Mansard roof 

that allowed for rooms in the attic—necessitated by the much smaller footprint of the 

building. Perhaps most refle tive of the battlefi ld tourist trade to which it catered was 

the addition of a cupola on the roof, which 

gave visitors an excellent vantage point to 

gaze across the Fairview clearing where the 

heart of the battle had taken place. Visitors 

also often drank from the well in the front 

yard of the house, from which soldiers had purportedly 

drank during the battle. The building hosted numerous 

veterans reunions through the late 19th century, including visits from Generals Hooker and Sickles.23 

Monuments

Relics such as the Chancellorsville Inn with its artillerydamaged walls or the ruins of the Fairview house 

helped visitors connect with and commemorate the 

battle. At many sites, such as where brigades fought 

or where generals were killed, there were few physical 

remnants—especially once scavengers had completed 

their work—to mark or commemorate the historic 

event aside from war-torn trees and inconspicuous 

earthworks. At northern battlefi lds such as Gettysburg, such sites were marked with often elaborate commemorative monuments that provided symbols and 

epitaphs to convey meaning. In Spotsylvania County, 

however, such monumentation was initially beyond the 

means of the economically devastated region, while 

wealthy Northern groups such as the Grand Army of 

the Republic (GAR) had little presence in Spotsylvania 

prior to the mid-1880s. 

It was not until 1879 that the fir t monument was 

erected at any of the battlefi lds in Fredericksburg and 

Spotsylvania—a simple boulder, 3 feet 8 inches high, 

marking the general location of General Stonewall 

Jackson’s wounding at the west end of the Fairview 

Plantation, placed where it could be seen from the 

turnpike (fi s. 1.81, 1.82). The rock purportedly came 

from the bed of a stream near the Luckett Farm during 

excavation for work on the turnpike. The monument 

was conceived by Reverend Beverly Tucker Lacy, 

Jackson’s chaplain who had overseen the 1863 burial of 

Jackson’s amputated arm in the Lacy family cemetery 

at the Ellwood Plantation in the Wilderness. According 

to a report in the Chicago Daily Inter Ocean of September 22, 1879, “Yesterday a large boulder of white quartz 

rock, from near the Wilderness, was placed to mark 

Figure 1.81. The Jackson rock showing its position along the 

turnpike (left side), looking east from near the Bullock Road 

intersection, ca. 1897. (The Albert Kern Collection at Dayton History, 

object K.5.9.075)

Figure 1.82. The Jackson rock, looking north from the turnpike, ca. 

1885. The identity of the two men is not known. (Fredericksburg 

and Spotsylvania National Military Park, FRSP 2985)
95 

1. Site History, 1865–1927

the spot where Stonewall Jackson received his death 

wound. A simple inscription will be on the stone.”24 

While the inscription was never made, the rock reinforced the site of Jackson’s wounding as a place of pilgrimage on the Chancellorsville battlefi ld. A reporter 

described the rock as part of his 1881 visit to Chancellorsville, after visiting the inn: 

The sun is overhead as the lazy horses, white with 

lather, jog along a level road between two cornfi lds 

[Fairview] and come once more to where trees grow 

thickly on either side. Thus moving in the midst of 

timber...we come to a big stone planted steadfastly by 

the road-side....I learned that this was the spot where 

the bleeding warrior fell from his horse in the very hour 

of his crowning triumph...Its surface shows dents and 

scars whereupon loving pilgrims have scaled bits of it 

as relics, and all around are smaller pieces of hard rock 

that have been used as hammers with which to crack 

it. Immediately around the stone the ground is in small 

undergrowth, huckleberry bushes, chinkapins and the 

like, but at a few feet it is encompassed by pines and oaks 

of large growth....The stone is still as though the bones 

of a man of fame were beneath. Squirrels skip over it. 

Bucks and does rub lazily against it and acorns dropping 

from the boughs above lose their cups as they crack 

against its brown sides. But even here in the Wilderness 

romance may be spoiled...25

The thing that ruined the romance for the reporter was 

an advertisement posted nearby for the Willis & Grasty 

dry goods store in Fredericksburg. The sign refle ted an 

ample tourist trade, and the mixture of commemoration and commercialism that characterized post-war 

Chancellorsville and many other battlefi lds during the 

late 19th century. 

Tourism and interest in commemorating sites on the 

Chancellorsville battlefi ld led to several 

additional monuments in the following 

decades. The second, dedicated almost a 

decade later, was another monument to 

Jackson at the wounding site, intended to 

provide a more conspicuous and formal 

marker to one of the most revered figu es of the Confederate cause. The project was conceived in response 

to a monument commemorating US general Sedgwick 

that was dedicated in 1887 on the Spotsylvania Court 

House battlefi ld—the fir t designed stone monument 

in the area’s four battlefi lds. To undertake the project, 

the Chancellorsville Stonewall Jackson Monument 

Association was formed to plan and raise funds. The 

committee awarded the design of the monument to 

Major Wilfred E. Cutshaw (1838–1907), a trained engineer and self-taught landscape designer who planned 

Richmond’s public park system that was completed 

during the Reconstruction era. The gray granite was 

donated by Colonel Snowden Andres from his quarry 

near Richmond, and the site, approximately 150 feet 

west of the Jackson Rock, was selected by J. Horace 

Lacy of Ellwood, James Power Smith, one of Jackson’s 

officers, d Vespasian Chancellor, son of Melzi Chancellor. The 1.5-acre site, which was within the Fairview 

(Chancellorsville) farm, was donated by W. N. Wyeth, 

who had acquired the property in 1875 and presumably 

also gave permission for placement of the Jackson Rock 

in 1879.26

Cutshaw’s design was for a 14-foot tall shaft of rusticated granite blocks, with inscriptions on each side (fig.

1.83). The monument, which was built during the fir t 

two weeks of June 1888, faced south to the turnpike 

with “JACKSON” inscribed on the base, was encircled 

by a wrought-iron fence made by the Hope Foundry of 

Fredericksburg. An elaborate dedication ceremony was 

held on June 13, 1888, with an estimated 5,000 guests 

arriving by wagon from Fredericksburg and the nearby 

Figure 1.83. The Jackson monument built in 1888, 

looking southeast with the Jackson Rock at left and 

the turnpike (Route 3) in the background, ca. 1897. The 

front of the monument (not visible in this photograph) 

faced south toward the turnpike. (The Albert Kern 

Collection at Dayton History, object K.5.9..079)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

96

Alrich station of the Potomac Fredericksburg and 

Piedmont Railroad. A parade began at the Chancellorsville Inn and proceeded west along the turnpike a 

short 4,500 feet to the monument, which was festooned 

with fl ral decorations provided by Sue Chancellor and 

other ladies of the Floral Committee (fig. 1.84). ollowing the ceremonies, many in attendance picnicked on 

the surrounding grounds.27

A decade passed before a third monument—the fir t 

to mark a military regiment—was erected on the 

Chancellorsville battlefi ld. The Chancellorsville 

Battlefi ld Park Association, formed in 1891 to acquire 

the Chancellorsville (Fairview plantation) property, 

assisted the 114th Pennsylvania Volunteers—the Collis 

Zouaves (named after their commander and Frenchstyle uniforms)—to mark their position on the battlefi ld , which was within the association’s property. On 

May 2, 1899, the 114th Pennsylvania dedicated a modest 

monument to their thirty-eight enlisted men and three 

officers illed at Chancellorsville (fig. 1.85). ade by 

George T. Downing of Fredericksburg of local granite, the four-foot tall rectangular monument featured 

a bronze plaque on the east side. It was placed on the 

south side of the turnpike east of the Jackson monument and set back a bit further at 

the head of a minor road (no longer extant) 

that led south toward Hazel Grove. It was 

intended to mark the location of the regiment on May 3, 1863, although the actual site 

was closer to Hazel Grove. At the unveiling, 

the veterans presented the monument to the 

Chancellorsville Battlefi ld Park Association.28

In the fall of 1899, Vespasian Chancellor, a 

director of the Chancellorsville Battlefi ld 

Park Association, led a group of veterans interested in 

marking their position within the association’s Fairview 

property. This group included John Bresnahan of the 

27th Indiana Volunteer Regimental Association, which 

raised funds to locate the regiment’s positions at Antietam, Gettysburg, and Chancellorsville. By September 

1901, the association had placed a granite monument at 

its position along the road between Fairview and Hazel 

Grove (Berry-Paxton Drive) (fig. 1.86). The monument 

featured a 4-foot 6-inch high tablet of gray granite with 

black-fini hed face, and two small granite blocks 150 

feet to either side identifying the right and left flan s of 

the division’s position on May 2 and May 3, 1863.29

Aside from these monuments, the only other historic 

site in the Chancellorsville battlefi ld to be marked 

during the post-war period was the location of the LeeJackson bivouac. Through the end of the 19th century, 

Figure 1.85. Veterans of the 114th Pennsylvania monument at the 

dedication of their monument on the Fairview (Chancellorsville) 

property, looking west (turnpike to the right), May 2, 1899. 

(Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, FRSP 

2138/FRSP-00266)

Figure 1.84. Dedication of the Jackson monument on 

June 13, 1888, looking north from the turnpike. The floral 

decoration on the monument is a “celestial harp adorned 

with green tendrils and contrasting buds,” according to 

a news account of the event. (Private collection, copy in 

Fredericksburg and Spotyslvania National Military Park, 

Chancellorsville photographs)
97 

1. Site History, 1865–1927

the site at the northwest corner of Furnace Road and 

the Orange Plank Road was an indistinguishable part of 

the surrounding scrubby woods (fig. 1.87). As noted by 

the reporter who visited in 1881, the bivouac site was 

identified y a tall pine tree, which according to lore, 

marked the place where Lee and Jackson planned the 

flank ttack. The lack of a marker at this and other significa t sites was a point of concern for some visitors. 

One of these was Thomas F. Ryan of New York and 

Nelson County, Virginia, who decided to fund a system 

of markers that would be placed at sites of “lasting 

historic interest.” In Spotsylvania and Orange counties, 

ten sites, including the bivouac site, were selected by a 

committee that included Rev. James Power Smith, one 

of Jackson’s staff officers The granite works of Cartwright and Davis of Fredericksburg were contracted 

to produce the ten stones, which were all of the same 

design consisting of a small rusticated block with a 

fini hed side containing the inscription. In the summer 

of 1903, the ten markers were completed and placed 

under Smith’s direction. The two and one-half foot tall 

bivouac stone was placed facing the Orange Plank Road 

(fig. 1.88). At the time, the surrounding woods had 

been cleared for development of a farm.30

BATTLEFIELD PARK PROPOSALS

The Chancellorsville Battlefi ld Park Association, 

which helped realize the placement of the 114th Pennsylvania and 27th Indiana monuments between 1899 

and 1901, was the fir t private association whose mission was to develop a commemorative park at Chancellorsville. Such private Civil War battlefi ld associations 

traced back to the Gettysburg Battlefi ld Memorial 

Association, which was chartered in 1864 to preserve 

the Pennsylvania battlefi ld as it was at the time of 

the battle, and to erect memorial structures to comFigure 1.86. The 27th Indiana Volunteers monument installed on 

the road between Fairview and Hazel Grove, looking west, ca. 

1901. Note scrub in the background within the old field between 

Fairview and Hazel Grove. Standing at the monument is Private John 

Bresnahan, who lost an arm at Chancellorsville. (Fredericksburg and 

Spotsylvania National Military Park, FRSP 003)

Figure 1.87. The site of the Lee-Jackson bivouac at the northwest 

(upper right) corner of the intersection of Furnace Road and the 

Orange Plank Road, looking west along Furnace Road, ca. 1897. The 

tall tree in the right background may be the pine that was known 

as marking the place where Lee and Jackson sat to discuss the 

strategy of the flank attack. (The Albert Kern Collection at Dayton 

History, object K.5.9.333)

Figure 1.88. The Lee-Jackson bivouac marker placed in 1903, 

looking west from the Orange Plank Road, 1937. The young trees 

in the background of this photograph were planted after 1927. 

(Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, Museum 

Collection)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

98

memorate the heroic deeds of those who fought there. 

The Chancellorsville Battlefi ld Park Association was 

formed in 1891 for similar purposes. It was established 

by US and Confederate veterans, together with local 

business owners and residents including Vespasian 

Chancellor who served as one of the directors. The 

company, which had its offices in ashington, D.C., 

was established with $100,000 in capital and individual 

shares at $10.00. The impetus for forming this association may have been the death of William Wyeth, the 

owner of Chancellorsville (Fairview plantation), which 

allowed the association to purchase the 854-acre property in August 1891 under a deed of trust to the Wyeth 

heirs, with James S. Wyckoff acting as agent. The association also purchased 80 acres of the former Bullock 

Plantation to the north.31

The association’s prospectus called for sale of lots 

for residential and other uses, including business and 

industry, as well as shares to fi ance commemorative works. The development was in keeping with late 

19th-century resorts that provided history, scenery, and 

health attractions. By offering to sell small parcels of the 

battlefi ld, owners would acquire, in the words of the 

association, “some souvenir of this sacred soil.32

The battlefi ld park association had a subdivision plan 

for the property drawn up by the Fredericksburg firm

of von Schon & Garner, Engineers, which was completed in August 1891 (fig. 1.89). This firm, hich also 

developed a similar residential subdivision and park 

plan the same year for the outskirts of Fredericksburg, 

advertised as “Experts on Railroad, Timber, Mineral 

and Town Site Surveys. Sewage and Water-Works. 

Railroad Topographical and Land Surveys. We Operate 

Throughout the South.”33 

The von Schon & Garner plan for Chancellorsville was 

a massive subdivision centered at the intersection of the 

turnpike and Elys Ford Road, where a large hexagonal 

park named “Union Circle” was planned, with roads 

radiating out on all sides. At the center of Union Circle, 

the plan indicated a hotel in place of the Chancellorsville Inn, which would include a museum with war relFigure 1.89. The Chancellorsville Battlefield [Park] Association’s plan for the development of a commemorative and residential park on the 

854- acre Chancellorsville (Fairview) property, 1891. The plan was never realized, but did document a number of features extant at the time 

the map was drawn. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, Historian’s Office, annotated by SUNY ESF
99 

1. Site History, 1865–1927

ics. Smaller parks named after each of the states in the 

US and Confederacy stepped out in six lines between 

the radial roads, which met at three circular parks, 

including one laid out around the Jackson monument. 

The roads were named after local places, officers in he 

battle, the Chancellor family, and other individuals. The 

majority of the property was divided up into thousands 

of lots, most of which measured 25 by 100 feet. The 

defensive earthworks were apparently intended to be 

preserved, at least in part, along with other landmarks 

of the battle, such as the ruins of the Fairview house, 

the Fairview spring, the Chancellor Cemetery, and the 

large oak in the Fairview clearing that was identified as

having served as a signal station during the battle.34 

The Chancellorsville Battlefi ld Park Association never 

raised suffi ent capital to implement the von Schon & 

Garner plan, but did make some improvements to their 

property aside from the two monuments erected between 1899 and 1901. Instead of building a new hotel, 

the association remodeled the second Chancellorsville 

Inn to provide updated accommodations for battlefi ld 

tourists, and probably also to house the planned museum of battle relics inside. The association also cleared 

vegetation to make earthworks on the property more 

visible. Despite these improvements, the marketing of 

the subdivision was unsuccessful, and the association 

was forced to convey the property back to the Wyeth 

heirs under court order in 1910. The association held 

on to another tract it had acquired at Spotsylvania 

Court House until 1918, around which time the association was dissolved.35

As the Chancellorsville Battlefi ld Park Association was struggling to raise funds for its Chancellorsville plan in the mid-1890s, another effort 

was begun by the Fredericksburg City Council 

in 1896 with the contrasting goal of government 

acquisition of battlefi lds in the Fredericksburg area for 

the purpose of preservation rather than development. 

Supporters of this park proposal, which called for Congress to acquire the area’s four battlefi lds and connect 

them with “macadamized drive-ways,” cited the need 

for quick action to preserve the threatened remnants of 

the battle. The idea of federal acquisition and development of national military parks was a new idea that had 

fir t been implemented in 1890 at the Chickamauga and 

Chattanooga battlefi lds, followed by Shiloh in 1894 

and Gettysburg in 1895. Park supporters in Fredericksburg felt that their battlefi lds were certainly worthy of 

similar federal support, and began with convincing the 

state government to support their proposal. In 1896, 

Virginia passed legislation authorizing the creation of 

the “Fredericksburg and Adjacent National Battlefi lds 

Memorial Park Association of Virginia.”36 The legislation stated:

The object of this association is to mark and preserve 

the battlefi lds of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, the 

Wilderness, and Spotsylvania Courthouse...together 

with the natural and artific al features, as far as possible, 

as they were at the time of said battles, by such memorial 

stones, tablets, or monuments as the generous people of 

the United States or the Government of the United States 

may see fit o erect to commemorate the valor displayed 

by the American soldiery on those bloody fi lds, and 

it may take such steps as it deems proper to induce the 

congress of the United States to do all the necessary 

work appertaining thereto.37

The state legislation created a Battlefi ld Park Commission that was given authorization to acquire land 

by condemnation, including nearly 7,000 acres in 

Figure 1.90. The Battlefield Park Commission’s map of 

proposed park lands at Chancellorsville, 1906. (Detail, 

“Map Showing the Locations of the Battlefie ds of 

Fredericksburg, Hamilton’s Crossing, Chancellorsville, 

Salem Church, Wilderness, Spotsylvania, also showing 

the boundaries of the battlefield park surveys of 6556 

acres,” 1906, Library of Congress, digital Id g3883s 

cw0553000)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

100

Spotsylvania and Orange Counties. At Chancellorsville, 

the commission identified 1,123 ac es for acquisition 

in a polygonal parcel (fig. 1.90). This tract included 

the Chancellorsville Inn, the Jackson monument, the 

Fairview clearing, and Slocum’s Line to the south, but 

excluded Wilderness Church, Dowdall’s Tavern, Catharine Furnace, and the route of Jackson’s march, as well 

as the US works of Hooker’s apex to the north. The 

Wilderness battlefi ld park, by contrast, was to include 

3,880 acres.38

National park promoters were supported by military 

organizations and prominent veterans. The Society of 

the Army of the Potomac, which visited Fredericksburg 

in 1900 as its fir t reunion on Southern soil, offi ally 

endorsed the park. Major General Daniel Sickles of 

New York gave a long oration in support of the park, 

stating that “...within a small area near the spot where 

we are seated [in Fredericksburg] are the great battlefi lds of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Spotsylvania 

and the Wilderness, where more men fought and fell 

than upon any space of equal dimensions on the face 

of the earth. These famous battle-grounds should be 

made a National Military Park.”39 As part of the meeting, Sickles visited Chancellorsville, and posed for a 

group photo in front of the inn (fig. 1.91)

Through World War I, successive bills for the national 

park were introduced into Congress by Virginia’s 

delegation, but none passed. Opposition to one bill 

introduced in 1902, for example, questioned the need 

for the Fredericksburg area park given that there were 

already fi e national military parks established, and that 

there were bills pending for fif een others. Critics also 

questioned how the proposed six separate parcels at 

Fredericksburg could constitute a single park. Financial 

considerations of developing and maintaining such a 

large and dispersed park ultimately defeated each of 

the bills.40

THE CHANCELLORSVILLE COMMUNITY

Aside from the returning veterans, battlefi ld tourists, 

and park proposals, the rural community of Chancellorsville remained a remote and sparsely populated 

place through the post-war period. The Chancellor 

family retained a presence in the community, although 

they lost their namesake inn and plantation. Such large 

plantations disappeared as defini g entities in the landscape, replaced by smaller and more numerous farms. 

Orange Turnpike

The Orange Turnpike, also known as the plank road 

or old turnpike due to the historic overlap of the two 

roads, remained the spine of the Chancellorsville community despite its poor condition over much of the 

post-war period. In ca. 1925, it was improved with a 

gravel-earthen surface following its designation as state 

Route 37. Aside from loss of the Fairview farmstead, 

addition of several new farms, the addition of four Civil 

War monuments, and changes in the size of clearings, 

the landscape remained little changed from its antebellum organization.

Eastern Turnpike Farms

The McGee family farms along the north side of the 

turnpike east of Chancellorsville were probably some 

of the fir t to rebuild following the war. By 1867, two 

new farmsteads had been built on the family farm: the 

W. Stratton farm next to the Absalom McGee Farm, 

and the R. McGee Jr. Farm to the east (fig. 1.92).

Figure 1.91. Daniel Sickles (second from right) at the Chancellorsville

Inn during a meeting of the Society of the Army of the Potomac that 

was promoting creation of a national park at Fredericksburg, 1900. 

(Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, FRSP 2151)
101 

1. Site History, 1865–1927

These new farms accommodated family members and 

perhaps a tenant within the pre-war fi lds. The McGee family owned the farms for decades after the war; 

Reuben McGee, the Confederate veteran, eventually 

moved to Fredericksburg and died in 1922. The Absalom McGee farmhouse, known as the White House 

during the battle, survived, but was replaced by a new 

house around 1880. Across the turnpike on the south 

side of the road, three new farmsteads were established 

by the early 20th century within expanded clearings 

in the woods. At the corner of Furnace Road was the 

Craig Farm, and to the east were two farms on land that 

may have been subdivided from the Alrich Farm. The 

Great Meadow Swamp to the west of the Craig Farm 

remained wooded.41

Chancellorsville (Fairview Plantation)

The 852-acre Chancellorsville property underwent 

many changes in ownership and condition during the 

post-Civil War period. The Chancellorsville Inn stood 

as a ruin until John H. and Augusta A. Walzl purchased 

it in 1869 from George Guest, who had acquired the 

plantation in 1863 shortly before the battle. By 1872, 

Walzl completed reconstruction of the front western 

half of the building for use as a residence and an inn 

catering to battlefi ld tourists and returning veterans 

(fig. 1.93, see lso fi s. 1.80, 1.91). The new building had 

about fif een rooms. Remnants of the unreconstructed 

eastern portions of the building remained visible in the 

yard toward Elys Ford Road. Walzl also retained some 

of the antebellum elm and poplar trees along the front 

of the house and the well near the entrance walk, and 

built a white-painted plank fence around the yard. For 

an undetermined reason, Walzl soon sold the property 

in 1873 to Henry and William Wyeth, who apparently 

made few additional improvements. Through the early 

1890s, the Wyeths continued to operate the inn and 

cultivate the fi lds that extended southwest across the 

Figure 1.92. Map of the Chancellorsville community showing patterns of field and forest, roads, and post-war development by the 1920s. 

The solid black dots represent antebellum buildings or ruins. Boxes with white fill indicate post-war farms, those with gray fill, non-farm 

post-war buildings. Civil War-era properties are labeled in capital letters. Current park boundaries are shown in orange. (SUNY ESF)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

102

Fairview clearing. Two white-painted barns were erected to the west of the inn, where the antebellum barns 

had stood. The Wyeths did not rebuild the old Fairview 

house, whose ruins stood out in the large clearing as a 

landmark of the battle, west of the large oak tree that 

was purportedly used as a signal station during the war 

(fig. 1.94). earby was the one-acre wood-fence enclosed Chancellor cemetery, which remained under the 

ownership of the Chancellor heirs since the plantation 

was sold out of the family in 1854.42

Despite revival of the farm and inn business, the Chancellorsville property retained a forlorn and somber 

character, as described by a writer who visited what he 

termed the “Famous Place of One House” in 1881:

Chancellorsville is a desolate clearing on the southern 

edge of the Wilderness. Time was when a hundred 

Virginians of the fir t families clinked glasses in the long 

dining hall of the hostelrie...Now only one third of the 

building—the northern [sic] end—stands, and even that 

had to be-erected after the battle, when fi e left nothing 

but bare walls, shot-shattered and bullet-pierced. From 

the northern end of this poor remnant of the ruined inn 

stick out fi e pieces of shrapnel...In the yard the visitor 

sees the outlines of the old house marked by shrubs, 

weeds and stray bricks, while sweet hollyhocks growing 

near the porch remain as sentinels of garden beauties 

long since gone.43

Aside from the placement of the Jackson rock along 

the turnpike at the wooded west end of the property in 

1879 followed by the Jackson monument in 1888, there 

were apparently few additional changes to the Chancellorsville property through the early 1890s. Iron mining 

may have occurred on the property, either through 

the Wyeths or by others who owned mineral rights to 

Figure 1.93. Chancellorsville looking north along the Orange Plank Road south of the turnpike, showing the rebuilt house with its cupola 

and antebellum trees, photographed 1884. To the left of the house are two barns built after the Civil War. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania 

National Military Park, FRSP 3152R)

Figure 1.94. Chancellorsville, looking southwest from the turnpike 

across the Fairview clearing with the purported signal-station 

oak tree in the distance, 1876. (Photographs of War Scenes, ca. 

1870s–1890s, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, 

Duke University) 
103 

1. Site History, 1865–1927

the property. One pit was dug in the clearing between 

Fairview and Hazel Grove, possibly as part of the 

Marysville Bloomery that briefl revived the Catharine 

Furnace operation in ca. 1883. It may have been around 

this time that the clearing between the two plantations 

was abandoned for agricultural use, allowing successional woods to grow in (see fig. 1.86) 44

In ca. 1891, William Wyeth died without a clear will, 

which led his heirs to contest division of the estate. The 

Chancellorsville property ended up in court under a 

partition suit, and was sold through a special commissioner, George R. Fitzhugh. James S. Wyckoff, acting as 

agent for the Chancellorsville Battlefi ld Park Association, purchased the property on August 25, 1891, and 

conveyed it to John L. Marye as trustee. The battlefi ld 

association owned the 854-acre property for the next 

two decades and operated the inn for a time. Aside 

from placement of the 144th Pennsylvania and 27th Indiana monuments in 1899–1901, there is no record that 

the battlefi ld association made any improvements or 

substantial changes to the landscape.45 

Because the Chancellorsville Battlefi ld Park Association was unable to raise suffi ent funds for the property, a county court ordered John Marye as early as 

1895 to convey the tract due to default of payment, but 

Marye died without doing so. The case did not come 

before the court again until 1910, when the property 

was ordered to be returned to the Wyeth heirs. The 

heirs—four children of William N. Wyeth and his wife 

Eleanor who had died in 1898, in turn sold the property, surveyed at 844 acres, for $8,500 to A. J. Rowley in 

1910. Rowley, who moved with his family from Texas 

for health reasons, developed the Chancellorsville 

property into a dairy and mixed produce farm, while 

also continuing to offer accommodations to tourists (fig. 1.95). A. J. Rowley’s son, James Harold “Hal” 

Rowley and his wife, Etta Davis Rowley, raised three 

children at Chancellorsville; two other children died at 

birth and were buried in the back yard of the Chancellorsville Inn at some point between 1912 and 1915.46 

The Rowleys made a number of changes to Chancellorsville. At the inn, they replaced the porch railings 

and removed the railings around the cupola, and 

replaced the white-plank fence around the yard with a 

wood post-and-woven-wire fence. A. J. Rowley planted 

Virginia red-cedar trees along Elys Ford Road. In the 

fi ld north of the house, there was a large fruit orchard 

that included pear, plum, cherry, and peach trees, 

along with a grape arbor. The Rowleys had a dairy 

barn, which they probably built to replace the earlier 

barns west of the house, along with a blacksmith shop, 

granary, garage, woodshed, smokehouse, and chicken 

coops. In the fi lds of Fairview south of the turnpike, 

the family raised mostly corn, wheat, soybeans, and 

black-eyed peas. The fi lds north of turnpike were 

probably pasture for the dairy cows. The Rowleys often 

plowed up Civil War artifacts, but they avoided 

disturbing earthworks, such as the artillery 

lunettes along the road to Fairview. The old 

oak in the Fairview clearing that was purportedly used as a signal station during the battle 

was taken down, perhaps to provide additional 

room for cultivation.47

By the 1920s, the western part of the Fairview 

clearing that extended to Hazel Grove, from 

the artillery lunettes west and south of the Fairview house ruins, had became wooded. The 

Rowleys continued to cultivate the rest of the 

Fairview clearing, even planting up to the fence 

around the Chancellor cemetery and on the 

bed of its access road. Hal Rowley built a house 

Figure 1.95. A postcard of the Chancellorsville Inn during ownership by the 

Rowley family, looking northwest from the turnpike, ca. 1915. (Fredericksburg 

and Spotsylvania National Military Park, FRSP 1816)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

104

in ca. 1925 along Elys Ford Road at Bullock Road, 

apparently on land owned by J. E. Timberlake. He also 

built a gas station across from the Chancellorsville 

Inn at the southeast corner of the Orange Plank Road, 

probably soon after the turnpike was improved as state 

Route 37 in ca. 1925.48

Hazel Grove

After the Civil War, Melzi Chancellor may have continued to farm the Hazel Grove property, which lost its 

farmhouse in the battle but retained a barn. In 1891, 

the property was acquired by the Kennedy family, 

who erected a new house southeast of the Civil War 

house site (see fig. 1.92). B the turn of the century, 

the clearing to Fairview was becoming wooded, but 

the main clearing remained active farmland, used for 

growing corn and probably also as pasture (fig. 1.96).

By the early 20th century, Hazel Grove was a dairy farm, 

with a large gambrel-roof dairy barn erected where 

the antebellum barns had stood.50 Along the turnpike, 

there were remnants of the antebellum schoolhouse. A 

visitor heading east on the turnpike in 1920 described 

this area of Hazel Grove, with apparent reference to the 

schoolhouse:

The woods here are densest, and to the right, cut like 

a little canyon through the pines, is the road to Hazel 

Grove...You cannot go down the road, but there is a 

little clear space where it comes into the pike, and in it a 

doorless, weather-beaten one-story frame building. It is 

centuries old, seemingly, and leans wearily as if utterly 

tired of life.51

Locust Grove, Wilderness Church, 

Hawkins and Talley Farms

Wilderness Church and the three surrounding farms 

comprised one of the largest clearings at Chancellorsville during the post-war period, as they had during 

the antebellum years. Melzi Chancellor’s home at 

Dowdall’s Tavern survived the war, but succumbed to 

fi e in 1869. He built a simple, two-story frame house 

on the site, and maintained the picket fence around the 

yard (fig. 1.97). elzi may have built this as a tenant 

house or house for one of his children, because around 

the same time, he moved across the turnpike to a new 

house he built on his property north of Wilderness 

Church (fig. 1.98). This site gave him easy access to the 

church from which he retired as minister in 1870. A 

stile in the fence between the church yard and Melzi’s 

residence provided access, and a drive along the west 

side of the church yard led north to his new residence. 

Melzi Chancellor built six other buildings near the 

house, including an office d a barn.52

At some point late in the 19th century, perhaps after 

Melzi Chancellor’s death in 1895, the fi ld across from 

Dowdall’s Tavern was subdivided from the rest of the 

property and sold to the Chewning family, who built 

a farmhouse and barns directly across from the tavern 

(present Wagner farm). The property south of the turnpike including Dowdall’s Tavern was sold to the Payne 

family around this time.53

Figure 1.96. The Hazel Grove clearing with baled corn stalks, looking 

west with the entrance road from the turnpike at right, ca. 1900. The 

building at far left may be the farmhouse or barns. (Fredericksburg 

and Spotsylvania National Military Park, FRSP 1019)

Figure 1.97. Dowdall’s Tavern, showing the post-war house built 

in 1869 following loss of the antebellum building to fi e, looking 

southwest along the turnpike, ca. 1897. (The Albert Kern Collection 

at Dayton History, object K.5.9.270)
105 

1. Site History, 1865–1927

In 1899, four years after Melzi Chancellor’s death, the 

Wilderness Church congregation replaced its 1853 

building, which had been built under Melzi’s supervision, with a new wood-frame church on a site directly 

in front of the old building. The new church was 

about the same size and featured the same gable-front 

orientation, but was shorter without a balcony level 

that had been used by slaves, and had just one entrance 

door (fig. 1.99). n 1915, the congregation purchased an 

adjoining plot from the Chewning 

farm to establish a cemetery. By this 

time, some of the trees in the pine 

grove surrounding the church had 

been lost.54

The Hawkins Farm, located west 

and north of Wilderness Church 

and Melzi Chancellor’s new residence, remained under ownership 

of the same family, who lived in the 

one-story antebellum farmhouse 

(fig. 1.100). C anges to the property 

included replacement of outbuildings in the yard, abandonment of the 

orchard north of the farmhouse, and a small decrease 

in the size of the fi lds. The slave cabin in the woods 

near the turnpike also disappeared. In ca. 1920, the 

farmhouse was demolished after health inspectors 

identified t as being contaminated by tuberculosis. It 

was replaced with a new two-story house built adjacent 

to the old house.55

Across the turnpike, the Talley family also continued 

to own their property that straddled both sides of the 

turnpike. At some point after the Civil War, they built a 

new farmstead in the fi lds north of the turnpike (see 

fig. 1.92). The antebellum farmhouse remained within 

its tree-shaded yard along the south side of the road 

into the early 20th century (see fig. 1.74). n 1926, the 

Figure 1.98. Melzi Chancellor’s new house, offi e, and other buildings 

north of Wilderness Church (buildings in right background) built in 

ca. 1869, looking northeast from the turnpike, ca. 1881. (William 

Turner photograph, Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National

Military Park, FRSP 1000)

Figure 1.99. The new Wilderness Church building completed in 1899, 

looking north, ca. 1900. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National 

Military Park, FRSP 3163)

Figure 1.100. The Hawkins farmhouse, with Alexander Hawkins 

seated on the porch, looking north, 1912. (Fredericksburg and 

Spotsylvania National Military Park, Museum Collection)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

106

house was torn down to build a new house for two Talley sisters.56

Luckett Farm

The Luckett Farm, at the far western end of the Chancellorsville battlefi ld near the intersection of the turnpike and Brock Road, changed ownership a number 

of times during this period. The farmhouse remained 

standing in 1920, in a clearing that was reduced in size. 

By the late 1920s, this area was being subdivided into 

a number of smaller lots belonging to the Weedon and 

Lakeman families. New farmsteads were established 

during this period in the woods on the north side of the 

turnpike, and west of the Brock Road intersection (see 

fig. 1.92) 57

Elys Ford Road and River Road

During the post-war period, Elys Ford Road was little 

more than two tracks through the woods that passed 

several post-war farms. Despite this, it was an important regional thoroughfare because of its bridge over 

the Rapidan River that had been built by 1887 (see fig.

1.76). The road was more heavily used than U.S. Ford 

Road, which did not have a bridge across the river and 

just formed a loop back to the turnpike via Old Mine 

Road. River Road was likewise a minor, unpaved road 

during the period. Mineral Springs Road, the former 

eastern continuation of Bullock Road, fell into disuse 

by the 1880s.58

Bullock Plantation (Woodlawn)

The Bullock family never returned to their destroyed 

plantation following the Civil War. The fi ld south 

of Bullock Road was returned to agricultural use at 

some point after the war, but the fi ld to the north 

where Couch’s Line was located, was not and became 

forested. The fi ld across Elys Ford Road was also lost, 

which concealed the extensive earthworks that were 

the site of the apex of General Hooker’s fi al US position. Farther north on Elys Ford Road, two farms were 

established on portions of the old Bullock fi lds during 

the post-war period. These farmers probably leveled 

the US earthworks that bordered the west side of the 

road.59

In ca. 1925, James Rowley, who lived at the Chancellorsville Inn, built a house along Elys Ford Road near 

the old Bullock house site. By the late 1920s, the old 

Bullock property west of Elys Ford Road including the 

house was probably owned by J. E. Timberlake.60

Decker (Grady) Farm

The Decker Farm on River Road remained a small 

farm clearing that shifted in location and extent. The 

buildings were still clustered along the north side of 

River Road. Across the street, a larger farm clearing 

was established during the post-war period, extending southeast partly into the site of the antebellum E. 

McGee Farm.61

Orange Plank Road and Catharpin Road

The Orange Plank Road and Catharpin Road were 

poorly-maintained dirt roads for most of the post-war 

period (fig. 1.101). espite this, the land along the 

roads experienced a substantial amount of new farm 

development, joining the antebellum Alrich and Perry 

farms (see fig. 1.92).

Alrich and Perry Farms

The Alrich family continued to farm their property 

at the intersection of the plank road and Catharpin 

Road, which was generally known as “New Store,” 

throughout this period. The railway brought new traffi

through the farm upon its completion in 1872. By 1894, 

the Alrich Station had been built on Catharpin Road, 

on the south side of the tracks. In the 1880s and 1890s, 

the “Alrich’s Crossing” post office as located here—

perhaps a new location for the family’s antebellum 

“New Store.”62

By the early 20th century, the large clearing of the Alrich 

Farm north of the Orange Plank Road had decreased 

in extent by more than a half, and the orchard had been 

moved from behind the house to the north side of the 

plank road. The old farmhouse may have been replaced during this time. Two new farmsteads had been 

established in clearings along Catharpin Road south 

of the farmhouse. By the 1920s, portions of the Alrich 

Farm north of the plank road were probably owned by 
107 

1. Site History, 1865–1927

the Olds family, and portions south of the road by the 

Hedge family.63

The Perry Farm, located to the east of the Alrich Farm 

along the Orange Plank Road, also remained an active 

farm during the post-war period. By the early 20th century, the farm had a new orchard to the rear of the farm 

buildings, and most of the woods extending south to 

the railroad had been cleared. The old farmhouse may 

have been replaced.64

Young Farm, Lewis Farms, and Piney Branch Church

The area along Catharpin Road south of the Orange 

Plank Road underwent substantial change during this 

period as old farms were abandoned and new farms 

were cleared from the woods. Along the west side of 

Catharpin Road east of the Ni River, two new farms 

were established, and on the east side of Catharpin 

Road, the original Young farmstead may have been 

abandoned (see fig. 1.92). A new road (Chancellor 

Road) was extended south into this area around the 

Young Farm from the Orange Plank Road, giving access to several post-war farms south of the railroad. 

West of the Ni River, most of the fi lds associated with 

the antebellum Lewis family farms became wooded, 

suggesting abandonment for agricultural use. Piney 

Branch Church, a landmark along Catharpin Road 

since the colonial period, was abandoned after 1869 as 

parishioners moved to Wilderness Church and other 

area Baptist churches. The old building near the Ni 

River decayed. A congregation returned and built a new 

church during the late 19th century at a new site to the 

southwest along Piney Branch Road.65

Orange Plank Road and Germanna Plank Road

The western part of the Orange Plank Road southwest of Wilderness Church was most likely in little 

better condition than the eastern part. Despite this, 

it remained a main route to the southwest. The Germanna Plank Road was apparently less used, but the 

US Geological Survey still showed the road on its 1887 

survey of Spotsylvania County (see fig. 1.76). t was 

abandoned as a main route soon after, because by the 

1920s, it was just a minor track through the woods. The 

clearing at the intersection with the Orange Plank Road 

had become lost to the surrounding woods.66

Burton Farm and Hickman House

The farmhouse at the Burton Farm was destroyed 

during the Civil War or prior to 1867, and was never 

rebuilt. Despite this, the clearing on Burton Hill surrounding the farmhouse survived and was even enlarged by the early 20th century, perhaps as pasture for 

the Talley Farm or another nearby farm. The Hickman 

house to the west, which was once a tollhouse for the 

Germanna Plank Road, may have survived the post-war 

period.67

Brock Road

Brock Road, which had suffered during the Battle of 

the Wilderness from the extensive US trenches built on 

both sides of the road, remained a main route heading 

from the plank road southeast toward Todd’s Tavern 

and Spotsylvania Courthouse. The section from the 

plank road north to the turnpike, however, fell out of 

use as a main route by the 1880s, when the US Geological Survey failed to show the segment on its topographic survey of Spotsylvania County (see fig. 1.76).

The section south of the plank road had fi e new farms 

Figure 1.101. The Orange Plank Road in the vicinity of its intersection 

with Furnace Road, 1890. The people in the sulky, a Mr. Morrison 

and J. F. Landram, were trying to visit the Lee-Jackson bivouac. 

(Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, FRSP 759)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

108

cleared from the woods to either side of the Potomac, 

Fredericksburg and Piedmont Railroad (Virginia Central Railway) that was completed through the area in 

1872. The railway established the Brock Station at the 

crossing between 1872 and 1887.68

Cook Farm

The Cook farmstead, which had been used as a US hospital during the Battle of the Wilderness, was repaired 

following the war. At some point during the late 19th or 

early 20th century, the old farmstead was taken down 

and fi e new farms were established in a clearing along 

an old woods road that ran east-west to the north of 

the old farm. The farms may have belonged to Cook 

family members, since the area remained known as 

Cooktown. Zion Hill Church was built at the east end 

of this road around 1910.69

Stephens, Trigg, and Fitzhugh Farms

The neighboring Stephens and Trigg Farms, which were 

between US and Confederate lines during the Battle 

of the Wilderness, remained throughout the post-war 

period, although the limits of the farm fi lds changed. 

The Stephens Farm, which became known as Rosemont, was expanded to the south of the railroad that 

cut through both farms. Here, the Stephens family built 

a new farmstead that may have replaced the older farmstead north of the tracks. James Stephens and his wife 

Lucy, the daughter of Melzi Chancellor, raised nine 

children at Rosemont during the late 19th century. The 

family also operated a store on Brock Road. Located 

within Rosemont on the north side of the railroad 

tracks was Stephens Station, a small white building with 

a platform that was established between 1872 and 1901. 

This was whistle stop station, requiring the train to be 

flag ed in order to stop. The nearby Brock Station was 

the larger station in the area.70 

The Fitzhugh Farm located south of the Stephens and 

Trigg farms was abandoned by the early 20th century, 

and most of the open fi lds became wooded. A new 

farmstead was built to the northeast, within part of the 

old farm clearing.71

Carpenter Farm

The Carpenter Farm on Herndon Road, which survived its use as a fi ld hospital and cemetery following 

the Battle of the Wilderness, remained in agricultural 

use through some of the post-war period. It may have 

changed ownership, since the Carpenters were described as elderly at the time of the war. By the 1920s, 

the farmhouse and barns had been removed, and portions of the fi lds had become wooded.72

Catharine Furnace Property

In August 1865 shortly after the end of the Civil War, 

the Catharine Furnace, which had been reactivated 

following the Battle of the Wilderness, possibly using 

a new furnace in a different location on the Chancellorsville property, shipped 100 tons of iron ore. Despite 

this, the business prospects were apparently so poor 

that the owners put the company on the market for 

$30,000 around the same time. In October 1865, the 

manager, J. Warren Slaughter, was authorized to sell off

the company’s 4,648-acre property at $6 an acre. The 

company apparently received no offers, and continued 

to hold on to the land. In 1882, New York investor 

Henry R. Haines leased the property for three years, 

and in 1883, he announced plan for erecting a new 

furnace, to make steel ingots under the name Marysville Bloomery. An iron mine may have been dug in the 

clearing between Fairview and Hazel Grove, and it was 

probably around this time that the Furnace Station on 

the Potomac, Fredericksburg, and Piedmont Railroad 

was opened, near the Wellford house. The Marysville 

Bloomery venture, however, was short-lived and may 

have never produced fini hed ingots. The Catharine 

Furnace Company or its successor continued to own 

the 4,648-acre tract as late as 1891. The property 

remained heavily wooded, although sections may have 

been logged.73 

By the early 20th century, the Catharine Furnace 

property was subdivided and sold off. However, aside 

from establishment of several small farms, there was no 

new substantial development on the property prior to 

1927 (see fig. 1.92). A large part south of Hazel Grove 

and Fairview was acquired by an owner named Young. 
109 

1. Site History, 1865–1927

Around the Bivouac site at the intersection of the 

Orange Plank Road and Furnace Road, the Lee family 

acquired a small part of the property and cleared the 

woods for a farm, including the woods on and around 

the Lee-Jackson bivouac site. Farther north on Furnace 

Road, the Craig family cleared a farm from the woods 

at the intersection of the turnpike. A large part of 

nearby McLaws Line was destroyed. 

The core of the furnace property along the Ni River 

containing the Catharine Furnace ruins was probably 

owned by the late 1920s by a Mr. Penden. This tract 

included the brick Pulliam house (Maury house site), 

which had fallen into ruins following the war. The 

formerly open space in the hollow around the furnace 

became wooded by this time. The only antebellum 

open space on the property that remained through the 

post-war period was at the Wellford Plantation south of 

the railroad tracks. The brick Wellford house remained, 

and a large orchard was planted between it and the railroad. Two farms were established in the woods south 

of the mine road to Brock Road (Jackson Trail East), 

and four farms were established along or near Brock 

Road.74 

LANDSCAPE OVERVIEW, 1927 (DRAWING 1.3)

In 1927, the landscape of the future Chancellorsville 

battlefi ld park and its surroundings had been repaired 

from war-time damage and remained a predominantly 

agricultural area. The most conspicuous shifts in landscape character since the end of the Civil War resulted 

from changes in woods and open fi lds. Overall, the 

landscape in 1927 was characterized by smaller and 

more numerous farms than the antebellum and Civil 

War periods, but retained a persistent modest and 

remote rural character. 

Natural Systems and Features

In 1927, forest remained the dominant natural characteristic of the Chancellorsville battlefi ld landscape, 

as it had during previous periods. The worn-torn and 

burned woods had regenerated and grown in across 

formerly open fi lds and other spaces, most notably in 

Furnace Hollow and the clearing between Hazel Grove 

and Fairview. Woods had grown up on and around the 

US artillery positions at Fairview. The scrubby secondgrowth character had most likely evolved into a more 

mature forest overall, given the absence of large-scale 

logging that had gone on during the antebellum period 

as part of the Catharine Furnace operation and plank 

road building. Despite, this, there remained areas of 

woods that were logged, such as southwest of Hazel 

Grove in the former furnace property. The course of 

streams remained little changed during the period.

Spatial Organization

In 1927, the major clearings remained the McGee 

farms, Chancellorsville (Fairview), Hazel Grove, and 

the Hawkins farm-Locust Grove-Talley farm clearing 

along the turnpike; the Alrich and Perry farms along the 

eastern Orange Plank Road; the Carpenter farm along 

Herndon Road; and the Cook and Stephens-Trigg 

farms along Brock Road. 

Major changes in open-space fi ld patterns by the end 

of the post-war period included reduction in the size of 

the Fairview clearing, including loss of the clearing to 

Hazel Grove; loss of part of the Bullock clearing along 

Elys Ford Road; and loss of the Furnace Hollow clearing. New farm clearings were established along Catharpin Road, and on the Catharine Furnace property. 

Land Use

Land use in the Chancellorsville battlefi ld remained 

primarily agricultural during the post-war period. 

Farms such as the Rowley’s Chancellorsville farm went 

into larger-scale dairy production, facilitated by the advent of milking machines and refrigerated transportation after the turn of the century.75 Many farms continued to maintain orchards and grow grains and vegetables. Battlefi ld tourism and commemoration existed 

primarily along the turnpike corridor and south to the 

Lee-Jackson bivouac site, as refle ted by the installation 

of four monuments and one historical marker between 

1879 and 1903, and the Chancellorsville Battlefi ld 

Park Association’s 1891 plan for a battlefi ld park. Iron 

mining and production made a brief reappearance in 
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

110

the mid-1880s through the Marysville Bloomery that 

operated on the Catharine Furnace property.

Circulation

Circulation patterns in the Chancellorsville battlefi ld 

in 1927 were little changed from the Civil War. Most of 

the roads were in poor condition, except for the turnpike that was upgraded with an improved earthen/gravel surface with its designation as state Route 37 in ca. 

1925. The plank surfaces of the Orange and Germanna 

plank roads, which were heavily damaged in the Civil 

War, were removed, and the roads went from private to 

township or county management. The northern parts 

of Brock Road and Mineral Springs Road were either 

abandoned or deteriorated into minor tracks. There 

were no new public roads built during this period, 

although there were many small drives and roads to 

newly established farms. Some antebellum farm and 

woods roads were abandoned, such as the entrance 

roads to the Cook, Stephens, and Fitzhugh farms off

Brock Road. 

The major improvement in circulation during the postwar period was the completion of the Fredericksburg 

and Gordonsville Railroad through Chancellorsville in 

ca. 1872, and its subsequent improvement and extension as the narrow-gauge Potomac, Fredericksburg and 

Piedmont Railroad in 1876. By the end of the period in 

1927, it had been rebuilt as a standard gauge railroad 

under the designation Virginia Central Railway. By the 

1920s, its business was declining, but stations were 

still maintained at Alrich (Catharpin Road) and Brock 

Road; the whistle-stops at Stephens Farm and the 

Catharine Furnace had been closed.76

Topography

There were few major changes to built landforms in the 

Chancellorsville battlefi ld landscape during the postwar period. Some of the Civil War earthworks were 

removed as farmers returned their fi lds to cultivation, 

such as most of McLaws Line along Furnace Road, 

and smaller trenches at the Chancellorsville Inn, Hazel 

Grove, and Dowdall’s Tavern. Many that were within 

woods survived, but became overgrown or eroded into 

inconspicuous mounds and depressions. The rows of 

artillery gun pits at Fairview survived as the Wyeths, 

Rowleys, and others who farmed the property avoided 

the works. Woods grew up on and around them by the 

early 20th century.

Other topographic changes in the landscape during 

this period may have included at least one new iron 

pit mine in the clearing between Fairview and Hazel 

Grove. It was probably associated with reopening 

of the Catharine Furnace property as the Marysville 

Bloomery in ca. 1883. 

Vegetation

As farms returned to productivity in the years after 

the Civil War, agricultural crops once again became 

the dominant managed vegetation in the Chancellorsville battlefi ld landscape. Functional and ornamental 

vegetation was also maintained around farmsteads, including shade trees, lawn, shrubs, and fl wer gardens. 

Dowdall’s Tavern, for example, featured rose-of-Sharon and other shrubs around its picket-fence enclosed 

yard. Hollyhocks grew around the Chancellorsville Inn, 

although after 1915, the Rowleys apparently kept the 

yard bare, possibly as pasture. They did maintain several antebellum elm trees and planted Virginia red-cedar along Elys Ford Road. At Wilderness Church, some 

of the antebellum pines remained. There is no record 

that ornamental vegetation was maintained around 

Jackson’s Rock and the Jackson Monument, or at the 

114th Pennsylvania and 27th Indiana monuments. The 

large specimen oak tree in the middle of the Fairview 

clearing, which had been recognized by the Chancellorsville Battlefi ld Park Association as a landmark for 

its purported use as a signal station during the battle, 

was removed around 1920. 

Buildings and Structures

By 1927, most of the antebellum buildings in the Chancellorsville battlefi ld landscape had been demolished, 

replaced, or substantially reconstructed. Aside from 

agricultural outbuildings, the only antebellum buildings 

remaining were the Alrich, Perry, and Wellford houses, 

and probably the Hickman, Luckett, and Trigg houses.77
111 

1. Site History, 1865–1927

The Chancellorsville Inn, rebuilt at a third of its antebellum size and to accommodate tourists, retained its 

original stone entrance steps and portions of its stone 

foundation and brick walls, which included evidence of 

battle damage. Wilderness Church, Dowdall’s Tavern, 

and the Hazel Grove, Hawkins, and Absalom McGee 

houses had been replaced with new buildings during 

the period. . The new house at Hazel Grove, occupied 

by the Kennedy family, was located southeast of the 

antebellum house, just west of the current intersection 

of Slocum Drive and Sickles Drive. 

There were approximately thirty-four new farms established from Chancellor Road on the east to Brock Road 

on the west, each with its own farmhouse and barns. 

Post-war farmhouses such as Dowdall’s Tavern built in 

ca. 1869 to the new Hawkins farmhouse completed in 

ca. 1920 were typically modest, with wood frame construction, two stories, simple side-gable roofs, threebay fronts, and center entrances with porches.78 Some 

of the farms, such as Hazel Grove, featured up-to-date 

dairy barns with gambrel roofs and ventilators, while 

the Rowleys appear to have built a modest gable-roof 

dairy barn to replace two smaller post-war barns to the 

west of the inn.79 Melzi Chancellor established what 

was probably a more elaborate residence with an offic

building and barn to the north of Wilderness Church in 

ca. 1870.

Views and Vistas

The primarily views and vistas of the Chancellorsville battlefi ld landscape during the post-war period 

remained those across road corridors and large farm 

clearings. The views along secondary roads such as 

the Orange Plank Road, Germanna Plank Road, and 

Mineral Springs Road became restricted due to growth 

of surrounding woods into the road corridor. Numerous new views were opened up through the clearing 

of woods for farms, notably along Brock Road near 

the railroad, and along Catharpin Road. Views across 

Furnace Hollow at the Catharine Furnace were lost as 

the once open valley became wooded. 

Views along the turnpike remained open due to the 

large width of the corridor. This view by 1879 included 

the Jackson rock, and by 1888, the Jackson monument 

that were sited to allow for visibility from the road 

corridor. The most prominent and famous views were 

across the fi lds around Wilderness Church where 

General Jackson launched his flank ttack, and from 

the Chancellorsville Inn across the Fairview clearing, 

where the battle raged on May 3, 1863. Visitors to the 

inn could have a broad perspective from the building’s 

cupola that was added as part of its post-war reconstruction. The view from Burton Hill, where Jackson or 

his aides learned of the extent of US troops along the 

turnpike, remained because the site was still open fi ld. 

Small-Scale Features

As farmers returned their fi lds to production after the 

Civil War, they rebuilt fences that had been destroyed 

during the war. Many, such as the Wyeths at Chancellorsville, rebuilt stacked rail fences, an economical 

type of fence, and erected painted wood plank, rail, or 

picket fences around yards. After the turn of the century, many farmers turned to economical barbed-wire 

fences to enclose their livestock pastures. 

A new type of small-scale features introduced to the 

Chancellorsville battlefi ld landscape during the postwar period was the commemorative monument. The 

three fini hed stone monuments installed on the Chancellorsville battlefi ld during the post-war period—the 

Jackson monument dedicated in 1888, 114th Pennsylvania in 1898, the 27th Indiana in ca. 1901—were typical 

of modest monuments dedicated at many Civil War-era 

battlefi lds during the period. The 27th Indiana Volunteers installed a more elaborate monument to their 

brigade at Gettysburg in 1890 and a simpler one at Antietam in 1910. The 114th Pennsylvania installed a monument with a figu ative bronze at Gettysburg in 1888.80

The Jackson rock, installed in 1879, was a distinctive 

unfini hed quartz boulder, which was supposed to have 

an engraving. Such rustic monuments were often found 

in cemeteries during the late 19th century. In addition 

to these monuments, Chancellorsville also featured a 

granite marker at the Lee-Jackson bivouac site that was 
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

112

installed in 1903 as part of a system of ten such markers that identified ites of historical significa ce in the 

area’s four battlefi lds. 

Perhaps the most numerous of small-scale features 

introduced during this period were wood telegraph 

poles, such as those installed along the eastern part 

of the Orange Plank Road by the 1920s. By this time, 

widespread electrical service had not yet been introduced.81

Archeological Sites

Archeological sites related to the battle, such as earthworks, burial sites, and building ruins, were still found 

throughout the Chancellorsville battlefi ld landscape 

by the 1920s. Many, however, had been removed as 

farmers returned their property to active use. By 1927, 

the battlefi ld’s extensive lines of trenches and other 

earthworks had eroded and were mostly subtle depressions and rises in the landscape, often covered by trees 

and heavy undergrowth. The most prominent archeological site had been the ruins of the Fairview house, 

whose stone chimney stood as a poignant landmark in 

the Fairview clearing, but it was removed by the 1920s, 

probably by the Rowleys who farmed the property. The 

stone stack of Catharine Furnace did remain standing, 

although it was inconspicuous given its location deep in 

the woods south of the turnpike. Other building ruins 

and remnants included the brick Pulliam house off

Furnace Road, and possibly the Carpenter farmhouse 

on Herndon Road.

Farmers continued to plow up shot and other detritus of war, but the vast majority of human burials 

and surface remains had been recovered by 1868 and 

reinterred in Fredericksburg and Culpeper national 

cemeteries, in Fredericksburg’s Confederate Cemetery, 

and in private cemeteries.

ENDNOTES, 1865–1927

1 John Townsend Trowbridge, The South: A Tour of Its 

Battlefields and Ruin d Cities... (Hartford: L. Stebbins, 

1866), 121.

2 Catherine Zipf, “Marking Union Victory in the South, 

The Construction of the National Cemetery System,” in 

Cynthia Mills and Pamela H. Simpson, editors, Monuments 

to the Lost Cause: Women, Art, and the Landscapes of 

Southern Memory (Knoxville: The University of Tennessee 

Press, 2003), 29.

3 Donald Pfanz, “the Bone Collectors: Creation of 

Wilderness Cemetery #1,” Mysteries and Conundrums 

blog, September 7, 2010, http://npsfrsp.wordpress.

com/2010/09/07/the-bone-collectors-creation-ofwilderness-cemetery-1/ (accessed November 4, 2014); 

National Park Service, “Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania 

Confederate Cemeteries,” Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania 

National Military Park website, http://www.nps.gov/frsp/

rebcem.htm (accessed November 4, 2014).

4 Spotsylvania Memory, “Atwell Young, the 

Black Confederate,” December 30, 2013, http://

spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2013/12/atwell-youngblack-confederate.html (accessed November 24, 2014).

5 John Hennessy, “Wilderness Military Cemetery #2,” 

“Mysteries and Conundrums” blog, May 27, 2010, http://

npsfrsp.wordpress.com/2010/05/27/wilderness-militarycemetery-2/ (accessed November 4, 2014); Pfanz, Bone 

Collectors.

6 George E. Chancellor to Edwin Stanton, December 1, 

1865, cited in Donald C. Pfanz, “Where Valor Proudly 

Sleeps, A History of Fredericksburg National Cemetery 

1866–1933” (Unpublished report, 2007), 50.

7 Ibid.

8 Therese Sammartino, National Register of Historic 

Places Multiple Property Documentation Form, “Civil 

War Era National Cemeteries” (Unpublished document, 

US Department of Veterans Affairs, 1994), Section E, 

pages 2-4; National Park Service, “Civil War Era National 

Cemeteries,” http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/national_

cemeteries/list_of_sites.html (accessed November 5, 

2014); Noel G. Harrison, Chancellorsville Battlefield Sit s

(Lynchburg, VA: H. E. Howard, Inc., 1990), 15, 20, 42, 54, 

65, 75.

9 Traceries, “Historic Architectural Survey of Spotsylvania 

County, Virginia” (Unpublished report prepared for the 

Virginia Department of Historic Resources, September 

1996), 26.

10 Traceries, 26; Joan M. Zenzen, “At the Crossroads 

of Preservation and Development: A History of 

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park” 

(Unpublished report prepared for the National Park 

Service in cooperation with The Organization of American 

Historians, August 2011), 13, 16; U.S. Census, Virginia 

Population of Counties by Decennial Census, 1900 to 
113 

1. Site History, 1865–1927

1990, http://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/

va190090.txt (accessed November 12, 2014). Spotsylvania 

County did not regain its antebellum population until the 

1970 census. 

11 Candice Roland, “Agricultural Context for the 

Rappahannock River Valley, 1860-1900 (unpublished 

online paper), 3-4, 8 http://www.candiceroland.org/wpcontent/uploads/2013/10/agricultural-context-corrected.

pdf3 (accessed November 4, 2014).

12 Roland, 3-4, 8; Susan Dolan, Fruitful Legacy: A Historic 

Context of Orchards in the United States (Washington, D.C.: 

National Park Service, 2009), 111.

13 Traceries, 28; John T. Lonsdale, “Geology of 

the Gold-Pyrite Belt of the Northeastern Piedmont 

Virginia,” Virginia Geological Survey Bulletin 30

(Charlottesville: University of Virginia, 1927), 5; Palmer 

Sweet, “Gold in Virginia,” Virginia Division of Mineral 

Resources Publication 19 (Charlottesville, 1980), 48; O. 

F. Northington, Jr., “The Revival of the Iron Industry 

in Eastern Virginia as Exemplified y the History of the 

Catharine Furnace in Spotsylvania County,” William and 

Mary Quarterly, vol. 16, no. 1 (January 1936), 79.

14 Nathaniel M. Pawlett, A Brief History of the Roads of 

Virginia, 1607-1840 (Charlottesville: Virginia Department 

of Transportation and the University of Virginia, October 

1977), 39; USGS, Spotsylvania Quadrangle topographic 

map, 1887, 1892.

15 Mike Palmer, “Orange to Fredericksburg,” 

Abandonedrails.com, 2014, http://www.abandonedrails.

com/orange_to_fredericksburg (accessed May 2014); 

Royal Land Company records, 1877, and US Interstate 

Commerce Commission, 1926 , cited in Wikipedia, s.V. 

“Potomac, Fredericksburg and Piedmont Railroad,” 

(accessed November 17, 2014).

16 Virginia Railroad Commissioner, 1902, cited in 

Wikipedia, s.V. “Potomac, Fredericksburg and Piedmont 

Railroad.”

17 USGS, Spotsylvania Quadrangle, 1887; Map of 

Northern Virginia showing the PF&P line with Brock 

Station and Alrich Station, 1892; Rand McNally, Enlarged 

Business Atlas of Virginia, 1901.

18 Hilton, American Narrow Gauge Railroads, 1990, cited 

in Wikipedia, s.V. “Potomac, Fredericksburg and Piedmont 

Railroad”; U.S. Geological Survey, State of Virginia...

Stations and Transmission Lines Used in Public Service in 

1925 (Compiled 1914, revised 1925).

19 Virginia Department of Transportation, A History 

of Roads in Virginia “The Most Convenient Wayes”

(Richmond: Published by the Department, 2006), 19-20, 

28-30, 38; USGS, Topographic Maps of Chancellorsville 

and Salem Church Battlefi lds, Surveyed 1932, Library 

of Congress, cw0530000. This map shows several houses 

along the turnpike, which had probably been built prior to 

1929. ́

20 Quoted from the Washington National Republican, 

August 6, 1868, in John Hennessy, “Battlefi lds as 

fundraising tools—1868,” Mysteries and Conundrums 

blog, http://npsfrsp.wordpress.com/2010/10/23/

battlefi lds-as-fundraising-tools-1868-and-the-fate-ofwalls-on-the-sunken-road/ (accessed November 17, 

2014).

21 “Virginia Battle-Fields...Chancellorsville as it Now 

Looks,” Cleveland Plain-Dealer, August 12, 1881, clipping, 

FRSP Chancellorsville files

22 “Virginia Battle-Fields...Chancellorsville as it Now 

Looks,” 1881. 

23 Daniel Crozier, “Archaeological Investigation and 

Stabilization of the Chancellorsville Inn” (Unpublished 

report prepared for the National Park Service, Temple 

University, 1979), 28-29.

24 Quoted in Hennessy, “A Little Mystery Solved”; 

Donald Pfanz, “History Through Eyes of Stone, A Survey 

of Civil War Monuments Near Fredericksburg, Virginia” 

(Unpublished report, February 1983, revised September 

2006), 122. 

25 “Virginia Battle-Fields...Chancellorsville as it Now 

Looks,” 1881.

26 Pfanz, “History Through Eyes of Stone,” 126-

127; “Wilfred E. Cutshaw,” The Cultural Landscape 

Foundation Pioneers biographies, http://tclf.org/pioneer/

wilfred-e-cutshaw (accessed November 19, 2014). 

Whether Wyeth’s donation was for use of the land, or 

actual fee ownership to the monument association, is not 

known.

27 Pfanz, “History Through Eyes of Stone,” 128-129.

28 Pfanz, “History Through Eyes of Stone,” 135-136.

29 Pfanz, “History Through Eyes of Stone,” 140, 142, 179-

180.

30 Pfanz, “History Through Eyes of Stone,” 13, 16; 1937 

aerial photograph, showing fi lds or scrubby growth at the 

northwest corner of Furnace Road and the Orange Plank 

Road. The exact date of this clearing is not known, but it 

occurred after a ca. 1897 photograph showing the wooded 

bivouac site, FRSP 684.

31 Henry Sweetser Burrage, Gettysburg and Lincoln: 

The Battle, the Cemetery, and the National Park (New 

York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1906), 143-144; Von Schon & 

Garner, “Map of Chancellorsville, VA. The Property of 

the Chancellorsville Battlefi ld Association,” August 1891, 

FRSP historian’s office The association’s acquisition of 

an additional 80 acres is based on the acreage cited on the 

von Schon & Garner plan as 934 acres. The presumption 

of this addition property being taken from the Bullock 

Plantation is based on a comparison of the Bullock fi lds 

and an “old iron bed” with the association’s northern 

property line shown on the 1891 plan. 
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

114

32 Ralph Happel, “A History of The Fredericksburg 

and Spotsylvania County Battlefi lds Memorial National 

Military Park” (Unpublished report prepared for the 

National Park Service, 1955), 29; Zenzen, 25.

33 Engineering News-Record, volume 28 (1892), iii.

34 Zenzen, 26; “Map of Chancellorsville, VA. The 

Property of the Chancellorsville Battlefi ld Association,” 

1891. 

35 Zenzen, 27; Happel, 29; Chris Mackowski, “Shaping 

Chancellorsville: Pre-park preservation efforts,” Emerging 

Civil War blog, April 24, 2013, http://emergingcivilwar.

com/2013/04/24/shaping-chancellorsville-pre-parkpreservation-efforts/#_ftn6 (accessed December 11, 

2014).

36 Ronald F. Lee, “The Origin and Evolution of the 

National Military Park Idea” (Unpublished National Park 

Service report, 1973), 13, 16; Happel, 31.

37 Acts of the General Assembly of Virginia, Session of 

1897–98, cited in Happel, 33.

38 Happel, 31.

39 Daniel Sickles, Society of the Army of the Potomac 

Report, 1900, quoted in Happel, 39.

40 Zenzen, 31.

41 Nathaniel Michler, “Chancellorsville...Prepared...

under the Authority of the Hon. Secretary of War, 1867” 

(N.Y. Lithographic, Engraving & Printing Co., 1867); 

Harrison, Chancellorsville Battlefi ld Sites, 50-51, 114 

(photograph of post-war A. McGee house); “Map of 

Chancellorsville, VA. The Property of the Chancellorsville 

Battlefi ld Association,” 1891, showing McGee 

ownership; “Military Monday-Reuben McGee—30th 

Virginia Infantry,” “Our Won History/Family Histories for 

the Rose and Kirkpatrick Families” blog, June 24, 2013, 

http://ourownhistory.blogspot.com/2013/06/militarymonday-reuben-mcgee-30th.html (accessed December 2, 

2014).

42 Crozier, 28. J. Warren Slaughter also owned an interest 

in the Chancellorsville property upon its sale to Walzl 

in 1869. Slaughter, who had taken over the Catharine 

Furnace works after the battle, may have owned mineral 

rights.

43 “Virginia Battle-Fields...Chancellorsville as it Now 

Looks,” 1881.

44 Sean P. Adams, “Iron from the Wilderness: the History 

of Virginia’s Catharine Furnace” (Unpublished National 

Park Service report, Northeast Region History Program, 

2011), 73, 76. The clearing had become scrub-covered by 

1901, when the 27th Indiana monument was dedicated.

45 Happel, 29.

46 Deed, Wyeth heirs to A. J. Rowley, May 4, 1910, 

in Crozier, 241; Lee Woolf, “Houseful of Memories, 

Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, August 2, 2003, 8-9.

47 Woolf, 10-11; May 18, 1967 letter to John Jamison re: 

Chancellor cemetery, FRSP place files [ opy cut off author 

of letter]; 1937 aerial photograph, FRSP. The aerial, and 

other War Department and NPS plans, do not show the 

signal station oak. The Rowleys plowed over the entrance 

road to the Chancellors cemetery to provide more space 

for cultivation as discussed in Woolf, so perhaps they 

removed the tree for the same reason.

48 1937 aerial photograph. 

49 Woolf, 11-12; Jamison re: Chancellor cemetery.

50 “Map of Chancellorsville, VA. The Property of 

the Chancellorsville Battlefi ld Association,” 1891; 

photograph of 27th Indiana monument, ca. 1901 indicating 

forest succession in the Fairview-Hazel Grove clearing, 

FRSP 003; National Park Service, “Chancellorsville 

Battlefi ld Park,” Drawing F&S 1051, June 12, 1934, 

showing “Kennedy House;” Photograph of early 20thcentury dairy barn at Hazel Grove, photographed 1986, in 

Harrison, Chancellorsville Battlefield Sit s, 115.

51 Ware, quoted in Harrison, Chancellorsville Battlefield

Sites, 88. 

52 Memorandum, Historian Noel Harrison to Chief 

Historian, March 3, 1991, including sketch map and 

history of Melzi Chancellor’s new residence, FRSP Place 

Files, Hawkins Farm.

53 “The Oldest Representative of the Historic 

Chancellor Family Dead, Fredericksburg Free Lance, 

February 22, 1895; Battlefi lds Memorial Commission, 

“Chancellorsville VA Battlefi ld Park,” April 6, 1931.

54 Page, Jim, “History of Wilderness Baptist Church, 

Spotsylvania County, Virginia, 1778-2009,” unpublished 

paper based on 1931 history by Edward Peyton, 2009, 6-8, 

14-15.

55 Memorandum, Harrison to Chief Historian, 1991.

56 1937 aerial photograph; Harrison, Chancellorsville 

Battlefield Sit s, 75; Battlefi lds Memorial Commission, 

“Chancellorsville VA Battlefi ld Park”, April 1931 

(showing Talley ownership north of the turnpike), FRSP; 

Ruth Graham, Historical Assistant, “Report on Field 

Investigation of the Chancellorsville Campaign,” August 

12, 1935, NARA II, RG 79 Central Classified iles, 1933-

1949, box 2466 (research courtesy of Joan Zenzen).

57 1937 aerial photograph; Harrison, Chancellorsville 

Battlefield Sit s, 73; Battlefi lds Memorial Commission 

map, 1931.

58 Photograph of Elys Ford Road near the river showing 

two-track unpaved condition, ca. 1920, FRSP image 1416; 

USGS topographic map, Spotsylvania quadrangle, 1887.
115 

1. Site History, 1865–1927

59 1937 aerial photograph; Harrison, Chancellorsville 

Battlefield Sit s, 15.

60 Woolf, 11-12; Battlefi lds Memorial Commission map, 

1931.

61 1937 aerial photograph; April 1936 oblique aerial. No 

other documentation was found on the Decker (Grady) 

farm.

62 Noel G. Harrison, “Gazetteer of Historic Sites 

Related to the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National 

Military Park, Volume I” (Unpublished National Park 

Service report, 1986), 213; “General Index of Deeds....

Spotsylvania Count, Virginia, Names of Properties,” 

http://resources.umwhisp.org/spots/spots_named_prop.

htm (accessed December 15, 2014).

63 1937 aerial photograph; Battlefi lds Memorial 

Commission, “Chancellorsville VA Battlefi ld Park,” April 

6, 1931; Harrison, Gazetteer, 213. It is presumed that the 

ownership shown on the 1931 map refle ted ownership in 

1927.

64 1937 aerial photograph; Harrison, Chancellorsville 

Battlefield Sit s, 42.

65 “History of Piney Branch Baptist Church,” http://www.

pineybranchbc.org/documents.html (accessed November 

24, 2014).

66 1937 aerial photograph. This aerial shows that the 

Germanna Plank Road corridor had been mostly covered 

by trees.

67 1937 aerial photograph. It is unclear from the aerial 

whether the Hickman house was standing in 1937.

68 USGS topographic survey, Spotsylvania Quadrangle, 

1887.

69 Spotsylvania Memory, “Atwell Young, the 

Black Confederate,” December 30, 2013, http://

spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2013/12/atwell-youngblack-confederate.html (accessed November 24, 2014).

70 Spotsylvania Memory, “The Chancellors, Part 3,” 

April 10, 2012, http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.

com/2012/04/chancellors-part-3.html (accessed 

November 24, 2014).

71 1937 aerial photograph.

72 1937 aerial photograph.

73 Adams, “Iron from the Wilderness,” 73, 76; “Map of 

Chancellorsville, VA. The Property of the Chancellorsville 

Battlefi ld Association,” 1891; Jedidiah Hotchkiss, ed., The 

Virginias, a Mining, Industrial & Scientific ournal, Devoted 

to the Development of Virginia and West Virginia, volume 3 

(Staunton, VA: Yost, 1882), 90. The 1891 map labeled the 

property south of Fairview (Chancellorsville) as belonging 

to the “Iron Mining Company.”

74 1937 aerial photograph; Battlefi lds Memorial 

Commission, “Chancellorsville VA Battlefi ld Park,” April 

6, 1931.

75 Traceries, 27; Louis Berger Group, “Historic Context 

on Fauquier County’s Dairy Farms” (Unpublished report 

prepared for the Virginia Division of Historic Resources, 

January 2012), 13-14, http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/pdf_

files specialcollections/fq-076_dairyfarmcontext_2012_

lbg_report.pdf (accessed November 25, 2014).

76 Virginia Central Railway, “Battlefi ld Route, Time Table 

No. 1,” October 15, 1933, http://vcr.golden.im/images/

VCRschedule.jpg (accessed November 25, 2014).

77 Harrison does not give a date the Alrich and Perry 

houses were demolished; the Luckett house was 

demolished between 1920 and 1935. The existing houses 

on the Alrich and Perry sites appear to date from after 

1927 (1950s-style brick ranch houses). No information has 

been found on the Lewis houses along Catharpin Road, or 

the Decker house along River Road.

78 Photographs of the post-war Dowdall’s Tavern, 

FRSP 694, and Absalom McGee and Hawkins houses, in 

Harrison, Chancellorsville Battlefield Sit s, 114, 122.

79 Photograph of post-war Hazel Grove barn in Harrison, 

Chancellorsville Battlefield Sit s, 115. 

80 Stone Sentinels, Chancellorsville Battlefi ld 

monuments, http://www.stonesentinels.com/

Chancellorsville/Chancellorsville_Monuments.php 

(accessed November 25, 2014).

81 Photo of older wood utility poles along Orange Plank 

Road, 1935, FRSP 2157; Woolf, 10-11.
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

116
Post-war

clearing

R. McGee Jr.

(ca.1867–?)

Jett farm

(1867)

Post-war farms

within former

Reuben McGee farm

Site of military

cemetery, 1864–ca.1866

New house

(1869)

Post-war

farm

Post-war

farm

Signal station

oak (ca.1800–1920)

Iron-wire fence (1925)

House

(ca.1925)

Penden

Weedon

Remains of brick house

(Pulliam house)

COOK

FARM

HICKMAN (Wolfree)

Former tollgate

LUCKETT

FARM

BULLOCK

BURTON FARM

Carpenter

farmstead

(ca.1800–1920)

Fairview house

(ruins removed

pre-1927)

HAWKINS FARM

ABSALOM

McGEE

FARM

PERRY FARM

Piney Branch

Church

(ca.1768–1870)

R. LEWIS YOUNG FARM

WIDOW

G. LEWIS LEWIS

TRIGG FARM

STEPHENS

FARM

Haney

(Henry)

Site of Fitzhugh

Farmhouse

Site of 

Stephens

farmhouse

ALRICH

FARM

TALLEY FARM

E. DECKER

CHANCELLORSVILLE (Fairview)

CATHERINE

FURNACE

(ruins) 

WILDERNESS

CHURCH

(rebuilt 1899) BROCK ROAD

ORANGE PLANK ROAD 

ORANGE PLANK ROAD

 (OLD TURNPIKE)

FURNACE ROAD

MINERAL SPRINGS ROAD

BULLOCK ROAD

RIVER ROAD

BROCK ROAD (HERNDON ROAD)

BROCK ROAD

To Spotsylvania

Court House

BLACKSMITH SHOP

(old schoolhouse)

Abandoned

LEWIS RUN

Unidentified

building (ca.1865–?)

 V I R G I N I A C E N T R A L R A I L W A Y

ELYS FORD ROAD

US FORD ROAD

SEE INSET

 STATE ROUTE 37 (OLD TURNPIKE) 

WELLFORD

HOUSE

HORSE PEN ROAD

BURTON

HILL

Cooktown

Also known as

Lewis Run,

Mine Creek

Lee-Jackson

Bivouac marker

(1903)

McLaw’s Line

(1863–pre-1927)

Cemetery

(Chancellor

heirs)

Dowdall’s Tavern

(ca.1830–1869)

McGEE’S

HILL

W. Stratton

farm 

ca. 1867–?)

Lee farm

(post-war)

Post-war

farm

Post-war farms

Post-war

farm

Post-war

farm

Post-war

farm

Post-war

farm

Post-war

farm

Post-war

farm

Post-war

farm

CATHARPIN ROAD

Railroad bridge

and causeway (ca.1872)

PILTZER RUN

NI RIVER

GREAT

MEADOW

SWAMP

BIG HU NTING RUN

LITTLE HUNTING RUN

NI RIVER

MINERAL SPRINGS RUN (Mine Run)

MOTT’S RUN

BROCK RUN

FURNACE

HOLLOW

HAZEL GROVE

LOCUST 

GROVE

Chancellor Road

(post-war)

GERMANNA PLANK ROAD

Jackson monument

(1888)

New house

(ca.1920)

Talley house

(pre-1830–

1926)

Hawkins house

(pre-1830–ca.1920)

Post-war

Talley

farmstead

Post-war

Kennedy

house

Post-war farm

Post-war farm

Post-war farms

New Stephens

farmstead

“Rosemont”

Post-war

farm

Post-war

farm

Post-war

farm

Post-war

farm

Post-war

farm

Post-war

farm

Post-war

farm

Post-war Logged area

farm

Formerly known

as Poplar Run

Haney farm

Spring Dell

(post-war)

Post-war

farm

Orchard

(ca.1900)

Brock Station

(ca.1872–87)

Furnace Station

(ca.1880–1910)

Alrich Station

(ca.1872–94)

Jackson rock

(1879)

Cook

farmstead

(ca.1820–1900)

FITZHUGH FARM

CARPENTER

FARM

Chancellorsville Inn

(rebuilt ca.1872)

Stephens

Station (ca.1872–1920)

114th Pennsylvania

monument (1899)

27th Indiana

monument

(ca.1901)

Melzi

Chancellor

residence

(ca.1869)

Office

House

Barn

Fredericksburg & 

Gordonsville Railroad, 1872–76

Potomac Fredericksburg & 

Piedmont Railroad, 1876–1925

Virginia Central Railway, 1925–

State route 

designated

ca.1925

Fairview spring

Post-war 

farm

(ca.1895)

Owens

Kennedy

Presumed iron

mine (ca. 1883)

Rowley

Payne

Young

Chewning

Young

Lee

Goolrich &

Vance

Olds

Rowley

Young

Lee

L.B.Chewning

Timberlake

CATHARINE FURNACE

COMPANY PROPERTY (former)

Hedge

WELLFORD

PLANTATION

Barnum

Rowley

gas station

(ca.1925)

Orchard

(ca.1910)

Rowley

E. McGEE

Cemetery

(1915)

New house

(ca.1880)

PINEY BRANCH

ROAD

OLD

MOUNTAIN House (ca.1925) ROAD 

OLD MINE ROAD

R. McGEE

Dairy barn

(ca.1920)

Zion Hill

Church (ca.1910)

Craig

Furnace 

Hollow woods

(post-war)

Post-war

farm

New house

(ca.1926)

Hays

monument

(1905)

L.C.& L.

Chewning

L.L.

Chewning

Dulin

Embrey

Road (post-war)

Hawkins

Talley

Talley

Cooper

Dempsey

Dempsey

Owens

Embrey Lakeman

Anderson’s

Line gun

pit

CATTA IL B RANCH

Cupola

Rowley infants

graves (ca.1912/15)

INSET Chancellorsville Inn

Stone steps

Well

Plank fence

(ca.1872–1910)

Barbed-wire fence

(ca.1910)

STATE ROUTE 37 (unpaved)

ELY’S FORD ROAD

Orchard

(ca.1900)

Staked rail fence

(ca.1872–90)

Plank fence (ca.1890–1910)

Barbed-wire fence

(ca.1910)

Elm

Elm Elm

Elm

Barns

ca.1872–90

Barn

(ca.1890)

Cultivated

field or 

pasture

(OLD TURNPIKE)

Chancellorsville Inn

(reconstructed ca.1872)

Gas station

(ca.1925)

Tulip

poplar

Red-cedar

(ca.1920)

Foundation

remnants

Cultivated

field or 

pasture

Well

Union trenches

(1863–ca.1870)

DRAWN BY

1. NPS and Spotsylvania County GIS data

2. USGS topographic maps, 1887, 1932 

3. Chancellorsville Battefield Association plan, 1891

4. Chancellorsville VA Battlefield Park map, 1931

5. Aerial photograph, 1937

LEGEND

SOURCES

1. Plan shows landscape in 1927.

2. All features shown at approximate location and scale.

3. Property ownership based on 1931 park plan (names with dashess;

 not all boundaries shown due to lack of documentation.

4. Sites of removed features labeled in italics; Civil War-era properties

 labeled in bold uppercase. 

 

 

NOTES

Drawing 1.3

Cultural Landscape Report

Chancellorsville Battlefield

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania

National Military Park

Spotsylvania County, Virginia

Post-War Period

1865–1927

National Park Service

Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation

www.nps.gov/oclp

OLMSTED

for LANDSCAPE PRESERVATION

CENTER

in partnership with 

Department of Landscape Architecture

Center for Cultural Landscape Preservation

SUNY College of Environmental 

Science and Forestry, www.esf.edu/la/cclp

John Auwaerter, SUNY ESF

ArcGIS and Adboe Illustrator, 2014

Building

Major Road, Minor Road

Notable View

Fence

Chancellorsville Earthworks:

Confederate, U.S., Both, Artillery Lunette

0

 Mile

.50 1.0

North

Wilderness Earthworks: Confederate, U.S.

Approximate Iron Mine Site, Monument

Field or Open Ground

Woods

Specimen Tree, Orchard

River or Stream, Wetland

Feature Removed During Period (dashed line)

Period Property Boundary

Current Park Boundary
119 

1. Site History, 1927–1945

In 1927, plans for establishing a national military park 

on the battlefi lds of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania 

County were fi ally realized. Initially administered and 

developed by the US War Department, the park was 

transferred in 1933 to civilian administration of the 

National Park Service. With ample labor supplied by 

the Civilian Conservation Corps, the park service completed development of the park, focusing on preservation and restoration of the 1863 battlefi ld landscape, 

and addition of visitor amenities. 

By 1940, the Chancellorsville battlefi ld park had become a well-developed system of drives, foot trails, and 

interpreted battle remnants that provided visitors and 

students of military history with the ability to access 

and understand the primary points of interest, focused 

around the battlefi ld of May 3 at Fairview and Hazel 

Grove, along with the route of Jackson’s march to the 

flank ttack on May 1-2, 1863. Despite its large acreage 

and far-flu g extent, the Chancellorsville park preserved primarily narrow tracts of land, leaving much 

of the adjoining woods and farm fi lds under private 

ownership. It also excluded the battle’s namesake 

Chancellorsville Inn, which burned in November 1927 

shortly after the park’s establishment, leaving ruins that 

evoked the Civil War aftermath (fig. 1.102).

ESTABLISHMENT OF 

THE NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

By the mid-1920s, the Fredericksburg area battlefi ld 

park movement had gained new support and interest in 

Congress, spurred in part by publicity from a major military training held at the battlefi lds in September 1921, 

presided over by President Harding and with Civil War 

veterans in attendance. Three years later, bills were 

introduced into Congress calling for the inspection 

of the Fredericksburg area battlefi lds to determine 

the feasibility of “preserving and marking [them] for 

historical and professional military study.”1

 Arguments 

for the bills in House and Senate committees cited the 

need to educate the public on the lessons of the battles, 

and to preserve earthen defensive works that were 

under threat of destruction. That Chancellorsville was 

one of the most renowned of Confederate victories and 

an important part of the Lost Cause narrative, which 

celebrated Southern glory and white society, was of 

little consequence within the national focus on reconciliation and commemorating valor on both sides of the 

Civil War.2

 

In June 1924, legislation was signed into law to create a three-person commission to undertake the study 

of the Fredericksburg-area battlefi lds. In December 

1925, this preliminary park commission produced a 

report calling for the federal government to establish 

a national military park at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County (the Wilderness also extended into 

Orange County) based on the Antietam Plan, a limited 

and more economical program for battlefi ld preservation named after the Maryland battlefi ld. This plan 

addressed opponents’ concerns about costs amid an 

increasing number of national military parks proposals 

5. EARLY PARK PERIOD, 1927–1945

Figure 1.102. The ruins of the second (ca. 1872) Chancellorsville 

Inn following a fi e in 1927, looking northeast from the turnpike, 

1935. The elm tree in the foreground, entrance steps, and standing 

brick walls are antebellum remnants. (Library of Congress, Historic 

American Building Survey, photograph 89-CHAN VI)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

120

across the South. The Antietam Plan (or System) involved acquisition of narrow strips of land along battle 

lines for the development of drives and placement of 

markers, and relied on the preservation of the larger 

battlefi ld through continued private use and ownership (fig. 1.103). or the proposed Fredericksburg and 

Spotsylvania County park, the preliminary commission 

reported:

That the battle fi lds be marked in accordance with the 

Antietam system by the placing of markers and tablets at 

the sites of the important points, events, and actions, by 

the construction of roads where necessary to make the 

important points reasonably accessible, and by acquiring 

the sites where trenches on the main battle line are 

suffi ently well preserved to warrant retaining in their 

present condition.3

The park commission estimated that its Antietam Plan 

proposal would require approximately 535 acres, as 

opposed to earlier park proposals that had called for 

government acquisition of 6,000 acres. The report 

included a map locating earthworks and identifying 

which to acquire and which just to mark. For Chancellorsville, however, the commission recommended that 

the government acquire no land because it believed the 

existing public roads gave adequate access through the 

battlefi ld, and because there were few visible earthworks remaining outside of the road corridors. In addition, the commission reported that at Chancellorsville, 

“any development that will prevent access to the battle 

lines is unlikely.” The House Committee on Military Affairs heard testimony on the preliminary commission’s 

report in February 1926, and concluded with unanimous support for the park proposal.4

On February 14, 1927, President Calvin Coolidge 

signed legislation into law establishing the “Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County Battlefi lds Memorial 

National Military Park. The legislation gave overall 

administrative authority to the Secretary of War, and 

responsibility for park development to a three-person 

commission to be composed of Army officers, vilians, 

or both. It called for the park’s development based on 

the 1925 preliminary park proposal, but did not delineate specific ands to be acquired, or limit the overall 

acreage. The Secretary of War was given authority to 

condemn lands for park development, and to acquire 

additional land as deemed necessary, a clause that 

would prove critical to the development of the Chancellorsville battlefi ld. The law also provided for an 

initial $50,000 appropriation to start surveying and land 

acquisition.5

WAR DEPARTMENT ADMINISTRATION

The new Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County 

national military park commission received its fir t 

federal appropriation in January 1928, which allowed 

it to begin the work of surveying and planning the 

new park, following the recommendations of the 1925 

preliminary park report. Field inspections revealed that 

the report’s survey of defensive works was not accurate. The commission engaged the Army War College in 

Carlisle, Pennsylvania to undertake a new survey of all 

trenches and gun positions throughout the four battlefi lds. This survey would in turn serve as a plan for land 

acquisition and location of park drives and markers.6

As the Army War College completed its survey of the 

four battlefi lds between 1929 and 1930, the park 

commissioners developed plans for land acquisition. 

Once the War Department approved these plans, the 

commission began the process of acquisition, most of 

which proceeded with little acrimony. Some landowners donated their land to the park, most sold their land, 

and several were acquired through condemnation, 

either to clear title or because of contention arising 

Figure 1.103. A postcard of Bloody Lane at Antietam National 

Battlefield (ca. 1930), showing narrow government-owned strip 

between fences that contained the park drive, monuments, and 

markers. (National Park Service, Antietam National Battlefield
121 

1. Site History, 1927–1945

from how park property cut across farms or otherwise 

disrupted private land uses. Based on further study 

and fi ld inspection, the park commission recommended acquisition of additional park land, but stayed 

within the overall confi es of the Antietam Plan that 

resulted in a park consisting of multiple strips of land 

in the four major battlefi ld units, along with several 

smaller parcels at other sites such as Salem Church that 

was considered part of the Chancellorsville unit (fig.

1.104).7

 The Wilderness Battlefi ld unit overlapped 

the route of Jackson’s march to the flank ttack due to 

the earthworks and significa t fi hting that took place 

there in 1864.8

 

On October 19, 1928, President Calvin Coolidge presided over a ceremony dedicating the new park, held at 

the planned northern entrance of the Fredericksburg 

battlefi ld unit. Here, a boulder with a brass plaque 

known as the Coolidge Memorial was dedicated as the 

fir t physical improvement of the new park. Actual park 

development followed land acquisition that began in 

1929 and was followed by road building that was made 

possible by a $215,000 appropriation in 1930 intended 

in part as a work relief program. By summer 1930, park 

development was underway. The Fredericksburg Free 

Lance Star echoed the excitement of the park commissioners, who viewed the park “as a project of immense 

proportions and one that eventually would transform a 

section of this country from mere wood and farm land 

into a beautiful memorial to American spirit and valor 

which would attract to Virginia and to this immediate 

section thousands of worshippers at the shrine of history and sacrifice. 9

On November 11, 1931, the park dedicated its fir t 

road, Lee Drive at Fredericksburg. In addition to road 

building, park development at the four battlefi lds 

included clearing vegetation from earthworks and 

erecting temporary wood signs because funds were 

not available for permanent metal tablets, relief maps, 

and troop position markers. No park buildings were 

constructed. 

The park commission continued to acquire land 

through the early 1930s, bringing the total property of 

the park to 2,164 acres by July 1932. At this time, the 

park, through the federal Bureau of Public Roads and 

Works Progress Administration, had built or begun 

construction on 13.66 miles of roads out of a total 

planned 29.27 miles. Plans for the roads included 

ashlar granite culvert headwalls, ditches, and arched 

stone-faced bridges, but most of these features were 

Figure 1.104. Map of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County National Military Park showing Antietam-Plan 

development of the four main battlefields as acquired by the War Department, ca. 1933. The Jackson Trail was not 

incorporated into the park until 1939. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, Map Collection)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

122

not realized during initial construction of park drives 

due to fi ancial constraints. By 1933 on the eve of the 

park’s transfer to the Department of Interior, the War 

Department had acquired most of the recommended 

land and laid out many of the roads, but development 

of the park landscape remained incomplete.10 

Chancellorsville Park Development 11

In 1928-29 during its fir t year of planning, the park 

commissioners inspected the Chancellorsville battlefi ld and found more extensive lines of defensive works 

than previously reported. The commissioners concluded that the recommendations of the 1925 preliminary 

commission to only place markers along the public 

roads were inadequate: “The military student, and 

many others, will desire to stand upon the actual site 

and such land should be acquired. Under the present 

project no land can be acquired at Chancellorsville and 

Salem Church. Property owners will certainly object 

to the trespassing of any one who desires to cross their 

cultivated fi lds to reach the sites of the opposing lines 

of battles.”12 

In November 1929, the Army War College completed 

its survey of the Chancellorsville battlefi ld to identify 

troop positions and surviving earthworks, and fi e 

months later in April 1930, the park commissioners 

followed with a new plan for Chancellorsville, which 

called for the following:

• Land Acquisition: 130 acres to be acquired along 

extant and important trenches and gun emplacements, primarily within and near the Chancellorsville property (Fairview). 

• Roads: Construction of 1.75 miles of 18-foot 

wide oil-graveled roads. The report indicated no 

bridges were required, only “small and inexpensive” 

culverts. 

• Trails: The commissioners recommended construction of 2.9 miles of footpaths leading to defensive works not reached by the roads. 

• Non-structural Improvements: The commission 

outlined a plan for thinning woods and grubbing 

across 104.3 acres, and planting grass on the same 

area, “this so that the completed park will present 

a sightly appearance, and facilitate keeping it clear 

of poisonous and other snakes, of which there are a 

number in the area.” The report also recommended 

planting “shrubbery and fl wering plants...in suitable places within the park” through transplanting 

or donation of nursery materials. 

• Ornamental and Commemorative Structures, 

Fences, Etc.: Two primary entrances to the park 

were proposed along the turnpike at the east and 

west ends of the park, and a fla staff was proposed 

near the Fairview artillery lunettes. Woven-wood 

fences were proposed only where the park passed 

through pasture, to keep out cattle. Proposed 

interpretive and commemorative devices included 

ten “dummy guns and carriages” to mark important 

gun positions, three large relief maps of the battlefi ld, ten bronze historical tablets, and 1,846 bronze 

tablets to mark positions and lines.13

At the Jackson Monument, for example, the commission’s 1930 plan called for acquiring a narrow strip 

along the turnpike extending west of the monument, 

where relief maps were to be placed for visitor orientation at the park’s “Sub Primary Entrance” (fig.

1.105). The park property was to extend north along 

the earthworks north of the turnpike, forming a large 

arc around the Jackson Monument. Bullock Road was 

to be realigned so it extended south on axis with and 

around the Jackson Monument. Across the turnpike, 

the commission proposed acquiring a deeper strip 

that extended from the Fairview artillery lunettes west 

toward Hazel Grove, including the Pennsylvania monument. 14

Major Arthur E. Wilbourn, one of the three park commissioners, remained dissatisfied w th the plan for 

Chancellorsville because it was based on incomplete 

fi ld data. Due to timing and funding limitations, he 

undertook much additional work himself to verify 

troop positions and check fi ld conditions. He used 

this research to inform not only the content and location of proposed tablets and other markers, but also to 

make revised recommendations for the land and property to be included in the Chancellorsville unit. 
123 

1. Site History, 1927–1945

By February 1931, Wilbourn had produced a series of 

nine charts detailing the park commission’s new recommendations for land acquisition and park development, which greatly increased the size of the Chancellorsville from 130 to 462 acres, and the length of park 

drives from 1.75 miles to 8 miles. In keeping with the 

tradition of other national military parks, the roads 

were to be named in honor of officers ho fought in 

the battle. Unlike the previous report that planned park 

drives only along extant defensive works, Wilbourn’s 

plan called acquiring land along troop lines where 

there were no extant works. The plan extended park 

acquisitions south to the Catharine Furnace ruins and 

the Virginia Central Railway, east to earthworks near 

River Road and Furnace Road (McLaws Drive), and 

north to the Bullock house site and the apex of Hooker’s fi al position (fig. 1.106). ilbourn also included 

strips of land along the turnpike at Dowdall’s Tavern 

and the Talley farm where markers would be placed to 

interpret Jackson’s flank ttack. The site of the Chancellorsville Inn, which had burned down in 1927, was 

not included in Wilbourn’s proposal, perhaps because 

it had been marked in 1927 by a monument placed 

along the turnpike by the 

United Daughters of the 

Confederacy.15 

On March 16, 1931, the 

War Department (Quartermaster Corps) approved the 

park commission’s revised 

plan for Chancellorsville 

with several amendments, 

noting it was “a very effective plan to commemorate that battle” and was 

“guided by a desire to keep 

the acreage and cost of the 

park within reasonable, 

fair, and defensible limits.” 

The Quartermaster Corps’ 

amendments called for 

acquisition of three additional parcels: a 200-yard strip 

between the turnpike and Bullock Road adjoining the 

commission’s parcels; and a set of parcels north and 

south of the turnpike west of the Talley Farm at the 

flank ttack battlefi ld. The Quartermaster noted, “No 

features of the Chancellorsville fi ht are more interesting than Jackson’s surprise attack, and the many events 

which centered around Dowdall’s Tavern.”16 The 

Quartermaster Corps amendments did not include the 

Chancellorsville Inn site. 

Acquisition of land and construction of the roads 

at Chancellorsville began soon after approval of the 

plan. Most of the property was acquired between 1931 

and 1933. As elsewhere in the park, many of the land 

owners were cooperative and readily sold land to the 

government, while acquisition of some parcels was 

“heavily impeded,” according to Wilbourn—perhaps a 

reference to the Chancellorsville Inn site. By April 1932, 

work was nearing completion on a fi e-mile graded 

(unpaved) drive that began at the turnpike (Route 3) 

and followed a straightened alignment of Furnace Road 

to the Catharine Furnace (McLaws Drive and Furnace 

Road) (fig. 1.107). rom here, a triangular intersection 

provided access to an improved drive south past the 

furnace to the railroad (Jackson Trail East), and a new 

Figure 1.105. The park commission’s 1930 plan, detail at the Jackson 

Monument area. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military 

Park, Map Collection)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

124

Figure 1.107. Map of the Chancellorsville battlefield surveyed in 1932 showing park development. By this time, the commission had apparently 

not yet acquired or developed land north of the turnpike. The solid lines indicate existing improved roads, the dashed line either secondary 

roads, proposed roads, or roads under construction. The red lines indicate earthworks. (Detail, US Geological Survey, “Topographic Maps 

of Chancellorsville and Salem Church Battlefields...Surveyed in Cooperation with the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County Battlefields

Commission,” 1932, Library of Congress digital Id cw0530000, annotated by SUNY ESF)

Figure 1.106. Map of the Chancellorsville park unit showing land either acquired or proposed for acquisition (shaded parcels), April 1931. 

See figu e 1.104 for the land north of the turnpike (section missing from this map). (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, 

Map Collection)
125 

1. Site History, 1927–1945

drive extending north back to the turnpike, between 

Hazel Grove and Fairview (Sickles Drive and Stuart 

Drive). These drives were completed with graded 

unpaved surfaces, but lacked fini hed structures such 

as masonry culvert headwalls, bridges, and drainage ditches (fig. 1.108). erry-Paxton Drive was built 

along the old farm road between Fairview and Hazel 

Grove where the Indiana monument was located, 

but diverted onto a new alignment near the turnpike, 

probably to avoid impacting the north-south side of 

US artillery lunettes along which the old road ran. 

One of the east-west lunettes, however, was removed 

for the new alignment. Slocum Drive ran along the long 

line of Slocum’s works from Stuart Drive to the Orange 

Plank Road. The connecting public roads formed part 

of the drive network, but remained in public ownership, except for a portion of Elys Ford Road that was 

acquired by the War Department.17 

A major landscape project undertaken by the War 

Department was clearing of the tactical firi g line 

between Fairview and Hazel Grove. This view had 

become obstructed with the growth of woods when 

the land was abandoned for agriculture sometime in 

the late 19th century. By July 1932, the War Department 

had cleared a straight swath from Berry-Paxton Drive 

to Stuart Drive, but left scattered mature trees standing 

(fig. 1.109) 18

Once the drives were built, the park commission began 

work on marking battle sites and features. Due to 

budget constraints and incomplete historical research, 

planned permanent metal tablets and signs were not 

installed. Instead, temporary wooden markers were 

placed to mark the Civil War names of roads, streams, 

fords, and houses, and the commemorative names of 

the new park drives (fig. 1.110). O hers were planned 

to mark the route of Jackson’s march to the flank ttack 

on May 2, 1863.19

Figure 1.108. McLaws Drive (Furnace Road) looking south from 

the turnpike showing initial construction completed in 1932 

with thinned woods at left and seeded shoulders, photographed 

ca. 1934. The cedars to the right were probably planted by 

the National Park Service. At right is the post-war Craig Farm. 

(Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, 

Chancellorsville Photographs, box 3)

Figure 1.109. The Hazel Grove-Fairview vista after clearing by the War Department, looking southwest from Berry-Paxton Drive toward 

Hazel Grove, ca. 1933. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, Chancellorsville Photographs, box 1)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

126

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE 

ADMINISTRATION

On June 10, 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt 

signed Executive Order 6166 that transferred the War 

Department’s battlefi ld parks and certain national 

cemeteries to the National Park Service, a civilian 

agency within the Department of Interior. The transfer 

was part of FDR’s massive New Deal reorganization 

of the federal government and was intended to bring 

military parks under the common administration of the 

federal parks agency that had been created in 1916, but 

which had little prior experience in managing historic 

sites. During the summer and fall of 1933, Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County Battlefi lds Memorial 

National Military Park and Fredericksburg National 

Cemetery were transferred to the National Park Service. 20 The park service designated a superintendent 

to take over direct administration from the commissioners, with support by historians, foresters, landscape 

architects and other professional.21 

The National Park Service shaped its interpretive and 

development programs in response to regional interest in Chancellorsville for its association with the Lost 

Cause narrative in general and the site of Lee’s greatest victory and the martyrdom of Stonewall Jackson in 

particular. In development of the park, this bias was 

evident in siting of the park visitor area at the Jackson 

Monument, development of a wildfl wer garden in 

memory of Jackson, the acquisition and development 

of the Jackson Trail, and additional monumentation 

at the site of the Lee-Jackson bivouac. The park also 

hosted a large reenactment of the Battle of Chancellorsville in 1935 that paid special attention to Jackson 

and had a strong Confederate focus. Attended by an 

estimated 30,000-50,000 people including Sue Chancellor who saw the battle from the Chancellorsville 

Inn, the celebration began with an opening ceremony 

held at the bivouac site, and included a re-enactment 

of Jackson’s flank arch. An oration at the bivouac 

site was given by Robert E. Lee biographer Douglas 

Southall Freeman, who was noted for his veneration of 

the Confederate cause and helped develop the park’s 

interpretive materials.22

Federal Work-Relief Programs

The National Park Service suffered from fi cal constraints related to the Great Depression, but enjoyed 

significa t resources made available through FDR’s 

New Deal work-relief programs established in 1933. 

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) and Public 

Works Administration (PWA) provided funding for 

major construction such as permanent buildings and 

roads. The Emergency Conservation Work program—

better known by the name of its labor force, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)—provided the park 

with the labor and funding necessary to accomplish a 

wide array of landscape development work. The CCC 

established military-like corps of unemployed young 

men, who were stationed in camps set up by the Army 

at national and state parks and other reservations 

across the country. The Fredericksburg-area battlefi ld 

parks were provided with three CCC camps, one of 

which was established at Chancellorsville, identified as

Camp MP-3, later NP-11.23 

The Chancellorsville camp, designed for approximately 

200 enrollees, was established as an all-white white 

camp, but in 1934 was changed to an all-black camp, 

which aroused protests from area offi als and residents. In response, the park service threatened closure 

of the camp, and ultimately the protestors retreated. 

On August 8, 1934, 190 black enrollees of Company 

362-C arrived at Chancellorsville from Richmond, 

Norfolk, and other areas of Virginia. Over the next 

six years, these CCC enrollees would provide most of 

Figure 1.110. A 

temporary wood 

tablet designed by 

the War Department 

and installed ca. 1932, 

photographed April 

1935. (Fredericksburg 

and Spotsylvania 

National Military 

Park, Chancellorsville 

Photographs, box 8)
127 

1. Site History, 1927–1945

the labor for development of the park landscape (fig.

1.111). Over nearly a decade, the CCC enrollees built 

roads, graded banks, cleared brush from earthworks, 

transplanted thousands of trees and shrubs, built 

picnic tables, railings, fences, and small buildings, and 

cleared understory to reduce the risk of forest fi es. 

They received work-related training, including courses 

in landscape architecture and forestry. In December 

1940, Company 362-C was transferred to another CCC 

camp, and in April 1941, Company 2329, a white company, moved in from the Wilderness Camp MP-4 and 

remained there until March 1942, when the Chancellorsville camp was permanently closed. 24

Park-Wide Landscape Development

For the fir t decade of its administration of the four 

Fredericksburg-area battlefi lds, the National Park 

Service completed or improved the roads and signage 

planned by the War Department. The park also added 

new signs and interpretive devices, constructed visitor 

contact stations at each of the battlefi lds, developed 

picnic areas, and acquired additional land. One of the 

biggest construction projects in the park was a central 

headquarters and museum building in Fredericksburg 

adjacent to the national cemetery, which housed park 

offices d provided a starting place for visitors in 

the widely-dispersed park. The building, completed 

in 1935, was designed by park service architects in a 

Colonial Revival style that recalled historic houses in 

Fredericksburg (fig. 1.112)

The headquarters-museum building refle ted 

the National Park Service’s approach to 

design that sought to harmonize park development with its natural and cultural setting. 

During its fir t two decades when it primarily 

managed big parks in the West such as Yellowstone, the agency adopted a rustic aesthetic 

the refle ted pioneer building traditions and 

naturalistic landscape design intended to harmonize with the surrounding environment. 

On the Fredericksburg-area battlefi lds, this 

design approach led to use of worm fences and 

vernacular wood buildings reminiscent of the rural antebellum landscape, while contemporary features such 

as guide rails and signs were designed with unmilled 

timbers or dark fini hes that receded in the surrounding natural landscape (fig. 1.113). Although the design 

of the battlefi ld drives with their masonry structures 

had been established by the War Department, the park 

service added naturalistic plantings that sought to 

better integrate the roads into the surrounding rural 

environment. The National Park Service dismissed 

some of the War Department’s landscape development 

as incompatible with its rustic approach to design, such 

as where thinnings created abrupt edges to woods.25 

During World War II, the park’s development largely 

ceased due to the war-time economy and closing of the 

CCC camps. The Army took over the Chancellorsville 

Figure 1.111. Workers from the Chancellorsville CCC camp grading 

a bank along Elys Ford Road, August 22, 1935. (Fredericksburg and 

Spotsylvania National Military Park, Chancellorsville Photographs,

box 6)

Figure 1.112. The central headquarters and museum building in 

Fredericksburg, built with PWA funds in 1935. The building and 

grounds were designed to harmonize with the historic village 

setting. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, 

Fredericksburg Battlefield photographs, box 4
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

128

CCC camp in March 1942, and portions of the park 

were used as training grounds by armed forces, some of 

whom assisted with completing park projects, including the Jackson Trail.26

Chancellorsville Park Development 27

By June 1934, most of the land planned by the War Department for incorporation into the Chancellorsville nit 

had been acquired (fig. 1.114). The park service did not 

acquire the planned strips of land along the south side 

of the turnpike at Dowdall’s Tavern, but did purchase 

a small strip along the north side of the road, west of 

the Hawkins Farm. The Chancellorsville Inn ruins also 

remained outside of park boundaries. 

The park service’s only major expansion of the Chancellorsville park prior to World War II was along the 

Jackson Trail extending to Brock Road near the Cook 

Farm (fig. 1.115). B January 1935, superintendent 

Branch Spalding had approach the park commission, 

which retained an advisory role, about acquiring the 

property “[b]ecause of the great historical importance 

of the Jackson Trail and the consequent demand of the 

park visitors to be taken over it...” According to Spalding, the commission “willingly took hold of the idea,” 

and by February 1935, had secured written commitment from all nine property owners to donate approximately 100-foot-wide strips of land along the route.28 

In 1936, deeds were executed conveying the narrow 

strips of land to the park, but problems with clearing 

title delayed park ownership for three years. In addition 

to the Jackson Trail, the park also received a donation 

in 1937 of ten acres at the site of the Maury-Pulliam 

house along Furnace Road by Judge Alvin T Embrey of 

Fredericksburg. He donated the property as a memorial 

to the noted oceanographer Matthew Fontaine Maury, 

who was born on the site in 1806 and revolutionized 

19th-century shipping. According to Superintendent 

Branch Spalding, the site “is symbolic of an interesting 

combination of social and military history.”29 Title to 

the property was not cleared until ca. 1939. While the 

park did not acquire any additional land, it did inventory all the private parcels that adjoined park property, 

and also identified ll land between or adjacent to the 

park property as eight distinct tracts, perhaps in anticipation of future ownership interest.30 

One of the fir t new developments at Chancellorsville 

under National Park Service administration was the 

CCC camp, which was built within a few months of the 

transfer of the park from the War Department. Other 

initial park development focused on completion of the 

park drives and addition of permanent metal tablets. 

This was followed by projects designed by the park 

service, including foot trails, interpretive signage, visitor facilities, picnic grounds, a maintenance area, and 

the Jackson Trail.

CCC Camp and Utility Area

Chancellorsville’s CCC Camp MP-3 was built in the 

fall of 1933 on park property along the east side of Elys 

Ford Road at the intersection of Hooker Drive, which 

had been planned by the War Department, but not yet 

constructed. The camp, built by the CCC enrollees, was 

largely complete by February 1934. The buildings were 

constructed according to standard Army plans adapted 

to locally available building materials. Designed as temporary buildings, most were frame construction built 

on wood posts, with sash windows, gable roofs, and tar 

paper-and-batten siding.31 

The main part of the CCC camp was north of Hooker 

Drive, with a large mess hall, administration building, 

and fi e barracks, along with small buildings for showers, toilets, and storage (fig. 1.116). The administration 

building was surrounded by a rectangular yard that 

Figure 1.113. The visitor contact station at Fredericksburg 

battlefi ld, illustrating the rustic style that the National Park 

Service employed at rural and natural areas in the park. 

(Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, 

Fredericksburg Battlefield Photographs, box 4)
129 

1. Site History, 1927–1945

Figure 1.114. Map of park property acquired at Chancellorsville by June 1934. The parcels on the turnpike at far left were acquired by 

the War Department to interpret the area where Jackson began the flank attack. (National Park Service Technical Information Center, 

FRSP 326_1051_[136683], annotated by SUNY ESF)

Figure 1.115. A 1943 map of park land along the Jackson Trail donated in 1935 and acquired by 1939, and the Maury birthplace site 

donated in 1937. (Detail, Chancellorsville Battlefield Development Plan, January 1, 1943, National Park Service Technical Information 

Center, FRSP 326_1051_[136683], annotated by SUNY ESF)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

130

was enclosure by a border of clipped red-cedar trees 

(fig. 1.117). On he west side of the building, this open 

space created an entry court off Elys Ford Road, with 

a walk framed by white-painted masonry entry piers 

and a central fla staff. East of the building, the larger 

area probably served as a parade ground. Across the 

camp road that ran along the east side of the complex 

was a building that may have been the recreation hall, 

where enrollees could play ping pong, checkers, cards, 

and pool, or read in the reading room. A swimming 

hole may have been built in the woods to the south. 

Along and south of Hooker Drive were the shops and 

other utility buildings where supplies were stored and 

enrollees built things such as picnic tables, railings, and 

signs (fig. 1.18) 32

As part of its master plan for Chancellorsville, the park 

designated the area along Hooker Drive adjoining the 

CCC camp as the park’s service area, where a maintenance buildings and a caretaker’s residence were 

planned. Due to the narrow strip of park land along the 

road, the park acquired adjoining 

property from the Rowleys to construct the maintenance building. In 

1937, the CCC completed the fir t 

part of the complex, a large twelvebay garage-utility building sided in 

stained clapboards, with access off

Hooker Drive (fig. 1.119). The same 

building, intended for park maintenance vehicles and equipment, was 

constructed near the CCC camps 

at Spotsylvania Court House and 

the Wilderness. Plans called for the 

Figure 1.116. Plan of the Chancellorsville CCC camp as developed 

by 1937. All buildings were constructed in 1933-34, except the 

utility-garage. The uses of all buildings is not known, and there 

were several additional buildings not shown. All of the buildings 

except for the utility-garage were removed in 1944. (SUNY ESF, 

based on period photographs, 1936 USGS topographic survey, and 

Sancomb and Geier archeology report, 2003)

Figure 1.117 (above). The Chancellorsville CCC camp, looking north 

across Hooker Drive showing rectangular red-cedar enclosed yard 

following removal of several buildings, January 1944. Visible in 

the entrance yard off Elys Ford Road is the camp flagsta f and 

white piers at the entrance walk. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania 

National Military Park, Chancellorsville Photographs, box 2)

Figure 1.118. CCC enrollees building rustic picnic tables at the 

Chancellorsville CCC camp, ca. 1935. At right is one of the shops 

in the camp, along or south of Hooker Drive. (Fredericksburg 

and Spotsylvania National Military Park, Chancellorsville 

Photographs, box 3)
131 

1. Site History, 1927–1945

garage to be the center of a service yard, surrounded 

by six additional buildings (fig. 1.120). Across Hooker 

Drive, a simple two-story caretaker’s residence was 

designed by the National Park Service Regional Branch 

of Plans and Design in 1940, to be accessed off a curving drive through a break in the US earthworks (fig.

1.121). Perhaps due to the closing of the CCC camp the 

following December and the ongoing national emergency prior to World War II, the building was never 

constructed.33

Park Drives 

From soon after the National Park Service took over 

the park in 1933 through 1936, a large part of the work 

at Chancellorsville was devoted to completion of the 

park drive system designed by the War Department. 

When the park assumed control of the park, most of 

the drives had only been roughly constructed, such 

as Stuart Drive that was a dirt road through a narrow 

clearing in the woods south of the turnpike (fig. 1.122).

The two major river crossings, at Bivouac Road (also 

known as Jackson Trail, present Furnace Road) and 

Sickles Drive over the Ni River, had small, temporary 

timber bridges. The park drives north of the turnpike 

(Route 3), including Bullock Drive, Hooker Drive, and 

Miles Drive (a new park road that bypassed a section of 

River Road) were either unbuilt by the summer of 1933, 

or had been laid out within the previous year. Improved 

park drives planned along Mineral Springs Road, the 

Civil War-era route that extended northeast from Bullock Drive, and along Jackson Trail south of Catharine 

Furnace, had not been constructed by 1933.35

Figure 1.119 (top left). The Chancellorsville utility-garage building 

built by the CCC in 1937 and located near the CCC camp, looking 

northwest from Hooker Drive, ca. 1940. (Fredericksburg and 

Spotsylvania National Military Park, Museum Collection)

Figure 1.120 (above). Park plans for the Chancellorsville utility 

area south of the CCC Camp, 1940. The “Existing Building” is the 

utility-garage building built in 1937. (“Chancellorsville Battlefield..

Developed Areas,” master plan sheet 10, January 1, 1940, National 

Park Service Technical Information Center, FRSP 326_2114)

Figure 1.121 (top right). Park plans (north elevation) for the 

unrealized Chancellorsville employee’s residence on Hooker Drive 

across from the utility-garage building, 1940. (Detail, “Employee’s 

Residence, Chancellorsville Battlefield,” National Park Service 

Technical Information Center, FRSP 326_2018A [8588])
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

132

Between 1933 and 1936, the National Park Service 

completed the park drives, and between 1939 and 1943, 

the Jackson Trail south and west of Catharine Furnace; 

Mineral Springs Road was apparently never improved 

(fig. 1.123). The initial phase of road work on the primary park drives followed standard War Department 

plans that were applied throughout the Fredericksburgarea parks, with some changes and additions. The work 

was undertaken by road crews, probably hired through 

the Public Works Administration, with the aid of the 

CCC. They fi e-graded the 18-foot-wide road surfaces 

and laid out triangular intersections at the crossing 

of park drives (fig. 1.124). ectangular headwalls of 

quarry-faced granite ashlar masonry were built at 

box culverts that carried small streams and drainage 

ditches beneath the roads (fig. 1.125). Along Bivouac 

Road (Furnace Road), a stone-lined drainage ditch was 

built along the steep grade on the eastern approach 

to the Lewis Run (Ni River). To preserve mature trees 

where the grade of shoulders was raised such as along 

Bullock Drive and Miles Drive, circular tree rings (low 

walls) were constructed of the same granite ashlar 

construction as the culvert headwalls. The biggest road 

structures were two double-arch bridges located at the 

crossings of Stuart Drive and Bivouac Road (Furnace 

Road) over the Lewis Run, near the Catharine Furnace. The bridges, built in 1935, were poured-concrete 

structures with quarry-faced ashlar facing and parapet 

walls (fig. 1.126). Three concrete box culverts or small 

Figure 1.122. Stuart Drive, looking southeast toward Hazel Grove 

showing condition of the road constructed by the War Department 

prior to National Park Service improvements, circa December 

1934. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, 

Chancellorsville Photographs, box 5)

Figure 1.123. Plan of the Chancellorsville park drives as completed by 1942 (Jackson Trail West was still under construction). (Detail, “Road 

System Plan, Part of the Master Plan Fredericksburg-Spotsylvania National Military Park,” January 1, 1942, NPS Technical Information Center, 

plan FRSP 326 2152)
133 

1. Site History, 1927–1945

bridges with ashlar stone headwalls were 

built on Stuart Drive and Berry-Paxton 

Drive upstream from the bridges. 

By 1936, the CCC was at work completing remaining road improvements, 

including surfacing in pea gravel with an 

oil treatment, fi e grading and seeding, 

and installation of rustic timber bollards and guide rails (fig. 1.127). S all 

roadside parking areas for four or fi e 

cars, surrounded by wood post bollards, 

were built at places where visitors were 

intended to stop and view important 

scenes on the battlefi ld or access picnic 

grounds (fig. 1.128). or much of the 

next four years, CCC crews concentrated on roadside plantings, thinning 

woods, and other landscape enhancements. By 1942, plans had been made 

to surface the park drives except for the 

Jackson Trail and Mineral Springs Road 

Figure 1.124 (top). The triangular intersection 

of Berry-Paxton, Sickles, and Stuart drives, 

looking west from Berry-Paxton Drive with the 

entrance to Hazel Grove (“Gould’s entrance”) in 

the distance, December 1935. (Fredericksburg 

and Spotsylvania National Military Park, 

Chancellorsville Photographs, box 5)

Figure 1.125. Miles Drive (River Road) looking 

northeast from the turnpike (Route 3) showing 

standard ashlar stone headwall (left of 

intersection), wood bollards, and gravel-oil 

road surface, December 1935. (Fredericksburg 

and Spotsylvania National Military Park, 

Chancellorsville Photographs, box 7)

Figure 1.126. The Bivouac Road (Furnace 

Road) bridge over the Ni River (Lewis Run) 

soon after its completion, looking east, 1935. 

The same design was used for the nearby 

bridge carrying Sickles Drive over the Ni River. 

(Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National 

Military Park, Chancellorsville Photographs, 

box 6)

Figure 1.127 (bottom). CCC crews at work 

on installing a rustic log railing along Stuart 

Drive on the approach to the bridge over 

the Ni River, July 1936. (Fredericksburg 

and Spotsylvania National Military Park, 

Chancellorsville Photographs, box 3)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

134

with a bituminous surface treatment, but this work was 

probably not undertaken before the end of the war.36

Three years after most of the park drives had been 

completed, construction began on the Jackson Trail, a 

new park drive that followed existing mine and farm 

roads along which Stonewall Jackson marched his 

troops toward the Flank Attack (fig. 1.129). P anning 

for the new road began in 1934, and by the winter of 

1935, a decision was reached to keep a less developed 

character, distinct from the main park drives. According to park superintendent Spalding, “I have discussed 

this with Chief Engineer Kittredge, Deputy Chief 

Engineer Taylor, Deputy Chief Architect Peterson, and 

Chief Historian Chatelain, and all have 

agreed that the desirable objective here 

is the restoration of the road as nearly 

like Jackson found it as it can be and 

at the same time have a bituminous 

surface.”37

Refle ting the NPS approach to landscape design, the new drive was designed in a rustic character without 

stone bridges or culverts, ornamental 

plantings, or turf shoulders. The park 

also decided to keep an earthen-gravel 

surface. Along the section between 

the furnace and Brock Road that became known as 

Jackson Trail East, plans called for minor straightening and grading of the old mine road. 

The most prominent feature along this 

section was the brick Wellford house 

dating to the early 19th century, which 

remained under private ownership. The 

section west of Brock Road that followed a series of farm roads through 

the Stephens and Trigg farms, known 

as Jackson Trail West, realigned the old 

roads to form a continuous route that 

terminated at Brock Road near the old 

Cook Farm. The Civil War-era Stephens farmstead 

had been replaced during the post-war period with a 

new farmstead on a hill to the south, but a cluster of 

dilapidated frame buildings believed to date to the Civil 

War remained at the Trigg farm (fig. 1.130). These were 

probably demolished for construction of the Jackson 

Trail. 38

The narrow corridor of the Jackson Trail, which 

crossed woods and farm fi lds, worried some park 

planners who felt that adjoining land uses such as 

mining and clear-cutting could impact the historic 

character of the landscape. In response to a suggestion by Superintendent Branch Spalding in January 

1935 that the park acquire scenic easements along the 

trail, National Park Service Director Arno Cammerer 

responded, “It is believed that a scenic easement, while 

Figure 1.128. The parking area a along Sickles Drive for the Catharine 

Furnace and Archer-Thomas Foot Trail, photographed soon after 

completion, 1935. The trail provided access to the Furnace picnic 

grounds. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, 

Chancellorsville Photographs, box 1)

Figure 1.129. A road along the planned Jackson Trail East near 

Brock Road, showing condition prior to reconstruction in 1939, 

photographed December 1935. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania 

National Military Park, Chancellorsville Photographs, box 6)
135 

1. Site History, 1927–1945

in the main desirable, will not be necessary at all points 

along the right-of-way beyond our own boundaries....

it is suggested that you work out a scenic easement plan 

which will be acceptable to the owners and which will 

not do violence to our landscape planning.”39 The park, 

however, did not follow through with acquisition of 

these easements. 

By July 1939, following clearing of title to the donated 

strips of land, CCC crews began work on Jackson Trail 

East. The project included construction of earthen 

causeways through the lowlands along the Ni River between the furnace and railroad, with poured-concrete 

culverts at the crossings of the Ore Run and Brock Run. 

South of Catharine Furnace, the new road alignment 

cut through rises and abandoned sections of the old 

mine road that wound around the natural topography. 

The crossing of the railroad provided little impediment 

because the tracks had been abandoned in 1937. Near 

Brock Road, the trail was reestablished along a Civil 

War-era alignment along the south side of a post-war 

farm (fig. 1.131) 40

In 1940, work began on Jackson Trail West, which 

featured a stone ford across the Brock Run, east of the 

Stephens and Trigg farms (fig. 1.132). This ford provided a more rustic stream crossing than a bridge, in keeping with the park’s plan for a less developed character 

to the trail. Work on Jackson Trail West ceased with 

closing of the Chancellorsville CCC camp in March 

1942, but Army personnel soon picked up the project. 

By August 1943, the road had been completed by an 

Army engineer corps as a training project. According to 

a 1943 report by park superintended Edward Hummel, “The completion of the grading and gravelling of 

the Jackson Trail represents a developmental feature of 

great importance in the interpretation of the Chancellorsville Battlefi ld...”41

Trails and Picnic Areas

While the park drives provided primary circulation 

through the Chancellorsville battlefi ld together with 

public roads, the National Park Service also developed 

a secondary circulation system of foot trails intended 

primarily to access defensive works that were not 

Figure 1.130. Buildings at the Trigg farmstead along the planned 

route of Jackson Trail West, photographed March 1939. According 

to tradition, Jackson stopped in this house to send back a 

message. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, 

Chancellorsville Photographs box 6)

Figure 1.131. The recently completed Jackson Trail East, looking 

east from Brock Road, 1940. The house at left is part of a postwar farm. The small trees and shrubs along the shoulders were 

planted by the CCC to reestablish the historic wooded setting of 

the road. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, 

Chancellorsville Photographs, box 6)

Figure 1.132. CCC enrollees at work on the stone ford across Poplar 

Run on Jackson Trail West east of the Stephens and Trigg farms, 

December 1940. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military 

Park, Chancellorsville Photographs, box 6)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

136

directly along the park drives. Five trails, each consisting of narrow unimproved earthen tracks, were built by 

CCC crews in 1935–36, and like the roads, were named 

in honor of prominent figu es in the battle or after an 

adjoining earthwork.42

The Mott-Carr Foot Trail followed the ‘U’-shaped 

earthworks consisting of Pender’s Line and Jackson’s 

Corps Line that surrounded the Jackson wounding site, 

extending from the turnpike on the west to the 114th

Pennsylvania monument on the east (fig. 1.133). The 

trail’s earthen path crossed a rustic bridge or boardwalk with a corduroy log surface and unmilled log 

railings along a wet area north of Bullock Road (fi s. 

1.134, 1.135). 

South of Bullock Road, this trail crossed the Captain 

Dimick Foot Trail, the longest trail in the park. It began 

at Bullock Drive, crossed the turnpike and extended 

through the Fairview-Hazel Grove clearing to BerryPaxton Drive, and continued south across Slocum 

Drive to follow Slocum’s works before ending at the 

Figure 1.133. Map of foot trails developed by the park service by 1943. (Detail, “Chancellorsville Battlefield Development Plan,” January 1, 

1943, NPS Technical Information Center, FRSP 326 2157, annotated by SUNY ESF)
137 

1. Site History, 1927–1945

Orange Plank Road. At Berry-Paxton Drive, the trail 

featured a set of wood steps leading from a landing 

surfaced in stone slabs (fig. 1.136). To the east, Gunners 

Trail ran south from the turnpike to a small earthworks 

west and east of Stuart Drive, and ended near the 

Fairview-Hazel Grove vista clearing. In 1936, the CCC 

built a set of stone steps at one of the trail’s crossings at 

Stuart Drive (fig. 1.137). The three other foot trails were 

small loops: the General Couch Foot Trail off Elys Ford 

Road north of Bullock Road, and the General Posey 

Trail south of Furnace Road, both of which ran along 

earthworks; and the Archer-Thomas Trail that provided access to picnic grounds north of the Catharine 

Furnace and west of the Sickles Drive-Jackson Trail 

intersection. 

The Furnace picnic grounds were one of two “lunching 

facilities”—the park’s term—at Chancellorsville built 

as a CCC project in 1935. The second, the Vista picnic 

grounds, was located off Stuart Drive and the Dimick 

Trail south of the vista through the Fairview-Hazel 

Grove clearing. The plan to build picnic areas at each of 

the battlefi lds was intended, according to Superintendent Spalding, 

...to meet a need which has been felt in the Park for 

some time; that of places where people may enjoy lunch 

in the outdoors. It will aid a great deal to the recreational 

service of the Park. Also in doing this, it will add to 

the educational services, since by staying through a 

meal time in the Park, visitors may have more time to 

study the battles. In most instances the educational and 

recreational functions of the Park go hand in hand. 43

Both the Furnace and Vista picnic grounds were tied 

into the foot trail system, but were also designed for 

access by car, with roadside parking nearby (see fig.

1.128). Each consisted of a clearing with four rustic 

picnic tables, a stone-faced poured-concrete barbecue, 

and a gable-roofed fi ewood shelter (fi s. 1.138, 1.139). 

Comfort stations were planned for both sites; tempoFigure 1.134. The Mott-Carr foot trail at an undetermined location, 

1935. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, 

Chancellorsville Photographs, box 4)

Figure 1.135. A recently completed rustic bridge on the Mott-Carr 

foot trail, 1935. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military 

Park, Chancellorsville Photographs, box 4)

Figure 1.136. Wood steps an stone landing on the Captain Dimick 

Trail, looking north from Berry-Paxton Drive, 1935. (Fredericksburg 

and Spotsylvania National Military Park, Chancellorsville 

Photographs, box 4)

Figure 1.137. Stone steps built by the CCC on Gunners Trail at Stuart 

Drive, photographed soon after completion, 1936. (Fredericksburg 

and Spotsylvania National Military Park, Chancellorsville 

Photographs, box 4)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

138

rary ones were built at the Furnace picnic grounds, but 

permanent facilities were never completed. A unique 

landscape feature built at the Vista picnic grounds was 

a wading pool, created by a log dam along a small creek 

(fig. 1.140). The small waterfall over the log must have 

provided picnickers with a serene atmosphere. 

Superintendent Spalding was enthusiastic about the 

trails, reporting that they were “valuable additions to 

the park, providing as they do not only significa t historical strolls, but beautiful woodland walks.” 44 While 

the picnic grounds were well used, the trails soon 

proved less popular because, according to a park staff

person, “the general public...showed an unwillingness 

to walk.”45 The extensive network also proved to be a 

maintenance burden, even with ample CCC labor.46

Roadside Planting and Forestry

Much of the CCC’s work at Chancellorsville involved 

improving the roadsides and adjoining woods. As early 

as January 1934, the CCC was reporting that 137 men 

were involved in fi ld work at Chancellorsville, with 

101 engaged in “landscape planting” of a “great amount 

of material,” most likely along the roads. Other enrollees were engaged in “roadside clean-up” that involved 

removing dead and downed material, and cutting 

stumps close to the ground. In many areas, the roadsides after initial road construction were rough ground 

lined by thick and often tangled second-growth woods 

that blocked views and had an untidy appearance (see 

fig. 1.122) 47 

By late 1934, the National Park Service’s regional 

design office ad begun to develop planting plans for 

all of the park drives. Each provided detailed direction 

on planting, cuttings, thinning, and creation of views 

to enhance the natural beauty of the corridors, using 

mostly native plant species. Along the western section 

of Furnace Road near the Catharine Furnace, park service landscape architects specified lanting the recently 

built road embankment leading down to the Ni River 

with a “swamp tangle” of ash, tulip poplar, maples, 

Joe Pye weed, blueberry, wild grape, and wild honeysuckle (fig. 1.141). To the east, the edges of the woods 

that had been cleared back for road construction 

were planted in grass and clusters of laurel, pine, and 

dogwood. A small area of the woods was to be cleared 

to allow views of a unique forked pine. By December 

Figure 1.138. The Furnace picnic grounds with CCC-built picnic tables 

and fi ewood shelter, probably looking northwest from the ArcherThomas Foot Trail, 1935. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National 

Military Park, Chancellorsville Photographs, box 4)

Figure 1.139. A rustic stone-faced fi eplace-barbecue at the Furnace 

or Vista picnic grounds built by the CCC, 1935. (Fredericksburg and 

Spotsylvania National Military Park, Chancellorsville Photographs, 

box 4)

Figure 1.140. The wading pool at the Vista picnic grounds, looking 

northeast with the Fairview- Hazel Grove vista clearing in the 

background, 1935. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National 

Military Park, Chancellorsville Photographs, box 4)
139 

1. Site History, 1927–1945

1935, CCC crews had planted red-cedar and deciduous trees along McLaws Drive that created a natural 

and informal effect, in contrast to the straight lines that 

had been cleared by the War Department (fig. 1.142).

The park also planted trees and shrubs along the public 

roads, primarily along the turnpike and plank road. 

By 1938, when most of the roadside planting had been 

completed, Superintendent Branch Spalding reported, 

“The result is pleasing in the extreme. The roads in 

the park...have come to be exceptionally beautiful 

drives.” That year alone, the CCC planted 15,508 trees 

and shrubs along 5.5 miles of major park drives in the 

Fredericksburg area battlefi ld parks.48

Most of the trees and shrubs along the park drives 

and elsewhere were transplanted by CCC crews from 

nearby lands. Material ranged from small shrubs and 

tree saplings, to large specimens that required hauling 

by tractor (fig. 1.143). A November 1935 park report 

to the Chief Forester noted, “The major project in all 

three areas [camps] is the moving and planting of trees 

and shrubs...The park is very fortunate in being able to 

secure all the trees and shrubs they need from neighbors of the park at no cost...The crews have become 

very profic ent in digging, balling, burlapping, and 

loading the trees...”49

Figure 1.141. Example of a park-service roadside planting plan for the west end of Furnace Road drawn in 1934. Such detailed plans were 

developed for every drive except for Jackson Trail East and West, and Mineral Springs Road. (Detail, Eastern Division Branch of Plans and 

Design, “Chancellorsville Battlefield Preliminary Planting Plan for Bivouac Road,” December 12, 1934, NPS Technical Information Center, 

FRSP 326 1056, annotated by SUNY ESF)

Figure 1.142. McLaws Drive after completion of roadside 

planting, looking southwest, December 1935. (Fredericksburg and 

Spotsylvania National Military Park, Chancellorsville Photographs 

box 6)

Figure 1.143. CCC crews transplanting a tree for planting along the 

park drives under supervision of park staff, 1935. (Fredericksburg 

and Spotsylvania National Military Park, Chancellorsville 

Photographs box 3)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

140

In addition to roadside plantings, the CCC also set out 

trees for windbreaks and to reforest fi lds, and pruned 

and thinned existing woods to establish a neater appearance. They also removed poison ivy, reduced fi e 

hazards, and opened views along earthworks. At the 

Lee-Jackson bivouac, east of Berry-Paxton Drive, and 

along Sickles Drive adjacent to the Kennedy House at 

Hazel Grove, plantations of pine were set out to screen 

views or reestablish forest character (fig. 1.144) 50 On 

the Jackson Trail, trees were planted along the road 

where it passed through open fi lds, such as near Brock 

Road, to restore the battle-period wooded character 

(see fig. 1.131) 51 At the Jackson’s Take-off site along the 

turnpike west of Wilderness Church, a CCC supervisor reported on forestry work undertaken in 1935 to 

reduce fi e hazards: “This is an area of hardwoods and 

a large amount of the cleanup consisted of fl ttening 

[probably removal of debris and understory shrubs]. 

The oaks of this area are not particularly healthy and 

the writer has found evidence of the work of borers...”52 One of the last major plantings during the 

early park period may have been a pine screen set out 

in ca. 1941 along the park boundary east of the Fairview artillery lunettes, to screen anticipated development of the adjoining Rowley fi lds.53

Scene Restoration 

Planting of trees was also undertaken to restore the 

1863 character of the battlefi ld, in what the park service termed “scene restoration.” Such plantings were 

made at the Lee-Jackson bivouac site to reestablish a 

forested character. This work was an integral component of the park’s interpretive program. Most of the 

scene restoration at Chancellorsville was focused on 

the earthen defensive works, generally called trenches, 

which had eroded and become obscured by vegetation 

during the seven decades since the battle. Rather than 

returning these works to their Civil War-era appearance, the park instead focused on stabilization and 

“thinning for effect and visibility...in order that the 

public may see them.”54 For several years, CCC crews 

removed debris, understory shrubs, and small trees 

to make the trenches visible from adjoining trails and 

roads, and sodded the works to prevent erosion (fig.

1.145). Native fescue grasses were used to give a “natural effect.”55 Large trees on the earthworks were left, 

those between the work and the road were removed 

or limbed up to improve visibility (fig. 1.146). C ancelFigure 1.144. CCC crews planting pines to screen the Kennedy 

house at Hazel Grove, looking northwest from Sickles Drive, winter 

1937. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, 

Chancellorsville Photographs, box 1)

Figure 1.145. CCC crews sodding trenches, probably along Hooker 

Drive, 1935. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military 

Park, Chancellorsville Photographs, box 1)

Figure 1.146. Slocum’s Line following clearing and sodding, looking 

northeast along Slocum Drive, December 1935. (Fredericksburg and 

Spotsylvania National Military Park, Chancellorsville Photographs, 

box 1)
141 

1. Site History, 1927–1945

lorsville’s most notable defensive works—the two lines 

of perpendicular artillery lunettes at Fairview—were 

sodded during the spring of 1936.56 

As work on the trenches got underway, Superintendent 

Spalding and park service historians began to explore 

the possibility of restoring or reconstructing sample 

defensive works at each of the Fredericksburg-area 

battlefi lds for interpretive purposes. Rather than 

construct new works to depict the historic ones, they 

decided on accurately restoring historic works, based 

on extensive research and archeological investigations 

to determine historic profiles. At Chancellorsville, one 

of the Fairview artillery lunettes—one directly adjacent 

to Berry-Paxton Drive—was selected for restoration 

(fig. 1.147). n July 1936, CCC crews worked on adding 

earth to restore the profile f the lunette and installing 

“concealed” drainage (fig. 1.148) 57

Another scene restoration project was the improvement of the strategic vista clearing between Fairview 

and Hazel Grove, which was opened by the War Department in ca. 1932. In April 1934, park service Assistant Forester Fred Arnold inspected the vista with several other park staff, and developed a work plan. The 

team found the War Department’s clearing unacceptable due to the stiff edges of the cut through the adjoining woods, the numerous trees left within the clearing, 

and the dense sprout growth that had grown back. 

Arnold reported that the “desirable fi al result is that 

of a grass-land which can be mowed about twice each 

season...In appearance it 

would be similar to that of 

a hay fi ld rather than that 

of a closely cropped lawn 

or golf course fair-way.” 

Arnold called for blending the straight sides of the 

clearing into the forest by 

natural growth and planting, and retaining some 

specimen trees within the 

clearing provided they 

did not block the strategic 

sight lines. Plans did not, 

Figure 1.147. Plan locating the US artillery lunette at Fairview 

that was restored in 1936. The gun carriage was not installed. 

(“Chancellorsville Battlefield...Developed Areas,” master plan sheet 

10, January 1, 1940, National Park Service Technical Information 

Center, FRSP 326_2114)

Figure 1.148. CCC crews building concealed drainage in the restored 

artillery lunette, July 1936. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania 

National Military Park, Chancellorsville Photographs box 1)

Figure 1.149. The Fairview-Hazel Grove vista clearing following improvement by the CCC in 1935, looking 

southwest toward Hazel Grove, July 1936. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, 

Chancellorsville Photographs, box 3)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

142

however, call for reestablishing the wider battle-period 

extent of the fi ld.58 Through the summer of 1935, CCC 

crews burned, grubbed, cut, and planted grass in the 

clearing to create the desired effect (fig. 1.149)

Another aspect of the park service’s program of scene 

restoration was the installation of fencing that recalled 

the rural antebellum character of the landscape. By the 

1930s, the historic stacked-rail worm or post-and-rail 

fencing had largely disappeared form the landscape, 

replaced by post and barbed wire fences. Along Bullock 

Drive through the Bullock clearing, for example, the 

park replaced barbed-wire fence with stacked-rail 

fences along both sides of the road in 1936 (fig. 1.150).

Other fences were proposed along the Jackson Trail 

through the Wellford plantation, as well at the entrances to the park drives from the public roads. The fences 

soon became a distinctive 

identifier f historic park 

lands.59

An historic remnant at 

Chancellorsville that was 

of great interest to park 

historians and visitors alike 

was the ruins of the Catharine Furnace. By 1935, 

CCC crews were thinning 

the woods to open views of the ruins and improve the 

scenery around the nearby picnic grounds (fig. 1.151).

While the stone stack of the blast furnace remained 

standing, little else was visible to indicate the industrial 

complex that stood on the site during the Civil War. To 

better interpret the site, Park Junior Historian Oscar 

Northington and Senior Architectural Forman Stuart 

M. Barnette undertook extensive documentary and 

oral history research on the furnace and planned to 

excavate the site, after having completed a similar study 

the previous spring on the Chancellorsville Inn site.

In September 1935, CCC crews further cleared an area 

surrounding the stack that measured approximately 

150 feet by 50 feet between the bluff and Jackson Trail, 

where Northington and Barnette laid out hundredfoot squares to guide their archeological investigations. 

Based on their fi dings, Barnette drew a conjectural 

plan of the buildings in the complex, including two 

Figure 1.150. Stacked-rail worm fences along Bullock Drive, 

looking southwest from Elys Ford Road, 1936. (Fredericksburg and 

Spotsylvania National Military Park, Chancellorsville Photographs, 

box 6)

Figure 1.151. The Catharine Furnace ruins, looking south from the Furnace Road-Sickles Drive intersection, ca. 1935. The white arrow points 

to the stack ruins. The woods surrounding the ruins were being thinned and cleaned-up at the time. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania 

National Military Park, Chancellorsville Photographs, box 1, annotated by SUNY ESF)
143 

1. Site History, 1927–1945

on the bluff (fig. 1.152). The monthly CCC report for 

October 1935 reported: 

In addition to the foundations, which indicate a lead 

as to the arrangement of the manufactory, a large and 

varied collection of artifacts has been uncovered. These 

consist of tools, hinges, odd pieces of machinery, pigs of 

iron, fragments of glass and pottery, and an occasional 

Civil War relic....The Furnace has taken its place as one 

of the chief attractions of the park. This is attested to by 

the large number of visitors who fi d their way unguided 

to the site and who remain to hear something of its short 

but eventful history.”60

While the excavations provided a great deal of information about the layout of the furnace complex, the park 

decided not to implement any scene restoration at the 

Catharine Furnace. It instead had the excavations reburied to ensure their long-term preservation. Only the 

furnace stack was left exposed, and the rest of the site 

was managed as forest with cleared understory.61 

Monuments, Markers, and Signs

Given the National Park Service’s emphasis on interpretation, it developed a much more extensive system 

of signage than the small metal tablets and maps that 

had been proposed by the War Department. The park 

service did not encourage the placement of new monuments to mark and commemorate significa t lines 

in the manner of Gettysburg and many other 

national military parks, but it did retain the four 

existing monuments—Jackson rock, the Jackson 

monument, 114th Pennsylvania, and 27th Indiana. 

For park service planners and designers, small 

signs and markers were a less intrusive addition 

to the historic landscape and more appropriate to 

the agency’s rustic aesthetic. 

Just one new monument was added under park 

service administration during the 1930s, but it fit

with the rustic character of the landscape. In 1933, 

the Maury Birthplace Association, organized by 

J. T. Goolrick, placed a boulder with a bronze plaque 

along the north shoulder of Furnace Road to mark the 

site of the house where the oceanographer was born in 

1806.62 

In 1937, another type of commemorative feature was 

added to the Lee-Jackson bivouac site, two years after 

the large Chancellorsville re-enactment that had its 

opening ceremony there. The site had lost its large pine 

tree under which Lee and Jackson had purportedly met 

to plan the flank ttack on May 1, 1863, but was marked 

by the small granite marker installed in 1903 under the 

direction of James Powers Smith. Park staff apparently 

felt this marker was not suffi ent to commemorate the 

importance of the site, and plans were made to mark 

the site anew on the occasion of the park’s 10th anniversary. They chose to plant a pair of Eastern red-cedar 

Figure 1.152. Stuart Barnette’s drawing of the buildings in the 

Catharine Furnace complex surrounding the blast furnace stack, 

1935. The furnace stack rose from the building labeled #3. The 

bridge house (#2) allowed workers to reach the coal house and 

other buildings on the bluff. Barnette did not locate all buildings in 

this upper area. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military 

Park, FRSP 2540)

Figure 1.153. The Lee and Jackson cedars at the bivouac site 

dedicated in 1937, looking northwest from Orange Plank Road, 

1942. At right is the 1903 marker, and at left is a park service 

sign. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, 

Chancellorsville Photographs, box 1)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

144

trees to represent Lee and Jackson, with an inconspicuous bronze plaque set into the ground that read: “These 

Cedars Planted October 23, 1937 / Commemorate the 

Last Conference of Lee and Jackson / The Staff of the 

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military 

Park” (fig. 1.153). The ensemble was dedicated in a 

ceremony on October 23, 1937 presided over by Lee 

biographer Dr. Douglas Southall Freeman.63

During its initial years at Chancellorsville, the National 

Park Service used temporary wood identific tion signs 

while it continued to research the proper text for permanent identific tion tablets that had been designed 

by the War Department (see fig. 1.110) 64 Within a year 

or so, the park service began installing the permanent 

tablets, which featured an angled black-painted face 

with raised lettering, mounted on a hexagonal post (fig.

1.154). Similar tablets had been used by the War Department at national cemeteries beginning in the 1880s, 

and at national military parks beginning in the 1890s. 

As the park was installing the tablets, it was implementing a new design for signs that would provide a 

narrative of events that occurred at a particular site, as 

well as mark the park entrances. By 1935, the park was 

installing large, approximately six -foot tall Colonial 

Revival-style signs mounted on wood posts that featured green lettering on a white board with a scrolled 

pediment-like top (fig. 1.155). These were installed at 

each of the entrances to the park drives, and at other 

sites. Within a few years, however, the park decided 

that these signs were incompatible with the rustic character of the battlefi ld landscape, and developed a new 

standard consisting of a brown Masonite signboard 

with yellow lettering, set within a stained wood frame 

and supported by wood posts with pointed fin als (fig.

1.156). This same post and frame was used to display 

battlefi ld maps that accompanied the historical markers at key locations. The park also installed a secondary type of narrative sign that was apparently used as 

a supplement to the identific tion tablets. These were 

rustic stained wood signs approximately four feet tall, 

consisting of a chamfered post with rectangular wood 

signboards and yellow lettering (fig. 1.157) 65 

Figure 1.154. Metal tablets used to mark roads, defensive works, 

and other historic features or sites, designed by the War Department 

and installed by the park service in ca. 1936, photographed ca. 

1954. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, 

Chancellorsville Photographs, box 8)

Figure 1.155. A standard Colonial Revival narrative sign designed by 

the National Park Service and installed in ca. 1935, photographed 

1936. This sign stood at the intersection of McLaws Drive and the 

Orange Plank Road. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National 

Military Park, Chancellorsville Photographs, box 8)

Figure 1.156. The park’s second generation, rustic-style narrative 

sign and battlefield map, 1938. This set of signs was probably 

located at the so-called Jackson Take-Off parcels along Route 

3. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, 

Chancellorsville Photographs, box 8)
145 

1. Site History, 1927–1945

In addition to these narrative signs, the park also installed a system of rustic directional markers as it rolled 

out its second generation rustic signs. These consisted 

of low, approximately two-foot tall mast-arms with 

hanging signboards of stained wood with incised 

yellow-painted inscriptions (fig. 1.158). The mast arm 

was fini hed with an arrow that pointed in the direction 

of the marked feature. 

Jackson Wounding Area 

The National Park Service chose the area at the intersection of Bullock Drive and Route 3, where Jackson 

was mortally wounded, as the site of the park visitor 

facilities. Since the park’s main headquarters and museum were in Fredericksburg, the facilities at Chancellorsville, along with those at Wilderness and Spotsylvania Court House, were satellite sites that provided 

a ranger station and restrooms. The Chancellorsville 

site had long been the focus of commemoration on the 

battlefi ld since placement of the Jackson rock in 1879 

and Jackson monument in 1888. The War Department 

had also earlier proposed it be a primary entrance area 

for the Chancellorsville battlefi ld park.

The park service’s initial work at what it called the 

“Jackson Wounding” area was completed by spring 

1935. The improvements included addition of a fla -

staff, cleaning up of the surrounding woods, removing 

the iron fence around the monument—a Victorian feature that was incompatible with the park’s new rustic 

Figure 1.159. The Jackson Wounding area, showing loop drive built 

east of the monument, and picnic grounds being used by a tour 

group, looking southwest with Route 3 and the Jackson Monument 

in the background, June 1935. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania 

National Military Park, Chancellorsville Photographs, box 3)

Figure 1.157 (left). A rustic narrative marker, showing an example 

providing information about McLaws Drive, photographed 

1937. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, 

Chancellorsville Photographs, box 8)

Figure 1.158 (right). A rustic sign that provided direction to the ruins 

of the Chancellorsville Inn from the intersection of McLaws Drive 

and Orange Plank Road, photographed 1937. (Fredericksburg and 

Spotsylvania National Military Park, Chancellorsville Photographs, 

box 8)

Figure 1.160. The Jackson monument, looking west along Route 3 (turnpike) showing entrance drive, flagsta f, narrative sign, and tree and 

shrub plantings at right, March 1936. The Jackson Rock is not visible behind the trees. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military 

Park, Chancellorsville Photographs, box 3)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

146

Figure 1.161. Map of the Jackson Wounding Area showing the location of the visitor contact station, orientation disc, new drive, comfort 

stations (toilets), and Jackson Memorial Wild Flower Preserve as developed by 1937. The location the walks in the preserve may not be 

accurate. (Compilation of two sketch plans from “Chancellorsville Battlefield...Developed Areas,” master plan sheet 10, January 1, 1940, 

National Park Service Technical Information Center, FRSP 326_2114, annotated by SUNY ESF)

Figure 1.162. The Chancellorsville visitor contact station built 

in 1935, looking northeast across Route 3 (turnpike), ca. 1936. 

(Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, 

Chancellorsville Photographs, box 1)

Figure 1.163. The Chancellorsville visitor contact station, looking 

north across the old entry drive, ca. 1936. Between the drive and 

the station is an orientation disc. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania 

National Military Park, Chancellorsville Photographs, box 1)
147 

1. Site History, 1927–1945

aesthetic—and building an entrance drive that looped 

from Route 3 to the north side of the Jackson monument (fig. 1.159). P cnic grounds were laid out beneath 

oak trees east of the entrance drive. 

The park planted trees and shrubs along the edge of 

the entrance drive, but kept the monument and fla staff

clearing visible from Route 3 (fig. 1.160). erhaps because of the ceremonial character of this area, the park 

decided it would be a good place to reinter the remains 

of an unknown soldier, which had been found by CCC 

enrollees working along the Orange Plank Road in 

1935. The standard protocol would have been to reinter 

the remains in Fredericksburg National Cemetery, 

and to mark the grave with a government headstone. 

Instead, the grave was dug west of the monument, and 

was marked by a white wood cross probably made by 

the CCC.66

The picnic area west of the Jackson Monument was removed around 1935, following completion of the new 

picnic grounds near the Hazel Grove-Fairview vista 

clearing and Catharine Furnace. It was one of several 

changes the park made to the Jackson Wounding Area 

in 1935, including construction of a visitor contact 

station, redesign of the entry drive, addition of comfort 

stations, and development of a wildfl wer preserve 

with walking trails to commemorate Stonewall Jackson (fig. 1.161).

The contact station, which used a standard 

design employed at all four battlefi lds, was 

sited beneath oak trees along the north side 

of the loop drive, west of the Jackson Monument (fig. 1.162). Bu lt by the CCC, it was a 

one-story rustic frame building measuring 

17 feet long by 12 feet wide, with boardand-batten siding, a wood-shingle roof, and 

exterior stone and brick chimney (fig. 1.163).

The interior featured a fi eplace, tables and 

chairs, and knotty-pine paneling. The design 

of the park’s contact stations, according to 

the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star of May 

30, 1935, “...will harmonize with the general 

landscape features so that none of the natural charm of the localities will be disturbed...When 

completed...[the contact stations] will enable the Park 

Service to reach a great number of visitors who daily 

traverse the Park in ignorance of the trained staff of 

historians who are available to them.”67

Planning for the contact station also included siting of 

separate comfort stations for men and women. In July 

1935, the US Public Health Service provided the park 

with a report on locating comfort stations throughout 

the battlefi lds. The plan called for “sanitary pit privies” 

without running water. At Chancellorsville, the report 

called for placing the women’s comfort station near the 

wild fl wer preserve, and the one for the men a good 

distance away across Bullock Drive (see fig. 1.161). The 

stations were simple wooden sheds and were completed soon after the report was issued. Others were 

proposed for the Vista and Furnace picnic grounds, but 

these were not constructed.68

Following completion of the contact and comfort stations, CCC enrollees worked on a number of improvements to the surrounding site. Red-cedars and other 

trees were planted, and a concrete orientation disc, a 

standard feature installed at all four battlefi lds, was 

built in front of the contact station in 1935 to provide 

visitors with compass directions and distances to area 

Figure 1.164. The Jackson monument showing new alignment of the entry drive built 

in 1937, and new site of the Jackson rock, photographed April 1942. The white cross 

marks the grave of an unknown Civil War soldier reinterred at the site in 1935. The 

state historical marker was installed around 1930. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania 

National Military Park, Chancellorsville Photographs, box 1)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

148

aesthetic than a monument. 71 A sign at the entrance to 

the garden explained,

The development of this preserve was begun in 1935. It 

was conceived as a living memorial to Gen. “Stonewall” 

Jackson, an educational feature for the enjoyment 

and instruction of the public. It serves also as a fi ld 

laboratory for the student of botany. Collection and 

identific tion of the plants has been accomplished by 

members of the local park staff, assisted by enrollees 

of the C.C.C. camps. The material in the preserve is 

representative of the fl ra of these battlefi lds and largely 

that of eastern Virginia.72

The main entrance to the preserve was along a path 

that led north from the parking area and visitor contact station, where the entrance sign was located (fig.

1.165). The preserve consisted of a circuit of winding 

footpaths with a timber bridge, scattered mature trees 

thinned from the pre-existing woods, mown understory, and a variety of planted native small trees, shrubs, 

and herbaceous plants that were either transplanted or 

planted by seed (fig. 1.166). The preserve was organized 

into three ecological areas: an open glade, wet woods, 

and dry woods. Plants, which were identified y 

small metal stakes with common and scientific ames, 

landmarks (see fig. 1.163). et slightly above grade, the 

disc measured four feet in diameter, and used burnt 

umber mixed with the concrete to give it “an old rose 

shade.”69 It was moved to the west side of the contact 

station in ca. 1937, when a new entry drive was constructed west of the Jackson Monument (fig. 1.164,

see also fig. 1.162). The gravel drive exit was shifted 

closer to Bullock Drive, and a pull-off parking area for 

about fi e cars was added east of the contact station. 

It was probably at this time that the Jackson rock was 

moved closer to Route 3, presumably to make it visible 

from the highway. Finally, a wayside with a map of the 

battlefi ld was installed in front of the contact station 

in 1938.70 

The most extensive addition to the Jackson Wounding 

Area during the 1930s was the Jackson Memorial Wild 

Flower Preserve, developed across approximately two 

acres of thinned woods north of the contact station beginning in fall 1935 (see fig. 1.161). nterior wildfl wer 

displays were a typical part of nature interpretation at 

national parks, but Superintendent Branch Spalding 

took the idea outside and turned it into a commemorative feature that further emphasized the key place 

of Stonewall Jackson in the interpretive program for 

Chancellorsville. Spalding wrote that native plants were 

a more fi ting memorial than a bronze or granite monument because they were “silent witnesses” to the “unintentional blow which felled a mighty warrior”—and 

were certainly more in keeping with the park’s rustic 

Figure 1.165. Sign at the entrance to the Jackson Memorial Wild 

Flower Preserve, looking northwest with Bullock Drive in the 

background, ca. 1937. The sign was replaced with a rustic narrative 

sign soon after this photograph was taken. (Fredericksburg and 

Spotsylvania National Military Park, Chancellorsville Photographs, 

box 4)

Figure 1.166. A path in the Jackson Memorial Wild Flower Preserve 

in spring during flowering of the dogwood trees, 1940. To the left 

of the path is a metal plant identification sign. (Fredericksburg and 

Spotsylvania National Military Park, Chancellorsville Photographs, 

box 4)
149 

1. Site History, 1927–1945

ranged from fl wering dogwood to birds-foot violet, 

dog-tooth violet, and maidenhair fern. Planting in the 

preserve continued for a few years. In 1938, for example, the superintendent reported over 100 new species 

of plants had been added to the preserve, bringing the 

total up to approximately 350 species.73

Wartime Constraints

The US entry into World War II in December 1941 

brought about additional constraints in personnel 

and budget that had been building since emergency 

preparations had begun in 1939. Aside from closing the 

CCC camp, ground work was curtailed, and visitation 

decreased due to military inscription and tire and gas 

rationing, leading to closing of the Furnace and Vista 

picnic areas; only one picnic area was maintained in the 

park, at Fredericksburg. Maintenance of the Jackson 

Memorial Wild Flower Garden most likely ceased. 

Despite the reduced workforce, Jackson Trail West was 

completed in 1943 thanks to the labor of troops that 

were stationed in the area and were using the battlefi ld 

for practice.74 

THE CHANCELLORSVILLE COMMUNITY

Acquisition and development of park land, road improvements, and suburban land use led to a number 

of changes in the Chancellorsville community that 

surrounded the battlefi ld park between the late 1920s 

and the end of World War II. Despite this, the overall 

patterns of farm clearings and woods remained little 

changed from prior to the park’s establishment in 1927 

(fig. 1.167

Figure 1.167. Map of the Chancellorsville community showing patterns of field and forest, roads, and development by the 1940s. The solid 

black dots represent antebellum buildings or ruins. Boxes with white fill indicate post-war farms, those with gray fill, non-farm post-war 

buildings. Civil War-era properties are labeled in capital letters. Current park boundaries are shown in orange. (SUNY ESF)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

150

its property and possibly elsewhere by grading 

and seeding the shoulders, and planting along the 

edge of woods.75

Eastern Turnpike Farms

The farms along the turnpike east of Chancellorsville retained their expanded post-war extent 

throughout early development of the park (fig.

1.169, see also fig. 1.167). These farms provided a 

wide expanse of open land at the eastern entrance to the Chancellorsville battlefi ld park at 

McLaws Drive.76

Development of the battlefi ld park had little impact 

on the eastern turnpike farms. While War Department 

planning had considered the action of May 1, 1863 in 

this area, no land, markers, or park roads were built 

east of McLaws Drive.

Chancellorsville (Fairview Plantation)

The core of the Chancellorsville including the second 

Chancellorsville Inn as well as the gas station across 

the street and part of the Bullock Plantation remained 

Orange Turnpike

The Orange Turnpike, redesignated Virginia Route 3 

soon after the national military park was established in 

1927, remained the primary artery through Chancellorsville. The road was surfaced in gravel until the early 

1930s, when it was paved in asphalt (fig. 1.168). The 

National Park Service improved the roadsides along 

Figure 1.168. Route 3—the Orange Turnpike—looking east 

across from the Fairview entrance (Berry-Paxton Drive) showing 

improved paved surface, June 1934. The park service graded, 

seeded, and planted the roadside soon after this photograph was 

taken. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, 

Chancellorsville Photographs, box 4)

Figure 1.169. Aerial photograph looking northwest showing farm clearings along Route 3 (Orange Turnpike), the Orange Plank Road, 

Elys Ford Road, and River Road, April 1936. (New York News photograph, Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, Aerial 

Photographs, box 1, annotated by SUNY ESF)
151 

1. Site History, 1927–1945

under the ownership of the Rowley family, 

which had acquired the property in 1910. 

The War Department did not pursue acquisition of the significa t inn site most likely due 

to its continued use as a residence and the 

surrounding active farmland. 

The Rowleys sold substantial portions of 

Chancellorsville property to the national 

military park. This included the western part 

of the plantation that comprised the biggest 

parcel of park property, from Berry-Paxton 

Drive north across the turnpike to Bullock 

Drive including the Jackson Monument, as 

well as strips along Slocum Drive, Hooker 

Drive, and Miles Drive (see fig. 1.106). These 

strip subdivisions may have led the Rowleys to sell 

outlying parcels to the east of Hooker Drive and along 

Slocum Drive to Ola Compton.77

The Chancellorsville Inn, as rebuilt in ca. 1872, remained a key landmark on the battlefi ld despite that 

it was not included within the boundaries of the new 

park. The historical significa ce of the site was formally 

commemorated when, three months after establishment of the park in 1927, the Spotsylvania Chapters 

of the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) 

erected a bronze tablet on a large granite base built on 

the shoulder of the turnpike in front of the Chancellorsville Inn. This was one of fi e matching monuments, including one at Salem Church, dedicated in a 

single ceremony held on May 3, 1927, the 64th anniversary of the Battle of Chancellorsville. Three years later, 

the state of Virginia added a historical marker adjacent 

to the monument that described the major action of the 

battle in the area, along with another near the Jackson 

Monument.78 

The UDC monument stood near the intact Chancellorsville Inn for only a short time. Six months after 

its dedication on the evening of November 14, 1927, 

thirteen-year-old Hallie Rowley was at her father’s 

gas station, and looked across the street to see fla es 

coming out of the roof of the inn, near the cupola from 

which visitors once viewed the battlefi ld. With the 

help of passers-by, she saved some furniture and the 

family’s piano before the house became fully engulfed. 

Within a short time, the structure was reduced to ruins, 

with only part of the brick walls still standing, which 

remarkably were largely the same ones that had survived the 1863 fi e (fig. 1.170). S me of the old antebellum elms also survived the second fi e. Left homeless, 

the family moved into a house Hal Rowley had built on 

Figure 1.170. The ruins of the second Chancellorsville Inn looking 

west along Route 3 thirteen years after the fi e, ca. 1940. In the 

foreground is the UDC marker added in 1927, along with a state 

highway historical marker installed in ca. 1930. (Fredericksburg and 

Spotsylvania National Military Park, FRSP 1429)

Figure 1.171. The house built by the Rowleys to the west of the 

Chancellorsville Inn ruins in 1932, looking east along Route 3, ca. 

1940. In the right distance is the Rowley service station at the 

corner of the Orange Plank Road. (Hallie Rowley Sale photograph, 

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, FRSP 2193)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

152

Barnette, with the help of up to eight CCC enrollees, 

uncovered foundations near the surface and carefully 

measured and documented the remains, but did not excavate the entire basement. Barnette produced eleven 

drawings, including elevations of the standing walls, 

details of door hardware and masonry, and a conjectural footprint of the original building (fig. 1.172).

Barnette also interviewed 90-year-old Mrs. Vespasian 

Chancellor, who remembered “some features quite 

clearly,” to help document the antebellum appearance 

of the building.81 

Hazel Grove

In 1931, at the time the War Department was acquiring park property, Hazel Grove had been sold by the 

Kennedy family, who had owned the property since 

at least 1891. The property was subdivided, with the 

pine-woods northern half fronting on Route 3 owned 

by Dr. R. G. Bledsoe, and the southern part containing 

the dairy farm and post-war Kennedy house owned by 

E. Gould. Bledsoe may have constructed a house along 

the turnpike near the site of the antebellum schoolhouse in the 1930s. The Gould’s dairy farm occupied 

the same general clearing south of the turnpike that 

existed during the Civil War 

(fig. 1.173) 82 

Development of the Chancellorsville park included 

acquisition of the eastern 

edge of Hazel Grove property owned by Bledsoe and 

Gould for construction of 

Stuart Drive and Sickles 

Drive (see fig. 1.106). The 

old road between Fairview 

and Hazel Grove east of 

Stuart Drive became BerryPaxton Drive, and the section to the west was referred 

to as “Gould’s Entrance” or 

the “Hazel Grove Entrance.” Another road led 

to the post-war Kennedy 

the old Bullock Plantation along Elys Ford Road in the 

1920s.79 

The Rowleys left the ruined brick walls standing, 

perhaps out of historical interest, and soon began 

construction of a new house to the east, on top of the 

foundations of the antebellum building. A brick foundation was completed, but the Rowleys abandoned the 

site, perhaps due to the park’s concern over disturbing 

archaeological remains. In 1932, the family completed 

construction of a new house to the west of the ruins, a 

modest Craftsman-style bungalow (fig. 1.171) 80

By the close of the decade, the Rowleys sold lots west 

of their new house where another two houses were 

built. 

Despite its lack of ownership of the Chancellorsville 

Inn ruins, the National Park Service included the site in 

its historical research during the 1930s. In the spring of 

1935, the park commissioned Stuart Barnett, a professor of architecture at Cornell University, to undertake 

exploratory investigations of the site as part of documentation for the Historic American Building Survey, 

a program of the larger New Deal work-relief efforts. 

Figure 1.172. Stuart Barnette’s plan of the original Chancellorsville Inn foundation produced for the 

Historic American Building Survey, 1935. (Library of Congress, Historic American Building Survey VA77, Sheet 11)
153 

1. Site History, 1927–1945

house off the Slocum Drive-Sickles Drive intersection, 

which was referred to as the “Kennedy House intersection.”83

Landscape work at the park also altered the Hazel 

Grove landscape through reopening of the vista to 

Fairview from the heights northeast of the dairy barn in 

1932. In 1937, the CCC planted a border of pine trees 

along Sickles Drive, probably to screen the Kennedy 

House from view (see fig. 1.144). This screen 

soon proved unnecessary, because in ca. 

1940, the Kennedy house was demolished.84

Locust Grove, Wilderness Church, 

Hawkins and Talley Farms

Locust Grove, the former plantation of 

Melzi Chancellor along Route 3 across from 

Wilderness Church, remained an active farm 

during this period and part of the larger 

clearing that include the Hawkins and Talley farms (see 

fig. 1.173). n 1931, at the time the War Department was 

acquiring park property, Locust Grove was owned by 

the Payne family. They had apparently sold off some 

lots along Route 3 for residential development. The 

portion of Locust Grove north of the turnpike that had 

become a separate farm during the late nineteenth century remained under the ownership of the Chewning 

family. The fi lds along the turnpike were enclosed by 

a wood-post and barbed-wire fence (fig. 1.174). elzi 

Figure 1.173. Aerial photograph looking east from east of Brock Road showing farm clearings along Route 3 (Orange Turnpike), April 1936. 

(New York News photograph, Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, Aerial Photographs, box 1, annotated by SUNY ESF)

Figure 1.174. Route 3 (Orange Turnpike) across from Dowdall’s 

Tavern with fence-enclosed fields of the Chewing farm to the right 

and Wilderness Church in the distance, looking northwest, ca. 1935. 

Most of the battle period pine grove around the church had been 

removed by this time. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National 

Military Park, Chancellorsville Photographs, box 1)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

154

a post-war farm built prior to 1927. The area around 

the intersection of Brock Road, known as “Wilderness 

Corner,” underwent some new development during 

the 1930s. The post-war farm north of the turnpike 

was subdivided or expanded, and two houses were 

built along the south side of the road. An Esso service 

station—the western-most of three gas stations along 

the turnpike through Chancellorsville—was built at the 

Brock Road intersection around 1930 (fig. 1.175) 88 

Elys Ford Road and River Road

Elys Ford Road, the main road heading north from 

Chancellorsville, was improved during this period as 

Virginia Route 610, and River Road was designated as 

Virginia Route 618. The development of the battlefi ld 

park led to a number of substantial changes to the 

area, notably the addition of the CCC Camp MP-3 in 

1933, which was removed in large part by 1944, and the 

development of Hooker Drive and Miles Drive in ca. 

1932–35. The part of River Road west of Hooker Drive 

was bypassed and may have been abandoned to private 

use upon the completion of Miles Drive (see fig. 1.169).

Bullock Plantation (Woodlawn) 

The core of the antebellum Bullock plantation was 

owned in the early 1930s by J. E. Timberlake, who may 

have been a Rowley relative. The house at the corner 

of Bullock Drive and Elys Ford Road, built by James 

Rowley in ca. 1925, was used by the Rowley family as 

their residence following destruction of the Chancellorsville Inn in 1927. To the north of Bullock Drive 

were two post-war farms that fronted on Elys Ford 

Road. The land to the east of Elys Ford Road, with its 

extensive lines of US earthworks, remained predominantly wooded.89 

Development of the park impacted the Bullock Plantation through acquisition of strips of land along Bullock 

Drive and Mineral Springs Road, and a tract surrounding General Couch’s line north of Bullock Drive. Fields 

north of Bullock Drive extending into Couch’s line, 

and another area south of Bullock Drive may have been 

planted in pine by the CCC, or underwent old-fi ld 

succession dominated by pine.90 

Chancellor’s post-war house and office rth Wilderness Church also remained.85 

Wilderness Church, the former church of Melzi Chancellor, continued as an active Baptist congregation in 

its 1899 building. The pine trees that had shaded the 

church since the antebellum period were mostly gone 

by the 1930s (see fig. 1.174). The grounds between the 

church and the turnpike were occupied by the church’s 

cemetery that had been established in 1915.

The Hawkins family continued to farm its property 

west of Wilderness Church (see fig. 1.173). The adjoining Talley Farm also remained in the same family at 

least through the early 1930s, with farmhouses to either 

side of the turnpike.86 The eastern end of the farm at 

the intersection of the Orange Plank Road was subdivided and sold by 1931 to R. Jones, who built a house 

and service station on the triangular parcel after 1932. 

This was one of three service stations on the turnpike 

through Chancellorsville during this period.87

Luckett Farm

The Luckett Farm, along Route 3 at the far western end 

of the Chancellorsville battlefi ld, may have ceased use 

as a farm during this period because the main clearing and adjoining woods were subdivided into six lots. 

However, no new construction occurred on these lots 

during this period. A new house was built on the site of 

the antebellum house by 1935, and across Route 3 was 

Figure 1.175. The intersection of Route 3 (Orange Turnpike) and 

Brock Road near the Luckett Farm, looking west, December 1935. At 

left is an Esso service station built in ca. 1930, and in the distance is 

a post-war farm. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military 

Park, Chancellorsville Photographs, box 5)
155 

1. Site History, 1927–1945

Decker (Grady) Farm

The Decker Farm, the only antebellum farm 

clearing on River Road near Chancellorsville, 

was apparently abandoned for farming by the 

early park period. The clearing was reduced to 

only a small area along the road (see fig. 1.169).

The larger post-war farm across River Road 

remained in active use.

Orange Plank Road and Catharpin Road 

The eastern leg of the Orange Plank Road 

was improved during the early park period as 

Virginia Route 610 (a continuation of Elys Ford Road) 

up to Catharpin Road. The section to the east and 

Catharpin Road were designated as Virginia Route 612. 

Development of the battlefi ld park impacted the area 

only between Furnace Road and the turnpike; Catharpin Road lay outside the area considered for development of the Chancellorsville battlefi ld park.

Alrich and Perry Farms

The antebellum Alrich and Perry farms continued to 

anchor the area of the Plank Road near its intersection 

with Catharpin Road. These remained active farms, 

along with several farms established in outlying fi lds 

and woods after the Civil War. The only substantial 

new development in this area during the early park 

period was the construction of a service station on the 

Alrich Farm at the southeast corner of Catharpin Road 

and the Orange Plank Road in ca. 1932 (fig. 1.176). B 

this time, the old Alrich farmhouse across Catharpin 

Road had probably been removed or fallen into ruins, 

but a falling-down plank fence still enclosed its yard.

Young Farm, Lewis Farms, and Piney Branch Church

The area along Catharpin Road remained a district 

of small and medium-sized farm clearings. The intersection with Piney Branch Road near the antebellum 

Widow Lewis Farm, however, developed into a cluster 

of houses and a commercial establishment known as 

Paynes Store. A short distance to the south was the 

post-war Piney Branch Church and Piney Branch 

School. The only antebellum farms that may have remained were the R. Lewis and G. Lewis farms north of 

Catharpin Road and west of the Ni River.91 

Orange Plank Road and Germanna Plank Road 

The western leg of the Orange Plank Road, which was 

designated as Virginia Route 621, saw little new development during the early park period, except for the addition of the Jones service station at the intersection of 

Route 3 (see Tally Farm). By 1935, the Germanna Plank 

Road, which had probably not been maintained since 

the Civil War, was described as being “not passable.”92

Development of the Wilderness Battlefi ld park beginning in ca. 1931 led to acquisition of park land from 

Brock Road west.93 

Burton Farm and Hickman House

Traces of the two antebellum properties along the 

Orange Plank Road, the Burton Farm and Hickman 

House, largely disappeared during this period. The 

Burton Farm clearing on Burton Hill, from which 

Stonewall Jackson or his scouts look out upon US 

troops along the turnpike, reverted to woods except for 

a small area along the road. A small clearing remained 

at the site of the Hickman house, which was once a 

tollhouse for the Germanna and Orange Plank Roads.94

Figure 1.176. Orange Plank Road at the intersection with Catharpin 

Road, looking southeast with the service station built ca. 1932 on 

the right side, photographed ca. 1935. The fence at right surrounds 

the Alrich farmhouse yard. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania 

National Military Park, Chancellorsville Photographs, box 7)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

156

the 1940s. Two smaller clearings were maintained as 

part of houses or small farms built during the 1930s.96 

Catharine Furnace Property

The Catharine Furnace Company property, which as 

late as the 1890s remained a single tract containing 

more than 4,000 acres, was subdivided into a number 

of parcels by the early park period. At the time that 

the War Department began to acquire park property 

in 1931, the furnace property north of the railroad 

consisted of large tracts owned by Edgar Young and 

another owner named Penden, and smaller tracts that 

had been subdivided earlier for farms owned by Lee 

and Craig near the turnpike and plank road (see fig.

1.167). South of the railroad, the property had been 

subdivided for several farms, but the Wellford house 

remained—one of the few buildings in Chancellorsville 

from the antebellum period. The two-story brick house 

was a prominent landmark in the clearing that was 

a remnant of the once much larger Wellford plantation (fig. 1.177). A large orchard occupied much of the 

clearing as late as 1937.97

Development of the park resulted in a number of 

changes to the Catharine Furnace property, most 

notably improvement of Furnace Road and mine roads 

leading from the turnpike to Brock Road into McLaws 

Drive, Bivouac Road (Furnace Road), and Jackson Trail 

East. The park acquired only narrow strips of propBrock Road

Brock Road was designated during this period as Virginia Route 210, and its eastern leg (Herndon Road) as 

Virginia Route 600. Most of the adjoining US trenches 

were acquired as part of the Wilderness Battlefi ld park 

beginning in ca. 1931. A section of Brock Road south of 

the railroad served as a link in the park’s Jackson Trail 

that was completed in 1943. The area underwent little 

substantial new development during this period, but 

closing of the Virginia Central Railway in 1937 removed 

an economic link for the cluster of development that 

had become known as the community of Brockroad.95 

Cook Farm

The Cook Farm, which had lost its antebellum farmhouse prior to 1927, occupied the same general farm 

clearing on the north side of Brock Road that existed 

during the post-war period. The cluster of four small 

farms developed during the post-war period still lined 

a road to the north, anchored by Zion Hill Church at its 

eastern end (see fig. 1.167). This area, known as Cooktown, was remote from any park development. 

Stephens, Trigg, and Fitzhugh Farms 

The Stephens, Trigg, and Fitzhugh farms south and 

west of Brock Road were impacted by the park’s 

development of Jackson Trail West between ca. 1939 

and 1942. The old Stephens farmstead most likely had 

been removed during the post-war period, as had the 

Fitzhugh farm. The Trigg farm still retained a cluster of 

buildings, but these were removed with construction of 

Jackson Trail West (see fig. 1.130). C nstruction of the 

park road occurred after the Virginia Central Railway 

had been abandoned, allowing for an uninterrupted 

park route through the Stephens and Trigg farms. The 

Stephens family’s post-war farmstead, known as Rosemont, overlooked Jackson Trail West from a hill to the 

southwest. Jackson Trail West provided the main access 

to Rosemont. 

Carpenter Farm

The Carpenter Farm along Herndon Road, which had 

lost its farmstead around 1920, became reforested by 

Figure 1.177. Distant view of the brick Wellford house built in ca. 

1838, looking south from the railroad along the old Furnace Road 

prior to its reconstruction as Jackson Trail East, photographed 

1937. The wood posts marked the entrance to the property from 

the railroad. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military 

Park, FRSP 883a)
157 

1. Site History, 1927–1945

erty along the roads, except at the furnace site, where 

the additional land allowed for development of the 

Archer-Thomas Foot Trail and Furnace picnic grounds. 

Through the Wellford clearing, the narrow corridor of 

park land did not include the Wellford house. Because 

the old mine road south of the railroad provided access 

to several post-war farms, the improved Jackson Trail 

East had to serve not only as a park drive for tourists, 

but also as access to at least three private properties. 

This private access from park drives also occurred 

along McLaws Drive on the former furnace property 

near the turnpike. In 1943, the park issued a special use 

permit to two land owners who wished to build a road 

from McLaws Drive to access their adjoining property.98

It was not just private access roads that placed demands 

on the narrow strip of park land along the Jackson 

Trail through the Catharine Furnace property, but also 

adjoining land uses. In October 1940, for example, 

an owner of a forested tract along Jackson Trail East 

proposed clear-cutting to supply war-time demand for 

timber. The park reacted negatively, arguing that clearcutting would alter an area that had been forested at the 

time of the battle. Several tracts had been cleared since 

the Civil War for farming, but the logging proposal 

signaled the sensitivity of the battlefi ld park’s narrow 

corridors to changes in adjoining land uses—an issue 

that would dominate park management in the decades 

after World War II.99 

LANDSCAPE OVERVIEW, 1945 (DRAWINGS 1.4, 1.5)

Between 1927 and 1945, the landscape of the Chancellorsville battlefi ld park was developed with scenic 

drives, picnic grounds, restored historic features, plantings, a visitor contact area with a memorial wild fl wer 

preserve, and a park maintenance-utility area. It was 

during this brief period that the park assumed an organization and character that would persist for decades, 

made possible in large by CCC labor. Outside of the 

park, improvement of roads, abandonment of the railroad, and addition of several suburban houses and gas 

stations changed the feeling of the landscape in areas, 

but did not greatly alter the overall rural and wooded 

character of Chancellorsville that had persisted since 

the Civil War. 

The Chancellorsville unit of the national military park, 

as initially planned by the War Department and further 

developed by the National Park Service, introduced the 

fir t large-scale designed landscape into the vernacular 

countryside of Chancellorsville. While the park was 

planned to preserve and interpret the historic landscape, it substantially altered the circulation, spatial 

organization, vegetation, and small-scale features of the 

battlefi ld, but in a way that harmonized with the natural setting in keeping with the National Park Service’s 

rustic design aesthetic. This design emphasized use of 

the landscape, rather than monuments, as the primary 

interpretive and memorial resource. While many signs 

and markers were placed on the battlefi ld during this 

period, there were no new commemorative monuments erected. 

The development of the battlefi ld park altered land 

ownership and property boundaries through multiple 

subdivisions required for the strips of park land. This 

was most notable at Chancellorsville (Fairview Plantation) and Catharine Furnace properties that were 

subdivided into a number of parcels. Owners predating 

the Civil War who remained through World War II included the Baptist congregation of Wilderness Church, 

along with the Hawkins, Stephens, and probably the 

Cook and McGee families. Chancellor heirs still owned 

the Chancellor cemetery.

Natural Systems and Features

In 1945, the natural environment of the Chancellorsville battlefi ld landscape had changed little since 

before the park was founded. The landscape was still 

dominated by extensive tracts of woods, and some 

fi lds were reverting to woods. The park managed 

woods along the park drives by clearing underbrush to 

open views of earthworks, suppress fi e, and to maintain a more managed character. The development of 

park drives may have slightly changed or restricted the 

fl w of rivers and creeks that passed beneath bridges or 

through culverts. 
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

158

Spatial Organization

Between 1927 and 1945, the primary changes in spatial 

character of the Chancellorsville landscape were the 

clearing of corridors through woods for development 

of park drives, and the opening of a vista clearing 

between Hazel Grove and Fairview. New designed 

landscape spaces were created at the visitor contact 

station/park entrance, Jackson Memorial Wild Flower 

Preserve, and CCC camp. Some fi lds were reforested 

by the park or through natural succession, notably near 

the Lee-Jackson Bivouac, south of the Fairview house 

site, north of Bullock Drive, and near the Wellford 

house. 

Outside of the park, the development of suburban 

houses along Route 3 west of the visitor contact station 

and west of the Chancellorsville Inn site created yards 

and planted grounds previously occupied by woods or 

agricultural fi lds. Abandonment of fi lds at the Carpenter Farm along Herndon Road and the Burton Farm 

along the Orange Plank Road led to loss of some open 

space since 1927.

Land Use

The development of the Chancellorsville battlefi ld 

park beginning in ca. 1931 formalized and expanded 

tourism that had existed in the area since the end of 

the Civil War. Most park uses at Chancellorsville were 

concentrated within a core area between the Jackson 

monument on the north and the Catharine Furnace 

on the south within the largest areas of park land. The 

site of the Jackson monument served as the center of 

the park, where the visitor contact station was located, 

along with comfort stations and a wild fl wer preserve 

commemorating General Stonewall Jackson. Park land 

uses included historical interpretation at battlefi ld 

sites and earthwork remnants, recreational driving, 

walking, and picnicking, as well as an area used for 

park maintenance off Hooker Drive. Through 1941, the 

nearby CCC camp was used for residential, recreation, 

and industrial uses. Picnicking was abandoned at the 

Vista and Furnace picnic grounds at the onset of World 

War II, and the wildfl wer preserve was probably let go 

during this time as well. 

Outside of the park lands, suburban land uses, including non-farm residences and service stations, expanded 

along Route 3 and the Orange Plank Road-Catharpin 

Road corridors, but farming still remained the dominant land use in the area. 

Circulation

The primary park drives built during this period—

those north of the Catharine Furnace—included fi e 

that were realigned and straightened historic roads: 

McLaws Drive (Furnace Road), Bivouac Road (Furnace Road), Berry-Paxton Drive (Fairview-Hazel 

Grove Road), Bullock Drive (Bullock Road), and 

Hooker Drive (minor woods road). Three park drives 

were new roads laid out along defensive works or to 

connect other park drives: Slocum Drive, Sickles Drive, 

Stuart Drive, and Miles Drive, the latter of which 

bypassed a section of River Road. A short semi-circular 

drive was also built to access the visitor contact station near the Jackson Monument. These roads created 

loops and spurs off Route 3, Elys Ford Road, River 

Road, and the Orange Plank Road that functioned as 

extensions of the park road system. The primary park 

drives were eighteen feet wide and surfaced in gravel 

with turf shoulders and no curbs. 

Two park drives were reconstructions of historic roads, 

but were designed by the park service to maintain a 

rustic, battle-era character: Jackson Trail East, from 

Catharine Furnace south and west to Brock Road, and 

Jackson Trail West, west of Brock Road. Jackson Trail 

West was assembled from farm roads and included a 

new alignment through the Trigg and Stephens farmstead to create a continuous route. Mineral Springs 

Road, leading through the fi al US positions east of 

Elys Ford Road, was intended to have a similar character, but apparently was never improved. The old mountain road along which Stonewall Jackson purportedly 

received his mortal wounds remained as a trace north 

and east of the Jackson Monument.

Six foot trails were laid out along Pender’s Line and 

Jackson’s Corps Line near the Jackson Monument, extending south to Slocum Drive, along General Posey’s 
159 

1. Site History, 1927–1945

Line off Furnace Road, and around General Couch’s 

works north of Elys Ford Road. A small trail circuit was 

laid out through the Jackson Memorial Wild Flower 

Garden north of the visitor contact station. These 

were all simple unsurfaced foot trails, some of which 

featured rustic steps and timber bridges. 

The active historic public roads through the Chancellorsville Battlefi ld were improved as state routes 

during this period with asphalt pavement or improved 

gravel surfaces. The western end of River Road was 

abandoned following completion of Miles Drive, and 

the old Germanna Plank Road disappeared as a public 

right-of-way. The Virginia Central Railway ceased operation in 1937, but its right-of-way remained open.

Topography 

There were few substantial changes in topography of 

the Chancellorsville battlefi ld landscape during this 

period, compared with earlier periods when mining 

and war created pits and earthworks. Construction of 

the Chancellorsville battlefi ld park drives led to subtle 

changes in topography for construction of smooth and 

level grades, and for grading of banks and shoulders. 

On the Jackson Trail East between the Catharine Furnace and the railroad, the straightened and raised road 

alignment required construction of an earthen causeway across the lowlands of Furnace Hollow. The park 

maintained the topography of the battlefi ld’s eroded 

defensive works, except for one of the US artillery 

lunettes at Fairview, which was restored to its historic 

profile

Vegetation

Development of the Chancellorsville battlefi ld landscape included informal planting of thousands of native 

trees and shrubs along the park drives intended to enhance the natural setting of the roads, in keeping with 

the park service’s rustic aesthetic. These plants included fl wering dogwood, Eastern red-cedar, tulip-tree, 

pine, laurel, hazel, alder, oak, sumac, and huckleberry 

that were transplanted from woods in the area by CCC 

crews. Hundreds of additional species of wildfl wers, 

ferns, small trees, and other native plants were established in the Jackson Memorial Wild Flower Preserve 

near the visitor contact station by seed or transplant. 

Trees including red-cedar were either planted or left 

from clearing of the woods on and around the Fairview 

artillery lunettes. 

Plantations of conifers were set out by CCC crews to 

reforest fi lds. These included pine near the Lee-Jackson Bivouac site and off Berry-Paxton Drive south of 

the Fairview house site, which were planted informally 

unlike scientific orest plantations of the period. Additional reforestation may have taken place on the former 

Bullock Plantation, and along the Jackson Trail to reestablish the woods that existed during the Civil War. 

Formal plantings on park lands during this period 

included a pair of matching Eastern red-cedar trees 

planted symmetrically to either side of a small marker 

at the Lee-Jackson Bivouac site in 1937 to commemorate and symbolize the two generals. At the CCC camp 

along Elys Ford Road, a rectangular hedge of red-cedar 

was planted around a yard space (possible parade and 

entry court). In ca. 1941, the park planted a screen of 

pine along the property boundary east of Berry-Paxton 

Drive and the Fairview gun pits, presumably to block 

anticipated development on the adjoining Rowley 

property (Fairview clearing).

Outside of park lands, managed vegetation was probably little changed from the post-war period. Farms in 

the area maintained orchards and pasture, and grew 

various crops in cultivated fi lds. Ornamental foundation shrubs around new non-farm residences may have 

become more numerous during this period. 

Buildings and Structures

Park buildings constructed at Chancellorsville during this period included the visitor contact station and 

two associated comfort stations added in 1935 near 

the Jackson Monument, and the utility-garage building, completed in 1937 off Hooker Drive. These were 

all designed in a park service rustic style. A planned 

employee’s residence along Hooker Drive was never 

constructed. 
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

160

The largest complex of buildings added to the park 

during this period was the CCC camp built in 1933–34. 

It consisted of approximately thirteen buildings mostly 

north of Hooker Drive, including barracks, a mess hall, 

administration building, recreation hall, and various 

utility buildings and workshops. Most were standard 

Army temporary frame construction on pile footings, 

adapted to local building conditions with board-andbatten siding using tar paper or creosote. All of the 

camp buildings were demolished by 1944. 

The most elaborate structures built by the park during 

this period were the two double-arch bridges over the 

Ni River on Sickles Drive and Bivouac Road (Furnace 

Road). Designed by the War Department but built 

under National Park Service administration, these 

featured poured-concrete structures with ashlar stone 

veneer and stone parapet walls. Culverts on the main 

drives, also attributed to the design of the War Department and built under the park service, featured dressed 

ashlar granite headwalls. On Jackson Trail East and 

West, large culverts were built of concrete and designed 

to be inconspicuous. Smaller culverts were simple pipe 

structures without ornamental headwalls. 

No Civil War-period buildings or structures stood 

within park property in 1945, except for the ruined 

stack of the Catharine Furnace. The only remaining 

antebellum building visible from park lands was the 

brick Wellford house, which was directly along Jackson 

Trail East. This was the grandest antebellum house in 

Chancellorsville after the Chancellorsville Inn. The second inn building was destroyed by fi e in 1927, leaving 

only some of the brick walls standing. 

Approximately eight suburban, non-farm houses were 

built along Route 3 during this period, joining two built 

during the 1920s. Two service stations—at the intersection of the turnpike with the Orange Plank Road and 

Brock Road—were built, joining the one built by the 

Rowleys prior to 1927 at the Chancellorsville intersection. These were typical of the period, consisting of 

small frame buildings with a porte-cochere over the 

gas pumps. A fourth service station was erected at the 

intersection of the Orange Plank Road and Catharpin 

Road. 

Views and Vistas

Construction of park drives at Chancellorsville during 

the 1930s created new and enhanced views through 

wooded corridors. Park service designers also managed 

the roadsides to improve and frame views of the woods 

and earthworks by removing or thinning understory, 

raising canopies, and planting trees and shrubs. 

The primary vista established during this period was 

the strategic sight line between Fairview and Hazel 

Grove, which was initially cleared by the War Department in ca. 1932 and improved by the park service in 

1935. Within the vista clearing were numerous trees 

left from the woods that had grown up on the site after 

the Civil War. In ca. 1941, the park planted a screen 

of evergreens along the property boundary east of the 

Fairview lunettes. This screen would later grow up to 

block the vista across the Fairview clearing. 

The National Park Service maintained the views of 

the Jackson monument from Route 3 by keeping most 

of the adjoining grounds in turf. The park moved the 

Jackson Rock closer to the road most likely to make it 

more visible to passersby. The park’s fla staff, located 

near the visitor contact station, was also placed to be 

visible along Route 3. 

Small-Scale Features

The Chancellorsville battlefi ld landscape saw a large 

increase in the number of small-scale features during 

this period, including signs, commemorative markers, 

a fla staff, historical fences, traffic-control devices, and 

picnic facilities. Most were designed in keeping with 

the National Park Service rustic style of landscape 

design. 

By 1945, the park maintained four types of signs at 

Chancellorsville and its sister battlefi ld parks. The 

earliest were small, approximately two-foot-high iron 

tablets used to identify historic sites and park drives. 

They were designed by the War Department and were 

similar to tablets used at other national military parks. 
161 

1. Site History, 1927–1945

The park service introduced large, approximately 

seven-foot high boards of framed brown Masonite 

with yellow lettering set on chamfered wood posts with 

pointed fin als. These rustic signs were used to display 

maps and narratives of battle action and important 

battlefi ld sites. Smaller rustic signs consisting of wood 

boards set on wood posts explained the history of 

roads such as McLaws Drive. The fourth type was a 

small, rustic wooden mast-arm sign that indicated the 

direction to battlefi ld points of interest such as the 

ruins of the Chancellorsville Inn. 

In addition to these four types of signs, the park also 

maintained several other signs and markers near the 

visitor contact station. These included a table-like 

wayside that contained a narrative map of the battlefi ld set beneath glass in a wood frame. Nearby was 

the so-called orientation disc, a rose-colored circular 

concrete pad that provided compass direction to various Civil War-era landmarks in the region. Within the 

nearby Jackson Memorial Wild Flower Preserve, plants 

were labeled with small staked metal labels. Near the 

entrance to the visitor contact station off Route 3 was 

a fla staff, which denoted the public use and federal 

administration of the park. 

The only commemorative monument added to the park 

during this period was the rustic boulder and bronze 

plaque commemorating the birthplace of oceanographer Matthew Fontaine Maury along Furnace Road. 

Farther east was a small plaque set nearly flu h with the 

ground to identify the paired Lee and Jackson redcedar trees that were donated by park staff in 1937 to 

commemorate the famous bivouac. The park service 

maintained preexisting monuments, but moved the 

Jackson rock closer to Route 3 and removed the ornamental iron fence that had been erected in 1888 around 

the Jackson monument. 

Other small-scale features added by the park service 

were stacked-rail Virginia worm fences that were 

placed at the entrances to Slocum Drive and Bullock 

Drive from the public roads. These were intended to 

enhance the historic scene and also denote the limits of 

park lands. Most intersections and parking areas were 

delineated by rustic log bollards, while approaches 

to bridges and other drop-offs featured rustic timber 

guiderails. At the two picnic grounds, the park maintained rustic wood picnic tables and stone fi eplaces 

(barbecues). 

Outside of park lands, new small-scale features include 

the United Daughters of the Confederacy monument 

in front of the Chancellorsville Inn site—the only 

commemorative monument outside of the park—and 

state historical signs at the site of Jackson’s Wounding 

(visitor contact station) and at the inn site. Large signs 

were erected at the Esso service station at the corner of 

Route 3 and Brock Road, and most likely at the other 

three service stations in Chancellorsville. 

Archeological Sites

The primary archeological features within the Chancellorsville park landscape by 1945 were the defensive 

earthworks. The park stabilized and revealed the earthworks, but did not restore them except for one gun pit 

at Fairview that was returned to its presumed historic 

profile. The park generally maintained mature trees on 

the earthworks, but did remove understory and debris 

that concealed them from view. There remained a trace 

of the old mountain road near the Jackson monument, 

but it was apparently not revealed or interpreted during 

this period. At the Catharine Furnace, the park undertook archeological investigations to determine building 

locations, but reburied the remains, leaving just the 

stone furnace stack visible. The CCC camp on Elys 

Ford Road, which had been built in 1933-34, consisted 

of numerous remnants following the complex’s demolition in 1944.

Outside of park property, the most prominent archeological site was the ruins of the second Chancellorsville Inn, whose remaining brick walls (which were in 

part from the antebellum building) stood as haunting 

remnants along the turnpike. The inn site, although not 

in the park, had been documented by the park service 

through archeological investigations. 
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

162

ENDNOTES, 1927–1945

1 House and Senate bills, cited in Joan M. Zenzen, “At 

The Crossroads Of Preservation And Development: A 

History Of Fredericksburg And Spotsylvania National 

Military Park” (Unpublished report prepared for 

the National Park Service in cooperation with The 

Organization of American Historians, 2011), 35.

2 Zenzen, 39-40.

3 Quoted from the Preliminary Commission report, 

December 1, 1925, in Ralph Happel, “A History of the 

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County Battlefi lds 

Memorial National Military Park” (Unpublished National 

Park Service report, 1955), 47.

4 “Report on Inspection of Battle Fields in and around 

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania Court House, Virginia,” 

December 1, 1925, Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania 

National Military Park archives (hereafter, FRSP); 

Superintendent’s Files, cited in Zenzen, 36.

5 “Fredericksburg National Military Park Establishment 

Act of 1927,” 44 Stat. 1091, 69th Congress, 2nd Session, in 

Zenzen, 38.

6 Zenzen, 40.

7 Zenzen, 41-43.

8 During its development of the Chancellorsville unit, the 

War Department had not included property acquisition 

along the route of Jackson’s march, except near where 

fi hting took place in the vicinity of Catharine Furnace. 

9 Fredericksburg Free Lance Star, June 4, 1930, clipping in 

Colonel Ross file, FR P basement files, C6 D1

10 Zenzen, 44, 62. Reference to the War Department 

design of headwalls, ditches, and bridges is found in Paula 

Reed & Associates, “National Register DocumentationInventory Form, Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania 

National Military Park” (draft report, September 2009), 

Section 7. No primary documentation was found for 

this CLR on War Department design of roads and other 

features at Fredericksburg-Spotsylvania. 

11 The War Department included Salem Church as part 

of the Chancellorsville Battlefi ld unit, a plan that was 

continued by the park service after 1933. 

12 Battlefi lds Memorial Commission, “Progress in the 

Establishment of the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania 

County Battle Fields Memorial July 1, 1928 to June 30, 

1929,” FRSP basement files, C6 D1

13 Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County Battlefi lds 

Memorial Commission to Quartermaster General, 

“Projects for the Construction of the Wilderness, 

Chancellorsville and Spotsylvania Court House Battle 

Field Parks,” April 7, 1930, National Archives, College 

Park, Maryland [hereafter, NARA II], RG 79, War 

Department Records, box 29, entry 5, file FR P (National 

Archives research here and following courtesy of Joan 

Zenzen). The maps that accompanied this report showing 

land acquisition and roads were not available during 

research for this CLR. 

14 Battlefi lds Memorial Commission, plan of the 

Chancellorsville Battlefi ld, Jackson Monument area, 

1930, in Kimberly Sancomb and Clarence R. Geier, 

“An Archaeological Survey of Selected Sections and 

Sites on the Chancellorsville National Battlefi ld, part 

III” (Unpublished report by James Madison University 

Archaeological Research prepared for the National Park 

Service, March 2003), figu e 29. A complete set of the 

1930s commission plans for Chancellorsville was not 

available during research for this CLR.

15 Arthur E. Wilbourn, Member and Secretary, 

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County Battlefi lds 

Memorial Commission, “Plan for Park to Commemorate 

the Battle of Chancellorsville (including Salem Church),” 

February 28, 1931, NARA II, RG 79, War Department 

Records, box 29, entry 5, file FR P, 24.

16 W. R. Gibson, Colonel, Quartermaster Corps, to 

Quartermaster General, March 16, 1931, regarding 

approval of plan for Chancellorsville, NARA II, RG 79, 

War Department Records, box 29, entry 5, file FR P. 

17 NPS Land Status map for Chancellorsville, 

information for parcel 03-157 indicating acquisition by 

War Department.

18 Fred H. Arnold, “Report to the Chief Forester 

on Emergency Conservation Work, Spotsylvania, 

Chancellorsville and Wilderness Camps...April 5 to 7, 

1934,” NARA II, RG 79, Entry P-84, Branch of Forestry 

Correspondence, Box 207, file CCC; hotograph of vista 

clearing, July 1933, Chancellorsville Photographs, box 3.

19 Memorandum, H. L. Landers to Colonel Laubach, 

Chief, Memorial Branch, re: Marker Data for 

Chancellorsville, July 8, 1932, FRSP basement files, C6 D1,

file “ cts of Congress.” It is not known which temporary 

markers were actually installed.

20 The park was generally referred to after 1933 as 

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park.

21 Happel, 56; Zenzen, 60-61. The park commission, 

created by the park’s 1927 federal legislation remained 

under NPS administration as an advisory body.

22 Chris Mackowski, “Shaping Chancellorsville: The 

First Reenactment and ‘The Last Meeting,’” Emerging 

Civil War blog, April 26, 2013, http://emergingcivilwar.

com/2013/04/26/shaping-chancellorsville-the-fir treenactment-and-the-last-meeting/#_ftn2 (accessed 

December 22, 2014); Zenzen, 87-88.

23 Happel, 56, Zenzen, 65.

24 Sancomb and Geier, citing research of Liesbeth 

Neisingh, 43; Zenzen, 70; J. LeRoy Duford, “Report to 

the Chief Forester on ECW Administrative Inspection 

at Fredericksburg National Military Park,” January 14, 
163 

1. Site History, 1927–1945

1936, NARA II, RG 79, Entry P84, Branch of Forestry 

Correspondence, Box 207, file CCC

25 Zenzen, 62-63.

26 Superintendent Edward Hummel, “Superintendent’s 

Annual Report for the Fiscal Year 1943,” August 30, 1943, 

NARA II, RG 79 Central Classified iles, 1933-1949, box 

2468, file Superi tendent’s Annual Reports.

27 Much of the research for this section is based on 

analysis of historic photographs of the Chancellorsville 

battlefi ld in the park archives, park plans in the 

NPS Technical Information Center holdings, and 

superintendent’s and CCC reports in the National 

Archives. Copies of these documents were provided 

through Joan Zenzen’s research for the park’s 2011 

administrative history. 

28 Branch Spalding, Acting Superintendent, to Director, 

National Park Service, February 19, 1935, NARA II, RG 

79, Central Classified iles, 1933-1949, box 2480, file 601,

Lands.

29 Branch Spalding, “Superintendent’s Annual Report, 

Fiscal Year 1936” and “Superintendent’s Annual Report, 

Fiscal Year 1937.” 

30 National Park Service, “Chancellorsville Battlefi ld 

Boundary & Land Status Map,” 1939, NPS Technical 

Information Center plan FRSP 326 2157; National Park 

Service, “Chancellorsville Battlefi ld Development Plan,” 

January 1, 1943, NPS Technical Information Center plan 

FRSP 2157.

31 Photographs of CCC buildings, 1930s, Chancellorsville 

Photographs, box 2.

32 Sancomb and Geier, 43, 45, 46; photograph of shed 

(oil house) with swimming hole visible in the background, 

Chancellorsville Photographs, box 2, photograph 030400. 

33 National Park Service, “Employee’s Residence 

Chancellorsville Battlefi ld,” plan FRSP 326_2018A 

[8588], August 1, 1940. The inset “layout” plan, probably 

from an older drawing, shows the site of the utility-garage 

building being outside park boundaries. 

34 National Park Service, “Chancellorsville Battlefi ld 

Preliminary Planting Plan for Bivouac Road [Furnace 

Road],” December 15, 1934, FRSP 326 1056. This plan 

shows the Furnace Road bridge over the Ni River as a 

small, single-span bridge.

35 US Geological Survey, “Topographic Maps of 

Chancellorsville and Salem Church Battlefi lds...

Surveyed in Cooperation with the Fredericksburg and 

Spotsylvania County Battlefi lds Commission,” 1932, 

Library of Congress digital ID cw0530000. No detailed 

documentation was found on the state of the roads at the 

end of War Department administration in 1933.

36 FRSP October 1935 Monthly Report, NARA II, RG 

79, Central Classified iles, 1933–49, box 2468 file ECW

207 Reports; Photograph of Mineral Springs Road, ca. 

1935, FRSP photograph 030300 20; Branch Spalding, 

Superintendent, to Director NPS, August 30, 1935, NARA 

II RG 79 Entry P84 Branch of Forestry Correspondence, 

box 207, file CCC; “C ancellorsville Battlefi ld 

Development Plan,” January 1, 1943. Photographs of the 

park drives from the late 1930s show gravel surfaces.

37 Spalding to Director, National Park Service, February 

19, 1935.

38 National Park Service, “Master Plan Fredericksburg 

and Spotsylvania” (Unpublished National Park Service 

report, 1968), 16, NPS Technical Information Center, 

document FRSP 326 D1A.

39 Arno Cammerer to Branch Spalding, January 30, 1935, 

NARA II, RG 79, Central Classified iles, 1933–49, box 

2480, file ands.

40 Acting Superintendent A. C. Witte, “Annual Report for 

the Fiscal Year 1939.”

41 Hummel, “Annual Report for the Fiscal Year 1943.”

42 No documentation was found suggesting the foot trail 

system had been designed by the War Department.

43 Superintendent Spalding to NPS Director, re: ECW 

Program for the 5th Period, NARA II, RG 79 Central 

Classified iles, 1933-1949, box 2468: Public Picnic 

Ground Development (Camps MP-1, 3, and 4).

44 L. M. Fisher, US Public Health Service, “Report on 

Proposed Location of Comfort Stations” (Unpublished 

report prepared for Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania 

National Military Park, July 30, 1935), 1-2, Denver TIC 

report FRSP 326 D6. The inscription on the back of the 

photograph (FRSP 030313 1564) reads: “Wading pool—

picnic grounds on Chancellorsville Battlefi ld Nov. 1935.”

45 Happel, 60. 

46 Superintendent’s monthly report, June 1935, cited in 

Happel, 60.

47 C.E. Shevlin, “Report to the Chief Forester on 

Emergency Conservation Work,” FredericksburgSpotsylvania National Military Park, January 7-11, 

1934, NARA II, RG 79, Entry P-84, Branch of Forestry 

Correspondence, box 207, file CCC

48 Branch Spalding, Superintendent’s Annual Report for 

the Fiscal Year 1938.

49 J. LeRoy Duford, Report to the Chief Forester on 

Emergency Conservation Work at Fredericksburg 

National Military Park,” November 5, 1935, NARA II RG 

79 Entry P84 Branch of Forestry Correspondence, box 

207, file CCC

50 National Park Service, “Chancellorsville Battlefi ld 

Preliminary Plans for Planting [along roads],” 1934-

36; 1937 aerial photographs. Unlike scientific orest 

plantations of the era, these trees were apparently set out 

in a more naturalistic arrangement. 
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

164

51 Branch Spalding, “Annual Report for the Fiscal Year 

1940.”

52 Wilbur L. Savage, “Report to the Chief Forester 

on Emergency Conservation Work, Spotsylvania, 

Chancellorsville and Wilderness Camps...May 1-31, 

1935,” NARA II, RG 79, Entry P-84, Branch of Forestry 

Correspondence, box 207, file CCC.

53 Chancellorsville Battlefi ld planting plans; 1937 aerial 

photographs; Branch Spalding, “Superintendent’s Annual 

Report for the Fiscal Year 1941”; photograph of mature 

pines along Fairview lunettes, 1975.

54 Savage, Report to the Chief Forester...May 1-31, 1935.

55 CCC MP-4 Quarterly report, October-December 1934, 

cited in Zenzen, 72.

56 Savage, Report to the Chief Forester...May 1-31, 

1935.” The woods or scrub that had grown on and around 

the lunettes after the battle had been cleared earlier, 

probably when the War Department laid out Berry-Paxton 

Drive in ca. 1932, leaving a thin strip of vegetation near the 

eastern property line.

57 It is not known if the gun carriage shown on the 1940 

plan were installed (not visible on 1937 aerial).

58 Arnold, Report to the Chief Forester...April 5 to 7, 

1934.

59 National Park Service, “Location Plan–Worm & 

Post and Rail Fences,” April 2, 1940, NPS Technical 

Information Center, plan FRSP 326 2092.

60 October 1935 Monthly ECW Report, NARA II, RG 79, 

Central Classified iles, 1933–49, box 2468 file ECW 207

Reports.

60 Oscar F. Northington and Stuart M. Barnette, 

“Results of the Exploration Excavations at the Catharine 

Furnace...”, January 13, 1936, NARA II, RG 79, Central 

Classified iles, 1933–49, National Parks, FRSP 207, box 

2467.

62 Maury birthplace marker text; National Register 

documentation, Section 7, draft 2009.

63 Mackowski, “Shaping Chancellorsville,” Emerging 

Civil War blog; photograph of dedication of red-cedar 

trees: “Oct. 23, 1937 Dr. Freeman dedicating Lee-Jackson 

trees,” Chancellorsville Photographs, box 1. 

64 Branch Spalding, Superintendent, to Director NPS, 

August 30, 1935, NARA II RG 79 Entry P84 Branch of 

Forestry Correspondence, box 207, file CCC

65 Branch Spalding, Superintendent’s Annual Report for 

the Fiscal Year 1938; photographs of park signs, ca. 1935-

55, Chancellorsville Photographs, box 6.

66 Stone Sentinels, “Monuments at Chancellorsville,” 

“Unknown Soldier,” http://www.stonesentinels.com/

Chancellorsville/Unknown_Union_Soldier.php (accessed 

January 22, 2015); photograph of Jackson monument with 

white cross on the unknown gravesite, 1942.

67 Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, May 30, 1935, 

cited in Eric Mink, Mysteries and Conundrums blog, 

“Battlefi ld Contact Stations, June 22, 2010,” http://

npsfrsp.wordpress.com/2010/06/22/%E2%80%9Cinan-effort-to-be-of-still-further-service-to-the-travelingpublic%E2%80%A6%E2%80%9D-%E2%80%93-

battlefi ld-contact-stations/ (accessed December 23, 

2014).

68 Fisher, “Report on Proposed Location of Comfort 

Stations,” July 1935. Temporary pit toilets were built at the 

Furnace picnic grounds, but no documentation was found 

on the construction of permanent facilities at either picnic 

area. 

69 October 1935 Monthly Report for the HistoricalEducational Staff, NARA II RG 79 Central Classified iles, 

1933-49, box 2466. This report described the orientation 

disc at Spotsylvania Court House, which was the same 

design as the one at Chancellorsville.

70 Superintendent’s Annual Report, Fiscal Year 1936; 

National Register documentation, Section 7, 2009 draft; 

April 1942 photograph, FRSP.

71 Spalding, “Flowers to Jackson’s Memory,” September 

1935, quoted in Zenzen, 86.

72 Photograph of Jackson Memorial Wild Flower 

Preserve entrance sign, 1937, Chancellorsville 

Photographs, box 4.

73 Zenzen, 86; October 1935 Monthly Report; Annual 

Report, 1938; photograph of sign with wild fl wer 

preserve map, Chancellorsville Photographs, box 8.

74 Happel, 60, 70.

75 Photograph of Route 3 looking east, June 1934, 

Chancellorsville Photographs, box 5; other photos of the 

same period show asphalt pavement. 

76 Battlefi lds Memorial Commission, “Chancellorsville 

VA Battlefi ld Park,” April 1931, FRSP. No information 

was found on the identity of Goolrich & Vance.

77 Battlefi lds Memorial Commission map, 1931. No 

information was found on Ola Compton.

78 Donald Pfanz, “History Through Eyes of Stone, A 

Survey of Civil War Monuments Near Fredericksburg, 

Virginia” (Unpublished report, February 1983, Revised 

September 2006), 26-27.

79 Lee Woolf, “Houseful of Memories,” Fredericksburg 

Free Lance-Star, August 2, 2003, 12-13. Wolf wrote, 

“Sale [Hallie Rowley Sale] said that her family moved 

temporarily to a house her father had built and was renting 

near the intersection of Bullock Road and Elys Ford Road 

less than a mile north of Chancellorsville.”
165 

1. Site History, 1927–1945

80 Daniel Crozier, “Archaeological Investigation and 

Stabilization of the Chancellorsville Inn” (Unpublished 

report prepared for the National Park Service, Temple 

University, 1979), 30-31; Woolf, 13; Photograph of 

Hallie Rowley Sale with dog in front of incomplete brick 

foundation, ca. 1940, FRSP 2178; photograph of Rowley 

bungalow, ca. 1940, FRSP 2193; USGS topographical map, 

Chancellorsville VA Quadrangle, 1943, surveyed 1942-

43; Aerial photograph, 1937. The Woolf article states the 

new Rowley house (bungalow) was about a quarter mile 

west of the Chancellorsville Inn site. While the Rowleys 

did build additional houses at the western end of their 

fi lds, this occurred after 1937 according to the 1937 aerial 

photograph.

81 Crozier, 32; Historic American Building Survey, 

“Chancellorsville,” VA-77, Library of Congress; Stuart 

Barnette, “The Ruins of Chancellorsville Inn / A ‘Narrative 

Description’ of How the Investigation Was Conducted in 

the Year 1935,” Unpublished paper, May 15, 1976, FRSP, 

ACC 386, CT 8466.

82 Battlefi lds Memorial Commission map, 1931; USGS 

Chancellorsville VA Quadrangle, 1943 showing house near 

Hazel Grove entrance road, west of Stuart Drive. 

83 Photograph of the Slocum-Sickles intersection labeled 

“Hazel Grove Entrance,” January 1936, Chancellorsville 

Photographs, box 3; Photograph of Berry-Paxton-Stuart 

intersection labeled “Gould’s entrance,” August 1937, 

Chancellorsville Photographs, box 6; Photograph labeled 

“Triangle at Kennedy house,” April 1936, Chancellorsville 

Photographs, box 3.

84 Photograph, “Planting Pine Screen,” Sickles Drive, 

1937, Chancellorsville Photographs, box 3; USGS 

Chancellorsville VA Quadrangle, 1943 showing no 

building at Kennedy house site. The Kennedy house 

was documented on the 1932 USGS topographic survey 

of Chancellorsville and Salem Church Battlefi lds. No 

photograph of the Kennedy house has been found.

85 Battlefi lds Memorial Commission map, 1931; Aerial 

photograph, April 1936; USGS Chancellorsville VA 

Quadrangle, 1943.

86 Ruth Graham, Historical Assistant, “Report on Field 

Investigation of the Chancellorsville Campaign,” August 

12, 1935, NARA II, RG 79 Central Classified iles, 1933-

1949, box 2466.

87 Battlefi lds Memorial Commission map, 1931; Aerial 

photograph, 1937; USGS Chancellorsville VA Quadrangle, 

1943; USGS topographic survey of Chancellorsville and 

Salem Church Battlefi lds, 1932. This 1932 survey does 

not show the Jones service station and house.

88 Battlefi lds Memorial Commission map, 1931; Noel G. 

Harrison, Chancellorsville Battlefield Sit s (Lynchburg, VA: 

H. E. Howard, Inc., 1990), 73; Aerial photograph, 1937; 

USGS Chancellorsville VA Quadrangle, 1944.

89 Battlefi lds Memorial Commission map, 1931; Aerial 

photograph, 1937; USGS Chancellorsville VA Quadrangle, 

1943.

90 Aerial photograph, 1937; USGS Chancellorsville VA 

Quadrangle, 1943.

91 USGS Chancellorsville VA Quadrangle, 1943.

92 Graham, “Report on Field Investigation of the 

Chancellorsville Campaign,” August 12, 1935.

93 USGS Chancellorsville VA Quadrangle, 1943; Pfanz, 

“History Through Eyes of Stone,” 188.

94 USGS Chancellorsville VA Quadrangle, 1943, Aerial 

photograph, 1937.

95 USGS Chancellorsville VA Quadrangle, 1943, Aerial 

photograph, 1937.

96 USGS Chancellorsville VA Quadrangle, 1943, Aerial 

photograph, 1937.

97 Aerial photograph, 1937.

98 Edward Hummel, “Superintendent’s Annual Report 

for the Fiscal Year 1943,” August 30, 1943, NARA II, RG 79 

Central Classified iles, 1933-1949.

99 Zenzen, 91.

100 Another small parcel of park land was acquired on 

the north side of Route 3 near the Hawkins Farm; no 

information was found on why this parcel was acquired. 

It may have been part of plan by the War Department 

to acquire strips of land along the turnpike through the 

battlefi ld of Jackson’s Flank Attack.

101 Aerial photographs taken in 1937 indicate even-age 

pine woods south and north of the Bullock house site 

extending off park property; these may have been natural 

succession. 
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

166
Also known as LaRoque

Formerly

Mineral Springs Run

or Mine Run

Old-field

succession

R. McGee Jr.

(ca.1867–?)

Post-war farms

within former

Reuben McGee farm

PENDEN

Remains of brick house

(former Pulliam house)

COOK

FARM

HICKMAN 

LUCKETT

FARM

BULLOCK

BURTON FARM

Fairview house

ruins (removed

ca. 1920)

HAWKINS FARM

ABSALOM

McGEE

FARM

PERRY FARM

R. LEWIS

YOUNG FARM

WIDOW

LEWIS

G. LEWIS

TRIGG FARM

STEPHENS

FARM

ALRICH

FARM

TALLEY FARM

E. DECKER

CHANCELLORSVILLE (FAIRVIEW)

CATHERINE

FURNACE

ruins

WILDERNESS BROCK ROAD

CHURCH

ORANGE PLANK ROAD 

ORANGE PLANK ROAD

 TURNPIKE

MINERAL SPRINGS ROAD

BROCK ROAD (HERNDON ROAD)

BROCK ROAD

To Fredericksburg

To Spotsylvania

Court House

Blacksmith shop

(old schoolhouse)

(ca.1840–1935)

LEWIS RUN

ELYS FORD ROAD

US FORD ROAD

SEE INSET

 

 TURNPIKE 

Wellford

house 

BURTON

HILL

Cooktown

Lee-Jackson Bivouac:

Lee & Jackson cedars (1937)

McLaw’s

Line

Cemetery

(Chancellor heirs)

McGEE’S

HILL

Lee farm

(post-war)

Post-war

farm

Post-war farms

Post-war

farm

Post-war

farm

Post-war

farm

Post-war

farm

Post-war

farm

Post-war

farm

Post-war

farm

Post-war

farm

CATHARPIN ROAD

PILTZER RUN

NI RIVER

GREAT

MEADOW

SWAMP

BIG HU NTING RUN

LITTLE HUNTING RUN

NI RIVER

PIPE DAM RUN

NINE MILE RUN

BROCK RUN

FURNACE

HOLLOW

HAZEL GROVE

LOCUST 

GROVE

Chancellor Road

GERMANNA PLANK ROAD

House

Post-war farmsted

(within Talley

Farm)

Kennedy house

(ca.1890–1940)

Post-war farm Post-war farms

Post-war farms

New Stephens

farmstead

“Rosemont”

Post-war

farm

Post-war

farm

Post-war

farm

Post-war

farm

Post-war

farm

Post-war

farm

Post-war

farm

Post-war

farm

Post-war

farm

Orchard

Brock Station

(closed ca.1937)

FITZHUGH FARM

CARPENTER

FARM

Chancellorsville Inn ruins

114th Pennsylvania monument

27th Indiana

monument

Verna 

Farm

(former Melzi

Chancellor

residence)

Virginia Central Railway

(abandoned 1937)

Route 3 paved

ca.1930

Post-war 

farm

Owens

Gould

Beldsoe

Payne

YOUNG

Chewning

Young

Lee

Goolrich &

Vance

Olds

Rowley

Young

Owens

Lee

L.B.Chewning

CATHARINE FURNACE

COMPANY PROPERTY (former)

Hedge

WELLFORD

PLANTATION

Craig

Barnum

Rowley

gas station

Rowley

Compton

E. McGEE

Cemetery

Piney Branch

Road

Furnace Road

ca. 1813–1935)

RIVER ROAD

River Road

(abandoned ca.1935)

Double-arch bridge

(1935)

Double-arch

bridge (1935)

Post-war

Dowdall’s

Tavern house

R. McGEE

OLD MINE ROAD

Dairy

barn 

SEE DWG. 1.5

Vista clearing

(ca.1932, 35)

Posey’s Line

Compton

Visitor

contact

station

Vista picnic

grounds

(1935)

Parking

(ca.1935)

613

621

600

610

610

618

Houses

(ca.1928/40)

House (ca.1935)

House (ca.1935)

House

(ca.1932)

Brockroad

Wilderness

Corner

Paynes

Store (post-1930)

612

624

Jackson’s 

Take-off

(to US, 

ca. 1931)

Utility-Garage building

(1937)

Site of proposed park

employee’s residence

Maury Birthplace Site 

(10 acres donated

to US 1937, title 1939)

Slocum’s

Line

Haney farm

Spring Dell

(post-war)

Jones

service station

(ca.1932)

Jones

Zion Hill

Church 

20 acres donated by New Jersey, 1941

12th New Jersey

monument (1942)

Pine plantation (ca.1938)

Gould’s entrance

(ca.1932)

Esso service

station (ca.1930)

Service

station

(ca.1932)

1B

1A

2A

10

7

612

2B

8

9

5

Mineral Springs Road

(unimproved)

Post-war

clearing

Concrete bridge

(ca.1939)

Trigg farm buildings

(pre-1860–ca.1940)

WILDERNESS 

BATTLEFIELD

(Park established 1927)

CHANCELLORSVILLE

BATTLEFIELD

I

II

II

II

III

III

IV

V

Unnamed trail

(ca.1935)

VI

Worm fences

at drive entrances

(typ.) (ca.1935)

Formerly

Mott’s Run

Jett farm

Post-war

farm

Post-war farm

Houses

(ca.1928/35)

House (ca.1935)

House (ca.1935)

Houses (ca.1935)

Earthen causeway

(ca.1939)

Houses

(ca.1940)

CCC Camp MP-3 (NP-11)

(1933–ca.1944)

Jackson Trail East

(1939)

Maury stone

(1933)

Stone ditch

(ca.1935)

Stone arch bridge

Jackson Trail

West (1941–43)

I

Furnace picnic

grounds

(1935)

Pine screen (ca.1941)

Restored gun pit

(1936)

Pine screen

(1937)

Park land north

of railroad:

various owners

to War Department,

ca.1931--33

Jackson Trail park property

south of railroad:

various owners

to National Park Service,

donated 1935, title 1939

Wilderness Battlefield

park property: various owners

to War Dept./National Park Service,

ca. 1931-41

Pender’s Line

Couch’s Line

Jackson’s Corps

Line

Post-war house

Flank attack

parcel (to US, ca.1935)

Houses

(ca.1935)

Houses

(post-1930)

Planted

woods

(ca.1940)

Powers marker

End of Jackson

Trail West

(within Wilderness

Battlefield)

Stone ford

(ca.1940)

3

6

4

Hays

monument

J. Hawkins

J. A. Talley

J. A. Talley

Timberlake

L.C.& L.

Chewning

L.L.

Chewning

Timberlake

Dulin

Embrey

Cooper

Dempsey

Dempsey

Embrey

Lakeman

B.J. Weedon

B.J. Weedon

B.J. Weedon

J.T. Weedon

Lakeman

CATTA IL B RANCH

Anderson’s Line

gun pit

INSET Chancellorsville Inn

Stone

steps

Well

Wire fences

(ca.1915–30)

STATE ROUTE 3

ELY’S FORD ROAD

Elm

Elm

Barn

(ca.1890

–1935)

Cultivated

field or

pasture

Cultivated

field or

pasture

(OLD TURNPIKE)

2nd Chancellorsville Inn

ruins (burned 1927)

Rowley gas station

Brick

walls

Tulip

poplar

New Rowley

house (1932)

Well cover Red-cedar

Infant

graves

State historical marker (ca.1930)

UDC marker (1927)

Abandoned

foundation

(ca. 1930)

Driveway (1932)

DRAWN BY

1. NPS and Spotsylvania County GIS data

2. USGS topographic maps, 1932, 1936, 1944 

3. War Department, Chancellorsville Battlefield Park map, 1931

4. Aerial photographs, 1937

5. NPS, Chancellorsville Battlefield master plan drawings, 1935–43

LEGEND

SOURCES

1. Plan shows landscape in 1945.

2. All features shown at approximate location and scale.

3. Property ownership based on 1931 park map (names with dashes); 

 not all boundaries shown due to lack of documentation.

4. Plantings along park drives (ca.1934–39) and signs not shown.

5. Sites of removed features labeled in italics; Civil War-era properties

 labeled in bold uppercase. 

 

 

NOTES

Drawing 1.4

Cultural Landscape Report

Chancellorsville Battlefield

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania

National Military Park

Spotsylvania County, Virginia

Early Park Period

1927–1945

National Park Service

Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation

www.nps.gov/oclp

OLMSTED

for LANDSCAPE PRESERVATION

CENTER

in partnership with 

Department of Landscape Architecture

Center for Cultural Landscape Preservation

SUNY College of Environmental 

Science and Forestry, www.esf.edu/la/cclp

John Auwaerter, SUNY ESF

ArcGIS and Adobe Illustrator, 2014

Building, Bridge or Culvert

Road, Park Drive (Key No.)

Minor Road, Park Foot Trail

Notable View

Fence

Chancellorsville Earthworks:

Confederate, U.S., Both, Artillery Lunette

0

 Mile

.50 1.0

North

Wilderness Earthworks: Confederate, U.S.

Approximate Iron Mine Site, Monument

Field or Open Ground

Woods

Specimen Tree, Orchard, Pine Plantation

River or Stream, Wetland

Feature Removed During Period (dashed line)

Period Property Line, Period NPS Property Line

Current Park Boundary

10

PARK ROAD & TRAIL KEY

1A

1B

5

6

7

8

9

10

I

II

III

IV

V

VI

2A

2B

3

McLaws Drive (1932) 

 (Reconstruction of Furnace Road)

Bivouac Road (1932)

 (Reconstruction of Furnace Road)

Sickles Drive (1932)

Stuart Drive (1932)

Bullock Drive (ca.1935)

 (Reconstruction of Bullock Road)

Miles Drive (ca.1935)

Hooker Drive (ca.1935)

Mineral Springs Road

 (Unimproved historic road)

Berry-Paxton Drive (ca.1933)

 (Reconst. of Fairview-Hazel Grove Road)

Jackson Trail East (1939)

 (Reconstruction of mine road)

Jackson Trail West (1940/43)

 (New road partly on old farm roads)

Slocum Drive (ca.1933)

Mott-Carr Foot Trail (1935)

Captain Dimick Foot Trail (1935)

Gunners Foot Trail (ca.1935)

Archer-Thomas Foot Trail (ca.1935)

General Posey Foot Trail (ca.1935)

General Couch Foot Trail (ca.1935)

6A
Approximte park boundary

Jackson

Memorial

Wild Flower

Preserve

(1935–37)

Rebuilt Bullock Road (ca.1935)

Visitor

Contact

Station

(1935)

VA 3 (TURNPIKE) 

OLD MOUNTAIN

ROAD (Germanna Road)

trace

West section probably

removed prior to 1927

Jackson rock

(moved ca. 1937)

Jackson monument

Iron fence (1888–ca.1935)

Presumed walk or road (pre-1927–ca.1933)

Entrance drive (1937)

Parking (1937)

Woods thinned

(ca.1935)

Orientation

disc (ca. 1935,

moved 1937)

Women’s toilet

(ca.1935)

Men’s toilet

(ca.1935)

Open glade

Stuart Drive

(ca.1932)

Map-narrative

marker (1938)

Unknown soldier

grave (1935)

Marked by a cross

Timber bollards (1937) State historical marker (ca.1930)

Directional sign (ca.1935)

Bullock Drive 

Gravel paths (ca.1935)

(approximate alignment)

Woods thinned

(ca.1932)

Wildflower

preserve sign

Shoulder parking Old entrance drive (ca.1933–37)

Granite headwall

culvert (ca.1935)

Timber

footbridge

(1935)

4B

Moist woods

Dry woods

Old woods road

To Mott-Carr Foot Trail

Picnic area (ca.1933–35)

Flagstaff

(ca.1933)

BULLOCK ROAD

 (south section

probably removed

prior to 1927)

Tablets:

Orange Turnpike

Bullock Road

CHANCELLORSVILLE BATTLEFIELD

(Park established 1927)

Red-cedar, pine, shrubs

(ca.1935)

Woods road

(post-1865–ca.1935)

Stream

Cultural Landscape Report 

Chancellorsville Battlefield

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania N.M.P.

National Park Service

Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation

in partnership with Department of Landscape Architecture

SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry Drawing 1.5

Jackson Wounding Area

1927–1945 Period Plan Detail

DRAWN BY

NOTES

SOURCES

1. All features are shown in approximate scale and location.

2. Plan shows landscape in 1945.

3. Plan does not show all small-scale features.

John Auwaerter, Adobe Illustrator, 2014

0 100 Feet 300

LEGEND

1. 1937 aerial and period photographs

2. NPS master plan, 1936, FRSP 2114

3. Photo, wildflower garden tablet map, FRSP 030513

Building, Bridge/culvert

Road, Park drive

Park foot trail

NPS property boundary

Monument

Woods

Deciduous, Coniferous

Native plantings

Sign, Bollards

Feature removed during

period, Ruin or Trace

171 

1. Site History, 1945–2015

In the years following World War II, the original Antietam Plan development of Chancellorsville battlefi ld 

still fulfilled he park’s purpose of battlefi ld preservation and commemoration. The rural private lands along 

the mostly narrow strips of park property had changed 

little over the years, and even some of the main public 

roads were not far different from the 19th century (fig.

1.178). These conditions persisted through the mid-20th

century and influe ced Chancellorsville’s last major 

modernization program completed in time for the centennial of the battle in May 1963. 

At the time of the centennial, however, change was 

looming. Interstate 95 would be completed the following year with an interchange at Route 3 west of Fredericksburg, and the state was beginning reconstruction 

of Route 3 into a divided four-lane highway. A short 

distance to the west of Chancellorsville, a massive residential subdivision was being planned in the Wilderness. By the early 1970s, resort, residential, and industrial developments abutted the Chancellorsville park 

lands. In response, the park expanded its boundaries 

that resulting in doubling of the park’s acreage by 1982, 

but key parcels of battlefi ld remained unprotected. 

In the heated real estate market of the late 1980s and 

1990s, more than ten major housing subdivisions were 

planned or underway adjacent to or near the Chancellorsville park boundaries, leading to massive changes to 

the rural landscape and new demands on park services. 

POST-WAR PARK PLANNING AND MISSION 66

For a decade after the end of World War II, the Chancellorsville park unit retained the same boundaries, 

drives, and permanent buildings that had been developed prior to the war (fig. 1.179). The rustic visitor contact station along Route 3 next to the Jackson monument was the primary developed area in the park where 

visitors arriving either by car or bus could begin their 

tour along the park drives (fig. 1.180). The six-mile-long 

Jackson Trail, completed in 1943, still provided visitors with the feeling of the rustic mine and farm roads 

down which Stonewall Jackson led his troops to the 

flank ttack (fig. 1.181). et Chancellorsville battlefi ld 

was a different place by the early 1950s than before the 

LATE PARK PERIOD, 1945–2015

Figure 1.178. The unpaved Orange Plank Road (Old Plank Road) 

looking southeast toward McLaws Drive and Furnace Road, 1950. 

At left is the post-war Lee Farm, known at the time as the Debruhl 

property. (Fredericksburg and Wilderness Telephone Company 

photograph, Courtesy of Pat Sullivan, “Spotsylvania Memory” blog)

Figure 1.179. Park map of Chancellorsville battlefield, 1951. The 

Antietam-plan boundaries of the park had not changed since before 

World War II, and still excluded key sites such as the Chancellorsville 

Inn. (Detail of park brochure, Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania 

National Military Park)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

172

war. Landscape maintenance could not be sustained to 

the levels of the 1930s, when CCC enrollees manicured 

the planted roadsides and maintained park facilities. 

Most of the trails had been abandoned due to lack of 

funding for maintenance and visitor preferences for 

driving rather than walking. The Vista and Furnace 

picnic grounds, which had been closed during wartime 

curtailment, were not reopened, and the Jackson Memorial Wild Flower Preserve was abandoned. Despite 

these conditions, many more visitors were coming to 

Chancellorsville with the rise of private automobile use 

and personal wealth. Visitation to Fredericksburg and 

Spotsylvania National Military Park jumped from less 

than 30,000 during the war years to over 100,000 in 

1947 and more than 200,000 by 1952.1

 

The park had diffi lty meeting the needs of this 

increased visitation due to decreased funding and staffing, deferred maintenance, and infrastructure that had 

been designed for fewer visitors and personal rangerled interpretation. Many units of the National Park System were facing similar issues, but parks had diffi lty 

planning and funding improvements based on fl ctuating annual Congressional appropriations. In response, 

National Park Service Director Conrad Wirth launched 

a ten-year improvement program in 1955 dubbed 

MISSION 66, a reference to its planned completion in 

time for the National Park Service’s 50th anniversary in 

1966. The primary purpose of the plan was to modernize parks to meet the needs of mid-20th century visitors 

through increased funding for capital improvements, 

interpretation, and operations. One of the most visible 

parts of the plan was the institution of so-called visitor 

centers, which would serve as a one-stop self-service 

facility that could easily handle masses of visitors arriving by car. For these and other new buildings and 

structures, the park service adopted a modernist style 

that abandoned earlier historical references for fresh 

design based on articulation of space and structure, 

and simplicity of form and detail.2

To implement MISSION 66, each park prepared a socalled prospectus of its planned improvements. Fredericksburg-Spotsylvania’s prospectus, begun in 1955 and 

developed into a master plan fi alized in 1959, called 

for building a visitor center at Chancellorsville to replace the museum in the Fredericksburg administration 

building, which could not accommodate the growing 

number of visitors. Park planners felt Chancellorsville 

offered a central location along Route 3 that allowed 

visitors a starting point to explore the Chancellorsville, 

Fredericksburg, and Wilderness battlefi lds; a second 

visitor center was contemplated for Spotsylvania Court 

House. In addition to a visitor center, the park’s MISSION 66 prospectus for Chancellorsville also called for 

a new maintenance facility, employee housing, realignment of park roads, and acquisition of property.3

The park’s MISSION 66 plans also included interpretive changes, including designation of a set tour route 

through all four park units that began sequentially at 

Figure 1.180. Visitors arriving by bus at the Chancellorsville visitor 

contact station, looking west along Route 3 near the Jackson 

monuments, 1952. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National 

Military Park, Chancellorsville Photographs, box 7)

Figure 1.181. Jackson Trail West, probably east of Poplar Run, 

1953. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, 

Chancellorsville Photographs, box 10)
173 

1. Site History, 1945–2015

Fredericksburg. According to a plan made in 1955, ten 

stops were proposed for Chancellorsville following the 

chronological progression of the battle beginning with 

McLaws Drive and the Jackson Trail to the fi ld of the 

flank ttack, then to the Jackson monument and looping south along Stuart Drive, north on Berry-Paxton 

Drive to the Chancellorsville Inn site, and ending at 

the apex of Hooker last line along Elys Ford Road (fig.

1.182). 

CHANCELLORSVILLE PARK DEVELOPMENT

By 1957, park planners had drafted a general development plan for the MISSION 66 improvements at 

Chancellorsville, most of which were planned south 

of Route 3, between Stuart and Berry-Paxton drives 

(fig. 1.183). This area was the largest piece of contiguous park land and avoided potential confl cts with the 

widening of Route 3, which at the time was planned to 

extend north of the existing road through the site of the 

visitor contact station and 

Jackson monument. The 

south of Route 3 development called for removal 

of Berry-Paxton Drive, 

and new spurs off Stuart 

Drive to reach a visitor 

center, utility building, 

and employee residences, 

located partly within the 

Fairview-Hazel Grove 

vista clearing. The visitor 

center was planned to be 

on axis with the Jackson 

monument, which was to 

be relocated to the south 

side of Route 3. To handle 

increased traffic, Stu t 

Drive was to be expanded 

with a clover leaf-like intersection with Route 3. Other 

components of the plan included a short drive north of 

the Jackson monument to Bullock Drive; completion of 

Mineral Springs Road, including acquisition of a broad 

strip of land extending northeast to Old Mine Road 

and the site of Spotswood Furnace; and acquisition 

of the Chancellorsville Inn site and Elys Ford Road, 

which was proposed to terminate in a cul-de-sac north 

of the inn site. No land was proposed for acquisition 

in the area of Jackson’s Flank Attack near Wilderness 

Church.4

The south of Route 3 location for the visitor center, maintenance facility, and employee housing was 

problematic for the park historian, Ralph Happel, and 

other park staff who did not want to see development 

within a largely intact part of the battlefi ld. They also 

argued that the Jackson wounding site should remain 

the heart of the park, and that the park housing and 

maintenance area should remain along Hooker Drive 

at the former CCC camp, as had been planned in the 

late 1930s. Their concerns led to revised plans issued in 

1958 that relocated the visitor center to the north side 

of Route 3, near the Jackson monument and on top of 

the presumed trace of the old mountain road, along 

Figure 1.182. A MISSION 66-era plan for Chancellorsville Battlefield

showing tour route and stops,1955. The stop numbers were 

changed by ca. 1960 to sequential numbering beginning at 

Fredericksburg. (Detail, National Park Service, “interpretive Tour 

Plan--Chancellorsville Battlefield....Part of the Master Plan,” 1955, 

NPS Technical Information Center, FRSP 326 3003a)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

174

which Stonewall Jackson was wounded. The employee 

residences and maintenance building were sited out of 

view a short distance north of Bullock Drive. The relocation of these facilities was probably influe ced by the 

state’s interest or willingness to widen Route 3 to the 

south. In 1959, the park service approved a fi al master 

plan for the park that sited the new facilities north of 

Route 3.5

Design of the visitor center project was undertaken 

in-house by the National Park Service Eastern Office

Design and Construction in Philadelphia, with Robert 

E. Smith serving as Chief Architect. The fir t phase of 

the project included construction of the visitor center, 

three employee houses, access roads and parking lots, 

and planting. Construction of the maintenance facility was planned as a second phase. By May 1961, the 

site plan and architectural plans for the project were 

completed, and construction began soon afterward (fig.

1.184). 

The site plan featured a new entrance drive off Route 

3 that curved northwest through the old wildfl wer 

garden to Bullock Drive, with parking along the sides 

and the visitor center to the south (fig. 1.185). A spur 

of the entrance drive led northerly toward Bullock 

Road, presumably to provide more direct access to the 

employee housing and maintenance facility. The visitor 

center faced north, away from Route 3, and the Jackson 

Monument remained in its original location at the rear 

of the building. The employee housing consisted of 

three buildings along a curving driveway named Ranger 

Road. The old visitor contact station, privies, entrance 

drive, and wild fl wer garden paths were removed. 

Figure 1.183 A MISSION 66-era plan for Chancellorsville Battlefield showing proposed site of new buildings and roads south of Route 3, 

and acquisition of land along Mineral Springs Road, 1957. The plan did not propose changes along the Jackson Trail or at the Jackson Flank 

Attack battlefield near Wilderness Church. (Detail, National Park Service, “General Development, Chancellorsville Battlefield....Part of the 

Master Plan,” March 1957, NPS Technical Information Center, FRSP 326 3006, annotated by SUNY ESF)
175 

1. Site History, 1945–2015

The only feature retained aside from trees and the 

Jackson monuments was the compass rose, which was 

moved to the east side of the new visitor center. 

The visitor center building was completed in 1962, but 

site work continued and the facility was not dedicated 

until May 5, 1863 during the centennial celebration 

of the Battle of Chancellorsville. The building, which 

received a National Honor Award in 1963 from the 

American Institute of Architects, was a simple, modern 

design consisting of a very low and broad gable roof 

and walls of brick, glass, and wood paneling (fig. 1.86).

It contained an auditorium, exhibit space, offices, d 

rest rooms. An open porch sheltered the inconspicuous 

Figure 1.184. Construction underway on the Chancellorsville visitor 

center, looking northeast from the old visitor contact station, 

December 1961. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military 

Park, Chancellorsville Photographs, box 2)

Figure 1.185 (above). Site plan for the visitor center 

project and nearby utility area, May 1961. (National 

Park Service Division of Design & Construction, Eastern 

Division, “Visitor Center Roads and parking Areas and 

Residence Roads,” NPS Technical Information Center, FRSP 

3020, annotated by SUNY ESF)

Figure 1.186. The newly completed Chancellorsville 

visitor center, looking southwest from the entrance 

drive/ parking lot, November 1963. (Fredericksburg and 

Spotsylvania National Military Park, Chancellorsville 

Photographs, box 2)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

176

entrance doors and faced a paved courtyard with a tall 

fla staff. Lines of shrubs were planted along concrete 

walks that led to the curbed asphalt parking lot and 

entrance drive. The mostly wooded grounds extending south to Route 3, including the cleared site of the 

old visitor contact station, were kept mown (fig. 1.187).

Large windows in the visitor center lobby were on axis 

with the Jackson Monument, allowing visitors to see 

it from inside the building. No walks led to the monument or the Jackson rock.6

The three matching employee residences, which were 

completed in December 1961 prior to the visitor center, 

were modest wood-frame ranch-style houses with 

low-pitched gable roofs and car ports (fig. 1.188). The 

buildings, which faced north away from Bullock Road, 

were painted brown and surrounded by small areas of 

lawn. The adjoining maintenance area proposed under 

phase 2 of the project was never built. Instead, the park 

continued to use the maintenance-utility building along 

Hooker Drive built by the CCC in 1937. A steel water 

tower with a round tank was added at the site of the 

proposed maintenance area in ca. 1970.7

Aside from the visitor center, a noticeably change to the 

park under MISSION 66 was redesign of park signage. 

The park removed or modified

the CCC-era wood rustic-style 

signs, but kept the War Department-style identific tion tablets and even reproduced new 

ones using aluminum instead 

of iron.8

 The park also retained 

the large narrative signs with 

wood frames and pointed fin -

als, but changed the rustic appearance by painting the wood 

gray and replacing the brown 

Masonite sign boards with 

painted cast aluminum panels 

Figure 1.187. Site of the old visitor contact station looking northeast 

to the new visitor center showing open, mown understory, 

August 1963. At far right is the Jackson Monument. (Ralph Happel 

photograph, Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military 

Park, Chancellorsville Photographs, box 2)

Figure 1.188. One of the three employee residences nearing 

completion, looking south from Ranger Drive, December 1961. 

(Ralph Happel photograph, Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania 

National Military Park, Chancellorsville Photographs, box 2)

Figure 1.189. The updated narrative marker (Happel sign) installed 

as a MISSION 66 improvement showing examples outside the visitor 

center, photographed during its dedication, May 5, 1963. At left 

is park superintendent Oscar Northington, Jr., and right is former 

superintendent Branch Spalding. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania 

National Military Park, Chancellorsville Photographs, box 2)
177 

1. Site History, 1945–2015

(fig. 1.189). The new signs featured a logo for each park 

unit, designed by park historian Ralph Happel. The 

Chancellorsville logo showed Lee and Jackson at their 

so-called crackerbox meeting at the bivouac site. These 

signs were installed throughout the park and at the 

newly instituted tour stops, which also received round 

cast-metal signs indicating the stop number (fig. 1.190).

The park did not abandon the rustic style entirely for 

park signage. At the entrances to the visitor center and 

approaches to the battlefi ld, the park installed wood 

signs with a stylized rustic font used throughout the 

National Park System—a design that would have been 

familiar to earlier park visitors (fig. 1.191)

Major components of the 1957/1959 versions of the 

master plan for Chancellorsville that were not implemented included the removal of Berry-Paxton Drive, 

termination of Elys Ford Road as a cul-de-sac at the 

inn site, and completion of Mineral Springs Road. The 

property acquisition at the inn site and along Mineral 

Springs Road was also not realized under the ten-year 

improvement program. However, two parcels were 

donated to the park: fourteen acres at the Burton Farm 

along the Orange Plank Road donated by the Continental Can Company in 1960, and an acre surrounding 

old Salem Church (the historic brick building considered part of the Chancellorsville park unit), donated by 

the Salem Baptist Church after the congregation built a 

new church next door.9

POST-MISSION 66 SUBURBAN DEVELOPMENT 

AND PARK EXPANSION

In 1961, the Virginia state highway department began 

widening Route 3 along the stretch past Salem Church, 

where the landscape still retained much of its historic 

rural character (fig. 1.192). The Route 3 project, which 

was planned to expand the road into a divided fourlane highway west to Culpeper, along with completion 

of Interstate 95 to Fredericksburg in 1964, raised property values and suburban develop pressure throughout 

much of northern Spotsylvania County. One of the fir t 

large-scale subdivisions to occur in the region west 

of I-95 was Lake of the Woods, a recreational home 

development begun in 1966 on a 2,600-acre tract that 

adjoined the north side of the Wilderness battlefi ld 

Figure 1.190. One of the 

new tour-stop signs, 

at the intersection of 

Jackson Trail West and 

Brock Road, ca. 1960. 

In the background are 

the remodeled narrative 

markers. (Fredericksburg 

and Spotsylvania 

National Military 

Park, Chancellorsville 

Photographs, box 8)

Figure 1.191 (left). A MISSION 66-era rustic sign at the east approach to Chancellorsville along Route 3, 1963. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania 

National Military Park, Chancellorsville Photographs, box 8)

Figure 1.192 (right). Salem Church (building right of center) looking south across Route 3 showing the rural character of the area in the years 

prior to widening of Route 3 and opening of I-95, ca. 1960. The steepled building is the new Salem Baptist Church built in 1954. (Fredericksburg 

and Spotsylvania National Military Park, F-674)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

178

park lands off Route 3 (fig. 1.193). B 1966, the Route 

3 widening had reached Elys Ford Road, and in 1972, 

was completed west to Route 20 in Wilderness.10

Park offi als were well aware of the development pressures and highway expansion, and in 1968 issued a new 

master plan for the park that called for acquiring land 

to protect the historic battlefi ld landscape, especially 

around the Fredericksburg unit that was experiencing the most pressure at the time. Acquisition plans 

were modest and did not significa tly deviate from 

the park’s original Antietam plan, resulting in approximately 600 acres added to the park by the early 1970s. 

At Chancellorsville, plans called for the park to acquire 

the Chancellorsville inn site, Fairview clearing, and a 

parcel along Route 3 to interpret the flank ttack, while 

also expanding land holdings near the Catharine Furnace and Lee-Jackson bivouac site. The plan also called 

for removing Berry-Paxton and Stuart Drives to restore 

the historic view from Fairview to Hazel Grove.11

As the park was implementing the 1968 master plan, 

the development pressures in and around Chancellorsville were becoming more apparent. In 1969, a 

massive 1,200-lot residential subdivision known as 

Lake Wilderness was laid out across the wooded land 

immediately bordering the narrow strips of Wilderness 

park property west of Brock Road (see fig. 1.193). So n 

after, residential lots were subdivided off Herndon 

Road along an earlier farm road renamed Peppertree 

Figure 1.193. Topographic map showing residential development near the Chancellorsville and Wilderness park units, surveyed in 1973 

and updated in 1977. Features shown in purple were added between 1973 and 1977. Park boundaries are outlined by thick red borders; 

the Chancellorsville park boundary in 1977 did not include the Flank Attack area as shown. (Detail, US Geological Survey, Chancellorsville 

Quadrangle 7.5 Minute Series topographic map, 1973, updated 1977, annotated by SUNY ESF)
179 

1. Site History, 1945–2015

Road. In ca. 1973, developers acquired Hazel Grove 

and parts of Locust Grove immediately west of Stuart 

Drive on the Chancellorsville battlefi ld for development of the Wilderness Camping Resorts, another 

recreational residential development. The developers 

dammed Lewis Run, creating two large lakes. In ca. 

1975, another large residential subdivision known as 

Fawn Lake was laid out west of Jackson Trail West and 

south of the Orange Plank Road.12

These developments made apparent the shortcomings 

of the 1968 master plan, and in 1972, the National Park 

Service began work on an expansion study that resulted 

in new boundaries for the park approved by Congress 

in 1974. For the fir t time, the park abandoned the Antietam plan and instead called for incorporating large 

parcels to preserve the battlefi ld landscape, such as 

had been done at other national military parks such as 

Gettysburg. At Chancellorsville, the expanded boundaries—which identified and that the park was authorized to acquire—took in all land bounded by Elys Ford 

Road, Bullock Drive, Stuart Drive, and Slocum Drive, 

including the historic Fairview plantation and Chancellorsville Inn site, providing the park with its fir t large 

core of protected land. The plan retained the narrow 

park boundaries along Jackson Trail East (except for 

expansion of boundaries around the Wellford house 

site), Jackson Trail West, Furnace Road, and McLaws 

Drive, and did not incorporate the Jackson Flank Attack area. It included provisions that allowed the park 

to alienate Mineral Springs Road and Miles Drive “due 

to their poor interpretive potential.” By 1982, the plan 

resulted in doubling of federally-owned land within the 

Fredericksburg area park, to more than 5,200 acres.13

The rise in the real estate market in northern VirginiaWashington D.C. metropolitan area accelerated in the 

1980s, making Spotsylvania County and the Route 3 

corridor in particular increasingly attractive to developers. The relatively low real estate prices of the region 

allowed many home buyers from higher-priced areas to 

justify the one-hour drive to work along I-95. Residential subdivisions proliferated throughout the corridor, 

attracted in part by the recreational and open-space 

amenities of the battlefi ld parks (fig. 1.194). Duri g 

the 1990s, Spotsylvania County attained the distincFigure 1.194. Map showing new subdivisions and commercial development along the Route 3 corridor between I-95 and Chancellorsville, 

surveyed 1994. Park boundaries are outlined by thick red borders. Much additional development occurred subsequent to this map, including 

commercial development that spread west to Old Mine Road. The Outer Connector was an arterial highway proposed to run from I-95 

southwest across the Rappahannock River to Route 3. (Detail, US Geological Survey, Chancellorsville Quadrangle 7.5 Minute Series topographic 

map, 1994, annotated by SUNY ESF)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

180

tion of being the fastest growing county in the country, 

nearly doubling in population from 57,000 in 1990 to 

90,395 in 2000. Commercial development followed 

the housing, sprawling along the Route 3 corridor for 

approximately two miles west of the interstate by the 

1990s, engulfi g the once rural setting of Salem Church 

(fig. 1.195). The commercial development remained 

east of Chancellorsville and 

to the west at the Route 20 

intersection.14

In response to the continuing 

suburban development pressure and other park needs, 

the National Park Service 

developed a new master plan 

in 1986, known as a General 

Management Plan (GMP), 

which included a revised approach to land conservation 

that was contained in a related 

Land Protection Plan. During 

the 1980s, the park’s plans 

for additional land acquisition met with resistance from 

Spotsylvania County, and at 

the federal level from the conservative Reagan administration. Unable to secure another 

boundary expansion or even 

acquire all the land within the 

1974 acquisition boundary, the park instead turned to 

the use of scenic easements as a way to conserve the rural and wooded setting of the park. At Chancellorsville, 

the Land Protection Plan called for obtaining scenic 

easements on 323 acres at the Flank Attack area along 

Route 3, as well as the fee acquisition of 12 acres north 

of the highway for development of an interpretive stop 

to replace the stop that had been set up within the 

median of Route 3 following the road’s expansion in 

1972. According to the plan, “nowhere else in the park 

is the defic ency of the Antietam plan...apparent than 

in this location [flank ttack].”15 The plan called for restricting the access from private subdivisions onto park 

roads, which at 18 feet in width did not meet suburban 

highway standards. In addition to land protection, the 

GMP’s plans for Chancellorsville included clearing 

historic fi lds along Elys Ford Road and near Catharine 

Furnace, and converting Slocum Drive and Hooker 

Drive into hiking trails.16

Figure 1.196. Map of the Chancellorsville park boundary as expanded in 1989, showing land owned 

at the time by the park, and land to be added to the park either through acquisition in fee or by 

easements. Within the core battlefield area, the private land between Slocum Drive and Furnace Road 

was excluded and formed a large gap in the park boundaries. (National Park Service, “Legislative 

Support Data–Boundary Revision, Chancellorsville Battlefield–Land Ownership,” June 1989, NPS 

Technical Information Center, FRSP 326 40074E, annotated by SUNY ESF)

Figure 1.195. Salem Church, aerial photograph looking southeast 

across Route 3, ca. 1995. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National 

Military Park, Fredericksburg Battlefield Photographs, box 1, 

annotated by SUNY ESF)
181 

1. Site History, 1945–2015

In 1989, Congress authorized another boundary expansion for the park based on the 1986 Land Protection Plan, which added 1,900 acres to the park’s four 

units. The law required the park to acquire land only 

from willing owners, and permitted sellers to remain in 

their residence for up to 25 years, or until the death of 

the owner or owner’s spouse, thus setting up a process 

whereby the park could remove non-historic houses 

within the park boundary. At Chancellorsville, the 

boundary increase added 784 acres, primarily within 

the Jackson Flank battlefi ld and area west of McLaws 

Drive, bringing the total within the park boundary 

to 2,077 acres (fig. 1.196). O the additional land, 417 

acres were to be acquired by the federal government, 

and 367 were to remain in non-federal ownership subject to scenic easements. The boundary expansion excluded park land along all or portions of Slocum Drive, 

Furnace Road, and the Jackson Trail, and land south 

of Route 3 within the flank ttack area, historically the 

location of Locust Grove (Dowdall’s Tavern). Of equal 

importance to the boundary increase, the 1989 legislation allowed the park service to accepted donated 

conservation easements on related lands outside the 

park’s authorized boundary.17

At the time of the 1989 boundary expansion, there 

was just one large residential subdivision adjoining 

Chancellorsville battlefi ld park, aside from Wilderness 

Resorts: Ashley Farms, laid out in ca. 1985 through the 

Civil War-era Absalom McGee Farm north of Route 3, 

which saw action on May 1, 2, and 3, 1863. Very soon 

after the boundary expansion in 1989, subdivisions began to proliferate within the historic battlefi ld and adjoining park land (fig. 1.197). etween 1990 and 2003, 

work began on the Creekside subdivision off Route 3 

Figure 1.197. Aerial photograph of Chancellorsville battlefield (park outlined in green) showing residential subdivisions, 2003. Most were 

developed after 1990, except for Ashley Farms, begun around 1965, Lake Wilderness begun in 1969, Fawn Lake dating to around 1975, and 

several smaller developments off Herndon Road (Commonwealth of Virginia aerial photograph, September 2003, annotated by SUNY ESF)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

182

within the Alrich Farm east of McLaws Drive, the Raintree subdivision south of Orange Plank Road across 

from the Perry Farm, the Sawhill subdivision within the 

Catharine Furnace property immediately south of Furnace Road, the Pipe Run subdivision at the E. Decker 

Farm along River Road, Six Lakes West at the Burton 

Farm along the Orange Plank Road, and the Spring 

Creek subdivision at the Stephens and Trigg farms 

adjacent to Jackson Trail 

West (fig. 1.198). These 

developments, along 

with several smaller 

subdivisions, earned 

Chancellorsville the notoriety of being listed on 

the National Trust for 

Historic Preservation’s 

11 Most Endangered list 

in 1998.18

In 1991, as these subdivisions were beginning 

to sprawl across the 

Chancellorsville battlefi ld, the park adopted 

a Revised Land Protection Plan that emphasized the use of partnerships with not-for-profit

organizations to achieve 

land conservation, both within the park’s authorized 

boundary and on related lands. In an era of pressures 

for smaller government, these partnerships provided 

a powerful tool for conservation of historic battlefi ld 

land at Chancellorsville. This was an outgrowth of a 

larger battlefi ld preservation effort within National 

Park Service that saw the creation of the American Battlefi ld Protection Program (ABPP) in 1990. The park 

service and ABPP worked with Spotsylvania County to 

develop a database of related lands that could be used 

to identify where proposed development could impact 

historic battlefi ld resources.19

One of the fir t not-for-profit pa tners to preserve land 

at Chancellorsville was The Conservation Fund, a national land conservation organization founded in 1985. 

In 1991, The Conservation Fund purchased a wooded 

tract of 143 acres along the south side of Jackson Trail 

East within the historic Catharine Furnace property 

but outside the park boundary, and donated the land to 

Spotsylvania County with a conservation easement to 

the National Park Service. Two years later, the Conservation Fund repeated the effort on a 250-acre tract also 

Figure 1.198. Houses in the Spring Creek subdivision built after 1990 

within the battle-era Stephens Farm, looking north along Jackson 

Trail West, 2013. (SUNY ESF)

Figure 1.199. Aerial photograph of the Jackson Flank Attack area along Route 3 and the Orange Plank Road 

showing land conserved by the park and not-for-profit partners within and outside the park boundary, 2013. 

The yellow shaded Civil War Trust property was acquired in 2013. (Civil War Trust annotated Google aerial, 

2013, annotated by SUNY ESF)
183 

1. Site History, 1945–2015

along Jackson Trail East, east of the Wellford House 

site. The county subsequently acquired two smaller 

parcels with park service easements. Private individuals also donated conservation easements to the park on 

parcels along the Jackson Trail and elsewhere.20

Two battlefi ld preservation organizations became 

active in the Chancellorsville area during the 1990s. In 

1998, the Central Virginia Battlefi lds Trust, a regional 

group formed by Fredericksburg-area residents in 1996, 

acquired the 99-acre Craig/Ashley Farm parcel west 

of McLaws Drive known as McLaws Wedge, which 

saw action on all three days of the battle. Because this 

parcel was within the park’s acquisition boundary, the 

trust was able to sell the park full title to the $450,000 

parcel. The Civil War Trust, a national battlefi ld preservation organization that was formed in the late 1980s 

in response to development threats in the northern 

Virginia suburbs, took a lead in conserving lands in the 

Jackson Flank Attack area during the 2000s. In 2009, 

the organization closed on the 85-acre Wagner Farm 

(post-war Chewning Farm that was part of Locust 

Grove during the Civil War) for $2.15 million, refle ting the enormous rise in real estate values in the area 

(fig. 1.199). B 2013, the Civil War Trust had acquired 

another parcel at the Talley Farm on the south side of 

Route 3 outside the park’s boundary, adjacent to four 

tracts acquired by the Central Virginia Battlefi lds 

Trust.21

Through the 2000s, real estate development continued 

in and near the Chancellorsville unit, but mostly within 

subdivisions platted during the 1990s. New subdivisions included Whitehall off Herndon Road in the 

former Catharine Furnace property, and Custer’s Trace 

off Jackson Trail West, in which the Civil War Trust 

acquired a scenic easement. The state’s proposed Outer 

Connector highway, planned to terminate on Route 3 

east of the McGee farms within the fir t day battlefi ld, 

was arousing significa t development interest in the 

area (see fig. 1.194). n 2002, developers announced 

plans for Chancellorsville Towne, a major development partly within the fir t day battlefi ld to include 

2,350 houses and 2-3 million square feet of office d 

retail development. The county rejected the plan, and 

the state abandoned plans for the Outer Connector in 

2004. The Coalition to Save Chancellorsville Battlefi ld, working with the Civil War Trust and Central 

Virginia Battlefi lds Trust, worked out a deal with a 

new developer of a much smaller project that included 

conservation of 140 acres along Route 3, and clustering development in an area out of view to the north. 

Since the land was well outside park boundaries, The 

Civil War Trust took ownership of the conserved land, 

named First Day at Chancellorsville Battlefi ld, and 

in ca. 2006 opened a small visitor center off Route 3 

with interpretive waysides overlooking the battlefi ld 

(fig. 1.200). The latest proposals for large residential 

subdivisions were located on wooded tracts north of 

the Flank Attack area and north of Jackson Trail East 

near the Wellford House site. Both proposed conserving land adjacent to park boundaries.22

POST-MISSION 66 PARK CHANGES 23 

After completion of the visitor center and employee 

housing under MISSION 66, the National Park Service 

implemented little new development at the Chancellorsville unit, although the widening of Route 3 and 

addition of new property, especially at Fairview and 

the Chancellorsville Inn site, changed the park landscape. Between 1973, when the park approved the fir t 

boundary expansion since World War II, and 2014, the 

park acquired approximately 50 tracts of land in fee at 

Chancellorsville, ranging in size from an acre up to 100 

acres, for a total of 1,729 acres of park-owned land (fig.

Figure 1.200. The Civil War Trust’s First Day Battlefield at 

Chancellorsville site established in 2005, looking northeast, 2013. 

Development was sited over the ridge at left; Route 3 is to the 

right. (SUNY ESF)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

184

1.201). All of these property subdivisions had occurred 

since the park’s initial development in 1931, and most 

were platted after World War II. Some of the smaller 

lots contained houses erected since the 1920s, mainly 

along Route 3 and Elys Ford Road, while the larger 

parcels were undeveloped.24

The widening of Route 3 through Chancellorsville, 

which was completed to Elys Ford Road in ca. 1965, 

and west through the Jackson Flank Attack area in 

1972, was the fir t major change to the park landscape 

after completion of the visitor center (fig. 1.202). The 

new eastbound lanes were added to the south of the 

old road, which became the westbound lanes. The 

fir t phase of the project required removal of the park 

entrance at McLaws Drive, expanding the famous 

Chancellorsville intersection in front of the inn site, 

and undertaking extensive cut and fill ac oss the lowlands of the Great Meadow Swamp east of River Road. 

The second phase of the project took 9.4 acres of park 

land, including three artillery lunettes at Fairview, the 

site of the Van Wert house, the entrances to Berry-Paxton Drive and Stuart Drive, and tour stop 18 along the 

north side of Route 3 at Jackson’s Flank Attack.25 For 

this latter taking, the state gave the park a tiny parcel 

in the median of Route 3 as a replacement for the tour 

stop. The park decided to remove the northern part of 

Berry-Paxton Drive, since the state had not included 

a full intersection for the road on Route 3 due to a 

steep cut at the new highway. The once level Fairview 

clearing was altered by construction of an embankment for the new eastbound lanes. Outside of park 

land, the widening required demolition of the postwar Dowdall’s Tavern and post-war Talley house for 

construction of the new 

eastbound lanes. PostService stations at the 

Orange Plank Road and 

across from the Chancellorsville Inn site were also 

removed at this time.26 

With the boundary 

expansion adopted 

in ca. 1973, the park 

proceeded with acquiring the Fairview clearing 

and site of the Chancellorsville Inn, and also to 

alienate Miles Drive and 

the eastern portion of 

Mineral Springs Road as 

approved under the 1968 

master plan and boundary expansion. The park 

worked out an agreement with developer 

Ralph England in 1973 to 

swap his 100-acre parcel 

containing the Chancellorsville Inn site for 21 

Figure 1.201. Detail of the park’s land status map showing the many tracts acquired by the park in the 

core of the Chancellorsville unit through 2003. Purple tracts are owned by the federal government. Red 

tracts are property outside the park boundary (green line) in which the federal government owns an 

interest. Tracts without shading are privately owned inholdings within the park acquisition boundary. 

(Detail, Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, Chancellorsville Area land status map, 

1980 updated to 2003, annotated by SUNY ESF.)
185 

1. Site History, 1945–2015

acres along Miles Drive, 20 acres on Mineral Springs 

Road, and additional land in other parks. England sold 

or developed the land along Miles Road, which became 

known as River Road, with approximately twelve 

single-family houses, but did not develop the Mineral 

Springs Road property, which did not have access from 

Elys Ford Road. In subsequent years, the park acquired 

small parcels to the north and west of the England 

tract, including the Rowley house at the corner 

of Bullock Drive and Elys Ford Road, and three 

houses along the north side Route 3 west of the 

inn site. These acquisitions allowed the park to 

restore the open fi lds that existed historically 

in these locations.27

Following its acquisition of the Chancellorsville Inn site in 1973, the park demolished the 

adjoining Rowley bungalow built in 1932, and 

erected stacked-rail fencing around the inn 

remains that included the stone entrance steps 

and incomplete foundation built by the Rowleys 

over the old east wing of the inn in ca. 1930 (fig.

1.203). The walls that withstood the 1927 fi e 

were topped in part by high winds in 1947, and the remaining sections were razed by Ralph England in 1966 

after he purchased the property from the Rowley heirs. 

In 1976, the park partnered with Temple University to 

undertake archeological investigation and stabilization 

of the foundation remains, building on the previous 

work done for the Historic American Building Survey 

in 1935. Over the next decade, the park struggled with 

how to interpret the site, even considering a reconstruction of the building. By 1987, the park had settled 

on a less involved intervention that added low brick 

walls to interpret the sub-surface foundation remains. 

A parking lot off Elys Ford Road with a walk 

to the house site, two cannons pointed toward 

Hazel Grove, and interpretive waysides were 

part of the site improvements. The two graves 

of Rowley children, identified y simple posts 

and a marker, remained on the site. The state 

historical marker was moved to the parking lot 

from the Route 3 shoulder, and the stone base 

of the UDC monument was removed because 

its bronze plaque had been stolen years earlier.28

Acquisition and restoration of the Fairview 

clearing south of Route 3—the heart of the 

battle on the morning of May 3, 1863—proved 

more problematic for the park. The clearing had 

been subdivided into four large lots west of Berry-Paxton Drive that came on the market in the late 1960s and 

early 1970s. While the parcels nearest the Orange Plank 

Figure 1.202. The recently expanded Route 3 with the visitor center 

to the right, looking southwest, 1975. In the left distance is the 

Wilderness Presidential Resorts with its lakes created from damming 

of Lewis Run in ca. 1974. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National 

Military Park, Aerial Photographs, box 1)

Figure 1.203. The recently expanded Route 3 (section east of Elys 

Ford Road was completed in ca. 1965) showing removal of the 

Rowley house and worm fencing around the Chancellorsville Inn 

site, looking southeast, 1975. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania 

National Military Park, Aerial Photographs, box 1)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

186

Road presumably caused little trouble, a thirty-acre 

parcel owned by A. N. Johnston that adjoined BerryPaxton Drive was not only the most significa t, but also 

the most contentious. The parcel included the Fairview 

house site, surrounded the Chancellor cemetery, and 

was within the strategic vista between Hazel Grove and 

Fairview (see fig. 1.201). ohnston had acquired this 

land in 1967 for his construction business and residence. By the early 1970s, he had built his house facing 

Route 3 and sited the construction and storage yard 

with a rock-crushing operation at the wooded back of 

the site, accessed by a concrete road from Route 3 (fig.

1.204). At the time Johnston purchased the property, 

it was outside the park’s acquisition boundary, and 

was visually screened by woods and a thick line of 

evergreens that the park planted around 1940. His 

industrial development apparently spurred the Chancellor heirs to erect a substantial brick wall around the 

perimeter of the cemetery in ca. 1970.29

In 1975, soon after approval of the park’s boundary 

expansion, Johnston applied for rezoning to heavy 

industry so he could build a ready-mix concrete plant 

on the site. The county Planning Commission rejected 

Johnston’s application, but the Board of Supervisors 

approved it. Johnston soon began moving equipment onto the site and offered to sell only for a greatly 

infl ted price, which forced the park for the fir t time 

to pursue condemnation proceedings. In August 1975, 

Superintendent Freeland obtained his requested declaration of taking, and Johnston was forced to sell at 

the fair market value of the property. Johnston did not 

vacate the property until January 1977, and according 

to Superintendent Freeland, he left it “badly torn up 

and covered with trash.”30

The park soon cleared the Johnston construction yard, 

but left the concrete entrance road and house for a 

number of years. In 1985, the Chancellor heirs donated 

the adjoining one-acre parcel and maintenance fund 

for the Chancellor cemetery to Eastern National Park 

& Monument Association, with the intent of transferring ownership to the park. In the early 1990s, the park 

demolished the Johnston house, followed by three 

houses across Route 3. It was not until 2005 that the 

park removed the evergreen screen and trees around 

the artillery lunettes to reopen the vista between Fairview and Hazel Grove.31

Aside from the Chancellorsville Inn site, Fairview 

clearing, Bullock clearing, and McLaws Wedge, the 

area of the park that received the most attention in the 

post-MISSION 66 decades was the Jackson Flank AtFigure 1.204. The Fairview clearing and vista to Hazel Grove showing 

the Johnston construction yard, road, and residence, looking 

southwest, 1975. Beyond the evergreen screen that bordered the 

Fairview artillery lunettes is a trace of Berry-Paxton Drive, which 

was removed soon after the Route 3 widening. In the distance 

are the recently created lakes in the Wilderness Camping Resorts. 

(Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, Aerial 

Photographs, box 1)

Figure 1.205. The Jackson Flank Attack battlefield, looking west 

with Route 3 at left, 1975. Wilderness Church is the white building 

n the lower center. The cluster of buildings in the upper center is a 

post Civil War farmstead (Ashton) within the Talley Farm that would 

be removed following park acquisition in ca. 1998. (Fredericksburg 

and Spotsylvania National Military Park, Aerial Photographs, box 1)
187 

1. Site History, 1945–2015

tack battlefi ld, which was incorporated into the park 

boundaries in 1989. Through the mid-1970s, most of 

this area was actively farmed, with Wilderness Church 

in the center and little surrounding suburban development (fig. 1.205). The expanded boundary did not extend west to the two parcels along Route 3 near Brock 

Road acquired in the 1930s and known as Jackson’s 

Take-Off. The Happel narrative signs at these parcels 

were removed and no provisions were maintained for 

visitor access. In 1998, the park acquired the Ashton 

and Brygider farms that contained 76 acres within 

portions of the Civil War-era Hawkins and Talley farms 

north of Route 3. The park demolished or relocated the 

buildings, and moved tour stop 8 from the Route 3 medial to the Brygider farmstead site, using the farm road 

as an access drive (see fig. 1.199). The new stop 8 was 

on a rise that allowed visitors to look east across the 

large clearing to the still privately owned Hawkins Farm 

and Wilderness Church, and beyond to the Wagner 

Farm that the park acquired in 2015 (fig. 1.206).

Elsewhere in the park, the post-MISSION 66 years saw 

changes in the landscape due to interpretive enhancements, loss of historic structures, and adjoining residential development. On Jackson Trail East, a private 

property owner demolished the last remaining antebellum building, the brick Wellford House, by the early 

1970s; a decade later, the park acquired the property. 

Farther west, residential development and new access roads changed the wooded landscape near Brock 

Road. Jackson Trail West retained much of its historic 

wooded setting, but lost the historic Stephens and Trigg 

farm fi lds to suburban development, and a new lake 

floo ed an area north of the railroad crossing. 

Along Furnace Road, the park cleared a swath through 

the woods in 1991 to create a vista toward Hazel Grove, 

as a way to interpret the site that had been lost to development of the Wilderness Camping Resorts in the 

1970s. Around the same time, housing developments 

in the Chancellor West subdivision north of Furnace 

Road and the Sawhill subdivision to the south cleared 

woods up to the park boundary and brought houses 

into view from the park drive. Similar changes occurred 

along the south side of Slocum Drive as a result of the 

Estates of Lee-Jackson development begun in 1995. 

The intrusion of these housing developments occurred 

as the park was removing houses along Route 3.32

At the visitor center, the park made several changes to 

address aesthetics, access, and interpretation. In 1979, 

the park replaced the concrete surface of the entry 

plaza with brick and a raised planter, and added the 

Wounding of Stonewall Jackson Trail, a loop from the 

visitor center to the Jackson monument, Jackson rock, 

and site of the old mountain road. With increasing traffic long Route 3, in 1986 the park screened the monument from the highway by planting shrubs and trees, 

and allowed the once-mown understory of the woods 

between the visitor center and Route 3 to naturalize 

with understory vegetation that blocked views of the 

busy highway.33

THE CHANCELLORSVILLE COMMUNITY 33 

The seven decades after the end of World War II 

witnessed the fi al disappearance of the rural Chancellorsville community, although the name lived on not 

only in the park, but also in some of the suburban subdivisions. Few buildings remained from prior to 1945, 

and the only remaining Civil War-era structure aside 

from much-changed roads was the Catharine Furnace 

ruins. The community of dispersed farms once loosely 

united in identity by a prominent family became an area 

of dispersed and largely self-contained or gated suburFigure 1.206. The new stop 8 at the Jackson Flank Attack developed 

in 1999, looking east toward Wilderness Church, 2013. (SUNY ESF)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

188

ban neighborhoods, dependent on private automobiles 

for transportation and without a center or prominent 

landmark, such as the Chancellorsville Inn had once 

served (fig. 1.207).

Orange Turnpike

The transformation of Route 3, earlier known as the 

Orange Turnpike, from a two-lane road into a fourlane high-speed divided highway between ca. 1965 and 

1972 changed the character of the community and the 

park, but the road remained the primary transportation 

artery as it had been in prior periods.

Eastern Turnpike Farms

The small farms along the turnpike east of Chancellorsville, including the McGee and Decker farms dating to 

the Civil War as well as the farms established after the 

Civil War, disappeared during this period. The fi ld of 

the post-war Craig (Ashley) farm along McLaws Drive 

was retained following the property’s incorporation 

into the park in 1998. The Civil War Trust’s First Day at 

Chancellorsville site, established in 2006, retained the 

farm fi lds along Route 3, east of McLaws Drive.

Chancellorsville (Fairview Plantation)

The Rowleys, who purchased the core of the Fairview Plantation in 1910, sold their remaining 99-acre 

property with the inn site in 1966 to Ralph England, 

who turned the property over to the park in 1973 as 

part of a land swap (see fig. 1.201). The Rowleys had 

earlier sold off small parcels of the plantation along 

Route 3 west of the inn site and along Elys Ford Road 

Figure 1.207. Map of the Chancellorsville community showing patterns of field and forest, roads, and development by the 2010s. Gray 

shaded areas indicate concentrations of post-1945 development. The solid black dot represents an antebellum ruin. Boxes with white fill

indicate approximate location of post-Civil War farms, those with gray fill are non-farm post-war buildings that predate 1945. Civil War-era 

properties are labeled in capital letters. Current park boundaries are shown in orange. (SUNY ESF)
189 

1. Site History, 1945–2015

within the old Bullock Plantation for construction of 

houses. Around 1966, the family also subdivided the 

Fairview clearing that they had once farmed, but one 

lot was held by Hallie R. Sale, a Rowley heir, in addition 

to the one-acre cemetery owned by Chancellor heirs 

that was surrounded by the Johnston construction 

site. The lots were acquired by the park in the 1970s, 

and the park subsequently acquired the Chancellor 

cemetery and the southeastern extent of the plantation 

between the Great Meadow Swamp and the Orange 

Plank Road. The only portion of the plantation that 

was not acquired by the park service was the northeastern section, north of Route 3 and east of Hooker Drive. 

The park had owned twenty acres of this area, but sold 

the property to Ralph England in 1973 as part of the 

alienation of Miles Drive (River Road).35

Hazel Grove

Most of Hazel Grove, the former plantation of Melzi 

Chancellor, was redeveloped beginning in 1973 for the 

Wilderness Camping Resorts (later renamed Wilderness Presidential Resorts). The resort retained much of 

the forest cover on the site, reused the historic entrance 

road as its entrance drive, and placed its main facilities 

at the site of the Hazel Grove house and barns. It retained the late 19th or early 20th-century dairy barn that 

had probably been erected by the Kennedy family (fig.

1.208). Hazel Grove Lake and Cool Spring Lake, which 

inundated a large part of the historic plantation, were 

created by construction of a large earthen dam a short 

distance west of Sickles Drive, and another farther west 

on Lewis Run. In addition to the resort development, 

individual houses were built along the Route 3 frontage 

of Hazel Grove.

Along the eastern edge of the plantation, which had 

been incorporated into the park prior to 1945, the park 

acquired two small triangular parcels near the vista 

clearing after 1945 to even out the boundary and provide more of a buffer.

Locust Grove, Wilderness Church, 

Hawkins and Talley Farms

The clearing formed by these Civil War-era properties remained largely intact after 1945, except for some 

residential development along its edges and loss of 

some open fi lds to successional woods. Locust Grove, 

the former plantation of Melzi Chancellor, lost its postwar house (Dowdall’s Tavern) erected in ca. 1869 to 

the widening of Route 3 in ca. 1972.36 Fields remained 

around the site of the house, along with a post-war 

house to the west, but views from Route 3 became 

blocked by woods. In 1995, descendants of the 154th 

New York Volunteers (Hardtack Regiment) who fought 

against Jackson’s Flank Attack erected a granite monument in the form of the 11th Corps crescent insignia. 

The monument was placed near the site of Dowdall’s 

Tavern, on the south side of Route 3 (fig. 1.209)

The portion of Locust Grove across Route 3 that was 

developed as a separate farmstead by the Chewning 

Figure 1.208. Dairy barn at Hazel Grove (center building) 

incorporated into the Wilderness Camping Resorts, looking 

northeast, 1986. (Noel Harrison, Chancellorsville Battlefield Sites, 

1990)

Figure 1.209. Monument to the 154th New York Volunteers along 

the south side of Route 3 near the site of Dowdall’s Tavern (right of 

monument), looking southeast, 2015. The monument is not within 

park boundaries. (SUNY ESF)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

190

family in the post-Civil War period was acquired by 

the Wagner family, who sold the land to The Civil War 

Trust in the 2000s. The trust entered into a long-term 

lease with the Wagners that allowed them to remain on 

the property and continue farming; in 2014, the trust 

sold the property to the National Park Service, with the 

Wagners retaining a right to life estate.37 Next door was 

the Wilderness Baptist Church and cemetery, which 

remained under the congregation’s ownership, but 

within park boundaries. The 1899 building still served 

as the sanctuary, but was changed with addition of a 

steeple and several large additions. 

Property to the west and north of the church farmed by 

the Verna family was acquired by the park in ca. 1990, 

and the concrete farm buildings and other buildings 

that may have dated back to Melzi Chancellor’s ownership of the property after the Civil War were removed. 

To the west, the privately-owned Hawkins Farm—the 

only property at Chancellorsville owned by the same 

family since the Civil War— retained its post-Civil War 

house and was still actively farmed. 

The Talley Farm, which straddled both sides of Route 

3 west of the Orange Plank Road, lost its post-war 

farmhouse to widening of Route 3 in ca. 1972, and 

most of the fi lds south of the highway grew up into 

woods. The service station and residence developed by 

the Jones family around 1931 were lost at the same time 

to highway widening and redesign of the Orange Plank 

Road intersection. Much of the historic farm south of 

the highway was acquired by the Civil War Trust and 

Central Virginia Battlefi lds Trust in the 2000s (see fig.

1.199). The south highway frontage to the west was 

developed from the 1970s on with houses. The Talley 

Farm property north of Route 3, which contained two 

farms last owned by the Brygider and Ashton families, 

was acquired by the park in 1998 for development of 

the flank ttack tour stop (#8). The farm buildings were 

removed; the Ashton farmhouse was moved to Winfi ld 

Oaks subdivision to the west. The woods west of Stop 

8 that were probably once part of the Talley Farm were 

developed for a cemetery in 1980, with a funeral home 

added in 2000.38

Luckett Farm

The Luckett farm, along Route 3 at the far western end 

of the Chancellorsville battlefi ld, disappeared during 

this period. Large-lot suburban houses were built in 

the clearing and woods of the farm fronting on Route 

3. The nearby intersection of Brock Road, once known 

as Wilderness Corners, was redeveloped with a much 

larger service station in place of the one built in ca. 

1930, following the expansion of Route 3 in 1972. 

Elys Ford Road and River Road

Elys Ford Road (VA 610) and River Road (VA 618) 

were not widened, but carried increasing volumes due 

to development of housing subdivisions. North of the 

park off U.S. Ford Road, these may have obliterated 

the battle-period site of Kalbach’s Sawmill, and some 

US trenches that formed part of the apex of Hooker’s 

fi al position. The former park road, Miles Drive, was 

assimilated into River Road and much of the adjoining former parkland was developed with single-family 

house after the park alienated the property in 1973.

Bullock Plantation (Woodlawn) 

Most of the antebellum Bullock plantation, which had 

been subdivided into a number of small tracts during 

the 20th century, was acquired by the park after 1973. 

As owners gave up their right to life estate, the park 

removed the houses, including the house built in the 

1920s by the Rowleys at the corner of Bullock Drive 

and Elys Ford Road. These demolitions allowed the 

park to clear woods to reestablish the historic fi ld and 

to mark the site of the Bullock house. An owner of a 

small house along Elys Ford Road across from Hooker 

Drive was not willing to sell, leaving the tract as the sole 

private inholding within the core of the park by the 

2010s. 

Decker (Grady) Farm

The Decker farm, which disappeared prior to 1945 and 

became wooded, and the post-war farm across River 

Road, were lost to the Pipe Run subdivision beginning 

in the 1990s.
191 

1. Site History, 1945–2015

Orange Plank Road and Catharpin Road

The eastern leg of the Orange Plank Road (VA 610, 

612), which became known as Old Plank Road, and 

Catharpin Road (VA 612) remained two-lane roads, 

but became more heavily used with the development of 

numerous adjoining subdivisions. Orange Plank Road 

continued to serve as part of the park drive network, 

linking Slocum Drive to other park drives. Woods 

screened some of the subdivisions and there remained 

several large clearings, lending the roads a semi-rural 

character. 

Alrich and Perry Farms

The antebellum Perry Farm east of the Catharpin Road 

intersection remained an active farm during this period, although most of its earlier buildings were replaced 

or heavily altered. The land to the south across the 

Orange Plank Road, probably once part of the Perry 

Farm, was developed in the 1990s for a large subdivision named Raintree. The Alrich Farm, which had earlier lost its antebellum house at the corner of Catharpin 

Road, was subdivided into numerous parcels. The land 

north of the Orange Plank Road was developed for the 

Creekside subdivision, which was accessed off Route 3. 

Young Farm, Lewis Farms, and Piney Branch Church

The area along Catharpin Road occupied during the 

Civil War by the Young and Lewis farms along with 

Piney Branch Church,was transformed during this 

period into a mixed area containing two large public 

schools, woods, houses fronting on the road, and a 

still-active farm established after the Civil War. Several 

large subdivisions were accessed off Catharpin Road, 

but did not front on the road. Pre-1945 development 

remained near the intersection of Piney Branch Road. 

The crossing of the Ni River changed when the river 

was dammed around 1980 to create a reservoir.

Orange Plank Road and Germanna Plank Road 

The western leg of the Orange Plank Road (VA 621) 

retained much of its wooded setting that characterized earlier periods, with just one subdivision between 

Brock Road and Route 3 and only a few individual 

buildings. Traces of the Germanna Plank Road from 

Brock Road west were lost to the Lake Wilderness 

subdivision begun in 1969, but the section to the east 

remained undeveloped. The terminus of the road at the 

Orange Plank Road was altered through an apparent 

stalled development.

Burton Farm and Hickman House

A fourteen-acre part of the Burton Farm, from which 

Stonewall Jackson or his scouts looked out upon US 

troops along the turnpike prior to the Flank Attack, was 

donated to the park in 1960 by the Continental Can 

Company. Portions to the west were developed for the 

Six Lakes West subdivision beginning in the 1990s. The 

site of the Hickman house on the south side of the Orange Plank Road that had been a plank road tollhouse 

remained undeveloped. 

Brock Road

Brock Road (VA 613) remained a two-lane road that 

provided access to the large Lake Wilderness subdivision northwest of the Orange Plank Road intersection 

begun in 1969, and the Spring Creek subdivision to the 

south begun in ca. 1990. Numerous houses were built 

along the road frontage during this period, along with 

an elementary school. Despite this, there remained 

stretches of unbroken woods and some fi lds. The road 

continued to serve as part of the Chancellorsville tour 

route following Jackson’s march to the Flank Attack. 

Cook Farm

The Cook farm, which had earlier lost its antebellum 

farmhouse, disappeared as a clearing during this period. The road to the north developed during the postwar period as part of the African-American community 

of Cookstown was developed with additional houses. 

Stephens, Trigg, and Fitzhugh Farms 

Vestiges of the Stephens and Trigg farms along Jackson 

Trail West were lost during this period due to natural succession and development of the Spring Creek 

subdivision north of the railroad right-of-way. Post-war 
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

192

farms continued to occupy land east of the Stephens 

Farm and near the site of the Fitzhugh Farm. Park land 

remained limited to narrow strips, except north of the 

railroad and west of Jackson Trail West, where a large 

tract was incorporated into the Wilderness Battlefi ld 

unit.

Carpenter Farm

Remnants of the Carpenter farm along Herndon Road, 

which had lost its farmstead prior to 1945, were lost to 

natural succession and suburban development during 

this period. A reservoir named Waltonian Pond was 

created near the farmstead site around 1960.39

Catharine Furnace Property

The Catharine Furnace Company Property, the 4,000-

acre antebellum tract that once stretched from Route 3 

and McLaws Drive on the east to Brock Road and the 

Jackson Trail East on the west, became a patchwork of 

woods, park land, residential subdivisions, and undeveloped private land during this period. The brick 

Wellford house remained the sole surviving antebellum 

building on the Chancellorsville battlefi ld until it was 

demolished in 1970. The park subsequently acquired 

the house site and additional furnace company land 

bordering Jackson Trail East and Sickles Drive. Larger 

amounts of land outside the park boundary were 

placed under conservation easements, but the majority 

of the furnace property continued in private ownership. 

Along McLaws Drive, houses were built beginning 

in the 1950s along the south side of the park boundary and in a cul-de-sac development off Orange Plank 

Road. To the west, three large residential subdivisions 

were developed during the 1990s in the woods north 

and south of Furnace Road: Sawhill to the south, and 

Chancellor West and Estates of Lee-Jackson to the 

north. Post-war farm clearings and woods characterized the furnace company lands north and south of 

Jackson Trail East. In the 2000s, the Whitehall subdivision along Herndon Road was developed in the woods 

near Brock Road, with plans for expansion deep into 

the old furnace tract. 

LANDSCAPE OVERVIEW, 2015 (DRAWINGS 1.6, 1.7)

Between 1945 and 2015, the Chancellorsville unit of 

Fredericksburg and Spotyslvania National Military 

Park was greatly enlarged by incorporating blocks 

of land within the core battlefi ld and in the Jackson 

Flank Attack area, while the outer park drives were 

mostly retained as narrow strips of park land. Earlier 

park development, including the rustic visitor contact 

station, Jackson Memorial Wild Flower Garden, picnic 

areas, and trails were removed, along with part of 

Berry-Paxton Drive. Miles Drive and part of Mineral 

Spring Road were transferred out of park ownership. 

Roadside plantings, grading, and other landscape 

development undertaken by the CCC became naturalized and largely inconspicuous. Major additions to the 

park landscape included the MISSION 66 visitor center 

with its new entrance road and parking lot, employee 

housing, new signs and interpretive waysides, cannons, 

a restored Fairview clearing, and the Chancellorsville 

Inn site—long on the list of key sites to incorporate into 

the park. While these constituted significa t changes, 

adjoining non-park development—the widening of 

Route 3 and numerous residential subdivisions—had 

an even more pronounced impact on the character and 

use of the park landscape during this period. 

Natural Systems and Features

Within park property, there was little change in natural 

systems during the late park period except for reforestation of several areas, including part of the Wellford 

clearing and sites of houses removed along Route 3. 

In the surrounding area, however, the natural environment changed to a great extent through suburban 

development that cleared and fragmented woods, 

changed the course of streams, and altered natural 

landforms. Numerous streams were dammed throughout the area to create lakes and ponds for aesthetic and 

recreational value, or as reservoirs. Most notable was 

the damming of Lewis Run through Hazel Grove to 

form two large lakes for the Wilderness Presidential 

Resorts. 
193 

1. Site History, 1945–2015

Spatial Organization

The primary change in spatial character of the Chancellorsville park landscape during the late park period was 

the restoration of the Fairview clearing, most of which 

had been intact at the beginning of the period, and 

reconfigu ation of the Jackson Wounding site with the 

development of the visitor center. The Bullock Plantation clearing was also reestablished through removal 

of woods and houses. The CCC camp clearing along 

Elys Ford Road, which lost its buildings prior to 1945, 

was lost through natural succession. Forest enclosure 

was weakened along Slocum Drive, Furnace Road, and 

Jackson Trail East with clearing of trees for residential 

development. 

Outside of the park, suburban development beginning 

in the 1970s greatly altered the Chancellorsville area’s 

pattern of extensive woods and scattered farm clearings that had persisted through the 1960s. 

Land Use

In 2015, driving tours and historical interpretation 

remained the main park land use, with renewed walking along trails and picnicking in an area near the visitor 

center created after 1980. Employee housing was introduced with construction of the Ranger Road houses 

in 1961. Expansion of the park beginning in the 1970s 

formalized battlefi ld tourism to a larger area, and 

replaced farming in part of the Jackson Flank Attack; 

farming disappeared from the Fairview clearing earlier 

in the period. Boundary expansions also brought farming, religion, and funerary uses into the park boundaries within the Jackson Flank Attack through incorporation of the Wilderness Baptist Church and cemetery, 

Hawkins Farm, and Wagner Farm, although all three 

properties remained under private ownership and 

use. The Chancellor cemetery was also incorporated 

into the park lands during this period. A single industrial facility, the Johnston construction and concrete 

operation in the Fairview clearing, was introduced and 

removed during the period.

Outside of the park boundaries, suburban residential 

land uses increased exponentially during the period 

with the spread of residential single-family housing 

developments. Large-scale recreational uses, including RV, tent, and time-share, were introduced at Hazel 

Grove and Locust Grove with the development of Wilderness Presidential Resorts beginning 1973. Commercial development declined since the early park period 

with removal of three service stations along Route 3 

and the Orange Plank Road; just one remained, at the 

corner of Brock Road and Route 3. 

Circulation

The Chancellorsville battlefi ld park drives developed 

during the 1930s remained largely intact during the 

late park period, with the exception of the removal of 

the entrance drive to the visitor contact station in ca. 

1962, and the northern part of Berry-Paxton Drive 

in ca. 1972; the conversion of Miles Drive to a public 

road (River Road) when the park alienated the property in 1973; and the abandonment of Mineral Springs 

Road, the eastern section of which was alienated along 

with Miles Drive. The entrances to Stuart Drive and 

McLaws Drive were shortened with the widening of 

Route 3 between ca. 1965 and 1972. All of the roads 

except Jackson Trail East and West were surfaced in 

asphalt. 

Three new park drives were built during the period: 

the entrance drive to the visitor center, built in 1961; 

a service drive spur to Bullock Drive built at the same 

time and removed around 1974; and Ranger Lane, 

built in 1961 off Bullock Drive to access the three new 

employee houses. A small parking lot was built at the 

Chancellorsville Inn site, at the end of Berry-Paxton 

Road, and across from the Catharine Furnace in place 

of an earlier parking area at the Furnace Road triangle. 

A number of access roads to residential developments 

were built off park roads during this period.

The trails built by the CCC during the 1930s, which 

were let go during the war, were abandoned early 

in this period, except for the Mott-Carr Foot Trail 

that looped along Pender’s Line earthworks north of 

Bullock Road, and a portion of the Dimick Trail along 

the Jackson Corps earthworks east of the visitor center. 

These were maintained into the mid-1970s.40 The Jackson Memorial Wild Flower Preserve trails were also 
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

194

removed. New trails built during this period included a 

loop from the visitor center to the Jackson Monument 

and trace of the old mountain road; the Chancellorsville History Trail that began at the visitor center and 

wound through the woods to the Chancellorsville Inn 

site and northeast along Hooker Drive; the FairviewHazel Grove Vista Trail; and McLaws Trail through the 

fi ld of McLaws Wedge. 

The most significa t change in circulation during this 

period was the widening and reconstruction of Route 

3, which created a barrier between the flan ing park 

lands. Where in previous periods trails and park drives 

crossed Route 3, the widening made connections 

across the highway diffi lt and unsafe. 

The bed of the old Virginia Central Railway (Civil Warera unfini hed railroad), which had ceased operation in 

1937, became wooded during this period, and its stonearch bridge across the Ni River near Jackson Trail East 

collapsed. Portions of the railroad bed were lost to the 

Sawhill and Raintree subdivisions built off Catharpin 

Road in the 1990s. A sewer line corridor was cleared 

immediately south of the railroad bed in ca. 1995. 

Topography 

There were few substantial changes to built land forms 

within the Chancellorsville park landscape during this 

period. The widening of Route 3 in 1972 destroyed 

three artillery lunettes at Fairview, and also lowered the 

grade of the road in front of the Jackson Monument. 

Outside of park lands, changes to topography included 

widespread grading within residential subdivisions for 

road and building construction. Portions of earthworks 

succumbed to residential development along McLaws 

Drive, Jackson Trail East, and north of Mineral Springs 

Road. 

Vegetation

Changes to planted and managed vegetation during this 

period were limited in large part to the visitor center 

area and Fairview clearing. Plantings made by the CCC 

along roadsides and elsewhere became naturalized with 

the woods, except for plantations of pines, such as near 

the end of Berry-Paxton Drive and along the Bullock 

clearing. Turf shoulders along the roads continued to 

be mown. Managed fi ld grasses were established in 

the Fairview, Bullock, and Wellford clearings. Pasture 

and agricultural crops were introduced with expansion of the park boundaries to include the still active 

Hawkins and Wagner farms. 

Ornamental plantings, including sheared hedges, were 

established around the visitor center. These were later 

replaced with more informal plantings and fl werbeds 

maintained by park friends. 

Outside of park lands, changes in managed vegetation included loss of agricultural crops, orchards, and 

pasture, and vast increases in manicured lawn and 

ornamental plantings in the numerous residential 

developments. 

Buildings and Structures

During the late park period, four permanent buildings 

were added to the Chancellorsville park landscape as 

part of the park’s MISSION 66 modernization program: the visitor center and the three employee houses 

off Bullock Road. These buildings were designed to be 

inconspicuous in the landscape through their horizontal massing, brick and wood siding, and simple detailing. The rustic visitor contact station and two comfort 

stations built in 1935 were demolished as part of the 

new development. The maintenance-utility garage built 

by the CCC along Hooker Drive was the only building 

retained from the early park period. The substantial 

stone bridges, culverts, and channels along the park 

drives were retained, but the rustic wood bridges along 

the trails were removed. A brick wall was built in ca. 

1970 around the Chancellor cemetery by the Chancellor heirs, prior to the park’s acquisition of the property. 

The sole surviving building from the Civil War period, 

the brick Wellford house along Jackson Trail East, was 

demolished by a private owner in ca. 1970. The site was 

subsequently acquired by the park. The park removed 

numerous early and mid-twentieth century houses 

beginning in the 1970s. 
195 

1. Site History, 1945–2015

Outside of the park, the number of buildings increased 

by the thousands during this period through suburban 

residential development, mostly after 1990. Except for a 

funeral home, gas station-convenience store, and buildings at Wilderness Presidential Resorts, the development was all single-family houses on large lots. 

Views and Vistas

The park maintained and restored key battle-period 

views within the park during this period, notably the 

vista between Fairview and Hazel Grove, and the 

views across the Flank Attack battlefi ld. The park 

established a new vista clearing in 1991 that extended 

through the woods northwest from Furnace Road toward Hazel Grove to interpret the site of Hazel Grove, 

which had been lost to development of the Wilderness 

Presidential Resorts. Residential development outside 

of park boundaries led to change in the wooded views 

along McLaws Drive, Furnace Road, Jackson Trail East 

and West, and Slocum Drive. 

The view of the Jackson Monument along Route 3 was 

lost during this period. The reconstruction of the highway in 1972 weakened views of the monument from 

the road by moving eastbound traffic arther away, and 

dropping the elevation of the westbound lanes. 

Small-Scale Features

During this period, most of the small-scale park 

features from the early park period were removed. 

All signs were removed or replaced, except for War 

Department-style identific tion tablets. For the larger 

narrative signs (Happel signs), the park updated the 

rustic style frames by painting them gray and installing 

aluminum sign panels. The stone barbecues and wood 

picnic tables at the Furnace and Vista picnic areas, 

which were closed during World War II, were probably removed soon after. The visitor center development included a so-called orientation disc on a raised 

stone base that had a bronze compass that showed the 

direction to other points on the Fredericksburg-area 

battlefi lds. The old orientation disc made by the CCC 

was moved to an inconspicuous spot on the east side 

of the visitor center. New entrance signs on brick walls 

were built along Route 3 at Bullock Drive and the visitor center entrance drive. 

The park introduced cannon as an interpretive device 

in the landscape during this period. The fir t one appeared at the visitor contact station along Route 3 by 

the early 1950s, and was later displayed in front of the 

visitor center. Others were placed along Stuart Drive, 

aimed northeast through the Hazel Grove-Fairview 

vista clearing, at the Fairview artillery lunettes, and at 

the Chancellorsville Inn site.41

The park retained its small collection of markers and 

monuments, with just one addition: the General E. F. 

Paxton Monument, a small four-foot tall granite slab 

with a painted metal plaque installed along the west 

side of Stuart Drive in 1980. This was the vicinity where 

Paxton was killed on May 3, 1863 during the attack on 

Fairview.42 The park moved the Jackson rock a short 

distance as part of the visitor center development in 

1961–62, and the once prominent Jackson Monument 

remained on its original site, but became less conspicuous within the new visitor center site and following the 

reconstruction of Route 3. The United Daughters of 

the Confederacy monument in front of the Chancellorsville Inn site was removed. Outside of the park, 

one monument was installed on the battlefi ld during 

this period—the 154th New York Volunteers Monument along the south side of Route 3 near the site of 

Dowdall’s Tavern. 

Archeological Sites

The park did not maintain the sodding and clearing 

done on the trenches during the early park period, so 

they became obscured in many places by vegetation 

and leaf litter. The widening of Route 3 in 1972 destroyed two of the Fairview gun pits. The remnants of 

the CCC camp, whose building were demolished prior 

to 1945, were removed during this period and the site 

returned to woods. 

Construction of the visitor center in 1966 destroyed 

part of what was believed to be the trace of the old 

mountain road, along which Stonewall Jackson was 

wounded. 
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

196

The most significa t change to the park’s archeological sites during this period was the acquisition of the 

Chancellorsville Inn ruins. The last standing portions 

of the building had been torn down by the private 

owner in 1966. The only above-ground visible remnants were the stone front entrance steps that dated to 

the antebellum house. 

ENDNOTES, 1945–2015 

1 Ralph Happel, “A History of the Fredericksburg and 

Spotsylvania County Battlefi lds Memorial National 

Military Park” (Unpublished National Park Service 

report, 1955), 60, 72; Park brochure/map, 1951, 

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military park 

archives (hereafter, FRSP); Visitation statistics cited in 

Joan M. Zenzen, “At The Crossroads Of Preservation 

And Development: A History Of Fredericksburg And 

Spotsylvania National Military Park” (Unpublished report 

prepared for the National Park Service in cooperation 

with The Organization Of American Historians, 2011), 

143.

2 Ethan Carr, Mission 66: Modernism and the National 

Park Dilemma (Amherst: University of Massachusetts 

Press, 2007), 109-11, 115; Zenzen, 148.

3 Zenzen, 152; National Park Service, “General 

Development, Chancellorsville Battlefi ld....Part of the 

Master Plan,” March 1957, Denver Technical Information 

Center, plan FRSP 326 3006.

4 Zenzen, 152; “General Development, Chancellorsville 

Battlefi ld,” March 1957. 

5 Zenzen, 153-154.

6 Visitor Center plans, NPS TIC, FRSP-3019A; AIA 

[National] Honor Awards Program 1963, “A Visitor 

Center for a Small National Park Area,” NPS Technical 

Information Center, document FRSP 326 103494. 

7 Photograph of completed, dark-painted employee 

residence, November 1963, FRSP 030416 5205. The water 

tower was not part of the original development plans; no 

documentation was found on its date of construction. 

8 Eric Mink, FRSP Cultural Resources Manager, e-mail to 

John Auwaerter, January 30, 2015.

9 National Park Service, “Master Plan Fredericksburg and 

Spotsylvania” (Unpublished National Park Service report, 

1968), 16, NPS Technical Information Center, document 

FRSP 326 D1A. 

10 Zenzen, 241; USGS Chancellorsville quadrangle maps, 

1966, 1973.

11 Master Plan, 1969, 36; Zenzen, 245. 

12 USGS Chancellorsville quadrangle, 1973 updated to 

1978; Zenzen, 241.

13 Fredericksburg-Spotsylvania National Military Park, 

“Land Protection Plan” (Unpublished report, 1986), iv, 18; 

Zenzen, 249.

14 US Census, State & County Quick Facts, http://

quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/51/51177.html (accessed 

January 22, 2015). 

15 Land Protection Plan, 1986, cited in Zenzen, 262.

16 Zenzen, 264, 267.

17 Zenzen, 302. 323.

18 National Trust for Historic Preservation, 11 

Most Endangered Historic Places 1998, http://www.

preservationnation.org/issues/11-most-endangered/

locations/chancellorsville-battlefi ld.html#.

VMZ9hyzwhZg (accessed January 26, 2015); USGS 

topographic maps, Chancellorsville quadrangle, 1993; 

Google Earth, historic imagery, 1993-2014.

19 Zenzen, 310-311.

20 Zenzen, 323; National Park Service, Fredericksburg 

and Spotsylvania land status map, Segment 3, 

Chancellorsville Area, August 1980 revised October 

1989 to 2014; Eastern National, “About Us,” http://

www.easternnational.org/about.aspx (accessed January 

27, 2015). The Eastern National Park and Monument 

Association, a National Park Service cooperating 

association founded in 1947, also partnered with the park 

on acquiring several parcels, including one along McLaws 

Drive and another containing the Chancellor cemetery.

21 Central Virginia Battlefi lds Trust History, http://www.

cvbt.org/CVBT-CVBT_History.html (accessed January 26, 

2015); Civil War Trust, “Civil War Trust History,” http://

www.civilwar.org/aboutus/cwpthistory.html and “Saving 

the Flank Attack,” http://www.civilwar.org/battlefi lds/

chancellorsville/chancellorsville-history-articles/savingthe-flank attack.html (accessed January 26, 2015); 

22 Deborah Fitts, “Spotsylvania Developer to Donate 181 

Acres,” The Civil War News, November 2013 [?], http://

www.civilwarnews.com/archive/articles/spotsyl_donation.

htm (accessed January 26, 2015); Jeff Branscome, 

“Spotsylvania OKs development on part of Battlefi ld,” 

Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star, September 10, 2014, 

http://www.umw.edu/chp/files/2014/09/ potsylvaniaOKs-development-on-part-of-battlefi ld_Free-LanceStar_9-10-14.pdf (accessed January 26, 2015).

23 This section provides only a brief overview of major 

changes in the landscape after 1966. It does not include 

a comprehensive account of property acquisition and 

restoration.
197 

1. Site History, 1945–2015

24 National Park Service, land status map for 

Chancellorsville.

25 The state did not take ownership of this land; instead, 

NPS gave the state a permit for the highway right-of-way. 

Eric Mink, communication to John Auwaerter, February 

27, 2015.

26 USGS Chancellorsville Quadrangle maps, 1966, 1973; 

Zenzen, 236-237.

27 Zenzen, 252. Zenzen states the England swap included 

land on Elys Ford Road, but this is probably a reference to 

the alienated land on Mineral Springs Road.

28 Daniel Crozier, “Archaeological Investigation and 

Stabilization of the Chancellorsville Inn” (Unpublished 

report prepared for the National Park Service, Temple 

University, 1979), 32; Zenzen, 253, citing the park’s 1987 

annual report.

29 Letter, Chancellor heir (signature cut off on copy) 

to John A. Jamison, May 18, 1967, FRSP Place Files, 

Chancellor cemetery. This letter states that the cemetery at 

the time was enclosed by a wire fence. 

30 Memorandum, Freeland to Acting Regional Director, 

February 1977, quoted in Zenzen, 256.

31 “The Chancellor Cemetery at Chancellorsville” 

(unattributed paper, ca. 1990), FRSP Place Files, 

Chancellor cemetery.

32 Zenzen, 386.

33 Zenzen, 386; Visitor center photographs, 1979, FRSP 

Chancellorsville Photographs, box 2.

34 Information in this section is based largely on aerials 

and USGS maps dating from the 1960s through the 2000s, 

and existing conditions based on site visits and Google 

street view. Information on park development within 

the Civil War-era properties in found in the previous 

section of this chapter (Chancellorsville Battlefi ld Park 

Development). 

35 Crozier, 32; NPS, Chancellorsville Battlefi ld land 

status map.

36 Noel G. Harrison, Chancellorsville Battlefield Sit s

(Lynchburg, VA: H. E. Howard, Inc., 1990), 86.

37 Civil War Trust, “Saving the Flank Attack,” http://www.

civilwar.org/battlefi lds/chancellorsville/chancellorsvillehistory-articles/saving-the-flank attack.html (accessed 

January 28, 2015).

38 Interment.net Cemetery Records Online, “Laurel Hill 

Memorial Park, Spotsylvania County, Virginia, http://

www.interment.net/data/us/va/spotsylvania/laurel_hill/

index.htm (accessed February 2, 2015).

39 USGS Chancellorsville quadrangle, 1944, 1966.

40 USGS Chancellorsville quadrangle, 1973.

41 Postcard of Jackson Monument, ca. 1950; Photograph 

of visitor center with cannon, 1985, FRSP Chancellorsville 

Photographs, box 2; Photograph of two cannon at Hazel 

Grove stop, 1972, FRSP Chancellorsville Photographs, 

box 1, Hazel Grove.

42 Draft National Register documentation, 

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park 

(2009), Section 7, page 15.
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

198
?

John Jones Run

Drawing 2.1

House

(ca.1992)

Winfield Oaks

subdivision (ca. 1998)

MauryPulliam house 

site

COOK

FARM

HICKMAN 

LUCKETT FARM

BULLOCK

BURTON FARM

HAWKINS FARM

ABSALOM

McGEE

FARM

PERRY FARM

R. LEWIS

YOUNG FARM

WIDOW

LEWIS

G. LEWIS

TRIGG FARM

STEPHENS

FARM

ALRICH

FARM

TALLEY FARM

E. DECKER

CHANCELLORSVILLE (FAIRVIEW)

CATHERINE

FURNACE

ruins

WILDERNESS

CHURCH

ORANGE PLANK ROAD 

ORANGE PLANK ROAD

HERNDON ROAD

BROCK ROAD

To Spotsylvania

Court House

LEWIS RUN

CATTA IL BRANCH

ELYS FORD ROAD

US FORD ROAD

SEE INSET

 

 TURNPIKE 

Wellford

house 

(ca.1838–1970) 

BURTON

HILL

Cooktown

LeeJackson

Bivouac

McLaw’s

Line

Cemetery

(Chancellor heirs

to ENPMA, 1985)

McGEE’S

HILL

Post-war

farm

Post-war

farm

Post-war

farm

PILTZER RUN

NI RIVER

GREAT

MEADOW

SWAMP

BIG HU NTING RUN

LITTLE HUNTING RUN

PIPE DAM RUN

NINE MILE RUN

BROCK RUN

FURNACE

HOLLOW

HAZEL GROVE

LOCUST 

GROVE GERMANNA PLANK ROAD

(Private property)

Ashton farmstead

(post-1865–

ca. 1998)

Post-war farms

Hilltop Farm 

(formerly“Rosemont”)

Post-war

farm

Post-war

farm

Post-war

farm

Post-war

farm

Post-war

farm

Post-war

farm

Post-war

farm

Post-war

farm

Orchard

(ca.1900–50)

FITZHUGH FARM

CARPENTER

FARM

Chancellorsville Inn site

114th Pennsylvania

monument

27th Indiana

monument

Verna Farm

Bed of abandoned

Virginia Central Railway

County sewer line corridor

(ca.1990)

Route 3 widening

East of Elys Ford Road

 (ca.1965)

West of Elys Ford Road

(ca.1972)

Wagner Farm

CATHARINE FURNACE

COMPANY PROPERTY

WELLFORD

PLANTATION

Craig farm

(post-war-

-ca.1980)

Rowley

gas station

(ca.1925–65)

E. McGEE

Cemetery

Piney Branch

Road

RIVER ROAD

River Road

(pre-1800–ca.1950)

Double-arch

bridge

Double-arch

bridge

Post-war

Dowdall’s

Tavern house

(1869–ca.1972)

R. McGEE

SEE DWG. 1.7

Houses

(ca.1925–1990)

Posey’s Line

Vista picnic grounds

(1935–ca.1945)

Parking

(ca.1935–1980)

House (ca.1935)

Brockroad

Wilderness

Corner

624

Jackson’s 

Take-off 

Utility-Garage building

Slocum’s

line

Haney farm

Spring Dell

(post-war)

Jones

service

station

(ca.1932–

1972)

Zion Hill

Church 

12th New Jersey monumenT

Esso service station

(ca.1930–72)

Service station

(ca.1932–90)

1B

1A 2A

10

7 2B

8

Jackson Trail East

9 Jackson Trail West

6

4

5

Alienated park land

(ca.1931–1973)

Concrete bridge

WILDERNESS 

BATTLEFIELD

CHANCELLORSVILLE

BATTLEFIELD

I

II

II

II

III

III

IV

V

VI

Formerly

Mott’s Run

Post-war

farm

Earthen causeway

Houses

(ca.1940–95)

Maury stone

Stone ditch

(ca.1935)

Stone arch bridge ruins

I

Pine screen

(ca.1941–2005)

Pender’s Line Jackson’s Corps

Line

Post-war Talley

house (ca.1926–1972)

Mineral Springs Run

Mineral Springs Road

(pre-1800–ca.2000)

Visitor Center

(1962)

Alienated park land

(ca.1931–1973)

Ni River

Reservoir

(ca.1980)





















Post-war Absalom

McGee House

CCC camp road

(1933–ca.1960)

Cemetery brick

wall (ca.1970)

Fairview

house site

Chancellor West

subdivision 

(ca. 1988)

Winfield Oaks Dr.

Lee-Jackson Circle

Sawhill Blvd.

Pathfinders Ct.

Chancellor Blvd.

Pemwood Ln.

Nine Mile Run Dr.

Rensselaer Ct.

Heritage Ave.

Wesley Dr.

Perimeter Dr.

Black Meadow Road

Peppertree Rd.

Skyline Ct.

Kershaw Ct.

Whit ehall Blvd.

Custers Trace

Plantation Dr.

Old Brook Rd.

Mt. Laurel Ct.

Hazel Grove

Lake (ca.1974)

Cool Spring

Lake (ca.1974)

Furnace picnic grounds

(1935–ca.1945)



Hays

monument

Sawhill

subdivision

(ca. 1990)

Raintree

subdivision

(ca. 1990)

Estates of

Chancellorsville

(ca. 2000)

Ashley Farms

subdivision

(ca. 1985)

Pipe Run

subdivision

(ca. 1990)

Custer’s Trace

Subdivision

(ca. 1995)

APCWS easement

Wilderness Camping

Resorts / 

Presidential Resorts

 (ca.1973)

Waltonian

Pond

(ca.1960)

Lake

Wilderness

subdivision

(1969)

Six Lakes West

subdivision

(ca.1990)

Spring Creek

subdivision

(ca.1990)

Fawn Lake

subdivision

(ca. 1975)

Creekside 

subdivision

(ca. 1990)

Approved 

Legends of 

Chancellorsville subdivision

Whitehall

subdivision

(ca. 2005)

Battlefield Estates,

Fox Chance

subdivisions

(ca.2000)

Estates of Lee-Jackson subdivision (1995)

Site of proposed

MISSION 66

maintenance

area 

Former tour 

stop 8 parcel

(ca.1935–72)

Brock Road

Elementary

School

Service road

(1961–ca.1974)

Park housing

(1961)

Ranger Ln.

(1961)

VII

P

Ashley-Craig Farm

Acquired by 

CVBT 1998

England Tract,

acquired by 

NPS 1973

Johnston constr.

yard (1967–77)

BROCK ROAD

154 NY Volunteers

monument (1995)

Conservation Fund to

Spotsylvania County, 

142 acres, 1991 (NPS easement)

Houses

(post-1973)

Hazel Grove

vista clearing

(1991)

Flank Attack parcels

to NPS, 1998

Stop 8

CATHARPIN

ROAD

Public

schools

(ca.2000)

Former tour 

stop 8 parcel

(reduced with

Route 3 widening)

Pine

screen

(ca.1973)

Burton Farm parcel

donated to NPS, 1960

Paxton monument

(1980)

Peppertree

subdivision

(ca. 1975)

Conservation Fund to

Spotsylvania County, 

233 acres, 1993 (NPS easement)

County

easement

Spotsylvania County property

167 acres

NPS easement

Route 3 widening

west of Elys Ford

Road (ca.1972)

Route 3 houses

(post-1945)

Houses (ca.1975/90)

Earthen dam

(ca.1974)

House

(ca.1970–2000)

Bullock

clearing restored

ca.1990

McLaws

Lane (ca.1970)

S. Carolina

Court

Terembes

Lane (ca.1970)

Houses

(ca.1960/80)

Ashby’s Pond

(ca.1960)

Parking

(ca.1980)

X

VII

VII VII

VII

VII

VIII

IX

Slocum’s Log Works

Water tower

(ca.1970)

Laurel Hill

Cemeteryfuneral home

(1980/2000)

Anderson’s

Line gun pit

3

 Wagner Farm

(Civil War Trust to

NPS, 2014)

Binns Property

(Civil War Trust

to NPS, 2014)

Sand shed (2005)

Ford

Brygider farmstead

(ca. 1950–ca.1998)

House

(ca. 1960)

Houses

(post-1990)

House

(ca.2005)

House

(ca.2006)

House

(ca.1990)

House

(ca.2000)

Pine plantations

(post-1945)

Houses

(ca.1992)

Old Carter Road

House

(ca.1945)

Trigg farm

entry road

(pre-1863–ca.1950)

1.4-acre

donation

(ca.1960)

Land conserved by

CVBT, 1999–2013

INSET Chancellorsville Inn

Stone steps

VA 3 Westbound

VA 3 Eastbound

ELY’S FORD ROAD

Elms (pre-1861–

ca.1970)

Gas station

(ca.1925–72)

Ruined walls

(ca.1825–1947/66)

Interpretive

brick foundations

(1987)

Rowley house

(1932–ca.1977)

Red-cedar Well

cover

Rowley

infant

graves

State historical marker (moved, ca.1980)

UDC marker (1927–80)

Stacked rail

fence (ca.1987)

Old Route 3 alignment

(pre-1972)

To parking lot

Cable railing

(ca.1987)

Orchard

(ca.1900–50)

Abandoned

foundation

(ca. 1930–77)

Cannon

(ca.1987)

Interpretive

waysides (ca.1980)

Concrete walk (ca.1987)

Traffic signal

Rolwey heirs

to Ralph

England, 1966;

to NPS, 1973

(99 acres)

DRAWN BY

1. NPS and Spotsylvania County GIS data

2. USGS Chancellorsville and Salem Church topographic maps,

 1966, 1973 updated to 1991,1994

3. Aerial photographs, 1994, 2013

LEGEND

SOURCES

1. Plan shows landscape in 2015.

2. All features shown at approximate location and scale.

3. Sites of removed features labeled in italics; Civil War-era properties

 labeled in bold uppercase. 

4. Plan does not identify history of all parcels incorporated into park

 or show the limits of woods removed during this period.

5. See Drawing 2.1 for additional information on current property

 ownership within and adjacent to park boundaries. 

 

 

NOTES

Drawing 1.6

Cultural Landscape Report

Chancellorsville Battlefield

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania

National Military Park

Spotsylvania County, Virginia

Late Park Period

1945–2015

National Park Service

Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation

www.nps.gov/oclp

OLMSTED

for LANDSCAPE PRESERVATION

CENTER

in partnership with 

Department of Landscape Architecture

Center for Cultural Landscape Preservation

SUNY College of Environmental 

Science and Forestry, www.esf.edu/la/cclp

John Auwaerter, SUNY ESF

ArcGIS and Adobe Illustrator, 2015

Building, Bridge or Culvert

Road, Park Drive (Key No.)

Minor Road, Park Foot Trail

Fence, Notable View

Chancellorsville Earthworks:

Confederate, U.S., Both, Artillery Lunette

0

 Mile

.50 1.0

North

Wilderness Earthworks: Confederate, U.S.

Approximate Iron Mine Site, Monument

Field or Open Ground

Woods

Specimen Tree, Orchard, Pine Plantation

River or Stream, Wetland

Feature Removed During Period (dashed line)

Tax parcel (2014 property boundaries)

NPS Property Line; Former NPS Property Line

Park Boundary (Authorization boundary)

10

PARK ROAD & TRAIL KEY

4

3

5

7

8

9

10

I

II

III

IV

V

VI

VII

VIII

IX

McLaws Drive 

Furnace Road (Bivouac Road)

Sickles Drive

Stuart Drive

Bullock Drive

Hooker Drive

Miles Drive (River Road, alienated 1973)

Mineral Springs Road

 (East part alienated 1973)

Berry-Paxton Drive (north part removed 

ca. 1972)

Jackson Trail East

Jackson Trail West

Slocum Drive

Mott-Carr Foot Trail (1935–ca.1975)

Captain Dimick Foot Trail (1935–ca.1950)

Gunners Foot Trail (1935–ca.1950)

Archer-Thomas Foot Trail (1935–ca.1950)

General Posey Foot Trail (1935–ca.1950)

General Couch Foot Trail (1935–ca.1950)

Chancellorsville History Trail (ca. 1985)

Hazel Grove-Fairview Trail (ca. 2005)

McLaws Trail (ca. 1999)

Wounding of “Stonewall” Jackson Trail

(1979)

2A

2B

1A

1B

6

X

First Day

Chancellorsville

(Civil War Trust,

2006)
Jackson Memorial

Wild Flower Preserve

(1935–ca.1950)

Visitor Contact

Station (1935–62)

Jackson rock

(moved ca. 1972)

Jackson monument

Orientation

disc (moved to 

visitor center ca.1963)

Women’s toilet

(ca.1935–62)

Men’s toilet

(ca.1935–62)

Stuart Drive

(entrance shortened, ca.1973)

Unknown soldier grave

(flat marker, 2007)

Bullock Drive

Granite headwall

culvert

3 

Flagstaff

(ca.1933–63)

Tablets:

Bullock Road

Orange Turnpike

(moved)

Road cut (ca.1972)

Route 3 Reconstruction (1972):

Westbound lanes on old roadbed (lowered)

New eastbound lanes

Former open glade in

wildflower preserve

Picnic area

(ca. 1980)

Bus

parking

(1962) Visitor parking

(1962)

To Route 3

Battlefield map (ca.1963)

Visitor Center

(1962)

Bullock Road

tablet

Ca. 1935 orientation

disc (moved ca. 1963)

New orientation disc

(ca.1963)

Orientation signs (ca.2005)

Brick water

fountain (ca.1963)

Battlefield

map/narrative signs

(ca.1963, relocated

ca.1979)

Brick entrance

sign (ca.1963)

Presumed location of

wild flower preserve

trails (1935–ca1950)

Wild flower preserve

plantings (1935-ca.1950)

To Bullock

Drive

Chancellorsville History Trail

(ca.1985)

Approximte park boundary

CHANCELLORSVILLE 

BATTLEFIELD

Visitor center

access road (1962)

Brick pavement,

planter (1979)

Area allowed to revegetate

(post-1970)

Access road trace

(ca.1961)

Concrete walk (1962)

Screening (1986)

Service drive

(ca.1961–74)

Oaks (ca.1963) Yew hedges (ca.1962)

Wounding of “Stonewall”

Jackson Trail (1979)

X

VII

Chancellorsville History Trail

(Loop Trail to Pender’s Line, 

ca.1985; partly on old Mott-Carr 

Foot Trail)

VII

Firehose vault

and hydrant

(ca.1962)

OLD MOUNTAIN

ROAD 

trace (presumed)

Stream

Plank Road VA3 (TUNRPIKE)

Woods road to Mott-Carr

Foot Trail

(pre-1863–ca.1962)

Power line corridor

to Ranger Lane (ca.1962)

Dogwood row

(1962)

Flagstaff (1963)

Cultural Landscape Report 

Chancellorsville Battlefield

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania N.M.P.

National Park Service

Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation

in partnership with Department of Landscape Architecture

SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry Drawing 1.7

Jackson Wounding Area

1945–2015 Period Plan Detail

DRAWN BY

NOTES

SOURCES

1. All features are shown in approximate scale and location.

2. Plan shows landscape in 2015.

3. Plan does not show all small-scale features.

John Auwaerter, Adobe Illustrator, 2015

LEGEND

1. NPS and Spotsylvania County GIS data

2. Aerial photographs, 1994 and 2013

3. Field survey, 2013

0 100 Feet 300

Building, Culvert

Road, Park Road

Park Foot Trail

Brick, concrete walk

Park boundary

Monument

Woods

Deciduous, Coniferous

Sign, picnic table

Feature removed during

period, Ruin or Trace

203 

2. Existing Conditions

Existing Conditions

PARK MANAGEMENT AND USE

CHANCELLORSVILLE BATTLEFIELD LANDSCAPE

SUNY ESF
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

204

Chancellorsville Battlefi ld is a landscape of 

subtle beauty, with mature woods, open 

fi lds, scenic drives, and gently rolling topography across which one of the most decisive battles of 

the Civil War raged between May 1 and 3, 1863. The 

Lee-Jackson bivouac, Jackson Trail leading to the battlefi ld where Stonewall Jackson launched the surprise 

flank ttack on the US right, and the monuments that 

mark the area where Jackson was mortally wounded 

commemorate the successful Confederate strategy and 

one of its most legendary leaders. Perpendicular rows 

of gun pits at Fairview, ruins of the US headquarters at 

the Chancellorsville Inn, and the series of earthworks 

at the Apex of Hooker’s Last Line refle t the confusion, 

defeat, and retreat of US forces.

This chapter provides a concise overview of the existing landscape of Chancellorsville Battlefi ld as of 2016, 

including its management and use. Existing conditions of the entire battlefi ld park are documented on 

Drawing 2.1, with details of the visitor center area and 

Chancellorsville Inn site on Drawings 2.2 and 2.3. Detailed documentation of landscape characteristics and 

features is in Chapter 3, Analysis and Evaluation.

Chancellorsville Battlefi ld is one of four units of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. 

Park headquarters and the main visitor center and 

museum are in Fredericksburg, ten miles to the east. 

Chancellorsville has a visitor center off Route 3 where 

recently updated displays tell the story of both the 

Chancellorsville and Wilderness battles. On-site staff

includes seasonal rangers and volunteers at the visitor 

center, and law enforcement officers ho patrol the 

drives and grounds. Three residences off Bullock Road 

provide seasonal staff housing and a ranger office or 

Chancellorsville and Wilderness. 

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military 

Park received 873,000 visitors in 2014, with approximately 50,000 vehicles entering Chancellorsville at 

the visitor center.1

 Park lands are open to self-guided 

tours from dawn to dusk, with ranger-led tours offered 

on special occasions. Most visitors tour the battlefi ld 

by private automobile, following a ten-stop route that 

begins at the visitor center and loops around to the 

Catharine Furnace and the Flank Attack battlefi ld, 

and ends at Fairview (fig. 2.1). This is not a continuous 

loop, does not follow the chronological progression of 

the battle, and leaves out the Jackson Trail and Hooker 

Drive. The tour route is diffi lt to follow because of 

the layout of the battlefi ld with far-flu g points, and 

the need to exit park boundaries onto busy public 

roads. 

Aside from historical interpretation and commemoration, public uses of the battlefi ld landscape include 

passive recreation such as walking, running, hiking, 

and bicycling, primarily by local residents. Picnicking is 

restricted to an area near the visitor center. The visitor 

center is the only building open to the public; others 

are either for utility or park staff use, or are subject to 

life estate of private residents. Fields in the Fairview 

clearing, McLaws Wedge, and Flank Attack battlefi ld 

are farmed under agricultural lease agreements.

PARK MANAGEMENT AND USE
205 

2. Existing Conditions

PROPERTY OWNERSHIP

The National Park Service owns 1,860 acres of the historic battlefi ld, with a large core area centered on the 

Fairview clearing and visitor center, near where General “Stonewall” Jackson was mortally wounded. Outlying areas include the six-mile-long Jackson Trail park 

road and several non-contiguous park parcels along 

Route 3 at the Flank Attack battlefi ld. 

The Chancellor West and Estates of 

Lee-Jackson subdivisions create a hole 

south of the core of the park between 

Slocum Drive and Furnace Road, on 

lands historically owned by the Catharine Furnace Company (fig. 2.2). O her 

park property associated with the 

Chancellorsville Campaign includes 

several parcels at the Salem Church 

Battlefi ld and the Jackson Shrine 

that are managed as part of Chancellorsville unit, and part of the Battle of 

2nd Fredericksburg at Marye’s Heights 

that is managed as part of the Fredericksburg unit. These sites are well east 

and south of Chancellorsville. 

The authorized park boundaries for Chancellorsville 

encompass several privately-owned properties, the 

largest of which is the Hawkins Farm on the Flank 

Attack battlefi ld, and several smaller residential and 

non-developed tracts along Old Plank Road (see fig.

2.2). There are several residences and a farm that the 

park has acquired with right of life estate granted to the 

sellers. The park also owns scenic easements on several 

large undeveloped tracts 

outside of the park boundaries adjoining Jackson Trail 

East and West, primarily on 

county-owned property. 

Park land managed as part 

of the Wilderness Battlefi ld unit is west of Chancellorsville, and includes 

the part of Jackson Trail 

West north of the former 

Virginia Central Railway 

crossing.

Property owned and 

managed by park partners 

outside of the park boundaries includes seven parcels 

at the Talley Farm, three 

Figure 2.1. Map of the Chancellorsville Battlefiel driving tour. (NPS, 

Fredericksburg and Spotyslvania County Battlefields park brochure)

Figure 2.2. Map of Chancellorsville Battlefield showing current park-owned land and private property 

within the park boundary, and land outside the park boundary conserved through scenic easements or 

ownership by park partners. (SUNY ESF)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

206

parcels to the east along Route 3 owned by the Central 

Virginia Battlefi lds Trust, and the First Day at Chancellorsville site and a parcel at the Talley Farm owned 

by the Civil War Trust (see fig. 2.2). There are no visitor 

facilities on these properties, except for an interpretive 

wayside and the county-owned Lick Run Community 

Center, formerly a visitor center for the First Day site. 

Both trusts have also been active in acquiring land that 

was transferred to park ownership, including McLaws 

Wedge and the Wagner Farm. 

The National Park Service’s American Battlefi ld Protection Program (ABPP) provides profiles n battlefi lds that include recommendations for land protection. Chancellorsville is identified as b ttlefi ld VA032. 

The ABPP has identified a ore battlefi ld area at 

Chancellorsville and land potentially eligible for listing 

in the National Register of Historic Places, including 

much of the former Catharine Furnace property and 

Stephens-Trigg farms along Jackson Trail West.2

 

PARK DRIVE SYSTEM 

The nearly fourteen miles of park-maintained drives 

at Chancellorsville provide access to most of the park 

property. Exceptions include the Flank 

Attack battlefi ld and Jackson Take-Off

site on Route 3, and Burton Farm on 

Orange Plank Road that are only accessible from public roads. No public 

access is allowed to park property where 

private residents maintain a right to life 

estate, including the Wagner Farm and 

a residence on Route 3, and to privately 

owned property within park boundaries, 

including the Hawkins Farm, Wilderness 

Church, and several residences. 

The park drives were built in the 1930s 

as a system that relied in part on public roads for connectivity. There is no 

closed park loop; all park drives require 

entry and/or exit onto state-maintained 

highways, including Route 3, Elys Ford 

Road and Old Plank Road (Route 610), 

River Road (Route 618), Herndon Road (Route 600), 

and Brock Road (Route 613). The park drive system 

worked well when the roads were all low-volume rural 

routes. Today, the expansion of Route 3 into a divided 

four-lane highway used by 23,000 vehicles daily with a 

posted 55 mph speed limit poses an acute functional 

problem in terms of access and safety, essentially 

dividing the park in two (fig. 2.3). El s Ford Road-Old 

Plank Road, posted at 40 mph, presently carry 2,800 

vehicles daily, but the volume is expected to increase 

with planned construction of major subdivisions north 

of the park. Orange Plank Road (Route 621) has the 

second heaviest road volume, but there are no park 

drives off it, although the Jackson Trail does cross it at 

Brock Road. 

Park drives are unstriped two-lane asphalt paved roads 

posted between 25 and 35 mph, except for Jackson Trail 

East and West that are narrower gravel roads posted at 

25 mph, and a section of River Road that was historically a park drive, but is presently maintained as state 

Route 618. Because the park drives are tied into the 

public road network, they are open to free public use. 

The park can control access on Sickles, Stuart, BerryPaxton, and Slocum drives through use of gates, but the 

Figure 2.3. Map of Chancellorsville Battlefield showing daily traffic volumes, with roads 

depicted relative to vehicle counts. Tallies on all park drives is not available. (SUNY ESF 

based on Virginia DOT and NPS traffic counts by location, 2014
207 

2. Existing Conditions

roads typically remain open except during snowfall. Some of the park drives 

serve as shortcuts for commuter traffic

notably McLaws Drive that is used 

by an average of 630 vehicles per day. 

The other park drives average between 

70 and 150 vehicles daily (see fig. 2.3).

Some of this traffic is lso generated by 

local residents that have access to their 

residences off McLaws Drive, Furnace Road, and Jackson Trail East and 

Jackson Trail West through easements 

across park property. 

The main parking area is at the visitor 

center, where there is a fifty-car lot a d 

space for three busses. Small on-road/

pull-off parking areas with two or three spaces are 

found at most of the tour stops, and at the Maury birthplace site. The Chancellorsville Inn site and Catharine 

Furnace site have larger parking areas for between fi e 

and ten vehicles. 

TRAILS

Although most visitors use the park drives to view the 

battlefi ld, it is also possible to access the park on foot 

through a network of trails that were reestablished 

beginning in the 1980s after the original system built 

in the 1930s had been abandoned after World War II. 

The main trail is the Chancellorsville History Trail that 

loops through the core of the battlefi ld north of Route 

3. It consists of a 4.3-mile loop beginning at the visitor 

center parking lot with a separate 0.5-mile loop to 

Pender’s Line west of Bullock Drive. The trail features 

eleven stops with interpretive signage, keyed to a map 

in a printed brochure (fig. 2.4). The three other maintained trails, each of which also has a brochure and 

interpretive signs, include the Hazel Grove-Fairview 

Trail (0.85 mile), McLaws Line Trail (1.1 mile), and 

the Jackson Wounding Walking Tour Trail (0.2 mile). 

The four trails do not connect, and none cross Route 

3. There are no maintained trails to the Flank Attack 

battlefi ld or in the vicinity of Catharine Furnace. 

Although the names of Jackson Trail East and Jackson 

Trail West suggest pedestrian use, neither is maintained 

as a trail. 

While there are currently no regional trails near 

Chancellorsville, Spotsylvania County has developed a 

trail master plan that calls for extension of the Virginia 

Central Railway Trail (extant to the east near Fredericksburg) west through Chancellorsville alongside the 

historic bed of the Civil War-era unfini hed railroad 

(fig. 2.5). The Ni River Trail is proposed to extend south 

from the railway trail at the proposed intersection near 

Jackson Trail East. No regional trails are proposed near 

Chancellorsville north of Route 3.3

 

NATURAL RESOURCES

Natural resources on the Chancellorsville Battlefi ld 

are dominated by deciduous forest, old fi ld successional coniferous forest, naturalized forest plantations, 

and wetlands and creeks that are part of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Park lands north of Route 3 and 

Bullock Drive, and east of Elys Ford Road/Old Plank 

Road are within the Rappahannock River sub-watershed, which is drained by the Big Hunting Run, Mineral 

Figure 2.4. Map of the Chancellorsville History Trail from the 

brochure available at the visitor center. Similar brochures are 

available for the other three maintained trails at Chancellorsville. 

(NPS)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

208

Springs Run, and Nine Mile Run (fig. 2.6). ands to 

the south are within the York River sub-watershed, 

which is drained by the Lewis Run, Ni River, and Brock 

(Poplar) Run that join the Mattaponi River and then 

the York River. The main concentrations of federallydesignated wetlands are along the Lewis Run–Ni River 

in Furnace Hollow near Stuart Drive and Jackson Trail 

East. These are designated as freshwater forested wetlands with small areas of emergent wetlands. There are 

also smaller areas of forested wetlands east of the Fairview clearing, and at the headwaters of Nine Mile Run 

west of McLaws Wedge and south of Route 3 known 

historically as Great Meadow Swamp.4

 

There are presently no threatened or endangered species that have been identified n park lands. Federal 

and/or state listed endangered species in Spotsylvania 

County include the Dwarf Wedgemussel, Yellow Lance 

(mussel), Green Floater (bug), Virginia Piedmont Water Boatman (bug), and Small Whorled Pogonia (plant). 

The Lower Rappahannock River is classified as an

“imperiled” second order stream because of its rarity 

of species and vulnerability. The Mattaponi River, into 

which the Ni River fl ws, is classified as a “v lnerable” 

fir t order stream because of its rare and uncommon 

species.5

 

Diseases and pests in the park include hemlock woolly 

adelgid and gypsy moth. Both are problematic, but 

presently under control. The Mid Atlantic Network of 

the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Program maintains 

106 forest health plots and about ten water sampling 

points along streams in the park to monitor long-term 

trends. Each plot is visited every four years, and data 

collected and compared from each visit.6

FACILITIES MAINTENANCE

The cultural landscape of Chancellorsville Battlefi ld 

is maintained by park staff responsible for all units of 

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military 

Park. A maintenance garage and road salt storage shed 

are at the Chancellorsville utility area off Hooker Drive. 

Maintained landscapes consist of park drives, clearings, interpretive waysides, historic building sites, and 

the visitor center area. Most of the park is unmanaged 

natural woodlands, but there are also managed areas 

that are not maintained by park staff. These include 

areas that are subject to life estate of private residents, 

notably the Wagner farmstead and house at 9437 Route 

3; areas under agricultural lease including portions of 

the Flank Attack battlefi ld and Fairview clearing; and 

Figure 2.5. Detail of Spotsylvania County 

Greenway Trail Plan showing proposed trails 

in light green, including an extension of the 

Virginia Central Rail Trail and development of 

the Ni River Trail to the south, both of which 

would be accessible from Jackson Trail East. 

(Spotsylvania County Planning Department, 

Spotsylvania County Trailways Master Plan, 

2010, map 3, annotated by SUNY ESF).
209 

2. Existing Conditions

trails. Routine trail maintenance is generally undertaken by volunteers from the Potomac Appalachian 

Trail Club. Park staff will perform major work along the 

trails, such as removing downed trees, as well as mowing of trail corridors through open meadow.7

 

Typical landscape maintenance activities include mowing Class A turf along the shoulders of park drives, and 

at interpretive waysides, the Chancellorsville Inn site, 

Fairview gun pits, and the visitor center. Areas managed as meadow with less frequent mowing (Class B or 

C) include the Bullock clearing, Wellford clearing, and 

Hazel Grove-Fairview vista clearing. There is no active 

program of earthwork maintenance, except for mowing 

of the Fairview gun pits, based on the understanding 

that leaving trees, shrubs, and leaf litter on the earthworks protect them from erosion. Park staff also maintains the park drives, including grading of the gravel 

surface of Jackson Trail. Major repairs and resurfacing 

of drives used by the public are undertaken through the 

Federal Lands Highway Program. 

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military 

Park has a well-developed NPS Facility Management 

Software System (FMSS) database that it uses to manage park infrastructure (maintained facilities), establish 

work orders, and track costs. Maintenance of Chancellorsville Battlefi ld’s cultural landscape is tracked 

through one Parent Location: Chancellorsville Battlefi ld Area (CBF Area, 4370). Salem Church and Jackson 

Shrine are included in these records. Individual Locations (facilities) are organized under Asset Codes for 

Roads, Parking Areas, Road Bridges, Trails, Maintained 

Landscapes (Battlefi ld Grounds, Visitor Center/Picnic Area), Buildings, Water System, Electrical System, 

Outdoor Sculptures/Monuments/Interpretation, Maintained Archeological Sites that include earthworks, and 

Interpretive Media. There are presently about 1,000 

individual FMSS assets inventoried for Chancellorsville 

Battlefi ld under thirty Asset Codes. Many of the Locations and Assets, notably building interiors, electrical systems, and water distribution systems, do not 

contribute to the historic character of the landscape 

and are not captured in the CLR inventory, and some 

CLR landscape features are not refle ted in the FMSS 

database (see Tables 3.0–3.6, Chapter 3).8

 

Figure 2.6. Map of hydrological systems 

in and around Chancellorsville Battlefield 

(SUNY ESF based on Spotsylvania County 

GIS data and US Fish and Wildlife Service 

National Wetlands Inventory)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

210

Chancellorsville Battlefi ld is sacred ground established by Congress as a national military park to 

preserve and commemorative the place where many 

sacrificed heir lives on May 1, 2, and 3, 1863. The 

battlefi ld contained within park boundaries is characterized by woods, fi lds, and rolling topography typical 

of the Virginia Piedmont. 

Chancellorsville is today within a rapidly developing 

region along the I-95 corridor. Drivers on Route 3, the 

main artery through the region, speed by at 55 miles 

per hour, while local residents use park drives and 

secondary public roads for access to their homes and as 

recreation ways, alongside tourists and Civil War scholars looking for battle traces (fig. 2.7). Aside from named 

drives, cannons, and small identific tion tablets found 

at many national military parks, there are few monuments, visible battle remnants, or other conspicuous 

signs of the park’s significa t history and commemorative purpose. 

To appreciate Chancellorsville—to remember and 

honor those who sacrificed heir lives there—takes time 

and a willingness to study the battlefi ld. The landscape 

does not reveal its history by a quick drive-through.

The Chancellorsville unit of Fredericksburg and Spotyslvania National Military Park is contained within farflu g and irregular boundaries that refle t the action of 

the battle in 1863, the original modified Antietam plan 

for the park adopted in 1930, and park expansion begun in the 1970s in response to suburban development 

pressures. Today, the park extends outward from the 

core at the site of Jackson’s Wounding (visitor center) 

by more than four miles, adjoining busy roads, recently 

developed suburban subdivisions, and privately-owned 

farms and woodlands that have been conserved by park 

partners or remain open for development (fig. 2.8).

The following description of the Chancellorsville Battlefi ld landscape provides an overview of the park’s 

setting, lands conserved by park partners, and standard 

features found throughout the national military park. 

The landscape description is organized by four areas: 

Core Battlefi ld (including the visitor center area and 

Chancellorsville Inn site), Furnace Lands, Jackson Trail, 

and the Flank Attack battlefi ld. Existing conditions are 

graphically documented on Drawings 2.1, 2.2, and 2.3.

SETTING

The setting of the Chancellorsville Battlefi ld—the area 

adjoining the park—is an important part of the landscape’s historic character due to often narrow boundaries of the park, and because the battle occurred over 

an area much larger that the property contained within 

the current authorized park boundary that encompasses 2,050 acres of both public and private land. 

Chancellorsville Battlefi ld is located in Spotsylvania 

County, in an unincorporated community that is identified in he real estate market as Spotsylvania, Virginia. 

The county has an estimated population of 129,188 

(2014) with a population density of 305 persons per 

Figure 2.7. Old Plank Road looking north toward the Chancellorsville 

Inn site at Route 3, 2015. There are few clues that the field at left, 

historically part of the Fairview Plantation that was the scene of 

fie ce fighting on May 3, 1863, is part of the national military park. 

(SUNY ESF)

CHANCELLORSVILLE BATTLEFIELD LANDSCAPE
211 

2. Existing Conditions

square mile, and grew at a rate of 5.3% between 2010 

and 2014. Located fift miles south of Washington, 

D.C., Spotsylvania County is part of the WashingtonArlington-Alexandria Metropolitan Area. Chancellorsville is not a census designated place, nor an unincorporated community, but is identified n Google maps 

as a place along Route 3 that corresponds to the site 

of the Chancellorsville Inn. Neighborhoods around 

the park are generally identified y the names of the 

subdivisions. The nearest recognized unincorporated 

communities, which relate to pre-suburban settlement, 

are Chancellor along Old Plank Road (Route 610) east 

of Chancellorsville, Brockroad north of the Jackson 

Trail along Brock Road at the former railroad crossing, 

Cooktown, a historic African-American community 

south of the intersection of Orange Plank Road and 

Brock Road, and Wilderness Corner at the intersection 

of Brock Road and Route 3.9

 

Land use surrounding the park is primarily suburban 

residential, with some agriculture (livestock, crop, and 

forest products), and resort development. There are ten 

large, named subdivisions of large single-family houses 

adjacent to or in close proximity to the park. Smaller 

and older residential subdivisions and individual 

houses dating back to the 1950s are off McLaws Drive, 

Elys Ford Road, Jackson Trail East, Jackson Trail West, 

and Route 3 (fig. 2.9). he area is dependent on private 

automobiles for transportation, with a walkability rating of 0 out of a possible score of 0-100.10 There is no 

commercial development adjoining the park except 

for a funeral home and memorial park along Route 

3 adjoining the Flank Attack battlefi ld. Continuous 

Figure 2.8. Map of Chancellorsville Battlefield showing extent of park lands, with distances from the core at the site of Jackson’s Wounding 

(visitor center) to outlying points. Unmasked areas indicate park land or land conserved through scenic easements or ownership by land 

trusts. Red lines indicate NPS property boundaries; orange is the authorized park boundary for Chancellorsville, blue is for Wilderness. See 

Drawings 3.1–3.3 for additional details. (SUNY ESF)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

212

commercial strip development along Route 3 begins 

two miles to the east. There is also commercial strip 

development 2.5 miles to the west at the intersection 

of Routes 3 and 20 in Wilderness. Wilderness Baptist 

Church is the sole religious institution adjoining the 

park. There are public schools near the park off Brock 

Road and Catharpin Road. 

Subdivisions that abut park boundaries include Estates 

of Lee-Jackson, Chancellor West, and Sawhill within 

the historic Catharine Furnace property with access 

from Old Plank Road and Catharpin Road; Estates 

of Chancellorsville off US Ford Road adjacent to the 

Apex of Hooker’s Last Line and Mineral Springs Road; 

Six Lakes West adjacent to Burton Farm off Orange 

Plank Road; and Winfi ld Oaks along the west side of 

the Flank Attack battlefi ld. These subdivisions were 

developed after 1985 with large Colonial-style singlefamily houses of between 4,000 and 7,000 square feet 

on one-to-three acre lots (fig. 2.10). ecent sale prices 

range between $340,000 and $850,000. The Custers 

Trace subdivision near the historic Stephens and Trigg 

farms and accessed directly from Jackson Trail West is a 

large-lot subdivision with most parcels around twenty 

acres and sale prices in the $500,000 range. The Civil 

War Trust holds a scenic easement on the 300-acre subdivision. Spring Creek, located off Jackson Trail West 

within the historic Trigg Farm but without access from 

the park road, has more modest houses of between 

2,000 and 3,000 square feet on less than one-acre lots 

selling for between $250,000 and $350,000.11 A 218-

unit two-acre lot subdivision, “Legends of Chancellorsville” is planned for the woods north of the park, 

off Elys Ford Road. A conservation buffer area between 

the development and the park is part of the countyapproved subdivision plan. 

The largest development within the core of the historic 

battlefi ld is Wilderness Presidential Resorts, a yearround time-share development established as Wilderness Camping Resorts in ca. 1973 (fig. 2.11). The resort, 

which is billed as a “privately owned, family-oriented 

retreat,” has hundreds of tiny lots with cabins or sites 

Figure 2.10. A typical newer house in the large subdivisions that 

adjoin the park, looking north from Boulevard of the Generals, 2015. 

The woods behind the house are on park property along Slocum 

Drive. This area was historically part of the wooded Catharine 

Furnace property. (SUNY ESF)

Figure 2.9. Suburban houses showing older and more modest 

development along public road frontage, looking east along Route 

3 in the battle-period Locust Grove (Dowdall’s Tavern) plantation, 

2015. These houses are outside the authorized park boundary. 

(SUNY ESF

Figure 2.11. Wilderness Presidential Resorts, looking southwest 

from near the park boundary at Hazel Grove to the central field

and recreational facilities, 2013. The red barn dates to a post-Civil 

War farm on the property and is near where the antebellum Hazel 

Grove house stood. (SUNY ESF)
213 

2. Existing Conditions

for RVs and tent camping, as well as a central open 

fi ld with community activities, and two large lakes 

created through damming of Lewis Run. The resort 

offers guests campsites, furnished cabins, RV rentals, and recreational activities including an adventure 

course, indoor gym, boating, swimming, and crafts. 

The resort occupies approximately 600 acres on the 

historic Hazel Grove and Locust Grove plantations, 

adjacent to the western boundary of the park along 

Stuart and Sickles drives.12 

PARTNER-CONSERVED BATTLEFIELD LAND 

(DRAWING 2.1)

The Central Virginia Battlefi lds Trust (CVBT), Civil 

War Trust, and Spotsylvania County have partnered 

with the National Park Service to conserve land on the 

Chancellorsville Battlefi ld, some of which has been 

transferred to park ownership. The land trusts continue 

to own battlefi ld property in part because the parcels 

are outside the park’s authorized boundary and thus 

cannot be acquired by the federal government. 

First Day Battlefiel

East of McLaws Drive along the north side of Route 

3 is the Civil War Trust’s 214-acre property known as 

First Day at Chancellorsville Battlefi ld. Site of the fir t 

skirmish of the battle on May 1, 1863, the property was 

proposed in 2002 for a massive development of 2,350 

residential units and 2.4 million square feet of commercial and office pace on a 790-acre farm that belonged 

in part to the McGee family during the Civil War. A coalition of individuals and organizations came together 

to defeat the proposal, and the existing site is result 

of the Civil War Trust working with a new developer 

to secure preservation of the most visible part of the 

battlefi ld along Route 3, and to cluster development in 

the woods to the north and east. The site, which retains 

its post-war farmstead with twentieth-century silos 

and the county-owned Lick Run Community Center, 

is today preserved as open fi lds along Route 3 (fig.

2.12). Interpretive waysides and trails accessible from 

an on-site parking area are maintained by the Civil War 

Trust.13 To the west about 1,500 feet are the wooded 

Johnson and Warren tracts owned by CVBT. These 

properties include twelve acres and are just southeast 

of former park land along River Road (Miles Drive) 

that was alienated by the NPS in 1973 and subsequently 

developed with houses. 

Flank Attack Battlefiel

The park’s authorized boundary for the Flank Attack 

battlefi ld, site of Stonewall Jackson’s Flank Attack 

on May 2, 1863, excludes land south of Route 3 that 

was part of the historic clearing in which the fi hting 

occurred. Within this area is the Talley Farm, site of US 

11th Corps headquarters under General Charles Devens, and the southern half of Melzi Chancellor’s Locust Grove plantation that included Dowdall’s Tavern, 

site of 11th Corps headquarters under General Howard. CVBT owns four tracts on the Talley Farm that it 

acquired between 1999 and 2012, in total comprising 

fifty-e ght acres. The Civil War Trust acquired a fif h 

parcel in 2013 to complete a block of conserved land at 

the Talley Farm. The western part of the historic Talley 

Farm clearing remains in private ownership. The historically open land, which retains several non-historic 

buildings, is heavily wooded. The Civil Trust acquired a 

large, 355-acre parcel to the west and south in 2016. 

At Locust Grove, most of the site, which includes a 

large fi ld and several non-historic houses, remains 

in private ownership (fig. 2.13). This property covers 

a portion of the Dowdall’s Tavern site, most of which 

was destroyed by widening of Route 3 in ca. 1973. The 

Figure 2.12. The Civil War Trust’s First Day at Chancellorsville site, 

looking west along Route 3, 2015. (SUNY ESF)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

214

property also contains a monument to the 154th New 

York placed in 1995 near the site of Dowdall’s Tavern 

(fig. 2.14). The only conserved parcel is a 9.2-acre tract 

(Stonewall Brigade parcel) acquired by CVBT that 

straddles the area between Locust Grove and Hazel 

Grove. It contained an early 20th century house that has 

been removed. 

Jackson Trail

The Jackson Trail was developed between 1939 and 

1943 as a narrow corridor or park property through 

six miles of woods and farmland, a plan that has left 

its rustic landscape vulnerable to development. While 

most of the adjoining property remains in private ownership, four large parcels along Jackson Trail East, a total of 561 acres, are owned by Spotsylvania County with 

scenic easements held by NPS. These properties, which 

are all wooded, were historically part of the Catharine 

Furnace Company lands. These parcels include part 

of the unfini hed railroad (Virginia Central Railway) 

corridor, and extend north toward the park-owned 

Posey’s Line and Furnace Road. On Jackson Trail West, 

NPS owns a scenic easement on a 5.45-acre parcel of 

private property at the entrance to the Custers Trace 

subdivision. The Civil War Trust holds a scenic easement to the 300-acre subdivision that is not contiguous 

with park property, presumably to control density of 

development. 

PARK-WIDE FEATURES 

Signage and Interpretation

Standard signage and interpretive waysides are found 

throughout the Chancellorsville unit, but primarily within the Core Battlefi ld area. Historic signage 

includes small metal tablets of a standard War Department design also found at other national military 

parks and national cemeteries to identify names of 

drives, earthworks, and historic sites on the battlefi ld. 

Installed between ca. 1935 and 1965, they are low iron 

or aluminum square tablets with raised lettering, set at 

an angle on low octagonal posts (fig. 2.15). arger metal 

signs within wood frames, known as Happel signs after 

the person who updated the design in the 1950s, provide narratives of important sites and military action on 

the battlefi ld (fig. 2.16). The existing gray color scheme 

and cast aluminum signboard are MISSION 66-era upFigure 2.13. A field and 20th-century house on the privately-owned 

Locust Grove (Dowdall’s Tavern) site, looking southeast from Route 

3, 2015. (SUNY ESF)

Figure 2.14. Monument to the 154th New York located on private 

property near the site of Dowdall’s Tavern, looking southeast across 

Route 3, 2015. (SUNY ESF)

Figure 2.15. A standard War Department-style identification tablet 

along Bullock Drive, looking north, 2015. (SUNY ESF)
215 

2. Existing Conditions

dates of the original 1930s rustic design that was used 

at many national military parks. They contain a circular 

logo for each of the four park units. Chancellorsville’s 

logo shows Lee and Jackson at their so-called crackerbox meeting at the bivouac site on May 1, 1863, where 

they planned the flank ttack. Small round cast-metal 

signs, also dating to the MISSION 66 era, identify the 

auto tour route and individual stops. Other standard 

signage includes non-historic NPS standard interpretive waysides and brown-face aluminum signs. 

The Chancellorsville Battlefi ld unit lacks clear and 

consistent identific tion along the public highways. 

Modest brown-faced signs with the NPS logo identify 

park drives, distances to the Chancellorsville Battlefi ld 

visitor center, and that motorists are entering the battlefi ld area (fig. 2.17). The only substantial park signs are 

those identifying the entry to the visitor center along 

Route 3 (see Visitor Center description). Small sections 

of stacked-rail fences mark the Chancellorsville Inn site 

and entrances to Stuart Drive at Route 3 and Slocum 

Drive from Old Plank Road (fig. 2.18). Aside from these 

fences and signage, there is no other distinctive visual 

identity to park lands from the public roads. 

Park Drives

The park drives in the core battlefi ld and furnace 

lands are a standard design used throughout the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County battlefi ld parks. 

Several follow battle-era road alignments. Construction 

began under War Department administration in 1932, 

and they were completed by 1935 under NPS administration through federal work-relief programs. The 

drives feature straight or gently curving alignments, 

eighteen-foot-wide unstriped roadbeds surfaced in 

asphalt, turf shoulders, and triangular intersections 

with other park drives (fig. 2.19). oadside drainage 

Figure 2.16. A narrative sign (Happel sign) along River Road, looking 

southeast, 2015. In the background is a tablet identifying a federal 

earthwork (SUNY ESF)

Figure 2.17. Typical signs used to identify Chancellorsville Battlefiel 

along the main roads, looking southeast along Route 3 west of the 

Flank Attack Battlefield, 2015. (SUNY ESF

Figure 2.18. Stacked rail fences at the entrance to Stuart Drive, 

looking south across Route 3, 2013. Such fences are used in only a 

few areas to identify park lands. (SUNY ESF)

Figure 2.19. Typical park drive roadbed, shoulders, and intersection, 

showing the west end of Furnace Road looking west, 2015. (SUNY 

ESF)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

216

is carried by swales and culverts with granite ashlar 

headwalls (fig. 2.20). St eam crossings feature larger 

poured-concrete culverts with matching granite ashlar 

facing, or larger arched bridges (see individual drive 

descriptions). Trees rings, used to preserve trees where 

the grade of the shoulders had to be raised, are also of 

matching granite ashlar (fig. 2.21).

Earthworks

Earthworks on the Chancellorsville Battlefi ld are 

primarily trenches that are located in woods and are 

inconspicuous amid deciduous trees, understory, and 

leaf litter (fi s. 2.22, 2.23). They consist of a linear parapet (berm) that was originally built with debris covered 

by earth, with a ditch in front from where the earth was 

excavated. Some trenches were known as “log works” 

because they used logs for the parapet, either as core 

debris or as a supporting wall. Some trenches had a 

protective line of downed trees in front, known as an 

abatis, while others had ditches on two sides, refle ting 

a change in direction of the battle. The existing height 

of the parapets, generally less than two feet tall, refle ts 

the decomposition of the interior debris. 

The park does not have a comprehensive archaeological survey or conditions assessment of the Chancellorsville earthworks, and a number remain unidentified

in terms of association with lines of battle. Most of 

the extant trenches at Chancellorsville are within the 

core battlefi ld and were built by US forces. Named 

trenches north of Route 3 include Pender’s Line, Jackson’s Corps Line, Couch’s Line, Griffin’s L e, and the 

complex of earthworks at the Apex of Hooker’s Last 

Line. South of Route 3 trenches include Slocum’s Line, 

Slocum’s Log Works, McLaws Line, and Posey’s Line. 

Figure 2.21. Typical stone tree ring, looking west along River Road, 

2013. This section of River Road was originally built as a park road 

named Miles Drive. (SUNY ESF)

Figure 2.20. Standard park drive drainage showing swale and 

culvert with stone headwall, looking south on Bullock Drive, 2013. 

(SUNY ESF)

Figure 2.22. A trench earthwork, looking east at Jackson’s Corps Line 

that runs perpendicular to Bullock Drive, 2013. This is one of the 

most accessible of the earthworks given its location along a park 

drive and the Chancellorsville History Trail. (SUNY ESF)

Figure 2.23. A trench earthwork, looking northeast from the 

Chancellorsville History Trail at Pender’s Line, 2015. This is one of the 

best preserved trenches on the battlefield in terms of topography. 

Few visitors take the trail to see this earthwork. (SUNY ESF)
217 

2. Existing Conditions

Extant trenches outside of park boundaries are along 

River Road, south of Mineral Springs Road, at the Apex 

of Hooker’s Last Line, south of Jackson Trail East, and 

east of the site of Dowdall’s Tavern.

Gun pits, also known as lunettes for their crescent 

shape, are the other type of earthwork at Chancellorsville. Like trenches, gun pits have eroded over time and 

today are inconspicuous hillocks. The Fairview gun 

pits, which are maintained in mown turf, are the most 

visible (see Core Battlefi ld); the others, which include 

several at the Apex of Hooker’s Last Line and Anderson’s Gun Pit off Furnace Road, are concealed by trees, 

scrub, and leaf litter (fig. 2.24).

CORE BATTLEFIELD

The core of the Chancellorsville Battlefi ld unit is a 

block of land that extends from Slocum Drive on the 

south to the Apex of Hooker’s Last Line on the north, 

and from the Hazel Grove artillery site along Stuart 

Drive on the west to the Chancellorsville Inn site on 

the east. It was here that the fie cest and fi al fi hting at Chancellorsville occurred on May 3, 1863. This 

land, most of which was part of the Chancellor family’s 843-acre Fairview Plantation that included the 

Chancellorsville Inn, also contains the oldest and most 

developed part of the park along with the furnace lands 

to the south. Route 3, the historic Orange Turnpike that 

was widened into a divided four-lane highway between 

ca. 1965 and 1973, creates a substantial functional and 

visible barrier through the core battlefi ld area. 

Visitor Center Area (Drawing 2.2)

At the heart of the core battlefi ld and designated as 

stop 1 on the auto tour route is the site where Stonewall Jackson was mortally wounded, which is marked 

by a monument along Route 3 erected in 1888 (fig.

2.25). The granite shaft, the largest and one of only fi e 

historic monuments at Chancellorsville, was designed 

to be visible from the highway, but is today screened by 

vegetation. Surrounded by trees and shrubs a short way 

to the east is a natural boulder that was dedicated as the 

fir t monument to Jackson in 1879 (fig. 2.26). t is the 

oldest monument anywhere on the battlefi lds of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County outside of the national cemetery. To the other side of the Jackson Monument is a fl t grave marker at the grave of an unknown 

US soldier that was reinterred from the battlefi ld in 

Figure 2.24. A gun pit, looking south from Furnace Road at 

Anderson’s Gun Pit, 2013. This is the only gun pit that is marked 

and visible from a park drive. (SUNY ESF)

Figure 2.25. The Jackson monument, looking east with Route 3 at 

right, 2015. (SUNY ESF)

Figure 2.26. The Jackson rock, looking southeast with Route 3 in 

the background, 2015. (SUNY ESF)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

218

1935. These monuments are accessed by the Wounding 

of Stonewall Jackson Trail, which winds through the 

wooded area at the rear of the visitor center and follows in part the alignment of the Old Mountain Road, 

along which Jackson was mortally wounded. The trail 

has a recently installed rubber-mulch surface. 

The Chancellorsville visitor center is a brick-faced 

Mid-Century Modern building completed in 1962 as 

part of the park’s MISSION 66 improvement program 

(fig. 2.27). The building received a National Honor 

Award from the American Institute of Architects. Built 

on the alignment of the Old Mountain Road, the visitor center faces away from Route 3 and is not visible 

from the highway. The visitor center is accessed by an 

entrance drive built at the same time that loops from 

Route 3 to Bullock Drive and passes through a fifty-car

parking area with separate parking for three busses. 

North of the parking lot is a small picnic area, the only 

one within the park. Signs on brick walls built at the 

same time as the visitor center mark the entrances 

along Route 3 (fig. 2.28).

Bullock Drive, Mineral Springs Road (Drawing 2.1)

Bullock Drive is a historic park road that was built in ca. 

1935 along the alignment of the battle-period Bullock 

Road. It was originally part of the same eighteenth-century route as Mineral Spring Road. The drive extends 

from Route 3 to Elys Ford Road, mostly through woods 

along the former western boundary of the Chancellor 

Plantation (fig. 2.29). The drive has standard features 

including identific tion tablets, a tree ring, and culverts with stone headwalls. The drive crosses Jackson’s 

Corps Line and enters the Bullock clearing where there 

is an on-road parking area for stop 2 on the auto tour 

route. This stop includes a short trail that leads to the 

site of the Bullock house, a mown area that features 

an interpretive wayside and wood posts at the corners 

of the building, which was destroyed as a result of the 

Figure 2.27. The Chancellorsville visitor center, looking south toward 

Route 3, 2013. (SUNY ESF)

Figure 2.28. MISSION 66-era sign at the entrance to the visitor center 

along Route 3, looking west, 2013. A matching sign is at Bullock 

Drive. The signboards are later replacements. (SUNY ESF)

Figure 2.29. Bullock Drive, looking north, 2013. (SUNY ESF)

Figure 2.30. The Bullock house site and Bullock clearing, looking 

southwest, 2015. (SUNY ESF)
219 

2. Existing Conditions

battle (fig. 2.30). The trail also leads to another interpretive wayside for the Apex of Hooker’s Last Line, the 

complex of earthworks in the woods northeast of the 

intersection of Elys Ford Road and Mineral Springs 

Road. A closed two-track dirt road, Mineral Springs 

Road served as a US supply line and is today the only 

unimproved Civil War-era road in the park (fig. 2.31). t 

crosses into private property 700 feet east of Elys Ford 

Road, and farther east it has been severed by residential developments. Mineral Springs Road is closed to 

vehicles, but the Chancellorsville History Trail follows 

it in part. 

Hooker Drive and River Road (Drawing 2.1)

Hooker Drive and River Road are outside the park’s 

auto tour route, but are accessed by the far eastern part 

of the Chancellorsville History Trail. Hooker Drive 

is a historic park drive built in ca. 1935 that extends 

through woods following a line of federal trenches 

(fig. 2.32). t has standard features including culverts 

with stone headwalls, turf shoulders, and identific -

tion tablets. Near the north end of Hooker Drive is the 

park’s utility area, with a large rustic-style frame garage 

built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1937 

according to a standard NSP plan also used at Wilderness and Spotsylvania Courthouse (fig. 2.33). t is the 

only pre-World War II building in the park. North of 

the garage across Hooker Drive is the site of the CCC 

camp built in 1933 and closed in 1943; the buildings 

were removed by 1944. No traces of the camp are visible from Hooker Drive. 

River Road is a state-maintained highway (Route 618) 

that extends north and east from Route 3. The western 

0.75 mile-section of the road to just east of Nine Mile 

Run Drive was designed as a park road, Miles Drive, 

by the War Department and built under NPS administration in ca. 1935 following a line of US trenches and 

bypassing the antebellum alignment of River Road to 

the north. The park sold off the eastern 0.55-mile section of Miles Drive and surrounding park property in 

1973, leaving the 0.2-mile section from Hooker Drive 

to Route 3 within park boundaries (see fig. 2.21). eatures along this remaining park-owned section include 

tree rings, culverts, a narrative sign, and an iron tablet 

marking a US trench. The alienated park land was 

subdivided and developed with single family houses. At 

least one culvert with a park standard granite headwall 

remains in this area. 

Figure 2.31. Mineral Springs Road looking east from park land into 

private property, 2015. (SUNY ESF)

Figure 2.32. Hooker Drive, looking south, 2013. The Chancellorsville 

History Trail follows the right shoulder, and federal earthworks are 

in the woods at left. (SUNY ESF)

Figure 2.33. The Chancellorsville maintenance garage, looking 

northeast, 2013. (SUNY ESF)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

220

Chancellorsville Inn Site (Drawing 2.3)

The site of the Chancellorsville Inn, also known as 

Chancellorsville or the Chancellor House, was the 

long-time home and business of the Chancellor family 

and served as US Headquarters during the Battle of 

Chancellorsville before falling to the Confederates on 

May 3, 1863. The inn site is at the corner of the intersection of two state highways: the divided four-lane 

Route 3 (Orange Turnpike/Plank Road) and two-lane 

Route 610 (Elys Ford Road–Old Plank Road) (fig.

2.34). The site, which is stop 3 on the auto tour route, 

is within the historic Chancellor plantation known as 

Fairview, and within the Fairview clearing that is the 

largest single open space in the park at approximately 

142 acres. Route 3 cuts across the clearing and is fift 

feet from the foundation of the Chancellorsville Inn. A 

winding concrete walk leads from a ten-car parking lot 

off Elys Ford Road to interpretive waysides at the rear 

of the inn site. There is a row of red-cedar trees along 

Elys Ford Road and several deciduous trees scattered 

across the grounds that do not relate to the antebellum 

organization of the grounds. 

A large brick building constructed in 1816, the Chancellorsville Inn is today a subsurface archaeological 

site. The building was destroyed during the battle on 

May 3, 1863, rebuilt in ca. 1872, and destroyed by fi e 

in 1927. The subsurface foundations are interpreted by 

low brick walls and gravel strips added between 1977 

and 1987 (fig. 2.35). The only visible remnants of the 

antebellum building are the stone entrance steps. Park 

rangers typically stand at the back of the inn site when 

talking to visitors because of traffic noise om Route 

3; there is no defi ed circulation to the front of the inn 

site. 

The footprint of the Chancellorsville Inn, which was 

set within fenced grounds and was part of a complex 

of plantation buildings, is the only historic landscape 

Figure 2.34. The Chancellorsville Inn site, looking north across the 

intersection of Routes 3 and 610, 2013. (SUNY ESF)

Figure 2.35. The Chancellorsville Inn site, looking west at the 

interpretive foundation walls and the original stone entrance steps, 

2013. (SUNY ESF)

Figure 2.36. Cannons at the Chancellorsville Inn site that mark US lines of fi e toward Confederate positions at Hazel Grove, looking southwest 

across Route 3 and the Fairview clearing, 2013. (SUNY ESF)
221 

2. Existing Conditions

feature that is interpreted at the site. It is surrounded 

by nearly two acres of mown turf. A nearby gravesite 

of two infants is associated with 20th-century owners 

of the property. Two cannons mark and commemorate 

the tactical view across the Fairview clearing toward 

Confederate lines at Hazel Grove (fig. 2.36). There are 

no remaining signs or markers for the Chancellorsville 

Inn directly along Route 3, only a stacked-rail fence. 

A state historical marker erected in 1930 along Route 

3 is at the parking lot; a 1927 United Daughters of the 

Confederacy monument along Route 3 in front of the 

inn was removed in 1980. 

Stuart Drive, Berry-Paxton Drive, and Slocum Drive 

(Drawing 2.1)

The area of the core battlefi ld south of Route 3 was 

historically the south half of the Chancellor’s plantation that included the original house known as Fairview and the Chancellor cemetery. The surrounding 

clearing extended southwest to Hazel Grove, the 

plantation owned by Melzi Chancellor. Most of Hazel 

Grove is today within Wilderness Presidential Resorts. 

Confederate forces attacked from the rise of Hazel 

Grove across the Fairview clearing to the US Headquarters at the Chancellorsville Inn on May 3, 1863. 

This area of Fairview and Hazel Grove is accessed by 

three park drives that form a loop from Route 3 to Old 

Plank Road. Stuart Drive, a historic park drive that 

commemorates Confederate General J. E. B. Stuart, was 

begun in 1932 and completed in ca. 1935. Built on a 

new alignment since the parallel historic road to Hazel 

Grove was to the west on private property, Stuart Drive 

has standard features including culverts with ashlar 

stone headwalls, triangular intersections, and identification tablets (fig. 2.37). A large, double-arched culvert 

built in ca. 1935 carries the drive over headwaters of the 

Lewis Run (Ni River) (fig. 2.38). The highlight of Stuart 

Drive is the clearing at Hazel Grove, which is auto tour 

stop 8. The site on a low rise interprets the Confederate 

position that fi ed upon US forces at Fairview through 

a set of artillery pieces aimed across Stuart Drive and 

along a narrow vista that was cleared from post-battle 

successional woods by the War Department in 1932 

(fig. 2.39). A border of pine trees across historically 

open fi ld screens the Hazel Grove site from the nearby 

Wilderness Presidential Resorts.

Berry-Paxton Drive, laid out in ca. 1933 and completed 

in 1935, is a historic park drive named in honor of a 

US General Hiram G. Berry and Confederate General Figure 2.37. Stuart Drive, looking north from the triangular 

intersection with Berry-Paxton Drive, 2015. (SUNY ESF)

Figure 2.38. The double culvert that carries Stuart Drive over 

headwaters of the Lewis Run, looking northwest, 2015. (SUNY ESF)

Figure 2.39. One of six artillery pieces at Hazel Grove, looking 

northeast from Stuart Drive through the Fairview-Hazel Grove 

vista clearing, 2013. The mown trail is the Hazel Grove-Fairview 

Trail. (SUNY ESF)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

222

Elisha F. “Bull” Paxton who lost their lives at Chancellorsville. It follows the alignment of the antebellum 

farm road between Fairview and Hazel Grove, and 

has typical standard features including a triangular 

intersection and identific tion tablets, plus two larger 

culverts similar to the nearby double-culvert on Stuart 

Drive. Along the west side is one of the park’s fi e 

historic monuments: a granite tablet and flank arkers to the 27th Indiana Infantry dedicated in 1901 (fig.

2.40). The drive begins at Stuart Drive and dead-ends 

at the Fairview clearing; the drive originally extended 

to Route 3, but the section through the clearing was 

removed following widening of Route 3 in ca. 1973. 

The Hazel Grove-Fairview Trail now provides access 

from the drive to the Fairview gun pits and Fairview 

house site that are stop 10 on the auto tour route. The 

gun pits are two perpendicular lines of low crescentshaped berms maintained in mown turf, with artillery pieces aimed toward Hazel Grove (fig. 2.41). The 

Fairview house site is a subsurface archaeological site 

in a mown area, with interpretive waysides and wood 

posts that mark the corners of the building. East of the 

Fairview house site is the Chancellor Cemetery, a small, 

quarter-acre burial ground established in ca. 1812 and 

enclosed by a tall brick wall built in ca. 1970 (fig. 2.42,

2.43). There are twenty-fi e grave markers, all of which 

post-date the Civil War. 

Slocum Drive, laid out in ca. 1933 and completed in 

1935, is a historic park drive named in honor of US 

General Henry W. Slocum that follows the trenches of 

Slocum’s Line that were thrown up along the southern 

boundary of the Chancellor Plantation by US forces 

(fig. 2.44). locum’s Line is stop 7 on the auto tour 

route. The drive extends from Stuart Drive to Old 

Plank Road through woods that adjoin the Estates of 

Lee-Jackson subdivision, which is visible through the 

woods at the west end of the drive. Slocum Drive is 

Figure 2.40. Monument to the 27th Indiana Infantry, looking 

northwest from Berry-Paxton Drive, 2013. The flank markers are 

outside the photograph. (SUNY ESF)

Figure 2.41. The US gun pits at Fairview, looking southwest across 

the north-south line built on May 3, 1863, with the Fairview-Hazel 

Grove vista clearing at the upper right, 2013. (SUNY ESF)

Figure 2.42. The Chancellor Cemetery, looking southwest toward 

the entrance gate, 2013. (SUNY ESF)

Figure 2.43. Internal view of the Chancellor Cemetery, looking west, 

2013. (SUNY ESF)
223 

2. Existing Conditions

designated for one-way traffi and has standard features 

including culverts with granite ashlar headwalls and 

stacked-rail fences at the exit along Old Plank Road. 

Within the limits of the antebellum Fairview clearing, 

but not accessible by existing park drives or trails, is a 

monument to the 114th Pennsylvania Volunteers (Collis 

Zouaves) dedicated in 1899 (fig. 2.45). O e of fi e historic monuments on the battlefi ld, it is located within 

a small clearing off the south side Route 3 eastbound. 

There is no pull-off or sign for the monument along 

Route 3.

FURNACE LANDS 

The portion of the park south of Slocum Drive and 

Route 3 including McLaws Drive and Jackson Trail East 

was part of the 4,648-acre Catharine Furnace Company 

property at the time of the Civil War. This area was historically wooded and used for iron mining and timber 

harvesting, but has been developed with residential 

subdivisions within the past three decades. The Estates 

of Lee-Jackson, Chancellor West, and Sawhill subdivisions create a donut hole in the park boundaries, with 

Furnace Road forming a narrow corridor between 

Chancellor West and Sawhill. Older residential development adjoins the south side of McLaws Drive. Park 

boundaries include inholdings with seven residential 

lots along Old Plank Road. 

Sickles Drive (Drawing 2.1)

Sickles Drive, laid out in 1932 and completed in 1935, 

is a historic park drive named in honor of US Major 

General Daniel E. Sickles. It was built along a new 

alignment and extends from the intersection of Slocum 

Drive and Stuart Drive south to Furnace Road, extending through woods, near swamps, and around hills 

(fig. 2.46). The drive has standard features including 

culverts with granite headwalls, triangular intersections, and identific tion tablets. The crossing of the 

Lewis Run (Ni River) features one of the park’s two 

double-arch bridges built in 1935 of poured concrete 

with stone facing and parapets (fig. 2.47). pstream 350 

feet from the bridge along the NPS property boundary 

is an 800-foot-long earthen dam built in ca. 1973 that 

impounds the fifty acre Cool Spring Lake in Wilderness Presidential Resorts.

Figure 2.44. Slocum’s Line, looking southwest along Slocum Drive, 

2013. The Estates of Lee- Jackson subdivision is visible in the 

background. (SUNY ESF)

Figure 2.45. The 114th Pennsylvania Volunteers monument, looking 

northwest with Route 3 in the background, 2013. (SUNY ESF)

Figure 2.46. Sickles Drive, looking south, 2015. (SUNY ESF)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

224

McLaws Drive and Furnace Road (Drawing 2.1)

McLaws Drive and Furnace Road were laid out in 1932 

along the alignment of the historic road to Catharine 

Furnace, and were completed in 1935. McLaws Drive, 

named in honor of Confederate Major General Lafayette McLaws, is along a section of the old Furnace 

Road that was fortified w th trenches on May 1, 1863 

and saw action through May 3. There is only a small 

section of McLaws Line remaining, and it is hidden 

by vegetation. McLaws Drive has standard features 

including culverts with ashlar granite headwalls, identific tion tablets, and narrative signs. It passes through 

woods with residential development visible to the 

east (fig. 2.48). On he north side of the drive is a small 

parking area that is stop 4 on the auto tour route. This 

provides access to a large 92-acre clearing in an area referred to as McLaws Wedge (fig. 2.49). t is not known 

whether a clearing existed in this area during the battle, 

but it provides broad views across the landscape where 

rangers can interpret the expanse of the battlefi ld. The 

fi ld, which is accessed by McLaws Trail that extends 

along the perimeter, is cut for hay under an agricultural 

lease. 

Furnace Road was part of the route along which Jackson’s corps marched to the flank ttack on May 2, 1863, 

following the Lee-Jackson Bivouac on May 1, 1863 in 

Figure 2.48. McLaws Drive, looking north with residential 

development visible to the right, 2013. (SUNY ESF)

Figure 2.49. The clearing at McLaws Wedge, looking west from 

McLaws Drive across the parking area at stop 4, 2013. (SUNY ESF)

Figure 2.50. The Lee-Jackson bivouac site, looking west from Old 

Plank Road, 2013. Furnace Road is at left. (SUNY ESF)

Figure 2.51. Detail of the Lee- Jackson bivouac monument, looking 

northwest from Old Plank Road, 2015. (SUNY ESF)

Figure 2.47. The Sickles Drive bridge over Lewis Run, looking west, 

2013. (SUNY ESF)
225 

2. Existing Conditions

which the two generals planned the flank ttack from 

a campsite in the woods at the corner of Furnace Road 

and Old Plank Road, now a small clearing that is stop 3 

on the auto tour route (fig. 2.50).

Lee and Jackson’s meeting is commemorated by a small 

granite marker erected in 1903 under the direction of 

James Power Smith, one of ten markers of the same design that mark sites of significa ce to the Confederate 

cause on the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County 

battlefi lds (fig. 2.51). The meeting is also commemorated by a pair of eastern red-cedar trees that symbolize 

the two generals, planted on the occasion of the park’s 

tenth anniversary in 1937. A small bronze plaque is 

beneath the trees. 

Furnace Road is a historic park drive originally named 

Bivouac Road or Jackson Trail Bivouac that was rebuilt 

along the alignment of old Furnace Road between 

1932 and 1935. The drive passes through woods with 

residential subdivisions visible along the narrow corridor of park land at the middle of the drive (fig. 2.52).

Adjacent earthworks include Anderson’s Gun Pit and 

Posey’s Line. The drive has standard features including 

turf shoulders, identific tion tablets, narrative markers, 

tree rings, and culverts with stone headwalls. It also has 

a double-arch stone bridge over Lewis Run (Ni River) 

that is the same design as the one along Sickles Drive, 

and a stone-lined ditch along the gentle descent to the 

Lewis Run (Ni River), both built in ca. 1935 (fig. 2.53).

On the north side of the drive is a rustic monument 

to Matthew Fontaine Maury, considered the founder 

of the US Naval Observatory, that was placed by the 

Maury Birthplace Association in 1933 (fig. 2.54). A 

maintained trail leads to the site of the house where 

Maury was born, located in a small clearing 500 feet to 

the north. The Maury monument is not a stop on the 

auto tour route. 

Catharine Furnace Site (Drawing 2.1)

The center of the Catharine Furnace Company’s operations within its 4,648-acre property was a foundry 

complex along a bluff west of the Ni River, in an area 

historically known as Furnace Hollow. Built in 1836-37 

and destroyed during the Battle of the Wilderness in 

1864, its only visible remnant is the partially reconstructed stone stack of the blast furnace, situated on 

wooded rise at the transition of the paved Furnace 

Road to the unpaved Jackson Trail East (fig. 2.55).

Other building and structural remnants are sub-surface 

Figure 2.52. Furnace Road, looking west with the Sawhill 

subdivision at left, 2013. (SUNY ESF)

Figure 2.53. Furnace Road looking west showing a rustic stone-lined 

ditch in the shoulder, 2013. (SUNY ESF)

Figure 2.54. The Maury monument, looking north from Furnace 

Road, 2013. (SUNY ESF)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

226

archaeological sites that extend up the adjoining bluff. 

There are no trails into the site, and a split-rail fence 

keeps visitors away from the stone stack. The furnace 

site is stop #6 on the auto tour route, and contains three 

interpretive waysides within a lawn area. Across the 

road is a small parking area. 

JACKSON TRAIL (DRAWING 2.1)

The Jackson Trail is a historic park drive built between 

1939 and 1943 that follows part of the twelve-mile-long 

route of General Stonewall Jackson’s ±30,000 Confederate troops on their march to attack the US right 

flank n May 2, 1863. The park-owned portions of the 

Jackson Trail are contained within narrow corridors 

of park property that adjoin conserved county property, single-family houses and residential subdivisions, 

commercial timber tracts, and farms. The Jackson Trail 

adjoins other park property only at the east end at the 

Catharine Furnace, and at its western end within the 

Wilderness Battlefi ld. The last six miles of the trail 

route follow public roads—Brock Road and Route 3. 

The Jackson Trail is not part of the park’s auto tour 

route, although it is an integral part of the Chancellorsville story. 

The National Park Service planned the Jackson Trail, 

which was not part of the War Department’s plan for 

Chancellorsville, as an interpretive experience that was 

distinct from the earlier park drives in the core battlefi ld and furnace lands. Designed as a narrow, gravel 

road approximately twelve feet wide, it still evokes the 

feeling of the remote mine and farm roads along which 

Jackson’s corps marched (fig. 2.56).

Unlike the granite bridges and headwalls on the main 

park drives, drainage is carried through hidden concrete and pipe culverts. The only park-wide historic 

standard features along the trail are Happel narrative 

signs. There are two distinct sections of the trail to either side of Brock Road: Jackson Trail East and Jackson 

Trail West, which are separated by a 1,400-foot length 

of Brock Road that is lined by a mix of woods and residential development. The trail was intended for travel 

from east to west, in the direction of Jackson’s march, 

although there are entrance signs and narrative signs at 

Brock Road in the opposite direction (fig. 2.57).

Figure 2.55. The Catharine Furnace site, looking south, 2015. Furnace 

Road continues south as Jackson Trail East. (SUNY ESF)

Figure 2.56. The Jackson Trail showing a typical section of the 

wooded, gravel road looking southeast along Jackson Trail East, 

2015. (SUNY ESF)

Figure 2.57. The entrance to Jackson Trail East from Brock Road, 

looking east, 2015. (SUNY ESF)
227 

2. Existing Conditions

Jackson Trail East, completed in 1939, extends for 2.86 

miles from Catharine Furnace to Brock Road along the 

general alignment of battle-period mine roads within 

the 4,648-acre Catharine Furnace Company property. 

The road is carried on earthen causeways and inconspicuous concrete culverts across the lowlands and 

creeks in Furnace Hollow (fig. 2.58). The road crosses 

the grade of the Civil War-era unfini hed railroad (Central Virginia Railway) and the adjoining sewer line corridor before entering a 3.5-acre clearing that is a small 

remnant of the Wellford Plantation (fig. 2.59). The 

Wellfords, owners of the Catharine Furnace Company, 

built a large brick house within the clearing in 1838 that 

served as headquarters for J. E. B. Stuart during the 

battle. The house remained standing until ca. 1970, and 

is today marked by a interpretive waysides. There are 

no visible above-ground remnants. Unlike the Fairview 

and Bullock house sites, the Wellford house site is not 

marked by wood posts within mown turf, but is rather 

hidden within meadow. To the west, there is scattered 

residential development close to the park boundary 

with access drives off the park road lined by mailboxes, 

as well as houses set farther back within large clearings 

(fi s. 2.60, 2.61).

Jackson Trail West extends 2.34 miles through lands 

that were part of the Fitzhugh, Trigg, and Stephens 

farms during the Civil War, beginning and ending at 

Brock Road. The park road was built between 1939 

and 1943, partly along a new alignment that provided 

a more direct route than the series of battle-period 

farm roads that it replaced. For the fir t mile, the road 

extends through woods and crosses Brock Run over a 

cobblestone ford built by the CCC in 1939 (fig. 2.62). A 

short distance to the west, the road enters a large farm 

clearing that was historically part of the Stephens Farm, 

and is today known as Hilltop Farm (fig. 2.63). orth of 

the battle-period unfini hed railroad corridor (Virginia 

Figure 2.59. The Wellford clearing, looking southwest from Jackson 

Trail East, 2015. The Wellford house stood beyond the tree at left. 

(SUNY ESF)

Figure 2.58. A poured concrete culvert (bridge) that carries Jackson 

Trail East over Brock Run, looking southwest, 2013. (SUNY ESF)

Figure 2.60. Driveways and residential development of Jackson Trail 

East, looking east, 2013. (SUNY ESF)

Figure 2.61. A large clearing with a recently built house off Jackson 

Trail East, looking south from the park road, 2013. (SUNY ESF)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

228

Central Railway) is the Spring Creek subdivision in 

the former fi lds of the Trigg farm (fig. 2.64). ackson 

Trail West re-enters a wooded area where it follows US 

trenches from the Battle of the Wilderness before ending at Brock Road (fig. 2.65). There is no signage here 

directing visitors to continue driving along the historic 

route to the Flank Attack battlefi ld.

FLANK ATTACK BATTLEFIELD 

The Flank Attack Battlefi ld is the area along Route 

3 west of the visitor center where General Stonewall 

Jackson launched his surprise attack on the US right 

flank n May 2, 1863 and pushed east toward US headquarters at the Chancellorsville Inn. Park boundaries 

encompass land north of Route 3 surrounding Wilderness Baptist Church. The portion of the Flank Attack 

Battlefi ld south of Route 3, including the Talley Farm 

and the south half of Locust Grove (Dowdall’s Tavern) 

are outside park boundaries (see Partner Conserved 

Land and Setting). Because the Flank Attack Battlefi ld has been incorporated into the national military 

park only within the past two decades, the landscape 

lacks historic standard park features found in the Core 

Battlefi ld and Furnace Lands. 

Non-Contiguous Parcels (Drawing 2.1)

There are several non-contiguous parcels of park 

property south and west of the main battlefi ld that are 

related to the flank ttack. These include Burton Farm, 

a wooded 14.19-acre parcel along Orange Plank Road 

(Route 620) donated to the park in 1960 (fig. 2.66). The 

parcel contains a low hill from which Stonewall Jackson 

or his aides looked north during the march to the flank

attack on May 2, 1863 to scout positions of the US 11th

Corps along the turnpike (Route 3). The Burton farmFigure 2.63. The battle-period Stephens Farm clearing, looking 

southeast from Jackson Trail West, 2013. The park boundary is along 

the edge of the cultivated field. (SUNY ESF

Figure 2.64. The former Trigg Farm, looking east from Jackson Trail 

West along the unfinished railroad corridor with the Spring Creek 

subdivision to the left, 2013. (SUNY ESF)

Figure 2.65. The west end of Jackson Trail West at Brock Road, 

looking north, 2013. (SUNY ESF)

Figure 2.62. The stone ford at the crossing of Brock Run on Jackson 

Trail West, looking northwest, 2013. (SUNY ESF)
229 

2. Existing Conditions

house was destroyed during or soon after the Civil War, 

and is today an unmaintained archaeological site. There 

is no visitor access to the property.

One mile west of Stop 8 is Jackson’s Take-off, a long 

and narrow corridor of wooded park land north and 

south of Route 3 that encompasses approximately 

twenty-fi e acres. The property, east of the Civil Warera Luckett Farm clearing, was acquired by the War 

Department in ca. 1931 to interpret the area from 

which Stonewall Jackson paused to launch the surprise 

attack on the US right flank. The property presently is 

not signed as park land, and it has no visitor access or 

interpretive features. The northern parcel is bisected by 

Black Meadow Road, a Civil War-era woods road that 

is today a paved state road (Route 640) (fig. 2.67). The 

park property is surrounded by privately-owned woods 

and residential development. 

On the south side of Route 3 a quarter mile west of 

Stop 8, on land that was probably part of the Talley 

Farm, is a 1.4-acre parcel that was donated to the park 

in ca. 1960 (fig. 2.68). The property is heavily wooded 

in pine and is adjacent to privately-owned woods and 

residences. It is part of the general area through which 

Jackson’s corps launched the flank ttack on May 2, 

1863. There is no public access or interpretation at the 

property, except for a highway sign indicating drivers 

are entering Chancellorsville Battlefi ld. A tenth of a 

mile to the east is a wooded area of Route 3 median 

that is a remnant of a larger 1.31-acre parcel acquired 

by NPS in ca. 1935 to interpret the flank attack, and was 

later designated as stop 8 on the auto tour route. The 

northern part of the property was taken for the widening of Route 3 in ca. 1973, and stop 8 was relocated to 

its present location in ca. 1998. The median property 

today is unsigned and not accessible to park visitors. 

Stop 8 Property (Drawing 2.1)

At the western end of the Flank Attack Battlefi ld clearing along Route 3 is a 140-acre parcel of park property that contains stop 8 on the auto tour route. This 

property, part of the Hawkins or Talley farms during 

the Civil War, contained the Ashton and Brygider farms 

at the time of NPS acquisition in 1998. The property is 

entirely open fi ld except for scattered trees and a small 

grove at the southwest corner, and is farmed under an 

agricultural lease. There are no trails or other public 

amenities except for interpretive waysides at stop 8, set 

beneath the shade of a large oak tree. Access is along a 

Figure 2.66. The Burton Farm parcel, looking northeast along Orange 

Plank Road, 2013. (SUNY ESF)

Figure 2.67. The northern Jackson Take-Off parcel, looking north 

from Route 3 along Black Meadow Road (Route 640), 2013. The 

park property is on both sides of the road beyond the mailbox at 

left. (SUNY ESF)

Figure 2.68. The 1.4-acre parcel along the south side of Route 3, 

looking southeast, 2013. (SUNY ESF)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

230

1,300-foot-long non-historic gravel-surfaced park road 

that was formerly the entrance road to the Brygider 

Farm. The road is entered from a deacceleration lane 

along Route 3 westbound and is marked by a NPS 

arrowhead logo sign and sections of plank fence that 

differ from the fences used to mark drive entrances in 

the older parts of the park (fig. 2.69). There is no crossover to the stop 8 drive from Route 3 eastbound. 

From stop 8 and the higher ridge to the west are expansive views across the Flank Attack Battlefi ld, with 

Wilderness Church in the distance (fig. 2.70). There is 

little modern development visible, except for several 

houses along Route 3 and to the west within the Winfi ld Oaks subdivision and the Laurel Hill Cemetery 

(fig. 2.71). angers use this westward view to indicate 

the woods from which Confederates emerged to attack 

the US right flank.

Hawkins Farm and Wilderness Church (Drawing 2.1)

East of the Stop 8 property is the privately-owned 

Hawkins Farm, consisting of two inholding parcels (03-

223, 03-224) containing approximately 123 acres within 

the park’s authorized boundary; seventeen acres of the 

farm (parcel 03-266) are north of the park boundary. 

There is no public access, but the property is part of the 

viewshed from Stop 8. The Hawkins Farm is the only 

property at Chancellorsville that remains in the same 

ownership and use as it was at the time of the Civil War, 

although its boundaries have been much reduced. The 

farm consists of agricultural fi lds with a central farmstead accessed by an antebellum entry road off Route 3 

(fig. 2.72). The existing two-story farmhouse replaced 

the antebellum farmhouse in ca. 1920. A ranch-style 

house at the southeast corner of the farm dates to ca. 

1990.

Figure 2.69. The entrance to Stop 8 at the Flank Attack Battlefield,

looking west along Route 3 westbound, 2015. (SUNY ESF)

Figure 2.70. The Flank Attack battlefield, looking east from the ridge 

west of Stop 8, 2015. The oak trees are remnants of the post-battle 

Brygider Farm that stood on the site until ca. 1998. (SUNY ESF)

Figure 2.71. The Flank Attack battlefield, looking northwest from 

near Stop 8, with houses off Winfield Oaks Drive in the distance. 

(SUNY ESF)

Figure 2.72. The Hawkins Farm, looking north with the farmhouse 

at right center distance, 2013. The RV and garage in the right middle 

ground are part of the Hawkins ranch house at the southeast corner 

of the farm. (SUNY ESF)
231 

2. Existing Conditions

Adjacent to the Hawkins Farm is the privately-owned 

Wilderness Baptist Church founded in 1778, a 3.5-acre 

inholding within the Flank Attack Battlefi ld (fig. 2.73).

The existing 1899 church building replaced the wartime church, and has several later wings. An asphaltpaved entry road and parking lot are in front of the 

building. At the southeast corner of the property is the 

church cemetery established in 1915 (fig. 2.74). hile 

accessible to the public, there are no signs or interpretation at Wilderness Church that associate the property 

with the surrounding battlefi ld. 

Verna Farm and Wagner Farm (Drawing 2.1)

East and north of the Hawkins Farm and Wilderness 

Church are two park-owned properties that were 

historically part of Melzi Chancellor’s Locust Grove 

Plantation (Dowdall’s Tavern) within the heart of 

the Flank Attack battlefi ld. The former Verna Farm, 

named after a 20th century owner and acquired by NPS 

between 1998 and 2005, consists of 34.42 acres within 

the authorized park boundary, and 30.35 acres (parcel 

03-259) outside of it. The property, accessed by a narrow corridor of park land between Wilderness Church 

and the Hawkins Farm, was the site of Melzi Chancellor’s post-war residence and office. Dur g the twentieth century, a cluster of concrete farm buildings was 

erected. The buildings were demolished in 2016. 

The 85-acre Wagner Farm was acquired by NPS 

in 2014; 74.54 acres are within the authorized park 

boundary, and 6.61 acres (parcel 03-267) are outside of 

it. The property was purchased by the Civil War Trust 

in 2009, with a right of life estate granted to the Wagner family, who continue to farm the property. During 

the Civil War, the farm was part of Melzi Chancellor’s 

Locust Grove Plantation, and was fortified y the US 

11th Corps with earthworks known as Bushbeck’s Line 

that were removed after the war. The farm consists of 

approximately forty-fi e acres of fenced pasture, with 

a two-story farmhouse in the center that was built in 

ca. 1895 (fig. 2.75). arns and other outbuildings date 

to the mid-to-late twentieth century. There is no public 

access or interpretation at the property. 

Figure 2.74. The Wilderness Baptist Church cemetery and entry sign, 

looking east with Route 3 at right, 2013. (SUNY ESF)

Figure 2.73. Wilderness Baptist Church, looking west from the field 

of the Wagner Farm, 2013. (SUNY ESF)

Figure 2.75. The Wagner Farm, looking north from Route 3, 2015. 

(SUNY ESF)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

232

ENDNOTES

1 National Park Service, IRMA Portal, “Annual Park 

Recreation Visitation,” 1994, and “Traffic unts by 

Location,” 1994, https://irma.nps.gov/Stats/Reports/Park/

FRSP (accessed December 16, 2015). 

2 National Park Service American Battlefi ld Protection 

Program, “Update to the Civil War Sites Advisory 

Commission Report on the Nation’s Civil War 

Battlefi lds, Final Drive, Commonwealth of Virginia,” 

1993, revised ca. 2007, http://www.nps.gov/abpp/CWSII/

CWSIIStateReportVA.htm (accessed February 3, 2016). 

3 Spotsylvania County Planning Department, 

Spotsylvania County Trailways Master Plan (Prepared by 

the Planning Department, 2010), map 3. 

4 US Fish and Wildlife Service, National Wetlands 

Inventory, http://www.fws.gov/wetlands/Data/Mapper.

html (accessed December 17, 2015). 

5 Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, 

Natural Heritage Resources, Spotsylvania County, https://

vanhde.org/species-search (accessed December 17, 2015).

6 Gregg Kneipp, FRSP Natural Resources Manager, 

e-mail to John Auwaerter, November 6, 2015.

7 Kneipp to Auwaerter, November 6, 2015.

8 NPS, “Asset, Location / Parent, WBS, Park: FRSP 

(P422),” Excel table of FMSS data for Chancellorsville, as 

of December 2, 2015. 

9 US Census State & County QuickFacts, Spotsylvania 

County, Virginia, http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/

states/51/51177.html (accessed December 16, 2015); 

USGS Topographic map, Chancellorsville Quadrangle, 

1973 updated to 1994.

10 Walk Score, Spotsylvania, Virginia, https://www.

walkscore.com/score/hwy-3-spotsylvania-va-22553 

(accessed December 17, 2015).

11 Real estate listings found on Movoto, Zillow, and Trulia 

websites (accessed December 18, 2015). 

12 Wilderness Presidential Resorts, http://www.wpresort.

com/ (accessed December 18, 2015). 

13 Civil War Trust, “Saving the First Day’s Battlefi ld,” 

http://www.civilwar.org/battlefi lds/chancellorsville/

chancellorsville-history-articles/saving-the-fir t-days.html 

(accessed December 18, 2015). 
?

John Jones Run

Drawing 2.1









RIVER ROAD









HERNDON ROAD

Slocum’s

Line

Chancellorsville

Inn Site

Fairview

OLD PLANK ROAD

Apex of Hooker’s

Last Line

CHANCELLORSVILLE

BATTLEFIELD

ELYS FORD ROAD

Wilderness

Presidential

Resorts

Hazel Grove

Lake

McLaws’

Line

Cool Spring

Lake

Wellford House Site

BROCK ROAD

BROCK ROAD

WILDERNESS

BATTLEFIELD

ORANGE PLANK ROAD

Plank Road



Winfield Oaks Dr.

W. Lake Circle

Fawn Lake

Fawn Lake

Brock Road

Elementary

School

Ashby’s Pond

BROCK RUN

CATTAIL BRANCH

Old Carter Road

Spotsylvania County Property

Spotsylvania County

Spotsylvania County Property

Spotsylvania

 Co. Property

Isham Property

03-262

Custers Trace

(APCWS easement)

Waltonian

Pond

Estates of Lee–Jackson

Chancellor

West

Sawhill

Lick Run

Hawkins Farm

(Private property)

Hawkins

Wagner Farm

(life estate)

“Legends of Chancellorsville”

(Planned 218 2-acre lot subdivision)

Wilderness

Baptist Church

(Wilderness Church Site)

Jackson’s

Flank Attack

Bullock House Site

Catharine

Furnace

5

LeeJackson

Bivouac

3

2

1

Visitor Center

(Site of Jackson’s

Wounding)

10

NI RIVER

LEWIS RUN

LEWIS R UN

LEWIS RUN

SPRIN G CREEK

9

Hazel

Grove

6

7

Maury

Birthplace

Site

Hazel Grove

vista clearing

4

8

Burton Farm

8 7 Brock RoadPlank Road

Intersection

Longstreet’s

Wounding

Plank Road

(ORANGE TURNPIKE)

CATHARPI N ROAD

Maintenance

Garage

Dowdall’s 

Tavern Site

Kronenwetter

Property

(CWT)

Rodes-Doles

(CVBT)

Talley

Farm

Ridge

(CVBT)

Talley

Farm

(CVBT)

Talley

Farmhouse

Site

Orange Plank

Road Parcel

(CWBT)

Laurel Hill

Memorial

Park

Stonewall Brigade

Parcel (CVBT)

Luckett

Farmhouse

Site

Approximate site of

Hazel Grove House

Fairview 

House Site

Chancellor

Cemetery

Burton

House Site

Germanna Plank

Road Site (Trace)

(Unfinished Railroad Site)

Virginia Central Railway (Abandoned)

DelmarvaProperties

Sewer/water line corridor

BROCK ROAD

Blvd. of the Generals US Grant

Court

Lee-Jackson Circle

Sawhill Blvd.

Pathfinders Ct.

Chancellor Blvd.

Nine Mile Run Dr.

Rensselaer Ct.

Heritage Ave.

Wesley Dr.

Laroque Run Dr. Perimeter Dr.

Golden Oaks Dr.

US FORD ROAD

BLACK MEADOW ROAD

Hickman

(Wolfree)

House Site

Carpenter

Farm Site

Cook

Farm Site

Trigg

Farmstead

Site

Stevens 

Farmstead Site

Fitzhugh

Farm Site

Alrich House

Site

Perry House

Site

Raintree

Powder

Mill Ct.

Rockaway 

Court

Pemwood Ln.

McLaws

Ln.

S. McLaws

Pl.

Peppertree Rd.

Skyline Ct.

Kershaw Ct.

Whit ehall Blvd.

Chancellorsville Dr.

Battleground

Ct.

Military Ct.

AUNT SARAH SPRING CREEK

Cooktown

Rd.

Custers Trace

Hilltop

Farm

Plantation Dr.

Old Brook Rd.

Mt. Laurel Ct.

Ni River Reservoir

Ashby Woods

Ashby Dr.

(ORANGE PLANK ROAD)

(ORANGE TURNPIKE) NINE MILE RUN ( Mott’s Run)

PIPE DAM RU

B

N

IG HUNTING RU N

LITTLE HUNTING RUN

Estates of

Chancellorsville

Wilderness

Elementary

School

Ni River

Middle

School

Powerline

corridors

Ranger Lane

Park housing area

French Trail

Hunt Trail

Wilderness Road

Windtree

Court

Johnson and

Warren tracts

(CVBT) First Day

Chancellorsville

(CWT)

Absalom

McGee House

Site

Ebenzer McGee

House Site

Decker (Grady)

House Site

Newton

House Site

(Tollgate)

Schoolhouse

site

Former Miles Drive

B A

C

D

E

F

G

1A

1B

4

7

8

2A

2B

3

8

9

Jackson Trail West

managed as part of

Wilderness Battlefield

Jackson’s

Take-off

10

Stone ford

St. Patricks

Church

Hays

monument

Creekside

Ashley Farms

Pipe Run

Whitehall

Six Lakes

Lake

Wilderness

Spring

Creek

Post-war

Craig farm

clearing

Van Wart

house site

VII

VII

VII

VII

VII

VII

VIII

IX

X

McLaws’

Line

Maury

monument

Slocum’s

Line

SEE DWG. 2.2

Posey’s

Line

Furnace stack ruins

one way

US gun pits

Pender’s Line

Jackson’s Corps

Line

Couch’s Line

Griffin’s Line

one way

Legends of

Chancellorsville

subdivision

conservation area

Legends of

Chancellorsville

subdivision

conservation area

Anderson’s

Line gun

pit

MINERAL SPRINGS ROAD

Part of Hawkins Farm

F l a n k A t t a c k B a t t l e f i e l d

9437 Plank

Road

9409 Plank

Road

Whitehall Development Property

1,492 acres

(Basheer & Edgemore)

Earthen dam

Blow-down area

GREAT MEADOW

SWAMP

BROCKROAD

WILDERNESS CORNER

COOKTOWN

Site of CCC Camp

Former

Verna

Farm



Civil War Trust Property

(355 acres acquired 2016)

Continental

Can Parcel Old Stop 8

Parcel

03-224

03-223

03-224

03-216

03-224

03-239

03-241

03-242

03-243

03-245 03-244

03-264

03-265

03-260

03-250

03-191

03-256

03-251

03-206

03-204

03-205

03-214

03-175

03-215

03-213

03-194

03-249

03-261

03-257

03-153

Seay House

03-266

03-259

03-267

03-238

03-240

DRAWN BY

1. Spotsylvania County and NPS GIS data

2. Google Earth aerials

3. Field survey, 2013 

LEGEND

MAJOR SOURCES

1. All features shown at approximate scale and location.

2. Drawing shows existing conditions as of 2015 with select

updates to 2017.

3. Areas masked outside Chancellorsville NPS property (fee or interest).

4. 5. Tax parcels within NPS property boundary not shown.

5. CWT = Civil War Trust; CVBT = Central Virginia Battlefields Trust.

6. Contour interval: 5’.

7. See Drawings 3.1-3.6 for feature-level documentation. 

NOTES

Drawing 2.1

Cultural Landscape Report

Chancellorsville Battlefield

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania

National Military Park

Spotsylvania County, Virginia

Existing Conditions

National Park Service

Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation

www.nps.gov/oclp

in partnership with 

Department of Landscape Architecture

Center for Cultural Landscape Preservation

SUNY College of Environmental 

Science and Forestry, www.esf.edu/la/cclp

Nathan Powers and John Auwaerter, SUNY ESF

ArcGIS and Adobe Illustrator, 2015, updated 2018

 Mile

North

0 0.25 0.5 0.75

Building, Bridge

Woods

Field or Open Ground

Waterway, Artifical Waterbody

Chancellorsville Battlefield Park Boundary

Road, Park Drive with Key

Unpaved Road, Trail

5 7

Defensive Trench, Artillery Lunette

OLMSTED

for LANDSCAPE PRESERVATION

CENTER

Wilderness Battlefield Park Boundary

NPS Property Boundary (fee ownership)

NPS Easement Boundary (county or private property)

Other Conserved Battlefield Property Boundary 

Spotsylvania County Tax Parcel Boundary

Battlefield Tour Stop: Chancellorsville, Wilderness

Site of Civil War-era Building

Commemorative Monument (see key) B

MILITARY MONUMENT KEY

A Jackson’s Rock

B Jackson Monument

C 114th Pennsylvania

D 27th Indiana

E Lee-Jackson Bivouc Marker

F General Paxton Monument

G 154th New York

PARK ROAD and TRAIL KEY

1A

1B

4

7

8

9

10

2A

2B

McLaws Drive

Furnace Road 

Sickles Drive

Stuart Drive

Bullock Drive

Hooker Drive

Berry-Paxton Drive

Jackson Trail East

Jackson Trail West

Slocum Drive

3

VII

VIII

IX

Chancellorsville History Trail

Hazel Grove-Fairview Trail

McLaws Trail

Wounding of “Stonewall”

Jackson Trail

X

03-216 NPS Tract (easement or inholding)

SEE DWG. 2.3

10
Plank Road VA3 (TUNRPIKE)

OLD MOUNTAIN

ROAD 

trace (presumed)

Jackson rock

Jackson monument

Stuart Drive

Unknown soldier grave

(flat marker)

Bullock Drive (BULLOCK ROAD)

Granite headwall

culvert

Tablets:

Bullock Road

Orange Turnpike

Picnic area

Bus

parking

Visitor parking

To Route 3

Battlefield map

Visitor Center

Bullock Road

tablet

Old (ca. 1935)

orientation disc

New (ca.1963) orientation disc

Orientation signs

Brick water

fountain 

Battlefield

map/narrative signs

Brick entrance

sign 

To Bullock

Drive

Chancellorsville 

History Trail

Approximte park boundary

CHANCELLORSVILLE 

BATTLEFIELD

Visitor center

access road

Brick pavement,

planter Concrete walk

Screen plantings

Wounding of “Stonewall”

Jackson Trail

Chancellorsville

History Trail (Loop Trail

to Pender’s Line)

Wounding of “Stonewall”

Jackson Trail

Front of 

monument

Rubber mulch surface

Mostly young

trees

Firehose vault

and hydrant

Access road trace

Split-rail

fence

Embankment

(possible roadbed)

Bike rack

Stream

Power line corridor

to Ranger Lane

Cultural Landscape Report 

Chancellorsville Battlefield

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania N.M.P.

National Park Service

Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation

in partnership with Department of Landscape Architecture

SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry Drawing 2.2

Jackson Wounding Area

Existing Conditions Plan Detail

DRAWN BY

NOTES

SOURCES

1. All features are shown in approximate scale and location.

2. Plan shows landscape in 2015.

3. Plan does not show all small-scale features.

4. See Drawing 2.1 for road/trail key and other notes.

John Auwaerter, Adobe Illustrator, 2015

LEGEND

1. NPS and Spotsylvania County GIS data

2. Aerial photographs, 1994 and 2013

3. Field survey, 2013

3 

0 100 Feet 300

Building, Culvert

Road, Park Road

Park Foot Trail

Brick, concrete walk

Park boundary

Monument

Woods

Deciduous, Coniferous

 Major sign

Picnic table, trash barrel

Stone steps

Stacked-rail

fence

Traffic signal

VA 3 Westbound (TURNPIKE)

VA 3 Eastbound

ELY’S FORD ROAD

Well

cover

Rowley infant graves

Cannon

Cannon

Red

maple

Sycamore

Holly, crabapple

black tupelo

Wood headboard

Elm

Row of

Red-cedar

trees

Post-and-cable fence

View to 

Fairview

artillery

Visitor parking

Chancellorsville History Trail

Chancellorsville History Trail

Chancellorsville Inn Site

Interpretive

foundation

walls

Red-cedar

Crabapple or hawthorne

State historical

marker

Concrete

walk

Cultural Landscape Report 

Chancellorsville Battlefield

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania N.M.P.

National Park Service

Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation

in partnership with Department of Landscape Architecture

SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry Drawing 2.3

Chancellorsville Inn Site

Existing Conditions Plan Detail

DRAWN BY

NOTES

SOURCES

1. All features are shown in approximate scale and location.

2. Plan shows landscape in 2015.

3. Plan does not show all small-scale features.

4. See Drawing 2.1 for road/trail key and other notes.

John Auwaerter, Adobe Illustrator, 2015

0 25 Feet 50

LEGEND

1. NPS and Spotsylvania County GIS data

2. Aerial photographs, 1994 and 2013

3. Field survey, 2013

Road

Park Foot Trail

Paved walk

Fence

NPS boundary (approx.)

Mown turf

Meadow

Woods

Major sign, interp. wayside

Bollards

Bench

Deciduous, coniferous

tree

239 

3. Analysis and Evaluation

Analysis and Evaluation

NATIONAL REGISTER EVALUATION

CULTURAL LANDSCAPE EVALUATION

SUNY ESF, FRSP 1958
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

240

Chancellorsville Battlefi ld was designated by 

 Congress as a national military park for the 

 purpose of commemorating the Civil War 

battle, and to mark and preserve for historical purposes 

the battlefi ld with its traces of war (44 Stat. 1091, 

February 14, 1927). The landscape tells the story of the 

battle through its forests, fi lds, earthworks, circulation, 

and archaeological sites, with an overlay of early-tomid 20th-century park infrastructure, markers, and a 

small number of historic commemorative works.

The fir t section of this chapter provides a brief overview of the historical significa ce of Chancellorsville 

Battlefi ld landscape based on criteria established by 

the National Register of Historic Places. The second 

section is a more detailed analysis based on National 

Park Service cultural landscape methods of inventory 

and evaluation.1

 This chapter is focused on the NPSmanaged property within the authorized boundaries of 

Chancellorsville Battlefi ld, one of four park units that 

form the National Register-listed Fredericksburg and 

Spotsylvania County Battlefi lds Memorial National 

Military Park. The chapter also addresses adjoining 

battlefi ld land conserved by park partners, but because these areas are not managed by the park, they are 

inventoried and evaluated at a cursory level.2

 

Findings of this analysis and evaluation document that 

the cultural landscape of Chancellorsville Battlefi ld 

retains its overall historic character as it existed by the 

end of the historic period in 1963, with much of the 

developed park landscape retaining character from 

its initial completion prior to World War II. The 1863 

character of the battlefi ld remains in natural systems 

including landforms, forest, and creeks, and in the 

overall patterns of open space, circulation, and traces 

of defensive earthworks. No buildings or structures 

remain from 1863 except for the ruined stack of the 

Catharine Furnace, but many of the sites are marked 

in the landscape and most of the existing roads refle t 

Civil War-era circulation. Monuments, park drives, and 

markers continue to refle t pre-park, War Department, 

and National Park Service design and commemorative intent. Changes in historic character have resulted 

primarily from loss of historic open spaces, alienation 

of park land, and most importantly, changes to the 

rural setting through highway expansion and suburban 

development. 

NATIONAL REGISTER EVALUATION

The National Register of Historic Places provides the 

basis for documenting the historical significa ce and 

integrity of the Chancellorsville Battlefi ld cultural 

landscape as part of the larger Fredericksburg and 

Spotsylvania National Military Park. This section summarizes recently completed National Register documentation and evaluates the Chancellorsville Battlefi ld 

cultural landscape according to the National Register 

aspects of integrity. 

NATIONAL REGISTER DOCUMENTATION

Chancellorsville Battlefi ld was administratively listed 

in the National Register of Historic Places on October 

15, 1966 as part of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania 

County Battlefi lds Memorial National Military Park 

(NRIS # 66000046). A inventory-registration form was 

prepared in 1977 and approved by the Keeper of the 

National Register in 1978. The national military park 

has also been listed in the National Register through 

a multiple property nomination, “The Civil War in 
241 

3. Analysis and Evaluation

Virginia, 1861-1865: Historic and Archaeological Resources” (076-5168).

In 2015, updated National Register documentation was 

prepared to document and account for all resources 

acquired through boundary changes, or that gained 

significa ce since the 1978 documentation was completed. The Civil War centennial and MISSION 66 era 

of park development has been added as additional 

areas of significa ce. The Virginia State Historic Preservation Officer igned the updated documentation in 

2018. Acceptance of the updated documentation by the 

Keeper of the National Register is expected in 2018. 

Since the documentation is recent, this CLR does not 

include recommendations for updates.

OVERVIEW OF SECTION 8 5

The Statement of Significa ce (Section 8) for Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park documents the historical significa ce of the Chancellorsville 

Battlefi ld district in the following National Register 

areas of significa ce: Military, Commemoration, Conservation, Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and 

Archeology. The period of significa ce for the battlefi ld is from 1863 (Battle of Chancellorsville) through 

1963 (completion of visitor center and battle centennial), within an overall period of significa ce for the entire park that extends from 1768 to 1965. The primary 

period of significa ce for Chancellorsville is 1863–64, 

encompassing the Civil War battles of Chancellorsville 

and Wilderness. 

Chancellorsville Battlefi ld meets all four criteria for 

listing in the National Register of Historic Places. In the 

area of Military history, the battlefi ld derives its primary national significa ce under Criterion A as the site 

of the Battle of Chancellorsville, May 1–3, 1863 (part of 

the larger Chancellorsville Campaign, April 27–May 6, 

1863), as well as its subsequent role in the Battle of Wilderness (May 4-7, 1864). The battlefi ld has additional 

significa ce in the area of Military history under Criterion B for its association with the significa t commanders of US and Confederate forces, including Lieutenant 

General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, General Robert 

E. Lee, and Major General Joseph Hooker. This area of 

significa ce is conveyed by the battlefi ld land with its 

earthworks, building sites, roads, and patterns of fi ld 

and forest that date to the Civil War. 

In the areas of Commemoration and Conservation, 

Chancellorsville Battlefi ld is significa t under Criterion A for late 19th-century and early 20th-century 

efforts to commemorate and preserve the battlefi lds. 

Five monuments erected between 1879 and 1903 

convey this area of significa ce at Chancellorsville. The 

establishment and development of the national military 

park between 1927 and 1963 is also significa t under 

Criterion A for contributions to national battlefi ld 

preservation policies and practices. 

In the areas of Landscape Architecture and Architecture, Chancellorsville Battlefi ld is significa t under 

National Register Criterion C for the designed landscape of the park that was initially planned and developed by the War Department between 1927 and 1933, 

completed by the National Park Service with assistance 

from federal work-relief programs including the Civilian Conservation Corps between 1933 and 1943, and 

updated during the MISSION 66 period ending in 

1963. This significa ce is conveyed by the park drives, 

bridges, identific tion tablets, narrative markers, battlefi ld tour route signs, buildings, naturalistic plantings, 

and maintained open spaces. The Chancellorsville 

visitor center, dedicated in 1963 at the centennial of the 

Battle of Chancellorsville, is a representative example 

of the innovative Modernist design employed by the 

NPS during the MISSION 66 period. 

Under Criterion D, Chancellorsville Battlefi ld possesses national significa ce in the area of Archeology: 

Historic, Non-Aboriginal for the information it has 

yielded and has the potential to yield about the history 

of the Civil War. The district also possesses significa ce 

at the state and local levels for sites that have or may 

reveal information about the agrarian and industrial 

economy of antebellum Virginia. 

OVERVIEW OF SECTION 7 6

The Chancellorsville Battlefi ld unit is documented 

as a district encompassing 2,050 acres. Contributing 
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

242

resources documented in the Chancellorsville unit 

include the battlefi ld, Elys Ford Road, and the Chancellorsville Tour Road System including associated 

culverts, bridges, and tree rings; Confederate Works; 

Federal Works; the visitor center including the associated entrance road, parking area, directional compass, and flagp le; Ranger Lane and three residences 

(Quarters #4, 5, 6); the CCC Maintenance Building; the 

sites of the Chancellorsville Inn, Catharine Furnace, 

Hazel Grove artillery, and Fairview; and commemorative works (Jackson Monument, Jackson Rock, Maury 

Birthplace Monument, 27th Indiana Monument; 114th 

Pennsylvania Monument); identific tion tablets; and 

the James Power Smith bivouac monument and LeeJackson Bivouac plaque. The unit has one contributing 

resource that spans the Chancellorsville and Wilderness park units: the Jackson Trail. Documented noncontributing resources include 20th-century houses, 

the 1980 Paxton monument, the Rowley infants grave 

markers at the Chancellorsville Inn site, and the 2005 

sand shed at the maintenance yard. 

EVALUATION OF HISTORICAL INTEGRITY

Integrity as defi ed by the National Register as the 

ability of a property to convey its historic significa ce 

through seven aspects of physical resources: location, 

design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and 

association.7

 The following evaluation is based on 

an 1863-64 period of significa ce for the battlefi ld 

landscape, and the period of significa ce for the historic park landscape that ends in 1963. This evaluation 

assesses the historic integrity of the cultural landscape 

(“Chancellorsville landscape”) within the Chancellorsville unit of the National Register-listed property.

Location

Location is defi ed by the National Register as the 

place where the historic property was constructed or 

the place where the historic event occurred. Although 

the Chancellorsville landscape does not encompass all 

land and other resources historically associated with 

the 1863 battle, the park property forms the core of the 

historic battlefi ld and retains most of the historic park 

lands. Exceptions include park lands along Mineral 

Springs Road and Miles Drive (River Road) that were 

alienated in 1973. The Mineral Springs Road park land 

remains undeveloped; the Miles Drive land has been 

subdivided for residential development. 

Evaluation: Retains integrity of location.

Design

Design is defi ed by the National Register as the combination of elements that create the form, plan, space, 

structure, and style of a property. The Chancellorsville 

landscape retains the overall vernacular structure of 

the landscape from the time of the 1863 battle through 

the patterns of forested and open space, and existing 

public roads. The defensive earthworks thrown up by 

both armies during the battle remain as traces in the 

landscape. Details of the 1863 landscape formed by 

buildings, fences, and orchards have largely been lost. 

The design of the historic park landscape retains a 

higher level of integrity to the 1963 end of the period 

of significa ce, evident by the park drives, maintenance 

yard, visitor center complex, and Ranger Lane housing area. Alterations to the designed park landscape, 

which resulted in large part from the widening of Route 

3 in ca. 1973, include removal of half of Berry-Paxton 

Drive, changes to the setting of the Jackson Monument, 

and loss of stacked-rail fencing. Other changes to the 

landscape’s integrity of design have resulted from the 

development of adjoining lands along Furnace Road, 

Slocum Drive, and Jackson Trail that altered the historically wooded and rural character. 

Evaluation: Retains integrity of design

Setting

Setting is the physical environment of a property, and 

in particular the general character of a place. While the 

setting within park boundaries remains largely intact to 

both the Civil War and historic park periods, extensive 

suburban development of adjoining lands, widening 

of Route 3, and general heavy traffic as significa tly 

altered the historically rural and remote character of 

the landscape’s setting. 

Evaluation: Does not retain integrity of setting
243 

3. Analysis and Evaluation

Materials

Materials are the physical elements that give form to a 

historic property. Extant above-ground built materials from the Civil War period are limited to the stone 

remnants of the Catharine Furnace stack. In terms of 

built materials from the historic park development, 

the landscape retains cast metal in the identific tion 

tablets; wood and cast metal in the larger narrative 

signs and small tour route signs; mortared stonework 

and cast concrete in the culverts and bridges along the 

park drives; wood in the siding, doors, and structure 

of the maintenance building; brick and metal in the 

visitor center; wood siding at the Ranger Lane housing; 

and concrete in the visitor center walks and asphalt on 

the park drives and visitor center parking lot. In terms 

of plant materials, the landscape overall retains the 

native palette of species from the Civil War that was 

maintained through the historic park period. Managed plant material from the Civil War, notably farm 

orchards, the oak tree signal station at Fairview, and 

the line of poplars and elms at the Chancellorsville Inn, 

has been lost. The existing asphalt of the park drives 

has a more uniform black appearance than the historic 

asphalt (which replaced the original oiled gravel late 

in the historic period). Non-historic materials added 

since the end of the historic period are limited to brick 

paving, rubber mulch path surfaces, and non-native 

euonymus, English ivy, and annuals around the visitor 

center; white-painted steel at the Ranger Lane water 

tower, and vinyl and T-111 siding at the non-historic 

fi e cache and adjoining shed off Ranger Lane. These 

non-historic materials are inconspicuous within the 

overall landscape.

Evaluation: Retains integrity of materials

Workmanship

Workmanship is the physical evidence of the crafts and 

methods of construction used during the historic period. The Chancellorsville landscape retains integrity of 

workmanship evident in the stone work of the late 19th 

and 20th-century monuments; the masonry of the stone 

and concrete culverts, bridges, ford, tree rings, and 

ditches along the park drives; and in the carpentry of 

the maintenance building. Most of these features were 

built by the Civilian Conservation Corps and other 

federal work-relief programs. In addition, the visitor 

center and Ranger Lane housing also display workmanship typical of the mid-20th century machined and 

mass-produced construction materials. There is little 

remaining of Civil War-era workmanship, except in the 

stonework of the Catharine Furnace ruins, which were 

partially rebuilt in the 1970s. The hasty workmanship 

of the defensive works through up during the battle 

eroded or became obscured during the historic period. 

Evaluation: Retains integrity of workmanship

Feeling

Feeling is a property’s expression of the aesthetic or 

historic sense of a particular period of time resulting from the presence of physical features that, taken 

together, convey the property’s historic character. The 

feeling of a Civil War battlefi ld remains through the 

open fi lds, woods, and earthworks that characterized much of the landscape historically. The feeling of 

a national military park designed and built in part by 

the War Department also remains through standard 

features including the drives, culverts, bridges, and iron 

identific tion tablets, as well as through preexisting 

commemorative monuments. The feeling of a national 

military park is not as evident as in sister parks because 

Chancellorsville never received much monumentation, 

and because some of the tablets have been lost. At the 

visitor center and Ranger Lane housing area, the feeling 

of Modernist design of MISSION 66-era remains in the 

buildings. Loss of historic feeling has occurred where 

suburban residential development and heavy traffic as encroached on the historic rural setting of the 

landscape, particularly along Route 3, Slocum Drive, 

Furnace Road, and Jackson Trail West. The Jackson 

Monument has lost historic feeling due to its change in 

setting that has reduced its historic prominence. Outside of these areas, the historic feeling of the landscape 

remains intact. 

Evaluation: Retains integrity of feeling
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

244

Association

Association is the direct link between an important 

historic event or person and a historic property. The 

Chancellorsville landscape remains intimately associated with the Civil War through the battlefi ld land, 

archaeological sites, and earthworks within its boundaries. The landscape also retains its historic association 

with the development of national military parks under 

the War Department through retention of standard 

features including the drives and identific tion tablets. 

It also retains association with the MISSION 66 era of 

National Park Service development through retention 

of the visitor center and Ranger Lane housing. The 

landscape has lost some association with the Civil War 

through alienation of park property that contained 

Civil War remnants, notably the Mineral Springs Road 

and Miles Drive (River Road) areas, but has gained 

association through incorporation of key areas of 

the battlefi ld into the park since 1963, notably the 

Chancellorsville Inn site and Flank Attack battlefi ld. 

The absence of the southern part of the Flank Attack 

battlefi ld (Dowdall’s Tavern site) from park boundaries detracts from the landscape’s historic association 

with the Civil War. 

Evaluation: Retains integrity of association

Summary Evaluation of Integrity

Overall, the Chancellorsville landscape retains integrity 

of location, design, materials, workmanship, feeling, 

and association, but has lost integrity of setting. As 

a whole, the landscape retains suffi ent integrity to 

convey its historic association with the Civil War and its 

commemoration, and with development of the national 

military park through the MISSION 66 era. Loss of 

integrity is largely due to extensive suburban development and traffic in eas adjacent to park boundaries. 

CULTURAL LANDSCAPE EVALUATION

This section evaluates the Chancellorsville Battlefi ld unit landscape (hereafter, “Chancellorsville 

landscape”) to provide a more detailed assessment 

of changes in historic landscape character than possible through the National Register. The evaluation is 

organized according to National Park Service cultural 

landscape methods that employ a framework of cultural landscape characteristics, from Natural Systems 

and Features to Archaeological Sites. The evaluation 

assesses changes in historic characteristics since the 

end of the Civil War (1863/64), and the end of historic 

park development (1963). The contexts of the Civil War 

and park development including commemoration and 

conservation are derived from the National Register 

Statement of Significa ce and the 1863–1965 period of 

significa ce identified in he updated National Register 

documentation for Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania 

National Military Park. 

The historic character of the Chancellorsville landscape is conveyed by landforms, woods, fi lds, streams, 

defensive earthwork remnants, strategic views, some 

circulation features, and archaeological sites that 

remain from the aftermath of the Battle of Chancellorsville in 1863, and to a limited extent, the Battle of 

Wilderness in 1864. The commemorative park landscape, comprised of park features developed between 

ca. 1931 and 1963 with commemorative works dating 

back to 1879, forms a later layer over the 1863 battlefi ld landscape. The park landscape exists primarily 

along the park drive corridors within the Core Battlefi ld, Furnace Lands, and the Jackson Trail areas. There 

are no historically significa t park landscape features 

within the Flank Attack battlefi ld. 

An evaluated inventory of all existing landscape features covering six areas within the park (Core Battlefi ld, Jackson’s Wounding Area (Visitor Center), Chan-
245 

3. Analysis and Evaluation

cellorsville Inn Site, Furnace Lands, Jackson Trail, and 

Flank Attack battlefi ld) is provided in Tables 3.0–3.6, 

with each feature keyed to Drawings 3.1–3.6 (Table 3.0 

covers features found throughout the park). For each 

landscape feature, the inventory tables include the 

feature name, other inventory data (National Register, 

LCS, ASMIS, and FMSS), evaluation status, historical 

data including historic context (Civil War, Pre-Park 

Commemoration, Historic Park Development), dates 

of construction and alteration, a narrative evaluation, 

and a current photograph for reference. Features are 

evaluated as contributing or non-contributing to the 

historic character of the landscape, or unevaluated if 

there is insuffi ent information. Features that are not 

owned or managed by the National Park Service are 

listed in italics. Non-existing (removed) features are 

not evaluated. Drawings 3.1–3.6 graphically summarize 

the evaluation by contrasting contributing and noncontributing features, and indicting features removed 

since the Civil War (1863/64) or end of the historic park 

period (1963).

NATURAL SYSTEMS AND FEATURES

Natural Systems and Features are the natural aspects 

that characterize a landscape and have influe ced its 

development, such as geomorphology, hydrology, climate, fl ra, and fauna. Built or manipulated landforms 

are described under Topography, and managed fl ra is 

described under Vegetation. 

Historic Condition (1863-1963)

During the Civil War, natural systems and features 

were a dominant characteristic of the Chancellorsville 

landscape. These systems had been impacted over the 

previous century by agriculture, mining, and transportation. Aside from the undulating landform of the 

Virginia Piedmont with its limited fertility and deposits of iron ore, the most extensive natural feature was 

deciduous forest and successional conifer woods that 

covered a majority of the battlefi ld and played a key 

role in the strategy and outcome of the battle. Dense 

successional woods were on abandoned farm fi lds and 

areas harvested for timber, most notably on the 4,648-

acre Catharine Furnace property. Little documentation 

exists on the extent of these second-growth woods. 

During the Battle of Chancellorsville, large areas of the 

forest, particularly along the turnpike (Route 3) corridor were heavily damaged or destroyed by artillery that 

sparked forest fi es. Other natural systems included the 

network of creeks in the Rappahannock River and York 

River watersheds, notably the Ni River and its tributaries, the Lewis Run, and Brock Run. 

After the Civil War, natural systems healed from 

wartime damage as the woods grew back and covered 

abandoned agricultural land, notably within the Fairview clearing, Wellford plantation (Furnace Hollow), 

and smaller outlying farms. Other areas of the forest 

were cleared for new farms, or were logged. 

During the period of historic park development 

between 1931 and 1963, natural systems and features 

were altered for the construction of new park drives 

that required clearing of forest, grading of land, and accompanying alteration of creeks and drainage. Woods 

that had grown up after the Civil War were cleared to 

reestablish a vista between Hazel Grove and Fairview. 

Post-Historic Condition (After 1963)

Natural systems and features in the Chancellorsville 

landscape underwent few major changes after 1963. 

The larger natural systems that extend beyond park 

boundaries, however, changed extensively through 

fragmentation from highway expansion and suburban 

development, especially after 1980. This development 

resulted in removal of large areas of forest, construction of miles of paved roads and driveways, planting of 

acres of manicured lawn and non-native ornamental 

trees and shrubs, construction of hundreds of buildings, and addition of road drainage, dammed water 

bodies, and sewers/septic fi lds that have altered hydrological systems. Some of this change has impacted 

the historic character of the park landscape where 

it encroached onto park land or is visible from park 

lands, notably along Route 3, Slocum Drive, McLaws 

Drive, Furnace Road, and Jackson Trail. 
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

246

Evaluation

Natural systems and features remain a defini g part 

of the Civil War and historic park-era character of 

the Chancellorsville landscape. The forest, streams, 

and landforms that characterize the park are the same 

systems that existed during the Civil War, but the forest 

covers a larger area and is most likely more mature. 

Portions have been fragmented due to residential 

development, notably within the Trigg Farm and in the 

Catharine Furnace property along Furnace Road (fig.

3.1)

SPATIAL ORGANIZATION

Spatial Organization is the three-dimensional character of a landscape formed by the ground, vertical, and 

overhead planes. 

Historic Condition (1863–1963)

During the Civil War, the overall spatial organization of 

the Chancellorsville landscape was defi ed by six farm 

clearings within the forested region. These included 

the Fairview, Hazel Grove, and Bullock plantations; the 

Wellford Plantation in Furnace Hollow; the Stephens 

and Trigg farms (Jackson Trail West); and the clearing at 

the Flank Attack battlefi ld that included the Hawkins 

Farm, Talley Farm, and Locust Grove Plantation surrounding Wilderness Church. This was the largest 

clearing, followed by Furnace Hollow and Fairview. 

Within these larger clearings, the landscape was divided 

by fenced agricultural fi lds and fenced yards around 

houses and barns. There was also a narrow corridor 

through the woods along the unfini hed railroad. With 

outbreak of the battle on May 1, 1863, US and Confederate forces broke down fences and slashed corridors 

through woods to build earthworks, notably along existing Hooker Drive, Slocum Drive, McLaws Drive, and 

in the woods west and east of the visitor center. Fires 

sparked by the battle destroyed forests and opened the 

spatial character of the landscape.

After the Civil War, the slashing and burning from the 

battle grew back into forest, and farmers reestablished 

fenced fi lds and yards. The patterns of open fi lds 

remained, but decreased in size, notably at Fairview, 

the Wellford Plantation (Furnace Hollow), and the 

Stephens and Trigg farms, while some additional clearings were established for new farms, such as the Lee 

Farm around the Lee-Jackson bivouac and Craig Farm 

near McLaws Drive. A small clearing was maintained 

around the Jackson monument, dedicated in 1888. 

Suburban residential lots were established along Route 

3 beginning in the 1920s. 

During the period of historic park development between 1931 and 1963, changes to the spatial organization of the landscape included clearing of corridors for 

Figure 3.1. Changes in natural systems in the Chancellorsville 

landscape. Top: post-battle character of damaged dense secondgrowth woods with human remains (exact location not known), 

ca. 1866; Bottom: existing woods along Furnace Road showing 

more mature character and fragmentation due to residential 

development, 2015. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National 

Military Park, FRSP 1034; SUNY ESF)
247 

3. Analysis and Evaluation

park drives, and clearing between Fairview and Hazel 

Grove to reestablish the strategic sight lines that existed 

during the Civil War. The small clearing around the 

Jackson monument was expanded into a larger open 

lawn in front of the visitor contact station by 1935. 

The adjoining woods were opened through thinning 

and removal of understory for the Jackson Memorial 

Wild Flower Preserve in ca. 1935. In 1961, clearings in 

the woods off Bullock Road were created for development of the Ranger Lane housing, and in 1961–62, the 

clearings at the visitor contact station and Jackson Wild 

Flower Preserve were largely abandoned and replaced 

with a new clearing around the visitor center. The CCC 

camp area was removed in ca. 1945. Additional suburban residential lots were developed along Elys Ford 

Road, Old Plank Road, and Route 3. 

Post-Historic Condition (After 1963)

Patterns of woods and fi lds within park boundaries 

remained largely unchanged after 1963, with several 

exceptions. These include development of Wilderness 

Presidential Resorts, which altered the Hazel Grove 

clearing and forced the park to plant a screen of pine 

trees along the park boundary that significa tly reduced the historic open space. This also led the park to 

create a long, narrow clearing north of Furnace Road 

to create a vista toward the site of Hazel Grove. Widening of Route 3 in ca. 1973 changed the open space 

surrounding the Jackson monument and forced the 

park to plant a screen of vegetation that separated the 

monument from the road. Outside of park boundaries, 

additional loss of battle-period open space through 

old-fi ld succession occurred at the Talley Farm and 

Locust Grove. Residential subdivisions reduced 

enclosed wooded character. Several post-Civil War 

residential clearings remain along public roads within 

park boundaries. 

Evaluation

Spatial organization defi ed by patterns of woods and 

fi lds remains a defini g characteristic of the Civil War 

and historic park-era character of the Chancellorsville 

landscape. The character from the historic park era 

remains largely unchanged, except for encroachment of 

residential subdivisions into historic woods and fi lds. 

Changes from the Civil War include loss of cleared 

corridors along the earthworks, decreases in size of the 

Fairview, Hazel Grove, Bullock, Wellford, StephensTrigg, and Hawkins clearings, and loss of spatial defin -

tion provided by fences (fig. 3.2).

LAND USE

This characteristic refers to the use of a landscape that 

has influe ced its form and association.

Historic Condition (1863-1963)

During the Civil War, land use on the Chancellorsville 

landscape primarily involved transportation (roads), 

residential, agriculture (farms and plantations, including crops, pasture-livestock, and orchards), and 

iron mining and processing. Religious uses existed 

since 1778 at Wilderness Church, and cemeterial uses 

Figure 3.2. Top: the Fairview clearing looking west from Old Plank 

Road showing fence-enclosed field, 1879; Bottom: the same view 

showing retention of overall open space but loss of enclosing 

fences, 2015. The large field tree in the upper photo is the oak 

purportedly used as a US signal station. (Confederate Albums, vol. 1, 

Chancellorsville Pictures, Manuscript Department, Duke University 

Library, copy of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Miliary 

Park, FRSP 1814; SUNY ESF)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

248

were introduced at the Chancellor cemetery in ca. 

1812. Commercial uses existed prior to the war at the 

Chancellorsville Inn and Dowdall’s Tavern. Catharine 

Furnace, established in 1836 and closed by 1846, was 

revived during the war but ceased operation during the 

Battle of Wilderness in 1864. 

After the Civil War, farming remained the primary 

land-use, with new transportation uses upon completion of the Fredericksburg & Gordonsville Railroad in 

1872–76. Formal battle commemoration and tourism 

were introduced through fi e monuments dedicated 

between 1879 and 1903, and use of the second Chancellorsville Inn as a hotel catering to visitors to the battlefi ld. Plans for use of the entire Fairview Plantation 

for commemorative purposes in 1892 by the Chancellorsville Battlefi ld Association went largely unrealized. 

Cemeterial uses expanded with establishment of the 

Wilderness Church cemetery in 1915. Commercial uses 

included a gas station built by the Rowley family across 

from the Chancellorsville Inn in ca. 1925. Destruction of the second Chancellorsville Inn by fi e in 1927 

marked the end of that site’s long history of on-and-off

commercial uses.

During the period of historic park development 

between 1931 and 1963, transportation, agricultural, 

religious, cemeterial, and commemorative uses continued. Tourism expanded significa tly upon completion 

of the national military park in the 1930s. The railroad 

was abandoned in 1937, and suburban (non-agricultural) residential land use appeared along Route 3, Elys 

Ford Road, and McLaws Drive. Use of the park during 

the 1930s included automobile touring, picnicking, 

and walking/hiking along designed trails. By the end of 

the historic park period in 1963, both picnicking and 

walking/hiking had largely disappeared, and park staff

housing was introduced with completion of the Ranger 

Lane quarters in 1961. Agriculture remained within 

current park boundaries at the Hawkins Farm, Locust 

Grove, Talley Farm, Lee Farm (near bivouac), Craig 

Farm (McLaws Wedge), and Wellford clearing. 

Post-Historic Condition (After 1963)

Farming remained on private inholdings and through 

lease agreements on park land. Commercial uses 

disappeared with demolition of the Rowley gas station in ca. 1965. Industrial uses were introduced in the 

Fairview clearing at the Johnston construction facility, 

but were removed by 1977. Suburban residential uses 

expanded along Route 3, Old Plank Road, Elys Ford 

Road, McLaws Drive, and Jackson Trail West, but 

were reduced within park boundaries as houses were 

removed following park acquisition. The most significant changes in land use occurred adjacent to park 

boundaries with development of Hazel Grove as the 

Wilderness Presidential Resorts beginning in ca. 1973, 

and sprawling suburban housing subdivisions that were 

developed after 1980.

Figure 3.3. Changes in land use in the Chancellorsville landscape. 

Top: Bullock clearing looking southeast showing battle action on 

May 1-3, 1863; Bottom: Bullock clearing, showing the quiet field

of today looking from Bullock Drive in the same general direction, 

2013. (Edwin Forbes, “Hooker’s Last Line,” Library of Congress LC 

USZ62-79221, copy of FRSP 1001; SUNY ESF)
249 

3. Analysis and Evaluation

Evaluation

Existing park land uses contribute to the historic character of the Chancellorsville landscape as a commemorative battlefi ld park, while remaining agricultural uses 

contribute to both the Civil War and historic park-era 

character of the landscape. Actual crops grown have 

changed since 1863, but the overall use remains similar. 

The Hawkins Farm and Wilderness Church are the 

only two properties that have remained in the same 

ownership and historic use since 1863. The main roads 

that existed in 1863, with the exception of Germanna 

Plank Road, also continue to function as transportation 

corridors, although their physical form has changed 

significa tly. Surrounding suburban residential land 

use and automobile traffic dimin h the overall historic 

character of the landscape. The most substantial change 

in land use is from the battle action that occurred in 

May 1863 to the quiet park setting of today (fig. 3.3)

CIRCULATION

Circulation is comprised of the spaces, features, and 

materials that constitute systems of movement in a 

landscape. 

Historic Condition (1863–1963)

During the Civil War, circulation in the Chancellorsville landscape consisted of two primary roads: the 

Orange Plank Road, a privately developed timbersurfaced road, and the older Orange Turnpike. The Old 

Mountain Road, probably a remnant of the pre-1813 

alignment of the Orange Turnpike (Germanna Road) 

extended through the woods west of the Chancellorsville Inn. Narrower secondary roads included River 

Road, Mineral Springs Road, Elys Ford Road, and 

Brock Road. The major intersections in the area were 

the four-way crossing of the turnpike (plank road) and 

Elys Ford Road at the Chancellorsville Inn, and the 

three-way intersection of the turnpike and plank road 

at Wilderness Church. Outside of these public roads, 

there were narrow unimproved farm roads and mine 

roads that traversed the fi lds and woods of Chancellorsville. Furnace Road provided the main access to 

the Catharine Furnace from the turnpike. During the 

Battle of Chancellorsville, the turnpike/plank road 

(Route 3) formed the spine of the battlefi ld, where 

Confederates advanced east against US forces. Stonewall Jackson led his troops down a twelve-mile-long 

route along mine and farm roads to the south to launch 

his surprise attack on the US right flank. ackson was 

mortally wounded along the Old Mountain Road. The 

bed of the unfini hed Fredericksburg and Gordonsville 

Railroad, which crossed the area roughly parallel to 

the turnpike, was not used as a primary route by either 

army. 

After the Civil War, the public roads were repaired and 

the railroad was completed. Some of the old farm and 

mine roads were abandoned, as well as the Old Mountain Road. The front walk and steps to the Chancellorsville Inn were retained during rebuilding completed 

in ca. 1872. Destruction of the building to fi e in 1927 

led to loss of adjoining walks, although the front steps 

remained. 

During the period of historic park development 

between 1931 and 1963, circulation in the Chancellorsville landscape underwent significa t changes with 

construction of the park drives between 1931 and 

1935 that were designed by the War Department. The 

drives were characterized by gentle alignments, macadam construction with oiled pea-gravel surfaces, turf 

shoulders, triangular intersections, and stone bridges 

and culverts. Some followed existing antebellum roads, 

including River Road, Furnace Road, Bullock Road, 

and the road between Fairview and Hazel Grove (Berry 

Paxton Drive). Mineral Springs Road was planned for 

improvement, but the work was never done. New roads 

were built parallel to lines of earthworks, including 

Hooker Drive and Slocum Drive, or through woods to 

connect park drives, including Stuart Drive and Sickles 

Drive. A short loop drive off Route 3 was built in 1933 

and realigned in 1937 to access the visitor contact station and Jackson monument. Small parking areas were 

built near Catharine Furnace and Hazel Grove-Fairview vista clearing. The longest single park road was 

the 5.2-mile-long Jackson Trail built between 1939 and 

1943. It was designed by the National Park Service as a 

rustic, narrow gravel road to give visitors a sense of the 
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

250

battle-period mine and farm roads used by Jackson’s 

troops. In addition to drives, the National Park Service 

also built a system of six rustic foot trails with commemorative names that provided access to earthworks 

and picnic areas, extending from Couch’s Works along 

Elys Ford Road south to Catharine Furnace and east to 

Old Plank Road. After World War II, the park abandoned the trail system, and added asphalt pavement on 

all but the Jackson Trail in ca. 1950. Development of the 

MISSION 66 visitor center and staff housing resulted in 

the removal of the 1937 loop drive at the visitor contact 

station, and addition of an asphalt entrance road, parking area, and concrete walks completed by 1963. The 

visitor center was constructed on the historic alignment of the Old Mountain Road. Ranger Lane and the 

driveways and concrete walks to the three employee 

residences were completed in 1961. 

Post-Historic Condition (After 1963)

Four new trails with interpretive signage were added 

beginning in 1979, along portions of earlier foot trails. 

Parking areas built in the 1930s were removed and new 

ones added at auto tour stops. In 1973, the park sold 

most of Miles Drive (River Road) and Mineral Springs 

Road in exchange for lands that were then felt to be 

more important to the story of Chancellorsville. The 

widening of Route 3 into a divided highway, beginning with the section from Elys Ford Road east in ca. 

1965, and to the west in ca. 1972 required removal of 

portions of Stuart Drive and McLaws Drive, and led 

the park to remove the northern half of Berry-Paxton 

Drive. Widening also resulted in isolation of the park’s 

Stop 8 parcel at the Flank Attack battlefi ld into the 

median of the newly divided highway. With acquisition 

of the Ashton and Brygider farms to the north in 1998, 

the park converted a farm road into a park road leading to the new tour stop 8. Suburban development in 

the region led to large increases in traffic n the public 

roads as well as on park drives.

Evaluation

Circulation is a defini g characteristic of the Chancellorsville landscape, refle ting its development as a national military park during the 1930s. Most of the park 

drives retain historic character defi ed by alignment, 

turf shoulders, and stone-faced culverts and bridges 

(fig. 3.4). ajor changes since 1963 have occurred with 

the removal or alienation of portions of the historic 

park drive system. Civil War-era circulation remains in 

the existing adjoining public roads, although they have 

been substantially altered through widening, realignment, and pavement in asphalt. The battle-period entry 

road to Wilderness Church has likewise been paved 

and widened to accommodate parking. The only circulation features that remain largely intact from the Civil 

War are the privately-owned main farm road at the 

Hawkins Farm, and Mineral Springs Road, only a small 

part of which is owned by the park. 

Figure 3.4. Continuity in circulation in the Chancellorsville landscape. 

Top: Sickles Drive looking north, south of the bridge over Lewis Run, 

1936; Bottom: Sickles Drive looking north at the bridge over Lewis 

Run, 2013. The original surface was oiled gravel; the asphalt was 

first added during the historic period in the 1950s. (Fredericksburg 

and Spotsylvania National Military Park, Chancellorsville 

Photographs, box 3; SUNY ESF)
251 

3. Analysis and Evaluation

TOPOGRAPHY

Topography is the three-dimensional configu ation 

of a landscape, comprised of built landforms. Natural 

landforms are described under Natural Systems and 

Features. 

Historic Condition(1863–1963)

During the Civil War, topography within the Chancellorsville landscape was mostly natural, except for iron 

pits (mines) within the 4,648-acre Catharine Furnace 

property and elsewhere, the rail bed of the unfini hed 

Fredericksburg & Gordonsville Railroad, and minor 

grading along roads and at building sites. The advance 

of troops on May 1, 2, and 3, 1863 led to extensive 

topographic changes with miles of earthen trenches 

and numerous crescent-shaped gun pits (lunettes) dug 

into the soft soils by both US and Confederate forces. 

The trenches featured depressions and linear mounds 

that served as defensive shields. US north-south facing 

works, primarily in around the Chancellors’ Fairview 

Plantation refle ted the early strategy of the battle when 

US forces expected the Confederate advance from the 

south. East-west works refle ted Jackson’s surprise 

attack on the US right (west) flank. S me of the more 

carefully built earthworks, generally those constructed 

before the flank ttack, featured supporting log walls 

(known as log works), while those thrown up in haste 

were built with core or covering of debris that often 

included trees, dead animals, wagons, and fences.

After the Civil War, the earthworks were abandoned 

and most became covered in trees and undergrowth, 

or were removed as farmers returned their fi lds to 

production, such as at Locust Grove (Wagner Farm). 

The earthworks diminished in height due to erosion 

and decomposition of the debris core and supporting 

log structures. An earthen causeway was built or completed by 1876 along the Fredericksburg & Gordonsville Railroad across the lowlands of the Ni River near 

present Jackson Trail East. 

During the period of historic park development between 1931 and 1963, earthworks formed the organizational structure of the park, with initial land acquisition 

focused on acquiring corridors along the earthworks 

within the core of the battlefi ld in and around the 

Fairview Plantation, according to a modified Antietam 

Plan. Remaining earthworks not incorporated into 

the park were located along Mineral Springs Road at 

the Apex of Hooker’s last line, and at Locust Grove 

(Dowdall’s Tavern). During the mid-to-late 1930s, CCC 

enrollees cleared brush from the earthworks and established turf on many. One gun pit (lunette) at Fairview 

was restored in 1936 to its presumed original dimensions. During and after World War II, the park stopped 

maintaining vegetation on the earthworks except for 

turf on the Fairview gun pits, and many became hidden 

by undergrowth and debris. Other topographic changes 

resulted from construction of the park roads during 

the 1930s and early 1940s, which required substantial 

grading in areas and addition of earthen causeways 

across lowlands along Furnace Road, Sickles Drive, and 

Jackson Trail East.

Post-Historic Condition (After 1963)

After 1963, changes in topography within the Chancellorsville landscape were few, except along the Route 3 

corridor. Lowering of the highway in ca. 1973 created banks in front of the Jackson monument and at 

Berry-Paxton Drive in ca. 1973, and led to removal of 

the northern Fairview gun pits. Some other earthworks 

were removed to provide access to residential development off McLaws Drive and Elys Ford Road. 

Evaluation

Since the end of historic park development in 1963, 

the topography of the Chancellorsville landscape has 

changed little in overall character, except along Route 3 

due to highway widening and realignment. Changes to 

the Civil War-era character have resulted from erosion 

of the defensive earthworks, resulting in the inconspicuous mounds and depressions that exist today. The lack 

of vegetation maintenance on the earthworks (except 

for the Fairview gun pits) has made the earthworks 

less conspicuous than during the early period of park 

development prior to World War II (fig. 3.5).
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

252

VEGETATION

Vegetation is comprised of trees, shrubs, vines, ground 

covers, and herbaceous plants and other fl ra that 

is managed or has particular cultural values. Natural 

and unmanaged vegetation is described under Natural 

Systems and Features. 

Historic Condition (1863–1963)

During the Civil War, vegetation within the Chancellorsville landscape consisted of agricultural crops, orchards, groves, specimen trees, and turf. Crops included wheat, corn, oats, tobacco, potatoes, and pasture. A 

peach orchard was maintained at the Fairview house. 

Notable specimen and groves of trees included a stand 

of white pine around Wilderness Church, a row of elms 

and poplars in front of the Chancellorsville Inn, and 

a large oak tree in the middle of the Fairview clearing. 

During the battle, crops, orchards, and specimen trees 

were damaged or destroyed. The oak tree in the Fairview clearing purportedly served as a US signal station. 

After the Civil War, fi lds were slowly returned to 

production, and the oak tree signal station remained as 

a memento of the battle until about 1920. Some of the 

elms continued to shade the front lawn of the Chancellorsville Inn after it was rebuilt in ca. 1872, and even 

after the building burned down for a second time in 

1927. At the Wellford Plantation and Chancellorsville 

Inn, large fruit orchards were established around the 

turn of the century. 

During the period of historic park development 

between 1931 and 1963, the National Park Service, 

through CCC labor, planted thousands of trees and 

shrubs throughout the park. Along the park drives, 

native species such fl wering dogwood, Eastern redcedar, tulip-tree, pine, laurel, hazel, alder, oak, sumac, 

and huckleberry were transplanted from surrounding 

woods to beautify the landscape by directing views, defini g spaces, and providing visual interest, in keeping 

with the existing character of the dominant oak woods. 

Near the visitor contact station (visitor center), a native wildfl wer garden was established as a memorial 

to General “Stonewall” Jackson. In some areas, such 

as around the Lee-Jackson bivouac and north of the 

Bullock house site, conifer plantations were set out to 

reestablish wooded conditions. A line of conifers was 

planted along the Fairview gun pits (lunettes) to screen 

private property to the east. Agricultural crops continued to be raised on private farms, and the white pine 

grove at Wilderness Church disappeared by the 1930s. 

After World War II, the Jackson wildfl wer garden was 

Figure 3.5. Changes in topography in the Chancellorsville landscape. 

Top: timber-supported earthworks looking east shortly after the 

battle (probably Slocum’s Line), ca. 1879; Middle: Slocum’s Line 

following clearing and turfing, looking east along Slocum Drive, 

1935; Bottom: Slocum’s Line looking east along Slocum Drive 

showing concealment by vegetation and leaf litter, 2013. (Library 

of Congress, LC-B8184-4994, FRSP 2637a; Fredericksburg and 

Spotsylvania National Military Park, Chancellorsville Photographs, 

box 1; SUNY ESF)
253 

3. Analysis and Evaluation

abandoned and the plantings along the drives became 

naturalized. Development of the visitor center and 

Ranger Lane housing included addition of lawn and 

planting of oaks, fl wering dogwoods, and shrubs. 

Post-Historic Condition (After 1963)

After 1963, new plantings in the Chancellorsville 

landscape were limited to removal and replacement of 

shrubs and herbaceous beds around the visitor center, 

reforestation of the area between the visitor center and 

Bullock Road, addition of a line of shrubs along the 

Jackson monument to screen Route 3, and addition of a 

pine trees at the Hazel Grove artillery site to screen the 

Wilderness Presidential Resort established in ca. 1973. 

The area of turf south of the visitor center was reduced, 

and trees grew up around the Chancellorsville cemetery. The conifer plantations at the Lee-Jackson bivouac and near the Bullock house became naturalized 

with the native hardwoods forest. Ornamental shrubs 

and trees were removed from residential properties 

acquired by the park along Route 3, Elys Ford Road, 

and Old Plank Road. Agricultural crops and pasture 

continued to be maintained at the Hawkins Farm, Wagner Farm (Locust Grove), and McLaws clearing. Park 

acquisition of the Chancellorsville Inn site in 1972 was 

followed by establishment of turf and some ornamental 

trees that supplemented a row of Eastern red-cedar 

maintained from the Rowley ownership period. Park 

acquisition of the Fairview clearing led to removal of 

the pine screen east of the gun pits in 2005.

Evaluation

Since the end of historic park period in 1963, planted 

and managed vegetation within the Chancellorsville 

landscape has remained consistent in overall character, 

with major changes limited to plantings around the visitor center, removal of the pine screen at the Fairview 

gun pits, and addition of screening at the Hazel Grove 

site. Notable changes since the Civil War include loss of 

the white pine grove at Wilderness Church, the signal 

station oak in the Fairview clearing, the peach orchard 

at Fairview, and the row of elms and poplars at the 

Chancellorsville Inn (fig. 3.6). Aside from these features, vegetation was characterized mostly by agricultural crops, which are now primarily pasture and hay, 

rather than food crops. 

Figure 3.6. Changes in vegetation at the Chancellorsville Inn. Top: 

elms and poplars in front of the Chancellorsville Inn prior to the 

battle, ca. 1860; Second from top: elms remaining after the battle 

and ca. 1872 reconstruction of the inn, ca. 1890; Third from top: 

elms remaining after the 1927 destruction of the second inn, ca. 

1935; Bottom: existing red maple, sycamore, and red-cedars, 2015. 

(Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, FRSP 1958, 

FRSP 1811, FRSP 1429; SUNY ESF)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

254

BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES

Buildings and Structures are three-dimensional 

constructs, with buildings distinguished as features 

designed for human use. 

Historic Condition (1863–1963)

During the Civil War, buildings and structures within 

the Chancellorsville landscape included the ca. 1816 

Chancellorsville Inn, the largest and most prominent building on the battlefi ld; the 1853 Wilderness 

Church, the only religious building and a prominent 

part of the Flank Attack battlefi ld that replaced a pre1778 building; and seven farmstead buildings (houses, 

barns, etc.) at the Fairview, Bullock, Wellford, Trigg, 

Stephens, and Hawkins farms within or immediately 

adjoining current park boundaries. The Wellford 

house, built in 1838, and Chancellorsville Inn were 

the only known primary brick buildings. The largest 

complex of buildings and structures on the battlefi ld 

was at the Catharine Furnace, which included the 

thirty-six-foot-tall stone stack of the blast furnace and 

approximately ten adjacent stone and wood buildings. 

These included a coal house that measured 100 feet 

long, an engine house, casting house, bridge house 

(connected buildings on the bluff), ball house, pattern 

house, smoke house, and a blacksmith’s shop. On top 

of the bluff stood an office d large boarding house. 

During the battle, the Chancellorsville Inn, Fairview 

house, and Bullock house were destroyed. The Catharine Furnace complex was destroyed during the Battle 

of the Wilderness the following year. 

The ruined chimney of the Fairview house remained 

standing into the early 20th century as a memento of 

the war. The Chancellorsville Inn was rebuilt by 1872 

at about half its original size, which incorporated the 

brick walls of the antebellum west wing and the front 

stone steps. The Bullock house was not rebuilt. Melzi 

Chancellor, owner of Locust Grove, built a new residence and office n his property north of Wilderness 

Church in ca. 1869 (later Verna Farm). In ca. 1895, a 

new farmstead was built on the Locust Grove property north of the turnpike (Route 3), probably by the 

Chewing family (present Wagner Farm), and another 

farmstead was built across from the Talley Farm (later 

Ashton Farm). The antebellum Stephens farmhouse 

along Jackson Trail West was replaced in the latter 19th

century by a new farmstead on the hill to the south, 

known as Rosemont (present Hilltop Farm). Farmhouses were built at post-war farms, including the Lee 

Farm along Old Plank Road and the Craig Farm at the 

corner of Furnace Road (McLaws Drive) and Route 3. 

In 1899, Wilderness Church was replaced with a new 

building of about the same size, and in ca. 1920, the 

antebellum Hawkins House was replaced. In ca. 1925, 

the Rowley family, owners of the Chancellorsville Inn, 

were probably the builders of a bungalow near the site 

of the Bullock House along Elys Ford Road. In ca. 1927, 

they built a gas station across the street from the inn at 

the corner of Route 3 and Old Plank Road. That same 

year, the second Chancellorsville Inn was destroyed 

by fi e; the entrance steps and brick walls from the east 

wing, some of which dated to the original antebellum 

building, remained standing.

During the early period of historic park development 

between 1931 and 1942, there were four park buildings 

constructed by the National Park Service, all designed 

in a standard rustic style used throughout the national 

military park. Intended to harmonize with the natural 

setting and convey the character of pioneer construction, these included the visitor contact station along 

Route 3 (1935) and two nearby privies (ca. 1935), 

and the maintenance garage (1937) off Hooker Drive. 

A planned staff residence across Hooker Drive was 

never built. To the north, a large complex of tar-paper 

sheathed temporary frame buildings was constructed 

along Elys Ford Road for CCC Camp MP-3 (NP-11) in 

ca. 1933. These were removed by 1945. Construction of 

the park drive system between 1931 and 1935 included 

the addition of many structures to the landscape that 

shared a common style and use of stone ashlar, including culverts, drainage ditches, tree rings that protected 

trees from changes in grade, and two large double-arch 

bridges. Poured concrete bridges (box culverts) and a 

stone ford were built on the more rustic, National Park 

Service-designed Jackson Trail built between 1939 and 
255 

3. Analysis and Evaluation

1942. Numerous rustic wood foot bridges were built 

along the park’s trail system in ca. 1935 and removed 

after World War II. 

As part of its MISSION 66 improvements, the park 

removed the 1935 visitor contact station and the 

nearby privies, and constructed four new buildings, 

all designed by park service architects in a Modernist 

style that emphasized simple massing and details: three 

clapboard-sided ranch-form frame staff residences 

along Ranger Drive completed in 1961; and the brick 

and steel visitor center completed in 1962 and dedicated on the centennial of the battle in 1963. The visitor 

center won a national honor award from the American 

Institute of Architects in 1963. A planned maintenance 

area off Ranger Lane was never realized. 

Post-Historic Condition (After 1963)

After 1963, there was little substantial change to park 

buildings and structures aside from the addition of 

a water tower in ca. 1970, off Ranger Lane where a 

maintenance facility had been planned. The last antebellum building within or adjacent to park boundaries, the brick Wellford house along Jackson Trail East, 

was demolished by its private owner in ca. 1970. The 

last standing walls of the fi e-ruined Chancellorsville 

Inn were taken down by the private property owner in 

1966, prior to park acquisition of the site. Expansion of 

park property brought in early- and mid-20th-century 

houses, most of which have been torn down. These 

included seven houses along the north side of Route 

3 west of the visitor center, fi e houses along Route 3 

within the Fairview clearing including the Rowley’s 

bungalow built in 1932 to replace the Chancellorsville 

Inn, six houses along the west side of Elys Ford Road, 

and two houses along Old Plank Road. Park land 

alienated along Miles Drive (River Road) in 1973 was 

developed with a dozen houses. Park acquisition of 

land at the Flank Attack battlefi ld included removal of 

the post-Civil War Ashton farmstead and Verna (Melzi 

Chancellor) farmstead, and the mid-19th century 

Brygider farmstead. Hundreds of houses were built 

adjacent to park boundaries, mostly after 1980.

Evaluation

Since the end of historic park development in 1963, 

the exteriors of park designed and built buildings and 

structures have remained little changed, aside from 

alteration of paint colors (fig. 3.7). on-park building 

and structures have undergone significa t change due 

to the removal of non-historic buildings, mostly earlyand mid-20th century houses. Several non-historic 

buildings remain on private in-holdings or on park 

property with rights to life estate. There are no standing 

buildings or structures dating to the Civil War, except 

for the ruined stack of the Catharine Furnace. Wilderness Church and the Hawkins farmhouse, both on 

private inholdings, are late 19th- and early 20th-century 

generations of antebellum buildings. While buildings 

were a significa t characteristic of the 1863 landscape, 

overall they are inconspicuous today. 

Figure 3.7. Buildings and structures in the Chancellorsville 

landscape. Top: the visitor center showing original construction 

and paint colors, looking southwest, 1963; Bottom: similar view, 

2013. These photos also show changes in circulation and vegetation. 

The flagpole remains, but is off the left side of the bottom 

photograph. (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military 

Park, Chancellorsville Photographs, box 2; SUNY ESF)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

256

VIEWS AND VISTAS

Views and vistas are prospects in a landscape, either 

natural or designed. Views are broad lines of sight, 

while vistas are controlled lines of sight with a defi ed 

focal point. 

Historic Condition (1863–1963)

During the Civil War, views and vistas within the Chancellorsville landscape were characterized by broad 

prospects across open agricultural land, and narrow 

views along road corridors. The expansive views within 

the clearing of the Fairview Plantation, especially looking southwest from the porch of the Chancellorsville 

Inn toward Hazel Grove, probably were the namesake 

of the plantation. The strategic sight lines possible in 

these open fi lds, along with those at the Hawkins 

Farm, Locust Grove, Hazel Grove, and the Bullock 

Plantation made them the focus of the intense fi hting 

and fortific tion during the Battle of Chancellorsville. 

A large oak tree in the middle of the Fairview clearing 

may have served as a signal station during the battle, 

visible from US headquarters at the Chancellorsville 

Inn and US artillery lines to the west. The view from 

Hazel Grove to Fairview allowed Confederates to fi e 

upon US forces at Fairview on May 3. Another strategic 

view existed at Burton Farm, where on May 2, 1863, 

Jackson or his aides looked out on the US 11th Corps in 

the clearing surrounding Wilderness Church, and decided to move their surprise flank ttack farther west. 

After the Civil War, the view from the Chancellorsville 

Inn remained a valued feature of the landscape, as evidenced by the addition of a cupola on the inn as rebuilt 

in ca. 1872, which provided tourists with broad prospects across the battlefi ld of May 3, 1863. These views 

diminished with decreases in the size of the clearing by 

the turn of the century, notably through reforestation 

of the clearing between Fairview and Hazel Grove. A 

focal point was introduced along the turnpike (Route 

3) with the dedication of the Jackson monument in 

1888. Views were expanded or established with clearings for farms established after the Civil War, notably 

at McLaws Wedge and the Lee-Jackson Bivouac, while 

others were lost or diminished, notably through reforestation of Furnace Hollow. 

During the period of historic park development between 1931 and 1963, the strategic view between Hazel 

Grove and Fairview was reopened in 1931 by the War 

Department through clearing of a narrower, straight 

corridor. The view to the east through the Fairview 

clearing was closed off with the planting of a line of 

conifers parallel to the north-south gun pits in ca. 1941. 

Views of the Jackson monument from Route 3 were 

maintained and reinforced with development of the 

surrounding area as the center of park operations. Burton Hill was incorporated into the park in 1960, but by 

this time the battle-period view north toward Wilderness Church had probably been lost due to growth of 

woods on the Talley Farm. 

Post-Historic Condition (After 1963)

After 1963, new views and vistas were incorporated 

into the Chancellorsville landscape through expansion of park boundaries and land acquisition. Purchase 

of the eastern Fairview clearing allowed the park to 

remove the ca. 1941 pine screen along the gun pits 

in 2005. Acquisition of a portion of the Flank Attack 

battlefi ld in 1998 allowed visitors to experience the 

Confederate’s strategic views across the clearing surrounding Wilderness Church during the launch of the 

surprise flank ttack on May 2, 1863. Construction of 

suburban houses beginning in the 1950s changed the 

wooded views along McLaws Drive and Jackson Trail 

East. Development of Wilderness Presidential Resorts 

beginning in ca. 1973 caused the park to block the 

historic view of the Hazel Grove site from Stuart Drive 

with a screen of pines. Widening and lowering of Route 

3 made views of the Jackson Monument inconspicuous; the view was subsequently lost through the park’s 

planting of shrubs in 1986 to screen increasingly heavy 

traffic. Els here, suburban subdivisions begun in 

the 1980s created open and fi tered views of houses, 

fences, and back yards along Slocum Drive, Furnace 

Road, Jackson Trail West, and at Stop 8 in the Flank 

Attack battlefi ld.
257 

3. Analysis and Evaluation

Evaluation

Since the end of historic park development in 1963, 

views and vistas have remained a defini g characteristic of the Chancellorsville landscape, refle ting 1863 

character as well as changes during the historic park 

period. Historic character has been lost in areas due 

to encroachment of woods into historic open fi lds, 

and introduction of modern development into the 

historic wooded setting (see fig. 2.1). iews along the 

park drives overall refle t character from the historic 

park era. Views of the Jackson monument from Route 

3, once a focal point of the park, have been lost (fig.

3.8). Features related to the 1863 battlefi ld include 

the strategic Hazel Grove-Fairview vista, but within a 

narrower clearing that refle ts early park development, 

and without the western continuation to Hazel Grove. 

Views across the Flank Attack have been diminished 

due to growth of trees south of Route 3, but retain 

the overall expansive character with the view across 

Wilderness Church. The “Fair-view” from the Chancellorsville Inn remains, but is interrupted by the divided 

highway of Route 3 and lacks the historic vantage point 

of the building. Insuffi ent documentation exists to 

determine whether the broad views across McLaws 

clearing existed in 1863. 

SMALL-SCALE FEATURES

Small-scale features are furnishings and other details in 

the landscape defi ed by their size relative to the overall 

landscape. Small-scale features may serve aesthetic or 

utilitarian functions. 

Historic Condition (1863–1963)

During the Civil War, small-scale features within the 

Chancellorsville landscape (area within park boundaries) included things such as tools and vehicles that 

were part of farming and mining operations. The most 

widespread small-scale features were fences of several 

types, with whitewashed wood fences often around 

farmsteads, and rail fences around agricultural fi lds. 

Around the Chancellorsville Inn were whitewashed 

picket and plank fences that defi ed ornamental 

grounds. The Chancellor cemetery probably had a 

wood fence enclosure. Most fences were destroyed or 

damaged during the battle. The battle also left debris 

throughout the battlefi ld, including such things as 

rucksacks, arms, munitions, diaries, personal mementoes, and clothing, in addition to human remains. 

Troops collected valuable materials in the aftermath of 

the battles, and scavengers likely scoured the landscape 

as well, leaving few things behind. 

After the Civil War, fences were rebuilt, and by the early 

20th century many had been replaced with barbed-wire, 

including those around the second Chancellorsville Inn 

Figure 3.8. Change in views and vistas in the Chancellorsville 

landscape. Top: view of the Jackson monument and rock looking 

east along the turnpike (Route 3), ca. 1900; Middle: the Jackson 

Monument and rock showing historic park setting, looking 

northwest along Route 3, 1952; Bottom: current loss of view, 

looking east along Route 3 (similar to top photo vantage), 

2015. (The Albert Kern Collection at Dayton History, object 

K.5.9.075; Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, 

Chancellorsville Photographs, box 2; SUNY ESF) 
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

258

as well as the Chancellor cemetery. Commemorative 

monuments were introduced with the Jackson rock in 

1879, followed by the fence-enclosed Jackson monument in 1888, 114th Pennsylvania in 1899, 27th Indiana 

in ca. 1901, and Lee-Jackson bivouac marker in 1903. 

The Daughters of the Confederacy installed a stone 

and bronze monument along Route 3 in front of the 

Chancellorsville Inn in 1927. Stone grave markers were 

installed in the Chancellor cemetery after the Civil War, 

and at the Wilderness Church cemetery beginning in 

1915. 

During the period of historic park development between 1931 and 1963, many small-scale features were 

introduced into the landscape for interpretation and 

wayfi ding, but no commemorative monuments were 

added. These included iron identific tion tablets that 

had a formal design similar to those at other national 

military parks. The NPS added a series of sign types 

that initially had a Colonial Revival style that was soon 

replaced with a rustic style. These included large narrative signs with Masonite signboards, smaller all-wood 

narrative signs, and small directional signs. Rustic wood 

picnic tables and stone fi eplaces were installed at the 

Furnace and Vista picnic areas. Other park small-scale 

features included a flagp le at the visitor contact station 

and another at the CCC camp. Stacked-rail fences were 

used to mark park boundaries at the entrances to the 

park drives. 

During the MISSION 66 period, the park removed the 

rustic signs, bollards, picnic tables, and fi eplaces and 

installed features with a more modern and durable 

design. The large narrative signs were redesigned with 

gray paint and a metal sign board, and several new or 

replacement identific tion tablets were fabricated in 

aluminum. The stacked-rail fences at the entrances 

to the drives were probably removed at this time and 

metal gates with short sections of wood fencing were 

added. The park introduced small metal tour route 

signs and two large brick entrance signs along Route 

3, along with a fla staff and directional compass at 

the new visitor center. Cannons were introduced as 

interpretive devices at the visitor contact station in the 

1950s, and at Hazel Grove and Fairview in ca. 1960. 

Post-Historic Condition (After 1963)

After 1963, small-scale features in the Chancellorsville 

landscape changed little in overall composition, except 

for the addition of small metal signs known as site 

markers, wood trail signs, and standard NPS interpretive waysides and directional signage. Cannons were 

added at the Chancellorsville Inn site. Picnic tables 

and barrel-style trash receptacles were added near 

Figure 3.9. Changes in small-scale features in the Chancellorsville 

landscape. Top: stacked-rail field fences, looking northwest from the 

turnpike (Route 3) in the Flank Attack battlefield, ca. 1875; Middle: 

stacked-rail fences used to mark park boundaries and entrances 

during the historic park period, looking southwest along Bullock 

Drive, 1936; Bottom: Existing short fence sections and metal gates 

that mark entrances to park drives, looking east along Slocum Drive, 

2013. (National Archives, copy of Fredericksburg and Spotyslvania 

National Military Park, FRSP 1445; FRSP Chancellorsville 

Photographs, box 6; SUNY ESF)
259 

3. Analysis and Evaluation

the visitor center. The identific tion tablets and larger 

narrative signs introduced in the 1930s and 1950s were 

not added to newly acquired park land, such as the 

Flank Attack battlefi ld. Rustic stacked-rail fencing was 

reintroduced to the park at the Chancellorsville Inn 

site in ca. 1987. One commemorative work, the Paxton 

monument, was dedicated in 1980. 

Evaluation

Since the end of historic park development in 1963, 

small-scale features have changed through introduction of contemporary NPS signage, and removal of 

stacked-rail fences at park entrances. The MISSION 

66 improvements to the park represented a significa t 

departure from the earlier rustic park features. No 

small-scale features remain from 1863, but the fi e 

historic commemorative monuments and the cannon at 

Hazel Grove, Fairview, and the Chancellorsville Inn site 

recall military action. The most prominent small-scale 

feature, the Jackson monument along Route 3 at the 

heart of the battlefi ld park, has lost its historic prominence in the landscape (see fig. 3.8). verall, smallscale features are today a minor characteristic of the 

Chancellorsville landscape, but were significa t in the 

1863 landscape, most notably the many rail fences that 

influe ced battle action, or were part of the historic 

park landscape (fig. 3.9). 

ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES

Archeological Sites contain surface or subsurface remnants related to historic or prehistoric land use. Subsurface remants may characterize a landscape if they are 

marked or are part of a landscape’s historic association. 

Historic Condition (1863–1963)

During the Civil War, archaeological sites within the 

Chancellorsville landscape became a widespread feature after the fi hting ended on May 3, 1863, characterized by building ruins, burials, above-ground human 

remains, and abandoned earthworks. Buildings that 

had been destroyed in whole or part included the 

Chancellorsville Inn, the Fairview house, the Bullock 

house (“White House”), the Hazel Grove house, and 

the Catharine Furnace complex. There were approximately 1,496 Union burials on the battlefi ld and many 

more uninterred remains. There were probably similar 

or greater number of Confederate casualties on the 

battlefi ld. 

After the Civil War, most human remains were reinterred by 1868 to cemeteries outside Chancellorsville, 

and people rebuilt many of the destroyed or damaged 

buildings, including the Chancellorsville Inn. It became 

a ruin once again when the building was destroyed by 

fi e in 1927, leaving just the east walls and entrance 

steps intact. The battlefi ld’s extensive lines of trenches 

and other earthworks eroded and became subtle 

depressions and rises in the landscape, often covered 

by trees and heavy undergrowth. The most prominent 

archeological site had been the ruins of the Fairview 

house, whose stone chimney stood as a poignant 

landmark in the Fairview clearing, but was removed 

by the 1920s, probably by the Rowleys who farmed the 

property. The stone stack of Catharine Furnace did 

remain standing, although it was inconspicuous given 

its location deep in the woods south of the turnpike. 

Other building ruins and remnants included the brick 

Pulliam house off Furnace Road. The Chancellors continued to inter family members in the family cemetery 

in the Fairview clearing. 

During the period of historic park development between 1931 and 1963, the Catharine Furnace and earthworks remained the only visible and marked archaeological sites within the park. Unmarked battle-period 

building sites included the Van Wert house site along 

Route 3. The Trigg farmstead was probably demolished 

by the park for the construction of Jackson Trail West 

at some point between 1939 and 1943. The adjoining 

Stephens farmstead buildings also disappeared during this time (the family relocated to Rose Hill to the 

south in the late 19th century). The CCC camp along 

Elys Ford Road became an archaeological site upon its 

demolition in ca. 1945.

Post-Historic Conditions (After 1963)

Additional battle-period archaeological sites were incorporated into the park through property acquisition, 
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

260

notably the Fairview house, Bullock house, Wellford 

house, and Chancellorsville Inn. All were marked and 

interpreted, but none had above-ground structural 

remains. The 1836 Wellford house was demolished in 

ca. 1970 by its private owner. The Chancellorsville Inn 

was marked by low brick walls and gravel trenches to 

interpret the subsurface foundation remains. None of 

the outbuilding sites were marked. A trace of the Old 

Mountain Road was interpreted and made accessible 

by a new path from the visitor center laid out in 1979. 

The park also acquired the Chancellor cemetery during 

this time. Two of the Fairview gun pits (lunettes) were 

lost to the widening of Route 3 in ca. 1973. The widening probably also destroyed the Van Wert house site, 

and other sites outside park boundaries, including the 

schoolhouse site at Hazel Grove, Dowdall’s Tavern, and 

the Talley farmstead.

Evaluation

Since the end of historic period in 1963, archaeological sites of battle-period buildings have become more 

prominent in the landscape as interpreted features. 

Except for the Catharine Furnace stack, actual aboveground building remnants have been lost (fig. 3.10).

The earthworks continue to be obscured by vegetation 

and litter, in a marked change in character from the 

early park period prior to World War II when they were 

cleared of brush and maintained in turf. They are also 

less accessible due to loss of much of the original 1935 

trail system that was abandoned by 1950. 

ENDNOTES 

1 Robert R. Page, Cathy A. Gilbert, and Susan A. Dolan, 

A Guide to Cultural Landscape Reports: Contents, 

Process, and Techniques (Washington, D.C.: National 

Park Service, 1998). The cultural landscape evaluation is 

necessary because the National Register does not allow 

for comprehensive inventory and evaluation of cultural 

landscapes. There is no one-to-one correlation between 

inventory and evaluation methods of the National Register 

and NPS cultural landscape program. 

2 Salem Church and the Jackson Shrine, which are 

administered as part of the Chancellorsville Battlefi ld 

unit, are outside the scope of this analysis and evaluation.

3 All historic areas of the National Park System were 

administratively listed in the National Register following 

creation of the program through the National Historic 

Preservation Act of 1966.

4 PAL/Public Archaeology Laboratory, Draft National 

Register documentation for Fredericksburg and 

Spotsylvania National Military Park, May 2015; Eric 

Mink to John Auwaerter regarding status of updated draft 

documentation, July 17, 2018. 

5 PAL, Draft National Register documentation, Section 8, 

pages 115–116.

6 PAL, Draft National Register documentation, Section 7, 

pages 7-8, 49-60.

7 National Register Bulletin [15], How to Apply the 

National Register Criteria (Washington, D.C.: National 

Park Service, 1990, revised 1997), 144-45.

Figure 3.10. Archaeological sites in the Chancellorsville landscape. 

Top: Ruins of the Fairview house, looking south, 1879; Bottom: the 

Fairview House site showing existing interpretation, 2013. (The 

Confederate Albums, vol. 1, Chancellorsville Pictures, Manuscript 

Department, Duke University Library, copy of Fredericksburg and 

Spotyslvania National Military Park, FRSP 1813; SUNY ESF)
261 

3. Analysisand Evaluation

TABLE 3.0. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: PARK-WIDE FEATURES (DRAWINGS 3.1–3.6)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name(Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records) 

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

Natural Systems and Features (Plan Key: NSF)NSF-1. Forest Contributing

Context: Civil War, Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Forest occupied all land outside of road corridors and agricultural clearingsduring Civil War; extent is known, but not the composition. Native forest was oakhickory; much of battle-period was probably dense second-growth, with conifers 

characterizing the youngest second-growth areas where cutting for fuel or iron mining took place. Swamp covered low-lying areas. During early park period, extent 

of forest in the larger battlefield as well as on park lands remained similar to the Civil War period. 

Evaluation: The Civil War-era forest has been greatly reduced in extent in the larger battlefield through suburban development, but the extent on existing park lands has increased since the Civil War, extending onto formerly open agricultural land. The forest is likely more mature in many areas than it was during the Civil War, with a more open understory.

Topography (Plan Key: T)T-1. Chancellorsville 

US (Federal) Works, 

Unnamed

CH0105

LCS:07893

NR 

Resource

17550 Contributing

Context: Civil WarHistory: US and Confederate forces built earth trenches and artillery lunettes across the Chancellorsville Battlefield between May 1 and 3, 1863. Evaluation: Earthworks are the only visible remnants from the battle action. 

Although inconspicuous due to erosion, accumulation of leaf litter, and growth of 

vegetation, their location influenced historic patterns of circulation and interpretation during the early park period. Additional research is needed to 

document the history and condition of existing unnamed works that are primarily in 

the core of the park north and south of Route 3. Some trenches are outside of park boundaries, notably along Mineral Springs Road and River Road. See tables 3.1 and

3.4 for named works.

T-2. Chancellorsville 

Confederate Works, Unnamed

NR 

Resource Contributing See above. n/a

TABLES 3.0–3.6: LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY 
Cultural

LandscapeReport for Chancellorsville Battlefield

262TABLE 3.0. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: PARK-WIDE FEATURES (DRAWINGS 3.1–3.6)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name(Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records) 

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

Circulation Features (Plan Key: C)C-1. Orange Turnpike 

(Route 3) 

Noncontributing

(setting)

Context: Civil War, Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Road built ca. 1716 as Germanna Road between Fredericksburg and Germanna; improved as Orange Turnpike, ca. 1813; section between current Routes 610 and 621 rebuilt as part of Orange Plank Road, 1852; designated a state route, ca. 

1925 (Route 37, then Route 3); served as part of park circulation during initial park 

development in 1930s; section from Route 610 east widened into divided four-lane 

highway, ca. 1963; from Route 610 west, ca.1972. 

Evaluation: The Orange Turnpike/Route 3 remains the main transportation corridor through Chancellorsville as it was during the historic period. Due to substantial 

widening and realignment, the road no longer contributes to the historic character of the battlefield landscape. Heavy automobile traffic and 55+ mph speeds also inhibit park circulation, forming a physical and psychological divide through the core of the 

park.

C-2. Park Drive 

Shoulder Parking 

Areas

103084 

(Fairview)

116203

(Hzl. Grove)

116209 

(Maury)

236429 

(Bivouac)

242438 

(Bullock)

36541 

(Furnace)

46233 

(Stop 8)

Noncontributing

(post-historic)

Minor parking areas added along road shoulders, post-1963: two along Stuart Drive, 

one on Bullock Drive, two on Furnace Road, one across from the Catharine Furnace, and one along Stop 8 drive. Fairview and Catharine Furnace parking areas lined by 

non-historic split-rail fences.

Vegetation Features (Plan Key: C)V-1. Chancellorsville 

Park Drive Plantings 

and Turf Shoulders

23949/11080 Contributing

Context: Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: NPS completed park drives with turf shoulders and plantings to enhance native wooded setting, ca. 1934–35 (except Jackson Trail East, Jackson Trail West, and Mineral Springs Road). Plantings managed to enhance beauty, screen, and direct views; included dogwood, laurel, pine, sumac, blueberry, and native hardwoods. Plantings naturalized over time, but mown turf maintained.1

Evaluation: The turf shoulders and naturalized native plantings along the park drives remain, but mowing over time may have regularized their limits. Suburban 

development has altered the natural, rustic character along Furnace Road and Slocum Drive. Further research and inventory necessary to determine the extent to which the 

historic plantings and areas of turf survive. 
263 

3. Analysisand Evaluation

TABLE 3.0. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: PARK-WIDE FEATURES (DRAWINGS 3.1–3.6)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name(Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records) 

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

V-2. ChancellorsvilleField Crops and 

Meadow Grasses

22927 / 

1333023, 1333024, 

1333026

Contributing

Context: Civil WarHistory: Agricultural clearings were used for raising hay, wheat, corn, oats, potatoes, 

tobacco, rye, and corn, ca. 1860; Agricultural crops still raised during the early park 

period, but most battle-period farmland outside of park boundaries. After historic period, NPS acquired farmland on the historic battlefield at Fairview, Bullock Plantation, Talley Farm, Locust Grove, and Wellford Plantation. NPS property presently farmed through lease agreements include Fairview clearing, Wagner Farm, and Stop 8 area (former Ashton/Brygider farms); current crops include soybeans and hay. Bullock clearing and portions of Fairview clearing mown seasonally. 

Evaluation:. While the current extent and species of meadow and crops are not the 

same as those in 1863, they are compatible in overall character and reflect continued historic agricultural and rural land use. 

Small-Scale Features (Plan Key: SSF)SSF-1. Cast Metal 

Narrative Signs

(Happel Signs)

Data 

recorded by 

location 

(multiple 

sites)

Contributing

Context: Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Design for standard park-wide rustic-style narrative signs consisting of 

brown Masonite board with yellow lettering, set within a stained wood frame and supported by wood posts with pointed finials introduced ca. 1937; design also used to 

display battlefield maps. Design updated during MISSION 66 era using gray-painted 

cast-aluminum signboard and maps, and same frame painted gray, ca.1955. Improvements included addition of round logos for each of the park units, designed by Ralph Happel; Chancellorsville’s logo depicted Lee and Jackson’s so-called 

Crackerbox Meeting at the bivouac site on May 1, 1863.2 Signs maintained as 

standard through ca. 1990. A number removed; approximately 18 remaining, most south of Route 3 and along the Jackson Trail.

Evaluation: The cast metal narrative signs reflect interpretive devices introduced in 

the 1930s and updated during the MISSION 66 period that historically provided a cohesive identity to the four units of the national military park. Due to removals, the 

signs no longer serve this function.

SSF-2. Park DriveEntry Gates and Fences

Noncontributing

(post-historic)

Swinging gates of Cor-ten tube-steel installed after 1963 to control access, located at 

south end of Sickles Drive, north end of Stuart Drive, west end of Berry-Paxton Drive, 

and east end of Slocum Drive; flanked by stacked-rail fences with posts, except on 

Berry-Paxton Drive. The entrances to the drives from the public roads were mostlylined by split-rail fences during the historic period. 
Cultural

LandscapeReport for Chancellorsville Battlefield

264TABLE 3.0. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: PARK-WIDE FEATURES (DRAWINGS 3.1–3.6)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name(Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records) 

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

SSF-3. Interpretive 

Waysides and Site 

Markers

231589

Noncontributing

(post-historic)

Interpretive waysides with illustrated panels and text are located at tour stops and other significant sites. Smaller anodized metal signs, known as Site Markers, are located at secondary interpretive sites, primarily along trails. Both designs were introduced after the end of the historic period in 1963. 

SSF-4. Identification 

Tablets

AU0275

LCS:082132

082133, 

082134

[organ. as 

Battlefield, Earthwork, House Site, 

and Road 

ID Tablets]

22927 /

11789, 17793

44076 / 

17782

Contributing

Context: Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: The War Department developed a standard metal tablet to mark historic sites and park drives in the national military park. They featured angled black-pained iron plaques with aluminum-painted raised inscriptions, set on octagonal concretefilled steel posts. War Department installed temporary wood tablets in ca. 1931-33; 

permanent tablets not installed until ca. 1935, by NPS. NPS maintained design through 1960s, but used aluminum instead of iron. Drives and historic sites acquired by NPS after ca. 1970 are not marked by identification tablets. Evaluation: The identification tablets reflect a standard War Department design that was used throughout Fredericksburg-Spotsylvania, similar to tablets used at national 

cemeteries and many national military parks dating back to the 1880s. 20 tablets presently exist; some have been removed since the historic period. A complete 

inventory of those that existed historically has not been found.

SSF-5. MISSION 66-

Era Battlefield Tour Route Signs

Data 

recorded by 

location 

(multiple 

sites)

Contributing

Context: Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: NPS established driving tour route at Chancellorsville and other units of Fredericksburg-Spotsylvania as part of MISSION 66 prospectus, 1955; cast-metal 

circular signs mounted on wood posts designating tour stops and tour direction

installed by ca. 1960. Initially white with dark lettering, changed to brown with white lettering at an undetermined date. By late 20th century, materials changed to painted 

sheet metal. Evaluation: The original design of the battlefield tour route signs reflect historic park wayfinding and MISSION 66-era design. The later sheet-metal versions do not 

contribute because they represent a shift away from the historic design and materials. 

SSF-6. NPS 

Identification and Wayfinding Signs

Data 

recorded by 

location 

(multiple 

sites)

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

The existing standard NPS brown/white sheet-metal signs and trailhead signs that 

provide direction and wayfinding date to after the end of the historic period in 1963. They replaced rustic wood identification and wayfinding signs from the 1930s and MISSION 66 periods. (Not identified on Drawings 3.1–3.6) 
265 

3. Analysisand Evaluation

TABLE 3.0. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: PARK-WIDE FEATURES (DRAWINGS 3.1–3.6)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name(Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records) 

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

SSF-7. Wood Trail 

Signs

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

Several small incised wood signs mark trails, such as part of the Chancellorsville History Trail (Loop Trail) west of the visitor center. These were added after the end of the historic period in ca. 1963. They may have replaced identification tablets or more finely crafted rustic wood identification signs used in the 1930s. (Not identified on Drawings 3.1–3.6)
Cultural

LandscapeReport for Chancellorsville Battlefield

266TABLE 3.1. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: CORE BATTLEFIELD (DRAWING 3.1)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

Natural Systems and Features (Plan Key: NSF)NSF-1. Forest Contributing

See Table 3.0. Forest covered approximately half of the northern core park area in 

1863, and additional area during the historic park period. Forest that post-dates the 

Civil War is mostly within the Bullock Plantation, the western part of the Fairview 

clearing, and northeastern part of the Fairview clearing north of the Chancellorsville Inn site. An area of dense successional woods is at the site of a blow-down near 

Mineral Springs Road. 

Spatial Organization Features (Plan Key: SO)SO-1. 114thPennsylvania Monument Clearing

Contributing

Context: Pre-Park CommemorationHistory: Site partly within Fairview clearing, 1863; became wooded post-war. Property acquired by the Chancellorsville Battlefield Association, 1891, which assisted the 114th Pennsylvania Volunteers (Collis Zouaves) in marking their general position 

on the battlefield on May 2-3, 1863. Site selected at end of path or trail that ran parallel to Jackson’s Corps Line; small clearing either maintained or created around the monument dedicated in 1899. NPS built Captain Dimick Foot Trail across Route 3 through the clearing, 1935; trail abandoned, ca. 1950; size of the clearing reduced approximately 75’ in depth with widening of Route 3, ca. 1972.

Evaluation: Although the 114th Pennsylvania Monument clearing is no longer readily 

accessible and has changed in extent, the quarter-acre clearing remains an historic 

open space setting for the 114th Pennsylvania monument. 

SO-2. Bullock Clearing Contributing

Context: Civil War, Historic Park Development

History: Clearing at time of Civil War approximately 80 acres along Elys Ford Road, 

mostly to the west but also to the east, south of Mineral Springs Road. Northern part 

became separate farm during post-war period; privately-owned clearing north of Bullock Drive reforested during early park period. Clearing further reduced in size through late 20th century to approximately 3.3 acres.

Evaluation: The Bullock clearing is a primary battle-period open space and site of 

the final fighting on May 3, 1863 (Apex of Hooker’s last line). The decrease in the 

clearing’s size detracts from the historic character of the battlefield.

SO-3. Chancellor 

Cemetery Enclosure Contributing

Context: Civil WarHistory: Cemetery established within Fairview clearing, ca. 1812; ownership of oneacre parcel to Chancellor heirs, 1854; enclosed by white picket fence by ca. 1863; 

smaller area of approximately 0.2 acre enclosed by barbed-wire fence by early 20th

century; wire fence replaced by brick wall, ca.1970. Conveyed to park ownership 

through Eastern National Park & Monument Association, 1985. Evaluation: The Chancellor Cemetery enclosure is a battle-period space, but has 

been altered since the Civil War due to addition of the brick wall and trees; the 
267 

3. Analysis and Evaluation

TABLE 3.1. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: CORE BATTLEFIELD (DRAWING 3.1)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

battle-period enclosure is believed to have been larger.3 It was not within the park during the historic period.

SO-4. Fairview 

Clearing Contributing

Context: Civil War, Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Clearing established between ca. 1777 (Raine’s Ordinary) and ca. 1799 (Fairview house), limits not known, but most likely extended north of turnpike (Route 3). Approximately 142 acres at time of Civil War (including present vista clearing); 

northwestern part of clearing became wooded, post-war; approximately 60 acres by 

1927. Currently about 63 acres (excluding vista clearing).

Evaluation: The Fairview clearing is the primary open space in the battlefield and 

site of the center of the battle on May 3, 1863. The reduction in the size of the 

clearing detracts from the historic character of the battlefield. 

SO-5. Fairview-Hazel Grove Vista Clearing Contributing

Context: Civil War, Historic Park Development

History: Part of Fairview and Hazel Grove clearings, 1863; wooded by 1927. Narrow 

vista clearing between Hazel Grove and Fairview sites, approximately 300’ wide and 

2,500’ long, created ca. 1932 by War Department to interpret artillery line of fire. 

Scattered trees within clearing removed post-1963 and clearing narrowed to 200’; 

currently approximately 13 acres.

Evaluation: The Fairview-Hazel Grove vista clearing is a space created during the historic park era. Its current limits detract from the larger open space that existed 

during the Civil War, as well as the broader clearing that existed prior to 1963.

SO-6. Hazel Grove 

Clearing Contributing

Context: Civil War, Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Part of larger, approximately 70-acre Hazel Grove clearing from 1863 

through ca. 1973, where Confederates fired on US artillery at Fairview. Wilderness 

Presidential Resorts developed on western part of clearing beginning in ca. 1973; reduced clearing to approximately 1.3 acres west of Stuart Drive. Pines planted on NPS boundary to screen development, ca. 1973.Evaluation: The Hazel Grove clearing, although a fragment of the historic clearing, is 

an important open space from the battle period that saw significant artillery action. The loss of the adjoining open space on private property detracts from the historic 

character of the battlefield landscape.

SO-7. Ranger Lane 

Residential Yards Contributing

Context: Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Part of wooded area east of Pender’s Line and west of Fairview (Chancellor) 

Plantation, 1863. Three ranch-style staff residences built 1961; included lawn space 

around houses partly beneath trees. Part of Quarters 5 lawn removed for parking, ca. 1980. 

Evaluation: The yards around the Ranger Lane residences are part of the historic 

park development and are integral to the suburban character of the park’s MISSION 

66 improvements. There have been no substantial changes except at the front lawn of 

Quarters 5.
Cultural

LandscapeReport for Chancellorsville Battlefield

268TABLE 3.1. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: CORE BATTLEFIELD (DRAWING 3.1)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

SO-8. Ranger Lane 

Septic Field Clearing Unevaluated

Context: Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Part of wooded area east of Pender’s Line and west of Fairview (Chancellor) 

Plantation, 1863. Clearing/septic field not shown on May 1961 as-built drawings for 

Ranger Lane houses; may have been built soon after.4

Evaluation: Insufficient documentation has been found to evaluate the septic field clearing along Ranger Road. If built prior to 1963, it would be contributing as part of the spatial character of the Ranger Lane development, although it is an inconspicuous feature. 

SO-9. Ranger Lane 

Power Line Corridor

Noncontributing

Context: Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Part of wooded area east of Pender’s Line and west of Chancellor (Fairview) 

Plantation, 1863. Clearing approximately 50’ wide and 1,300’ long created for 

overhead power line from Route 3 to Ranger Lane housing, ca. 1961; crossed Chancellorsville History Trail (built ca. 1979).Evaluation: The Ranger Lane power line corridor is not associated with the historic significance of the landscape. The space and accompanying overhead power line were hidden in the woods and not intended to be seen from the Ranger Lane area or from Bullock Drive. It detracts from the historic wooded setting of the Chancellorsville History Trail. 

SO-10. MaintenanceYard Contributing

Context: Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Part of wooded area on Bullock Plantation, 1863; gravel-surfaced yard 

approximately 150’ by 75’ established 1937 with construction of maintenance (utility) 

garage; includes short spur drive from Hooker Drive; enclosed by chain-link fence post-1945; salt storage shed added 2005.5

Evaluation: Although utilitarian, the maintenance yard reflects the historic space 

that was integral to operation of the adjoining historic maintenance garage built by 

the CCC. The existing overgrown chain-link fence may be a non-historic addition. 

Land Use Features (Plan Key: LU))LU-1. Conserved 

Battlefield Land: 

Stonewall Brigade Parcel, Route 3

Contributing

(Setting) 

Context: Civil War

History: Site part of woods between Hazel Grove and Locust Grove, location of 

fighting during the Flank Attack, May 2, 1863. Subdivided and Craftsman-style 

bungalow constructed ca. 1925; front part of property taken for widening of Route 3, ca. 1972; 9.2-acre property acquired by Central Virginia Battlefield Trust, 2012.6 House 

demolished ca. 2012; garage/shed and driveway remains.Evaluation: The Stonewall Brigade Parcel is part of the larger battlefield that is outside the park boundary. The woods on the property are part of the historic forest 

on the battlefield; the existing lawn, building, and driveway do not contribute to the 

historic character of the landscape. Property is outside the NPS authorized boundary.
269 

3. Analysis and Evaluation

TABLE 3.1. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: CORE BATTLEFIELD (DRAWING 3.1)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

LU-2. Easement 

Parcel 03-257: Estates 

of Lee-Jackson

Contributing 

(Setting) 

Context: Civil WarHistory: Site part of woods along boundary between Chancellor (Fairview) Plantation and Catharine Furnace property, near Slocum’s Line, 1863; adjacent park land acquired ca. 1931 and Slocum Drive completed by 1935. Estates of Lee-Jackson laid 

out, 1995; subdivision included easement to NPS consisting of narrow, approximately 30’-wide easement along park boundary with three southward extensions intended 

to convey direction of line of fire.7 Subdivision houses constructed between ca. 1995 

and 2000.Evaluation: Easement parcel 03-257 within the Estates of Lee-Jackson subdivision 

contain a narrow margin of woods that does not screen views of residential development from the west end of Slocum Drive. The southern extensions of the 

easement cross open residential yards, roads, and driveways that detract from the 

historic setting of the landscape. Property is outside the NPS authorized boundary.

LU-3. Inholding 

Parcel 03-153: Seay 

House, 8940 Elys Ford Road

NR 

Resource

Contributing

(non-historic 

landscape)

Context: Civil WarHistory: Site part of Bullock clearing, 1863; west side of Elys Ford Road within Bullock clearing subdivided and developed with houses early-mid 20th-century; one-acre lot of 

parcel 03-153 developed with small Cape Cod-style house, ca. 1938. Owned by Marvin 

Seay, late 20th century.8

Evaluation: Privately-owned parcel 103-153 is part of the historic battlefield 

landscape. The existing woods, house, specimen trees, driveway, and lawn do not 

contribute to the historic character of the landscape that was meadow or agricultural 

fields in 1863. 

LU-4. Inholding 

Parcel 03-216: 

Wilderness Church Parsonage, 9409 Plank Road (Route 3)

Contributing

(non-historic 

landscape)

Context: Civil War

History: Site part of woods west of Locust Grove clearing, 1863. 1.66-acre lot 

subdivided and Cape Cod-style house built ca. 1950; owned by Wilderness Baptist Church and used as a parsonage. Evaluation: Privately-owned parcel 103-216 is part of the historic battlefield 

landscape. The existing woods at the rear of the property contribute to the historic character of the battlefield landscape; the existing house, specimen trees, driveway, 

and lawn do not contribute. 

LU-6. Inholding Parcel 03-224:Orange Plank Road

Contributing See Table 3.4
Cultural

LandscapeReport for Chancellorsville Battlefield

270TABLE 3.1. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: CORE BATTLEFIELD (DRAWING 3.1)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

Circulation Features (Plan Key: C)C-3. Berry-Paxton 

Drive

CH0098c

LCS:082098

NR HAF

FHWA 

Route 0015

23969 Contributing

Context: Civil War, Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Location of farm road connecting Fairview and Hazel Grove, 1863. Property acquired by federal government, ca. 1931; road redesigned by War Department as 0.77-mile long, 18’ wide park drive to Route 3, ca. 1933; diverted from farm road 

alignment through Fairview clearing, which required removal of one east-west artillery lunette. Featured oiled pea gravel surface, stone/concrete culvert, and culverts with stone headwalls. Paved in asphalt, ca. 1950. Northern 1,000 feet of drive removed ca. 1972 with widening of Route 3; parking area added at dead-end. 

Evaluation: Berry-Paxton Drive is part of the historic park circulation that replaced 

battle-period circulation in part. Drive is significant for commemorating US General 

Hiram G. Berry and Confederate General Elisha F. “Bull” Paxton. It is the only park drive that commemorates generals from both sides; both were killed nearby on May 

3, 1863. The southern part of the drive has not undergone substantial changes since

the historic period. Removal of the northern part of the drive detracts from the 

historic character of the battlefield park landscape. The wooded south half of the 

road was open field in 1863. 

C-4. Bullock Drive(Bullock Road)

CH0041a

LCS:082101

NR HAF

FHWA 

Route 0013

23953 Contributing

Context: Civil War, Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Road probably laid out in 18th century as part of Old Mine Road (Mineral 

Springs Road), used to access iron mines along Mine Run for Tubal Furnace. Bullock 

name probably given to section west of Elys Ford Road following establishment of Bullock Plantation, ca. 1848; road continued across turnpike (Route 3) and ended at road to Hazel Grove. Road reconstructed as 0.88-mile long, 18’ wide park drive that 

followed a new alignment at south end, ca. 1935; featured oiled pea gravel surface 

and culverts with stone headwalls. Paved in asphalt, ca. 1950. Two intersections added with construction of Ranger Lane and visitor center access road, ca. 1961.

Evaluation: Bullock Drive is part of the historic park circulation that was an improvement of a battle-period road. Aside from repaving and widening of Route 3 

intersection, the road has not undergone substantial changes since the historic period. The road retains its battle-period wooded setting, but has lost some of its 

open-space setting at the north end within the Bullock clearing.

C-5. Bullock House 

Site Path

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

Unpaved forked trail approximately 350’ long from Bullock Drive to the site of the Bullock house and Elys Ford Road added after NPS acquisition of the property in 1973. Includes two interpretive waysides for the Bullock house site and Apex of Hooker’s Last Line across Elys Ford Road. 
271 

3. Analysisand Evaluation

TABLE 3.1. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: CORE BATTLEFIELD (DRAWING 3.1)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

C-6. Chancellorsville 

History Trail 23993

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

Unpaved approximately 3.5-mile 2-hour-long trail that crosses through most of the 

park land north of Route 3, built ca. 1985. Includes 11 interpretive stops. Trail follows short sections of three historic trails built ca. 1935: Mott-Carr Foot Trail west and south of Bullock Drive, Couch’s Foot Trail north of Bullock Drive, and an unnamed trail east of CCC camp site. Trail may also follow part of a historic farm road east of 

the Chancellorsville Inn site.

C-7. Elys Ford Road

(Part)

NR 

Resource Contributing

Context: Civil War, Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Early road built pre-1716 that formed part of the main intersection at 

Chancellorsville at time of battle, 1863. Section between Bullock Drive and Hooker Drive acquired by War Department subject to public right-of-way, ca. 1931. Formed 

park of park circulation with connecting park drives; roadsides improved by CCC and lined by stacked-rail fences, 1930s.9 Section between Hooker Drive and Route 3 

acquired by NPS, 1973; designated as Route 610 and maintained by the state.

Evaluation: Elys Ford Road is part of the battle-period circulation during the battle 

period. Although paved, the road has not been substantially widened and retains its 

overall battle-period alignment, but has lost the fencing added during the historic park period that recalled battle-period conditions. The intersection with Route 3 and Old Plank Road has been substantially widened.

C-8. Hazel GroveFairview Trail 23994 Non- contributing (post-historic) Unpaved, 1 mile, 45-minute trail from Stuart Drive through Fairview-Hazel Grove vista clearing to the Fairview lunettes and looping back via Berry-Paxton Drive, built ca. 2005. Includes 7 interpretive stops. Follows a segment of the Captain Dimick Foot Trail built in 1935.C-9. Hooker Drive

CH0104a

LCS:082083

NR HAF

FHWA 

Route 0014

23949 Contributing

Context: Civil War, Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Site of woods road between River Road and Elys Ford Road, parallel to line of US trenches, 1863. Rebuilt as 0.53-mile long, 18’ wide park drive, ca. 1935; featured 

oiled pea gravel surface and culverts with stone headwalls. Paved in asphalt, ca. 1950.

Evaluation: Hooker Drive is part of the historic park circulation that was an improvement of a battle-period road. Drive is significant for commemorating the head of US forces at Chancellorsville, Major General Joseph Hooker. The drive has not 

undergone substantial changes since the historic period, and retains its historic 

wooded setting.
Cultural

LandscapeReport for Chancellorsville Battlefield

272TABLE 3.1. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: CORE BATTLEFIELD (DRAWING 3.1)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

C-10. Johnston Construction Site 

Concrete Road

CH0003

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

Road from Route 3 extending 0.20 mile south through the Fairview clearing past the Chancellor Cemetery, built ca. 1967 by A. N. Johnston to access a construction facility (concrete plant) he developed in the woods to the south; northern 700’ paved in 

concrete. Property acquired by NPS through condemnation proceedings, 1975. Used 

by park maintenance to access cemetery and Fairview site.

C-11. Mineral Springs 

Road (Part) Contributing

Context: Civil WarHistory: Road probably laid out in 18th century from turnpike/old mountain road 2.5 

miles northeast to Spotswood Furnace Road to access iron mines along Mine Run (Mineral Springs Run) associated with Tubal Furnace; road lined by US defenses and 

served as route of US retreat, 1863. Section west of Elys Ford Road became known as 

Bullock Road. War Department acquired 0.75-mile section east of Elys Ford Road, ca. 

1931; unrealized plans called for improving it as gravel-surfaced park drive. NPS alienated eastern .55 mile of road, 1973; portion of remaining 0.2 mile section on 

park property used as part of Chancellorsville History Trail developed ca. 1985. Road to east cut-off by suburban development (Estates of Chancellorsville), ca. 2000. Evaluation: The section of Mineral Springs Road on park property is part of the 

battle-period circulation that shaped the US defenses known as Apex of Hooker’s Last Line. Although it is currently a rutted two-track trail and is only partially on park 

property, it is the only largely unaltered battle-period road on the battlefield. 

Old Plank Road, Route 610 (Orange Plank Road)

Contributing See Table 3.4

C-12. Ranger Lane

NR 

Resource

FHWA 

Route 0405

46386, 

103082/4006

70 (parking)

Contributing

Context: Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Site part of wooded area east of Pender’s Line and west of Chancellor (Fairview) Plantation, 1863. Curving 0.11-mile-long and 15’ wide dead-end asphalt 

road with drainage swales and pipe culverts, designed by NPS Eastern Division of 

Design & Construction, built 1961; pull-off parking area added at middle residence 

used as Western Ranger Office, ca. 1980.

Evaluation: Ranger Lane reflects informal, suburban design that was popular during 

MISSION 66 for park residential areas. Aside from the addition of a small parking areaat Quarters 5, Ranger Lane remains unchanged since the end of the historic period. 

C-13. Ranger Lane 

Driveways and Entrance Walks

23803 / 

1256225 Contributing

Context: Historic Park Development

History: Asphalt 10’-wide driveways leading to porte-cocheres and concrete entrance 

walks designed by NPS Eastern Division of Design & Construction, built 1961.Evaluation: The Ranger Lane driveways and entrance walks reflect informal, 

suburban design that was popular during MISSION 66 for park residential areas. There have been no documented changes since the end of the historic period aside from 

asphalt repaving. 
273 

3. Analysis and Evaluation

TABLE 3.1. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: CORE BATTLEFIELD (DRAWING 3.1)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

C-14. River Road 

(Miles Drive) (Part)

CH0096a

LCS:082080

82152

NR 

Associated 

Feature

23951 Contributing

Context: Civil War, Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Site of old River Road and woods north of turnpike and US trenches, 1863. 

Property acquired by War Department, ca. 1931; 0.75-mile long, 18’ wide park drive built by NPS/CCC as bypass to old River Road, ca. 1935; included oiled pea gravel 

surface and culverts with stone headwalls. Paved in asphalt, ca. 1950. Eastern 0.65 mile of road alienated/sold to Ralph England, 1973 subject to state right-of-way; NPS 

retained ownership of 0.1-mile western end; entire road renamed River Road and maintained by state as Route 618. Minor widening and residential development along alienated section, post-1973. 

Evaluation: River Road has lost a substantial part of its association with the park and with its original namesake, Medal of Honor recipient Colonel Nelson A. Miles. The 

park-owned section has not undergone substantial physical changes since its construction aside from addition of striping; the non-park section has lost its historic 

wooded setting to residential development. 

Sickles Drive Contributing See Table 3.4C-15. Slocum Drive

CH0106a

LCS:082094

NR 

Associated 

Feature

Contributing

Context: Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Site of woods along southern boundary of Chancellor (Fairview) Plantation

adjacent to US trenches (Slocum’s Line), 1863. Narrow strip of land along trenches acquired by War Department, ca. 1931and 0.83-mile long, 18’ wide drive built along 

north side of trenches, ca. 1933; included oiled pea-gravel surface, triangular 

intersection with Stuart/Sickles drives, and culverts with stone headwalls completed by 

1935. Captain Dimick Foot Trail maintained along south side of drive between 1935 

and ca. 1950. Paved in asphalt, ca. 1950.

Evaluation: Slocum Drive is part of the historic park circulation and is significant for 

commemorating US General Henry W. Slocum, commander of the 12th Corps. Slocum 

Drive has not undergone substantial changes since the end of the historic period, except for loss of wooded setting at west end due to development of the adjoining 

Estates of Lee-Jackson beginning in 1995. 

C-16. Stuart Drive

CH0086a

LCS:082096

NR 

Associated 

Feature

FHWA 

Route 0013

23953 Contributing

Context: Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Site of woods and clearing between Fairview and Hazel Grove plantations, 1863. Property acquired by War Department, ca. 1931 and 0.83-mile long, 18’ wide drive constructed 1932 along new alignment since parallel historic road (Hazel Grove entrance road) was on private property to the west. Drive featured oiled pea-gravel 

surface, two triangular intersections, double boxed culvert with stone headwalls, and 

culverts with stone headwalls completed by 1935. Paved in asphalt, ca. 1950. Northern 

75’ removed for widening of Route 3, ca. 1972; parking area with concrete curbs added at Hazel Grove site, ca. 2000. 

Evaluation: Stuart Drive is part of the historic park circulation, and is also significant for commemorating Confederate General J. E. B. Stuart, commander of the Confederate 2nd Corps following Stonewall Jackson’s mortal wounding. Aside from 

changes to the Route 3 intersection, the drive has not undergone substantial changes since the historic period. The concrete curbs at Hazel Grove detract from the historic 

design of the road.
Cultural

LandscapeReport for Chancellorsville Battlefield

274TABLE 3.1. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: CORE BATTLEFIELD (DRAWING 3.1)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

C-17. Maintenance

Area Drive/Parking

FHWA 

Route 0406

46502, 

103083 / 

400677 

(parking)

Contributing

Context: Historic Park Development

History: Site of woods at east end of Bullock Plantation, 1863. Gravel-surfaced yard 

approximately 150’ by 75’ with access off Hooker Drive built 1937.Evaluation: Although the maintenance area drive/parking is utilitarian and not 

intended to be seen by the public, it reflects the historic circulation that was integral 

to operation of the adjoining historic maintenance garage built by the CCC.

Topography (Plan Key: T)T-3. Apex of Hooker’s 

Last Line, US

CH0109

LCS:007896

ASMIS:

FRSP159.00

NR HAF

17553 Contributing

Context: Civil WarHistory: Multiple lines of US trenches with artillery lunettes built in Bullock Plantation field east of the intersection of Elys Ford Road and Mineral Springs Road, May 3, 1863; served as final US defenses following loss of headquarters at 

Chancellorsville Inn on May 3. Trenches also lined south side of Mineral Springs Road. Field became wooded post-war and remained wooded. Southern earthworks acquired 

by War Department, ca. 1931; earthworks probably cleared and sodded, ca. 1935; marked by identification tablet, ca. 1935.Evaluation: The multiple segments of trench earthworks and gun pits associated with the Apex of Hooker’s Last Line are currently hidden by woods and natural debris, 

and are largely inaccessible. Most of the trenches are on private property north of the park boundary extending into the Estates of Chancellorsville subdivision (ca. 2000). 

Condition/integrity not assessed for CLR. 

T-4. Couch’s Line, US

LCS:007893

ASMIS: 

FRSP149.00

NR HAF

Contributing

Context: Civil WarHistory: Two-part T-shaped trench built under direction of Major General Darius 

Couch, senior commander of the US 2nd Corps, in Bullock clearing north of Bullock 

Road, May 3, 1863. Field became wooded, post-war. Property around earthworks acquired by War Department, ca. 1931; earthwork probably cleared and sodded, ca. 

1935; General Couch Foot Trail built along trenches, 1935 and abandoned ca. 1950. Chancellorsville History Trail laid out on part of old trail, ca. 1985. South part of Conch’s Line removed at undetermined date. 

Evaluation: Couch’s Line is a remnant trench earthwork approximately 400’ long,that is currently hidden by woods and natural debris, but is accessible from the 

Chancellorsville History Trail. Condition/integrity not assessed for CLR.

n/a

T-5. Fairview Artillery 

Positions, US

CH0099

LCS:007892 

NR HAF

17549 Contributing

Context: Civil War, Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: 34 US guns commanded by Captain Clermont Best positioned at Fairview farmstead on May 2, with crescent-shaped gun pits (lunettes) facing south across Fairview-Hazel Grove road; following advance of Jackson’s Flank Attack later that day, Best turned battery 90 degrees to face west, lined up along east side of road; positions abandoned at 9:00 a.m., May 3. Surrounding field became wooded and road 

abandoned, post-war. Property acquired by War Department, ca. 1931; woods initially 

cleared except on gun pits, and one east-west gun pit removed for construction of 

Berry-Paxton Drive, ca. 1933; trees cleared and gun pits sodded, ca. 1935; topography 
275 

3. Analysis and Evaluation

TABLE 3.1. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: CORE BATTLEFIELD (DRAWING 3.1)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

and floor of gun pit on east side of Berry-Paxton Drive restored by CCC, 1936. Two gun pits destroyed for widening of Route 3, ca. 1972. Evaluation: The approximately 24 Fairview artillery positions (gun pits) form the 

most conspicuous and distinctive set of earthworks at Chancellorsville. The gun pits retain their cleared, sodded appearance dating to the historic park period. Approximately two earthworks have been lost since the historic period and three since the Civil War: the northern ones are concealed by woods. Loss of the FairviewHazel Grove road, which influenced the placement of the gun pits, detracts from the 

historic battlefield setting of the earthworks.

T-6. Griffin’s Line, US

CH0108

LCS:082140

NR HAF

Contributing

Context: Civil WarHistory: Single line of trenches built by Griffin's Division of the US 5th Corps in field 

on Bullock Plantation parallel to the east side of Elys Ford Road extending north along US Ford Road, May 3, 1863. Associated with Apex of Hooker’s Last Line. Site became wooded, post-war. Southern part of line acquired by War Department, ca. 

1931; earthwork probably cleared of small trees/shrubs and sodded, ca. 1935. Line 

north of park boundary removed at undetermined date, probably prior to 1931; property developed for St. Patrick’s Church and rectory, 1983. 

Evaluation: Griffin’s Line, a remnant trench earthwork approximately 700’ long, is currently hidden by woods and natural debris. There is no public access to the 

earthwork, and it is unmarked. Condition/integrity not assessed for CLR. 

n/a

T-7. Jackson’s Corps 

Line,

Confederate / US

CH0045

LCS:082150

ASMIS:

FRSP158.00

NR HAF

17557 Contributing

Context: Civil War, Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Line of trenches through woods in western part of Chancellor (Fairview) Plantation extended north of Bullock Road to turnpike/Route 3, built in part by USforces on May 2, 1863 and taken over and extended by Jackson’s 2nd Corps; included 

branch trench on west side. Line north of Bullock Road lost at undetermined date. Property acquired by War Department, ca. 1931; earthwork cleared of small trees/shrubs, sodded, and marked by iron tablet at Bullock Drive, ca. 1935; Mott-Car 

Foot Trail built along west side of trench, 1935, abandoned ca. 1950. Chancellorsville History Trail with site markers and stacked-rail fences at earthwork established along 

part of old trail, ca. 1985. 

Evaluation: Jackson’s Corps Line is a largely intact trench earthwork, approximately 4,500 long. Its parapet and trench remain visible, although mostly covered in scrub 

and natural debris. It is marked and accessible from the Chancellorsville History Trail.

T-8. Pender’s Line, 

12th Corps, 

Confederate / US

CH0044

LCS:082154

ASMIS:

FRSP176.00

NR HAF

17559 Contributing

Context: Civil War, Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: U-shaped line of trenches through woods west of Chancellor (Fairview) 

Plantation and Bullock Road with ditches on both sides; built by US forces, May 2, 

1863 and taken over by Confederates under command of Confederate Brigadier General W. D. Pender; crossed woods road and included separate interior line.

Property acquired by War Department, ca. 1931; earthwork cleared of small trees/shrubs, sodded, ca. 1935; Mott-Carr Foot Trail built along eastern side of work, 

1935, abandoned ca. 1950. Chancellorsville History Trail with site markers established along part of old trail, ca. 1985.Evaluation: Pender’s Line is a largely intact trench earthwork, approximately 1,800 

feet long. It contains trenches on both sides, and overall retains the most visible 
Cultural

LandscapeReport for Chancellorsville Battlefield

276TABLE 3.1. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: CORE BATTLEFIELD (DRAWING 3.1)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

topography of any earthworks on the battlefield, except for the separate interior section that is not visible. The earthwork is marked and accessible from the Chancellorsville History Trail.

T-9. Slocum’s Line, US

CH0107

LCS:007894

ASMIS:

FRSP150.00

NR HAF

17551 Contributing

Context: Civil War, Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Linear trench with abatis built by XII Corps under command of Major General Henry W. Slocum through wide swath of woods along southern boundary of Chancellor (Fairview) Plantation, May 1-2, 1863. Western end of earthwork removed at undetermined date. Property acquired by War Department, ca. 1931; Slocum Drive 

built along northern side of earthwork, ca. 1933; earthwork cleared of small trees/shrubs, sodded, and marked by identification tablet, ca. 1935; Captain Dimick 

Foot Trail built along north side of trench, 1935, abandoned ca. 1950. Estates of LeeJackson subdivision built near western end of earthwork beginning in 1995. 

Evaluation: Slocum’s Line is a largely intact trench earthwork, approximately 3,520’ 

long. It is marked and accessible from Slocum Drive, but its parapet and trench are 

inconspicuous and covered by vegetation and natural debris.

T-10. Slocum’s Log 

Works,

US / Confederate

CH0087

LCS:007895

ASMIS:

FRSP151.00

NR HAF

17552 Contributing

Context: Civil WarHistory: Linear trench built by US 12th Corps under command of Major General Henry 

W. Slocum through woods at western end of Chancellor (Fairview) Plantation facing Hazel Grove, May 1-2, 1863; formed northern continuation of Slocum’s Line; taken over by Confederate forces, May 3, 1863. Property acquired by War Department, ca.1931. Name “Slocum’s Log Works” coined ca. 1935 with unrealized plans to restore 

work with log construction; probably cleared of shrubs/small trees and sodded, ca.1935; Gunners Foot Trail built to earthwork, ca.1935, abandoned ca.1950. Evaluation: Slocum’s Log Works is a remnant trench earthwork approximately 528’ 

long, but is currently hidden by woods and natural debris. There is no public access to 

the earthwork, and it is unmarked. Condition/integrity not assessed for CLR.

n/a

Vegetation (Plan Key: V)V-2. Chancellorsville Field Crops and Meadow Grasses

Contributing See Table 3.0. (Fairview field crops and meadow, Bullock clearing meadow) 

V-3. Berry-Paxton 

Drive Triangle Trees Contributing

Context: Historic Park Development

History: Site of open field and Hazel Grove-Fairview road, 1863; became wooded post-war. Woods cleared except small grove of young evergreens with construction of 

road, ca. 1933; native trees and possibly understory planted ca. 1935.10 Understory 

and some trees probably removed at undetermined date. Evaluation: The trees within the Berry-Paxton Drive intersection triangle are part of the historic maintained grounds along the park drives. Further research needed to 

determine if there were additional trees and native understory prior to 1963. 
277 

3. Analysisand Evaluation

TABLE 3.1. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: CORE BATTLEFIELD (DRAWING 3.1)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

V-4. Bullock Clearing 

Tree Line

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

Open field in 1863 through 1930s. Trees part of volunteer growth along old park 

property line, or planted after NPS acquisition of Bullock clearing, 1973. 

V-5. Chancellor 

Cemetery Trees

Noncontributing

Context: Civil War

History: Cemetery contained no trees in 1863 or through early park period; red cedar 

and Virginia pine planted ca. 1960 prior to park ownership.11

Evaluation: Although the trees may date to the historic period, they are not 

associated with the historic park development, and were not present at the time of the battle. 

V-6. Hazel Grove Pine 

Screen

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

Site of open field behind Hazel Grove earthworks, 1863; remained open field throughhistoric park period. NPS planted pines along property boundary ca. 1973 to screen Wilderness Resorts development begun in 1973. 

V-7. Slocum Drive 

Triangle Trees Contributing

Context: Historic Park Development

History: Site of clearing made for Slocum’s Line, 1863; became wooded post-war. 

Trees either thinned from woods or planted within intersection triangle, with open mown understory, ca. 1931-1935.Evaluation: The trees within the Slocum Drive triangle are part of the historic 

maintained grounds along the park drives. The existing extent of tree and ground cover appears to be consistent with historic conditions. 
Cultural

LandscapeReport for Chancellorsville Battlefield

278TABLE 3.1. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: CORE BATTLEFIELD (DRAWING 3.1)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

Buildings and Structures (Plan Key: BS)BS-1. Berry-Paxton 

Drive Stream Culvert

CH0098c

LCS:082099

NR HAF

23969/17540 Contributing

Context: Historic Park Development

History: Single concrete box culvert with rustic ashlar stone headwall over a stream, 

built between ca. 1933 and 1935, probably according to a War Department design and with CCC labor. Evaluation: The single stream culvert on Berry-Paxton Drive is part of the historic 

landscape along the park drives. There have been no substantial changes to the structure since the historic period.

BS-2. Berry-Paxton 

Drive Stream Culverts 

LCS:082100

CH0098b

NR HAF

23969/18438 Contributing

Context: Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Two adjoining concrete culverts with ashlar stone headwalls over tributaries 

of the Lewis Run at the foot of Berry-Paxton Drive, built between ca. 1933 and 1935, probably according to a War Department design and with CCC labor. Larger culvert, 

over main tributary (pictured), approximately 6’ tall with arched opening; smaller culvert to the east, approximately 2.5’ feet tall, has a flat arch. 

Evaluation: The two adjoining stream culverts on Berry-Paxton Drive are part of the 

historic landscape along the park drives. There have been no substantial changes to 

the structure since the historic period.

BS-3. Bullock Drive

Drainage Culverts (5)

CH0041

LCS:

NR HAF

25953/17541 Contributing

Context: Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Five single culverts with rectangular ashlar headwalls carrying roadside drainage, built between ca. 1933 and 1935 according to a standard War Department design and probably with CCC labor. The west headwall of the southernmost culvert 

may have been removed with expansion of the Route 3 intersection, ca. 1972.

Evaluation: The culverts on Bullock Drive are part of the historic landscape along the park drives. Aside from possible removal of one headwall, there have been no 

substantial outward changes to the structures since the historic period; detailed 

assessment of the type and condition of culverts not part of CLR inventory.

BS-4. Bullock Drive 

Tree Ring

LCS:082087

Or 082139

NR HAF

Contributing

Context: Historic Park Development

History: One low, approximately 1’-high circular stone wall built to protect preexisting tree from change in grade with construction of Bullock Drive, ca. 1935; used 

same stone as culvert headwalls and built by CCC.Evaluation: The tree ring on Bullock Drive is part of the historic landscape along the 

park drives, reflecting the park’s sensitivity toward preserving trees. There may be other tree rings that are concealed beneath natural debris and sediment. 
279 

3. Analysisand Evaluation

TABLE 3.1. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: CORE BATTLEFIELD (DRAWING 3.1)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

BS-5. Chancellor 

Cemetery Wall

CH0003

LCS:082103

NR HAF

23830 / 

11072

Noncontributing

Context: Civil WarHistory: Cemetery established within Fairview clearing, ca. 1812; enclosed by white picket fence, ca. 1863; enclosed by barbed-wire fence by early 20th century. Six-foothigh brick wall constructed ca. 1970 by Chancellor heirs, during time when 

surrounding property was being developed by A. N. Johnston as a construction facility. Evaluation: The brick wall enclosing the Chancellor Cemetery does not contribute to 

the historic character of the battlefield landscape because it was constructed after the historic period. It replaced earlier enclosures that had an open character in keeping with the surrounding rural landscape. 

BS-6. Chancellorsville 

Maintenance

Building (UtilityGarage)

CH0071a

LCS:082082

NR 

Resource

23800 Contributing

Context: Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: One-story side-gable roof frame garage off Hooker Drive, with clapboard 

siding built by CCC according to a standard NPS plan also used at Wilderness and Spotsylvania Court House, 1937; planned central component of an unrealized larger utility complex. Not designed as part of the CCC camp located to the north. Taller central section with six garage bays, and flanking lower wings with three garage bays; each bay accessed by side-hinged glazed and cross-braced wood doors. Wood 

shingle roof replaced by metal roof at undetermined date.

Evaluation: The Maintenance Building reflects a standard rustic design used during the 1930s for park buildings. It is the only building remaining at Chancellorsville that was built by the CCC during the initial period of park development. Aside from the replacement of the roof, the building exterior remains unchanged from the historic 

period. 

BS-7. Chancellorsville 

Sand Shed

NR 

Resource 86616

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

Tall wood-frame shed built on the south side of the maintenance yard off Hooker 

Drive, 2005. 

BS-8. Hooker Drive 

Culverts (1–4)

CH0104b

LCS:082084

NR HAF

Contributing

Context: Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Four single culverts; three with rectangular ashlar headwalls carrying roadside drainage and one carrying a stream with a larger headwall, built between ca. 1933 and 1935 according to a standard War Department design and probably with CCC labor.Evaluation: The culverts on Hooker Drive are part of the historic landscape along the park drives and were designed to be harmonious with the natural setting. There have 

been no substantial outward changes to the structures since the historic period; 

detailed assessment of the type and condition of culverts not part of CLR inventory.
Cultural

LandscapeReport for Chancellorsville Battlefield

280TABLE 3.1. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: CORE BATTLEFIELD (DRAWING 3.1)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

BS-9. Old Plank Road 

Culverts (2) Contributing

Context: Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Two single culverts with rectangular ashlar headwalls carrying roadside drainage at intersection of Slocum Drive, built between ca. 1933 and 1935 according to a standard War Department design and probably with CCC labor. Built on public road not owned by NPS.Evaluation: The two culverts on Old Plank Road are part of the historic landscape 

along the park drives and were designed to be harmonious with the natural setting, 

and also reflect the incorporation of public roads in the park circulation system. There 

have been no substantial outward changes to the structures since the historic period; 

detailed assessment of the type and condition of culverts not part of CLR inventory.

BS-10. Ranger Lane 

Quarters #4, #5, #6

CH0077, 78, 

79

NR 

Resources 

(3)

23803 (#4)23805 (#5)23804 (#6)

Contributing

Context: Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Three modest ranch-style houses of same design built 1961 as staff residences as part of park’s MISSION 66 master plan; featured concrete-block 

foundations, low-slung roofs with wide eaves, attached car ports, wood double-hung 

and triple plate glass/awning windows, concrete-slab entry steps, and clapboard 

siding painted a rustic dark brown. Designed by NPS Eastern Division of Design & Construction, with site plans by Hoppe, Steenhagen, and Lamb; architect not determined (Robert E. Smith served as Chief Architect for contemporary visitor center). Foundations painted and exterior color changed to tan at undetermined 

date. 

Evaluation: The Ranger Lane quarters are part of the park’s historic MISSION 66 development that reflect suburban design popular during the period. There have 

been no substantial changes to the buildings since the historic period aside from 

change in color. Quarters #4 and #6 remain in residential use; #5 serves as the park’s 

Western Ranger Office.

BS-11. Ranger Lane 

Water Tower Complex

CH0080, 81

NR 

Resources 

(2)

35879 / 

45218

23814 / 

58472

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

Site off Ranger Lane within unrealized maintenance complex in MISSION 66 master plan finalized 1958; 25,000 water tower with electrical shed/pump house and gravel access road built ca. 1970, after the end of the historic period.

BS-12. Ranger LaneFire Cachet and Shed

CH0081

NR 

Resource

23806, 23808

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

Modest frame and vinyl-sided garage built on south side of Ranger Lane, ca. 1990; 

adjoining prefab frame shed.
281 

3. Analysis and Evaluation

TABLE 3.1. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: CORE BATTLEFIELD (DRAWING 3.1)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

BS-13. River Road 

(Miles Drive)

Drainage Culverts (2)

LCS082086

CH00906a 23951/17522 Contributing

Context: Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Three single culverts with rectangular ashlar headwalls carrying roadside 

drainage, built ca.1935 according to a standard War Department design and probably 

with CCC labor. Eastern culvert transferred to private ownership with alienation of Miles Drive, 1973; within residential lawn. 

Evaluation: The two culverts on River Road on park land are part of the historic landscape along the park drives and were designed to be harmonious with the 

natural setting. The eastern culvert on private property has lost its historic context. 

There have been no substantial outward changes to the structures since the historic period; detailed assessment of the type and condition of culverts not part of CLR 

inventory.

BS-14. River Road 

(Miles Drive) Tree Rings (3)

LCS:082087

CH0096d

NR HAF

Contributing

Context: Historic Park Development

History: Three low, approximately 2’-high circular stone walls on road bank built to 

protect pre-existing trees from change in grade required for construction of Miles Drive, ca. 1935; built by CCC using same stone as culvert headwalls.Evaluation: The tree rings on River Road (Miles Drive) are part of the historic 

landscape along the park drives and were designed to be harmonious with the natural setting. No changes have been documented.

BS-15. Slocum Drive 

Tree Ring

LCS:082139

CH0106c Contributing

Context: Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Circular stone wall on road bank built to protect pre-existing tree from change in grade required for construction of Slocum Drive, ca. 1935; built by CCC using same stone as culvert headwalls. Evaluation: The tree ring on Slocum Drive was not located for this inventory; although probably concealed by natural debris, the feature is part of the historic landscape along the park drives and were designed to be harmonious with the natural setting. Not on Drawing 3.1.

n/a

BS-16. Slocum Drive 

Drainage Culverts (3)

LCS082095

CH0106b 23961/17536 Contributing

Context: Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Three single culverts with rectangular ashlar headwalls carrying roadside drainage, built between ca. 1933 and 1935 according to a standard War Department design and probably with CCC labor. Evaluation: The culverts on Slocum Drive are part of the historic landscape along the park drives and were designed to be harmonious with the natural setting. There have 

been no substantial outward changes to the structures since the historic period; 

detailed assessment of the type and condition of culverts not part of CLR inventory.

n/a (see BS-3 for typical 

headwall)
Cultural

LandscapeReport for Chancellorsville Battlefield

282TABLE 3.1. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: CORE BATTLEFIELD (DRAWING 3.1)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

BS-17. Stuart Drive 

Double Stream 

Culvert

LCS:082151

CH0086b 

NR HAF

23953/18437 Contributing

Context: Historic Park Development

History: Double concrete box culvert with ashlar stone headwall over a stream south of Berry-Paxton Drive, built between ca. 1933 and 1935, probably according to a War 

Department design and with CCC labor.Evaluation: The double culvert on Stuart Drive is part of the historic landscape along the park drives. There have been no substantial changes to the structure since the 

historic period.

BS-18. Stuart Drive 

Drainage Culverts (5)

LCS082097

CH0086c 23953/17539 Contributing

Context: Historic Park Development

History: Five single culverts with rectangular ashlar headwalls carrying roadside drainage, built between ca. 1933 and 1935 according to a standard War Department 

design and probably with CCC labor. Evaluation: The drainage culverts on Stuart Drive are part of the historic landscape 

along the park drives. There have been no substantial outward changes to the 

structures since the historic period; detailed assessment of the type and condition of 

culverts not part of CLR inventory. 

Views and Vistas Features (Plan Key: VV)VV-1. Fairview-Hazel Grove Vista Contributing

Context: Civil War, Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: A broad field between Hazel Grove and Fairview, approximately 800-1,000’ 

wide, allowed for expansive views; used as strategic firing line during battle, 1863. View lost post-war due to natural succession. Narrower, 300’-wide clearing with scattered trees cleared by War Department to reestablish strategic vista, ca. 1932. 

Vista narrowed to approximately 200’ due to growth of woods, and scattered trees removed, post-1963. 

Evaluation: The Fairview-Hazel Grove vista was one of the most significant strategic firing lines in the battle, and was a central interpretive feature during the early park 

period. The vista clearing does not reflect the breadth of the vista during the Civil 

War.

Small-Scale Features (Plan Key: SSF)SSF-1. Cast Metal Narrative Signs Contributing See Table 3.0. Located on Stewart Drive, Slocum Drive, and River Road; several removed north of Route 3. SSF-4. Identification 

Tablets Contributing

See Table 3.0. Located on Bullock Drive and Jackson’s Corps Line, at Hooker’s Apex, along US lines on Hooker Drive and River Road, at Hazel Grove, at triangular intersections on Stuart and Sickles drives, and at Slocum’s Line. Unknown number removed. 
283 

3. Analysis and Evaluation

TABLE 3.1. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: CORE BATTLEFIELD (DRAWING 3.1)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

SSF-8. 114th

Pennsylvania Volunteers Monument

CH0110

LCS:007902

NR 

Resource

23984 Contributing

Context: Pre-Park CommemorationHistory: 114th Pennsylvania Volunteers (Collis Zouaves, US), assisted by 

Chancellorsville Battlefield Association that acquired the old Chancellor (Fairview) 

Plantation in 1891, marked general position on battlefield with monument dedicated 

in 1899; third monument on the battlefield, located across turnpike (Route 3) and east of Jackson Monument. Monument a rusticated plinth inscribed with “Collis Zouaves,” and rectangular die of local granite with bronze plaque on east face, 4’ tall overall; made by George T. Downing of Fredericksburg. Original access road probably 

on west side of monument via post-war north-south farm road. Monument accessed 

by Captain Dimick Foot Trail, built 1935 along old farm road; trail abandoned ca. 

1950. Access to monument from Route 3 lost with widening of highway, ca. 1972.

Evaluation: The 114th Pennsylvania Volunteers monument is one of five 

Chancellorsville monuments that date to early commemorative efforts prior to establishment of the national military park in 1927. Its setting has been altered due to lack of access and highway widening. The actual site of the regiment was closer to 

Hazel Grove.

SSF-9. 27th Indiana 

Infantry Monument

CH0100

LCS:007900

NR 

Resource

23982 Contributing

Context: Pre-Park CommemorationHistory: 27th Indiana Volunteer Regimental Association, assisted by Chancellorsville 

Battlefield Association that acquired the old Chancellor (Fairview) Plantation in 1891, marked position of the regiment along the old Fairview-Hazel Grove road with a monument dedicated by September 1901; monument featured rusticated central granite tablet, 4’6” tall, with polished and inscribed face, and two small granite flank markers (only examples in park) located 150’ to either side. Broad mown shoulder 

around monument maintained by NPS with improvement of road as Berry-Paxton 

Drive, ca. 1935. Woods grew up around right flank marker at undetermined date.

Evaluation: The 27th Indiana Infantry monument is one of five Chancellorsville

monuments that date to early commemorative efforts prior to establishment of the national military park in 1927. Woods have obscured the relationship and visibility of 

the flank markers with the central monument. 

SSF-10. Chancellor 

Cemetery Grave Markers

LCS:082104

CH003

LCS:082104

NR HAFs 

23829 Unevaluated

Context: Civil War, Other

History: Cemetery established within Fairview clearing with first interment, 1812; at least six Chancellor interments within picket-fence enclosure by 1863, but type of grave markers not known. Twenty-five marble and granite slab and die-type grave 

markers installed post-war through ca. 1970. Cemetery sold by Chancellor heirs to Eastern National Park and Monument Association, 1985.12

Evaluation: The grave markers within the Chancellor cemetery are significant cultural resources and relate to the historic association of the Chancellor family to the battlefield, but do not contribute to the historic character of the battlefield landscape 

since they were installed after the Civil War and are not associated with the historic development of the park. Further research is needed to establish the history and historic context of the Chancellor cemetery grave markers. 
Cultural

LandscapeReport for Chancellorsville Battlefield

284TABLE 3.1. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: CORE BATTLEFIELD (DRAWING 3.1)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

SSF-11. Chancellorsville Maintenance 

Yard Perimeter Fence

Unevaluated

Context: Historic Park Development

History: Maintenance yard established with construction of Maintenance Building, 

1937; unknown if yard enclosed by fence prior to 1963. Date of installation of existing chain-link and barbed-wire fence and gates not known. Evaluation: There is insufficient documentation to evaluate maintenance yard fence. 

It is inconspicuous, but does define the limits of the historic maintenance yard. 

Chancellorsville Visitor Center Brick Wall Entrance Sign

Contributing See Table 3.2. Two brick wall signs along Route 3 at visitor center drive and Bullock Drive. 

SSF-12. Fairview 

Artillery (4) Contributing

Context: Historic Park Development

History: Four historic gun tubes on steel reproduction carriages placed as interpretive 

devices near Fairview artillery gun pits during MISSION 66 era, ca. 1960. Origin of gun 

tubes not documented.

Evaluation: Although introduced to Chancellorsville late in the historic period, cannons were traditional interpretive devices used by the War Department at 

national military parks since the late 19th century. No known changes have occurred 

since the historic period.

SSF-13. General E. F. 

Paxton Monument

CH0088

LCS:007901

NR 

Resource

23983

Noncontributing

(post-historic)

Rusticated 4’-tall gray granite slab with stained bronze tablet on west side of Stuart 

Drive, placed at the behest of his grandson, Matthew W. Paxton, a local attorney, in 

1980.13 Commemorates approximate location where Confederate Brigadier General E. 

F. Paxton fell during the attack on Fairview on May 3, 1863. It is compatible with the character of the historic park landscape. 

SSF-14. Hazel Grove 

Artillery (8)

22927/13319

74 Contributing

Context: Historic Park Development

History: Four historic gun tubes and four shell wagons on steel reproduction 

carriages placed as interpretive devices at Hazel Grove clearing during MISSION 66 era, ca. 1960. Origin of gun tubes not documented for CLR.

Evaluation: Although introduced to Chancellorsville late in the historic period,

cannons were traditional interpretive devices used by the War Department at 

national military parks since the late 19th century. No known changes have occurred 

since the historic period.
285 

3. Analysisand Evaluation

TABLE 3.1. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: CORE BATTLEFIELD (DRAWING 3.1)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

SSF-15. Ranger Lane 

Quarters #4 Lamppost

Noncontributing

(post-historic)

Colonial Revival-style four-sided metal lantern on turned wood post, installed ca. 

1975 after the end of the historic period.14

Archeological Sites (Plan key: AS)AS-1. Bullock House 

Site

CH0024 

ASMIS: 

FRSP041.00

NR 

Resource

44SP0161

NR 

Resource

Contributing

Context: Civil WarHistory: Site of white clapboard house with gable roof and end chimneys built 1849–50. Served as US hospital, May 1-2, 1863, and Hooker’s last headquarters, May 3, 1863; 

house torn down prior to fall 1863. Bungalow built on property, ca.1925. Property 

acquired by NPS, 1973, and bungalow removed ca. 1990. Bullock House site kept 

mown and interpreted by wood posts marking four corners installed ca. 1990. No 

visible remains; site subject of archaeological investigation (Geier and Sancomb, 2000). 

Evaluation: The site of the Bullock house, destroyed as a result of the battle, is 

important for its association with the battlefield. The site was not part of the national 

military park during the historic period.

AS-2. Chancellorsville Cemetery Graves

CH0003

ASMIS: 

FRSP004444SP9150

NR 

Resource

Contributing

Context: Civil War, Other

History: One-acre site containing graves of Chancellor family; first interment 1816, 

approximately six by 1863; 19 post-war. Larger area purportedly enclosed by 

antebellum wood fence; smaller wire fence installed by early 20th century, correlating 

with existing brick wall; potential that there may be burials outside the brick wall.15

Interments include six CSA veterans, including one war casualty. Marked interments 

include (death dates in parentheses): Susan P. Chartters (1885), James Chartters (1886), XX. Charters (1893), Evelyn Wortley (1893), Thomas Chartters (1862), Susie Guy 

(1866), Charles Bailey (1882), Chancellor Bailey (1898), George Chancellor (1836), Lillie Harris (1888), William Grady (?), Hugh Chartters (1938), Susan Margaret Chancellor 

(1935), Vespasian Chancellor (1908), George S. Chancellor (1885), Fannie L. Chancellor (1892), Major Sanford Chancellor (1860), Mary Edwards Chancellor (1922), John T. Frazer (1881), Elizabeth Chancellor (1939), George Edwards Chancellor (1887), Melzi Sanford Chancellor (1925), Rev. Melzi S. Chancellor (1895), Lucie F. Chancellor (1884), Thomas Chancellor (1864).16

Evaluation: The interments within the Chancellor Cemetery collectively contribute to 

the historic association of the Fairview plantation with the Chancellor family that lived on the property at the time of the battle. The existing grave markers were all installed after 1863 (see Small-Scale Features). Additional research would be necessary 

to document the historic significance of the interments with local history, and to 

identify location of all remains, some of which may be outside existing brick wall. 
Cultural

LandscapeReport for Chancellorsville Battlefield

286TABLE 3.1. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: CORE BATTLEFIELD (DRAWING 3.1)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

AS-3. Civilian 

Conservation Corps Camp MP-3 

CH0071

Noncontributing

(landscape)

Context: Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Site part of Bullock clearing, 1863. Complex of tar-paper sheathed 

temporary buildings, shrub-bordered yard, and access road developed 1933 for 

approximately 200 Civilian Conservation Corps enrollees who built much of the park 

infrastructure; camp included utility buildings and workshops along and south of Hooker Drive. Designated camp MP-3 (later NP-11) and housed all-African American 

company, 1934; replaced by white company, 1941. Camp closed 1942 and complex torn down, ca.1944. Site became wooded; presently site is hidden with no access or interpretation. Subject of archeological survey (Sancomb and Geier, 2003); visible remnants not inventoried for CLR.

Evaluation: The site of the CCC camp was abandoned prior to the end of the historic 

period, so the existing wooded and unmarked condition is consistent with the historic character of the landscape. However, it is likely that the remnants of the camp are less visible than they were in 1963. The camp served a significant role in the development of the battlefield park landscape.

AS-4. Fairview Debris 

Pile

Noncontributing

(landscape)

Context: Unknown

History: Stone and other debris on edge of woods in Fairview clearing, near terminus of Berry-Paxton Drive. Debris may be remnants of Fairview house ruins removed after 

1967 by A.N. Johnston in development of the property for a construction business.17

Evaluation: The debris pile does not contribute to the historic character of the 

landscape because it was created after the historic period. It may have significance under National Register Criterion D.

AS-5. Fairview-Hazel 

Grove Road Trace

CH0003c

LCS:082096 Contributing

Context: Civil War

History: Road built from turnpike (Route 3) south to Fairview house site by 1799; 

extended south to Hazel Grove, ca. 1837. Northern section served as line of artillery, May 1–3, 1863. Area along road became wooded after the battle. Woods cleared in development of park, ca. 1931-35; southern part of road reconstructed as BerryPaxton Drive, northern part adjacent to gun pits converted to turf. Evaluation: The site of the Fairview-Hazel Grove Road remains an open corridor as it was during the historic period, although little trace of the road surface is evident. The road was a significant part of the battlefield landscape in 1863, but today reflects conditions during the early park period when the site was maintained as lawn. 

AS-6. Fairview House 

Site

CH0003

ASMIS:

FRSP004344SP0150

NR 

Resource

Contributing

Context: Civil WarHistory: Site of log house built ca. 1799 by Charles Bullard, or possibly earlier for Raine’s Ordinary in ca. 1777; later served as residence on Chancellor Plantation, 

“Fairview.” Served as US hospital and damaged, May 1-3, 1863, and as headquarters for US General Alphaeus Williams; destroyed during Battle of the Wilderness, April 

30, 1864, leaving just the stone chimney. Chimney became prominent memento of the war and was probably taken down prior to 1927. Property developed for A. N. Johnston construction business, ca. 1967, when remnant stones may have been moved to a dump site in the adjacent woods. Site acquired by NPS, ca. 1985, and interpreted 

by wood posts marking four corners of the house. Origin of the daffodils that bloom 
287 

3. Analysisand Evaluation

TABLE 3.1. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: CORE BATTLEFIELD (DRAWING 3.1)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

around the house in the spring is not known. No visible remains; subject of archaeological investigation (Geier and Sancomb, 2000).Evaluation: The site of the Fairview house, destroyed during the Civil War, is 

important for its association with the battle. The site was not part of the battlefield 

park historically.

AS-7. Hazel Grove 

Artillery and 

Earthworks Site

CH0089 Contributing

Context: Civil War, Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Eastern ridge of Hazel Grove clearing served as strategic position initially held by US 3rd Corps, May 2, 1863, with long line of trenches closing off the Hazel 

Grove road; position evacuated by Hooker after Jackson’s flank attack, which allowed General J. E. B. Stuart to support upwards of 30 guns on the ridge to fire on US

positions at Fairview. Ridge became wooded and trenches removed with return of field to agriculture post-war. Ridge acquired by War Department, ca. 1931 to 

interpret Hazel Grove line of fire. Interpretive cannon and wagons installed ca. 1960 (see Small-Scale Features); line of earthworks not interpreted.

Evaluation: The Hazel Grove artillery and earthworks site is important for its 

association with the battle, and as part of the historic park landscape. The existing 

cannons interpret only part of the historic defenses at this location.

Old Mountain Road Contributing See Table 3.2AS-8. Van Wart House Site

CH0025

FRSP047 Unevaluated

Context: Civil War

History: Building probably intended as the church of Reverend John Wyckoff begun along south side of turnpike on Chancellor (Fairview) Plantation, ca. 1860. At time of 

battle, the incomplete building may have been occupied by William Van Wart, the builder and son-in-law of Wyckoff, and so was identified by soldiers as the Van Wart 

house. Suffered extensive damage during battle and probably torn down soon after. 

Site acquired by War Department, ca. 1931, but not interpreted; site probably obliterated with widening of Route 3, 1972, but associated remnants may exist. 

Evaluation: The Van Wart house was a landmark on the Chancellorsville battlefield. 

The site was part of the historic park landscape, but was not interpreted. Although the Route 3 widening altered the site, park resource inventory indicates possible structure platform remains; further investigation is necessary to verify. 

n/a 
Cultural

LandscapeReport for Chancellorsville Battlefield

288TABLE 3.2 LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: JACKSON WOUNDING (VISITOR CENTER) AREA (DRAWING 3.2)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

Natural Systems and Features (no associated features)NSF-1 Forest Contributing See Table 3.1. The visitor center area was forested in 1863, except along road corridors. Clearings were established during the historic park period. Spatial Organization Features (Plan Key: SO)SO-11. Chancellorsville Visitor Center 

Grounds

Contributing

Context: Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Site of woods at west end of Chancellor (Fairview) Plantation along turnpike and old mountain road, 1863. First commemorative feature, Jackson rock, added within wooded setting, 1879; small area of maintained grounds introduced with Jackson monument, 1888. Property acquired by Chancellorsville Battlefield Association, 1891, which may have added walk or drive around monument. War Department acquired property, 1931; NPS redeveloped and expanded grounds with open lawn in front of visitor contact station and large area of woods and meadow devoted to Jackson Memorial Wild Flower Preserve, 1933–1937. Grounds redeveloped as part of MISSION 66 with removal front lawn and wildflower preserve, and addition 

of new visitor center; entry drive/parking lot oriented away from Route 3, but 

continued earlier rustic wooded setting with understory turf. Grounds altered post1963 with addition of picnic area and Wounding of Jackson Trail, loss of turf areas 

between the visitor center and Route 3, and changes in plantings, but space remained overall consistent. 

Evaluation: The grounds surrounding the visitor center reflect redevelopment during the historic MISSION 66 period that continued the earlier rustic wooded character introduced by NPS during the 1930s. The overall character of the loosely-defined space has not been substantial altered since the end of the historic period. 

SO-12. Visitor Center 

Fenced Utility Area

Noncontributing

(post-historic)

HVAC units and outdoor storage area within fenced enclosure on south side of visitor center not part of original construction.18
289 

3. Analysisand Evaluation

TABLE 3.2 LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: JACKSON WOUNDING (VISITOR CENTER) AREA (DRAWING 3.2)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

Land Use Features (Plan Key: LU))LU-5. Visitor Center 

Picnic Area 23830

Noncontributing 

(post-historic) 

Picnic area within woods north of visitor center and bus parking established ca. 1980

within former Jackson Memorial Wild Flower Preserve.19 Earlier picnic areas near 

Catharine Furnace and Hazel Grove-Fairview vista clearing established ca. 1935 and removed ca. 1945. 

Circulation Features (Plan Key: C)C-4. Bullock Drive Contributing See Table 3.1C-6. Chancellors-ville 

History Trail

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

See Table 3.1.

C-18. Visitor Center 

Entrance Road and Parking Area

CH0027 

NR 

Resource

FHWA 

Route 914

23974 Contributing

Context: Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Site of woods at west end of Chancellor (Fairview) Plantation, 1863. Asphalt 

drive and parking area designed by NPS Eastern Division of Design & Construction as part of MISSION 66 improvements and built 1961-62. Curving drive 20’ wide and 0.18-

mile long, with curbed shoulder parking for 50 cars and slots for 3 busses. Included spur or service drive to Bullock Drive that had triangular intersection off main drive 

east of parking area; removed ca. 1974. 

Evaluation: The visitor Center entrance road and parking area is part of the historic MISSION 66-era park landscape. Substantial changes since the end of the historic 

period are limited to removal of the spur to Bullock Drive.

C-19. Visitor Center 

Brick Entry Plaza and 

Walks

Noncontributing

Context: Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Visitor center as completed in 1962 featured concrete entry plaza with square scoring and square planting bed surrounding red oak tree; connected to 

concrete walks extending to parking areas and to narrative signs on west side of 

building. Rectangular design reflected massing of visitor center building. Concrete 

replaced with herringbone brick surface with irregular limits and kidney-shaped 

planting bed, 1979. Evaluation: The existing brick entry plaza and walks are non-contributing because 

they were redesigned after the historic period with an alignment and materials 

inconsistent with the historic design.
Cultural

LandscapeReport for Chancellorsville Battlefield

290TABLE 3.2 LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: JACKSON WOUNDING (VISITOR CENTER) AREA (DRAWING 3.2)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

C-20. Visitor Center 

Concrete Walks 23830/17873 Contributing

Context: Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Visitor center grounds as completed in 1962 featured axial concrete walks extending off entry plaza to flagstaff, parking area, and bus parking. Section of walk west of flagstaff replaced with brick as part of redesign of entry plaza, 1979 (see C19); other walks retained. 

Evaluation: The concrete entry walks are part of the original MISSION 66-era design 

of the visitor center grounds. Changes since the historic period include replacement of a section extending to the entry plaza; other sections may have been replaced inkind. 

C-21. Wounding of 

“Stonewall” Jackson Trail

24436

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

The grounds south of the visitor center to the Jackson monument were redesigned in 1961 as turf beneath scattered oak trees, with non-defined circulation. Loop trail 

from visitor center to Jackson monuments and trace of old mountain road built 1979; resurfaced with rubber mulch, 2012. 

Topography (Plan Key: T)T-11. Visitor Center 

Septic Field or 

Drainage Depression

Noncontributing

Context: Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Site within woods at west end of Chancellor (Fairview) Plantation adjacent to old mountain road, 1863. Site probably within open glade in Jackson Memorial 

Wild Flower Preserve developed between 1935 and 1937. Opening retained in development of visitor center grounds, 1961-62, probably as a septic field within a 

depressed rectangular terrace.

Evaluation: The depressed rectangular terrace southeast of the visitor center does 

not contribute because as a utilitarian topographic feature not intended to be visible to the public, it is unrelated to the historic significance of the landscape.

Vegetation (Plan Key: V)V-8. Visitor Center 

Shrub Rows

Noncontributing

Context: Historic Park Development

History: Original development of the visitor center grounds in 1961-1962 included 

axial rows or hedges of yew along the northwest corner, and off the northeast corner extending past the flagpole to the entry drive.20 Shrubs removed post-1970, probably 

due to deer browsing; section near flagstaff replanted with laurel.Evaluation: The existing laurel shrubs near the flagstaff do not contribute to the 

historic character of the landscape because they are non-historic replacements of a 

portion of the original yew hedges that framed spaces around the visitor center. 
291 

3. Analysisand Evaluation

TABLE 3.2 LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: JACKSON WOUNDING (VISITOR CENTER) AREA (DRAWING 3.2)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

V-9. Jackson 

Monument Screening

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

Leatherleaf viburnum, oak, white pine, holly, and mixed deciduous shrubs planted in 

former open turf bordering Jackson monument and Jackson rock to provide screening 

from Route 3, 1986. Monuments were visible from Route 3 during the historic period. 

V-10. Visitor Center 

Dogwood Row Contributing

Context: Historic Park Development

History: Straight row of native flowering dogwood trees planted parallel to the front 

of visitor center and entrance walk to parking area, with a short perpendicular row 

near flagstaff, ca. 1962. About two-thirds of dogwoods removed post-1963. 

Evaluation: The row of dogwoods in front of the visitor center is part of the historic 

plantings made in ca. 1962. Loss of the eastern part of the row detracts from the historic character of the landscape. 

V-11. Visitor Center 

Lawn

22927 / 

1333023 Contributing

Context: Historic Park Development

History: Turf probably first established around Jackson monument, ca. 1888. Larger 

area of turf established along Route 3 around entry drive and visitor contact station, 1933-35; area of turf redesigned and expanded with development of visitor center, 1961-62. Area of turf reduced after 1963 south and east of visitor center. 

Evaluation: The lawn surrounding the visitor center is part of the historic MISSION 66-era park landscape. Loss of turf south and west of the visitor center detracts from 

the historic character of the landscape. 

V-12. Visitor Center 

Plaza Raised Bed Plantings

23830 / 

11073

Noncontributing

Context: Historic Park Development

History: Simple rectangular lawn panel with planted red oak established within 

concrete entry plaza, 1962.21 Bed reconfigured into kidney shaped raised planter 

supported by brick wall, 1979. Planted with burning bush, ivy, and annuals. 

Evaluation: Although there was a central bed within the visitor center entry plaza historically, the existing ornamental bed does not contribute to the historic character 

of the landscape because it differs from the simple design and materials used historically. The oak tree is historic.

V-13. Visitor Center 

Sign Bed Plantings

23830 / 

11073

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

The original visitor center sign installed ca. 1962, which featured a white signboard 

and large NPS arrowhead on white wood posts, was surrounded by lawn. Sign replaced with existing standard NPS aluminum sign and ornamented with annual bed at undetermined date after the historic period.
Cultural

LandscapeReport for Chancellorsville Battlefield

292TABLE 3.2 LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: JACKSON WOUNDING (VISITOR CENTER) AREA (DRAWING 3.2)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

V-14. Visitor Center 

Specimen Trees

23830 / 

11074 Contributing

Context: Civil War, Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Site of woods at western end of Chancellor (Fairview) Plantation, 1863. Small area of woods thinned for Jackson monument, 1888. More extensive area 

thinned for development of visitor contact station and Jackson Memorial Wildflower garden, ca.1933-37; may have included planting of native trees. Smaller area of woods maintained as specimen trees within lawn as part of development of visitor center, 1961-62; included planting of at least two red oaks in front of visitor center.Additional trees planted in mulched area along east side of visitor center, 2015.

Evaluation: The specimen trees on the visitor center grounds (lawn area), which include mostly oaks but also red-cedar and other conifers that may be remnants of early NPS development, are part of the historic rustic character of the park landscape. 

There has been no apparent substantial loss of individual trees since the historic 

period. The contribute to the wooded canopy that existed during the battle. 

Buildings and Structures (Plan Key: BS)BS-19. Chancellorsville Battlefield 

Visitor Center

CH0027

NR 

Resource

23815 Contributing

Context: Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: A rustic cabin set back from Route 3 designed by NPS and built by CCC as 

visitor contact station, 1935; building removed and replaced with larger visitor center 

on alignment of old mountain road as part of MISSION 66 development, 1961-62. Modernist ranch-style brick-faced building designed by NPS Eastern Office of Design 

and Construction with Robert E. Smith as Chief Architect; completed in 1962 and 

dedicated May 5, 1963 during ceremonies for 100th anniversary of the Battle of 

Chancellorsville; earned National Honor Award in 1963 from American Institute of 

Architects. Exterior trim color changed post-1963 from olive green on the windows and light gray on the eaves to white and later all brown. 22

Evaluation: The visitor center is part of the historic MISSION 66-era development of 

the park landscape. There have been no substantial exterior changes since the end of 

the historic period aside from change in trim color. The building obscures the battleera alignment of the old mountain road and site of Jackson’s wounding.

BS-20. Firehose Vault 

and Hydrant Unevaluated

Context: Historic Park Development

History: Small brick vault with steel door containing a firehose and adjoining hydrant built in front lawn of visitor center at undetermined date after 1962.23 May date to 

1970, when the water system was expanded with construction of a water tower off 

Ranger Lane. Evaluation: Insufficient documentation was found to evaluate the firehose vault and 

hydrant. They are inconspicuous features in the landscape. 
293 

3. Analysisand Evaluation

TABLE 3.2 LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: JACKSON WOUNDING (VISITOR CENTER) AREA (DRAWING 3.2)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

BS-21. Jackson 

Monument

CH0029

LCS:007903

NR 

Resource

23985 Contributing

Context: Pre-Park CommemorationHistory: The Chancellorsville Stonewall Jackson Monument Association was formed 

ca. 1887 to raise funds for erecting monument at the purported site where Jackson fell, which was only marked by an inconspicuous rock (see SSF-19). 14’-tall shaft of 

Richmond gray granite designed by Major Wilfred E. Cutshaw and dedicated June 13, 1888. Monument faced south toward turnpike and enclosed by circular wrought-iron fence made by Hope Foundry of Fredericksburg; monument part of property acquired by Chancellorsville Battlefield Association, 1891; road or path encircled monument. Paths removed ca. 1933, fence removed ca. 1935. Monument became part of rear 

grounds of new visitor center, 1961-1962; detached from Route 3 with highway 

widening and lowering, ca. 1972. Screen plantings between monument and Route 3

installed 1985; rubber mulch added around monument, 2012. 

Evaluation: The Jackson monument is the most prominent of the five Chancellorsville monuments that date to early commemorative efforts prior to establishment of the national military park in 1927, but is in an inconspicuous location. It historically served as a major focal point of the park. The loss of visibility 

both within the park and from Route 3, and the addition of rubber mulch around the monument, detracts from the historic character of the landscape. The loss of the wrought-iron fence, although it occurred during the historic period, detracts from the 

original design of the monument. 

BS-22. Raised Bed 

Brick Wall 23830/11020

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

Low brick wall built 1979 to support reconfigured kidney-shaped raised bed in visitor 

center entry plaza. 

BS-23. Visitor Center 

Route 3 Entrance 

Signs 

Contributing

Context: Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Two brick walls with inset courses, 5’4” tall and 10’ wide, built to support 

signs on Route 3 at visitor center entrance drive and Bullock Drive, ca. 1962; original 

rustic-style wood signboard featured horizontal planks with incised lettering. Design 

was a park standard by NPS Eastern Office, Division of Design & Construction.24

Signboards replaced with NPS standard brown-face aluminum sign, post-1963. Evaluation: The visitor center entrance signs are part of the historic MISSION 66-era 

park landscape. Loss of the original signboards detracts from the historic character of 

the landscape. 
Cultural

LandscapeReport for Chancellorsville Battlefield

294TABLE 3.2 LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: JACKSON WOUNDING (VISITOR CENTER) AREA (DRAWING 3.2)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

Views and Vistas Features (Plan Key: VV)VV-2. View of 

Jackson Monument from Route 3

Noncontributing

Context: Pre-Park Commemoration, Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: The Jackson Monument as dedicated in 1888 was positioned for visibility 

from the turnpike (Route 3). Visibility of monument from Route 3 retained in redevelopment of surrounding grounds for visitor contact area, 1933-35, and in redevelopment for visitor center, 1961-62. Lowering and widening of Route 3 in ca. 1972 reduced visibility of monument from the road; addition of screening plantings in 1985 removed remnants of the view.Evaluation: Although the Jackson Monument can be picked out if standing along Route 3, the monument is largely invisible, especially to motorists passing by at 55 mph. It is also not visible to visitors on the approach to the visitor center. Loss of this 

once important view detracts from the historic character of the battlefield landscape.

Small-Scale Features (Plan Key: SSF)SSF-1. Cast Metal Narrative Signs(Happel Signs)

Contributing See Table 3.0. Two located on west side of visitor center. 

SSF-16. Brick Water 

Fountain

22927/13327

83 Unevaluated

Brick water fountain near bus parking and picnic grounds not built with initial development of visitor center grounds, 1962.25 May date to establishment of picnic 

area, 1980. 

SSF-17. Visitor Center 

Benches

Contributing/

Noncontributing

Context: Historic Park Development

History: Visitor center included simple benches with plank backs and seats on metal 

tube frames, positioned under front canopy, 1962.26 New bench with continuous 

narrow wood slats on metal frame installed on entry plaza at raised bed, post-1979.

Evaluation: The benches under the visitor center front canopy are original to the 

building and contribute to the historic character of the landscape. The newer bench on the plaza is a non-historic addition, located where there were no benches historically. 
295 

3. Analysis and Evaluation

TABLE 3.2 LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: JACKSON WOUNDING (VISITOR CENTER) AREA (DRAWING 3.2)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

SSF-18. Visitor Center 

Flagstaff

NR 

Resource Contributing

Context: Historic Park Development

History: NPS erected a flagstaff near the corner of the turnpike and Route 3 in 

development of the visitor contact station, ca. 1933. A steel pole with a ball finial, 

including a concrete approach walk, was installed by November 1963 following 

dedication of the visitor center. 

Evaluation: The visitor center flagstaff is part of the historic MISSION 66-era 

development of the landscape. There have been no apparent changes to the flagstaff since the historic period.

SSF-19. Jackson Rock CH0029 LCS:007904 23986 Contributing

Context: Pre-Park Commemoration History: A natural white quartz boulder, purportedly unearthed from the Luckett Farm along Route 3 to the west, was placed near the site of Jackson’s wounding under direction of Reverend Beverly Tucker Lacy, Jackson’s chaplain, 1879. An inscription was planned for the boulder, but never made. Rock moved closer to Route 

3 as part of NPS development of visitor contact station grounds, ca. 1937. Rock moved 

back to near its original location, ca. 1972. Wounding of Jackson trail aligned to rock, 1979; screening shrubs and trees planted around monument, 1986; rubber mulch path surface installed, 2012. Evaluation: The Jackson rock, although inconspicuous, was the first monument 

anywhere on the Fredericksburg-Spotsylvania battlefields. It established the 

recognized location of Jackson’s wounding, and created a pilgrimage site along the 

turnpike that would eventually lead to development of the existing visitor center. The existing setting of heavy vegetation, rubber mulch, and lack of visibility detracts from 

the historic character of the monument. 

SSF-20. Old 

Orientation Disc n/a Contributing

Context: Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: A concrete 4’-diameter disc fabricated by CCC enrollees was installed in front 

of the visitor contact station, 1935; standard feature installed at all contact stations at 

Fredericksburg-Spotsylvania. Concrete mixed with burnt umber to provide old rose 

shade; set slightly above grade, with labels that provided compass direction to other landmarks on the Fredericksburg-area battlefields; moved to west side of visitor contact station when new entry drive built, ca.1937. Moved to east side of new visitor 

center and installed flush with ground, ca. 1963.

Evaluation: The old orientation disc is in an inconspicuous location and is unmarked but is the only surviving built feature from the original visitor contact station 

grounds. The loss or fading of the concrete and labels detracts from its historic 

character; additional investigation needed to document labels.
Cultural

LandscapeReport for Chancellorsville Battlefield

296TABLE 3.2 LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: JACKSON WOUNDING (VISITOR CENTER) AREA (DRAWING 3.2)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

SSF-21. Orientation 

Disc

NR 

Resource 44324 Contributing

Context: Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Bronze disc with compass bearings and location of FredericksburgSpotsylvania sites erected on circular stone base and stone paving after completion of 

the visitor center, ca. 1963. Standard feature installed at other FRSP units; designer and fabricator not determined. Surrounding concrete plaza replaced with brick 

surface, 1979.

Evaluation: The orientation disc is part of the historic MISSION 66-era park 

landscape. It remains unchanged, but the setting has been altered with redesign of the entry plaza.

SSF-22. Picnic Tables

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

Four picnic tables with concrete legs and plank seats/table surfaces installed with creation of picnic area across from the visitor center, ca. 1980. 

SSF-23. Trash 

Receptacles

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

Barrel-style trash receptacles in visitor center picnic area and along parking area, installed post-1980. 

SSF-24. Unknown 

Soldier Grave Marker

CH0106c

LCS:082144

NR 

Resource

23992 Non- contributing

Context: Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: CCC enrollees working along the Orange Plank Road in 1935 unearthed 

remains of unidentified US soldier; for unknown reasons, the park had remains 

reinterred within grounds of the visitor contact station, just west of the Jackson monument, instead of within Fredericksburg National Cemetery. Grave marked by a 

white-painted wood cross. Cross removed ca. 1962 in redevelopment of visitor center 

grounds and grave left unmarked. Cross replaced with flat standard governmentgrave marker, 2007. 

Evaluation: The marker at the grave of the unknown soldier was installed after the end of the historic period and therefore does not contribute to the historic character of the landscape. Government grave markers are considered historic features within national cemeteries as Congressionally-designated national memorials to the military history of the United States. The existing grave lacks this context, although the remains are significant (see Archaeological Sites).
297 

3. Analysisand Evaluation

TABLE 3.2 LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: JACKSON WOUNDING (VISITOR CENTER) AREA (DRAWING 3.2)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

SSF-25. Sidney King 

Outdoor Battlefield Map

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

Large illustrated map by Sidney King of Caroline County, Virginia installed ca. 1979, probably as part of redesign of visitor center entry plaza.27

Archeological Sites (Plan key: AS)AS-8. Visitor CenterArea Embankment Unevaluated

Insufficient information available to evaluate raised area north of interpreted trace of old mountain road; embankment could be remnant of walk in Jackson Memorial Wild Flower Preserve, developed ca. 1935 and abandoned ca. 1950; or could be actual trace 

of old mountain road. Archaeological investigation needed to evaluate the feature. 

AS-9. Old Mountain 

Road Trace

CH0028

FRSP051 Contributing

Context: Civil WarHistory: Main road from Germanna to Fredericksburg, known as Germanna Road, built ca. 1716; westward-leading roads referred to locally as mountain roads. Section 

of Germanna Road between Bullock Road and Elys Ford Road may have been bypassed with improvement of the road as the Orange Turnpike, 1813; old mountain 

road probably used a minor woods or farm road on the Chancellor (Fairview) Plantation. Just after 9 pm on May 2, 1863, General Jackson with aides and couriers rode his horse along the old mount road, through woods just east of Bullock Road, which provided concealment from US troops along the turnpike. Confederate troops 

mistook the party for US forces and fired on them, seriously wounding Jackson, who subsequently died from his wounds. Road probably remained into early 20th century, 

and was abandoned and partly removed with development of Bullock Drive, visitor contact station grounds, and Jackson Memorial Wild Flower Garden, ca. 1933–37. 

Visitor center built on site of mountain road where trace had earlier been removed, 1961–62. Wounding of Stonewall Jackson Trail laid out in 1979 to bring visitors to remaining trace east of the visitor center.

Evaluation: The old mountain road trace is a significant remnant of the battlefield landscape, but was not interpreted or marked during the historic park period prior to1963. Trace currently concealed in part by brush and natural litter. Archaeological investigation is needed to document extent of trace, which may extend east of visitor 

center entrance drive.
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

298TABLE 3.2 LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: JACKSON WOUNDING (VISITOR CENTER) AREA (DRAWING 3.2)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

AS-10. Unknown 

Soldier Grave Contributing

Context: Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: CCC enrollees working along the Orange Plank Road in 1935 unearthed remains of unidentified US soldier; for unknown reasons, the park had remains 

reinterred within grounds of the visitor contact station, just west of the Jackson monument, instead of within Fredericksburg National Cemetery. Grave marked by white-painted wood cross and later flat stone marker (see SSF-24).

Evaluation: The grave of the unknown soldier near the Jackson Monument is significant for association with the Civil War. The existing location within the park is part of the historic development of the park landscape, but is in a forlorn location that does not convey the honor and respect that should be given to causalities of the Civil War, in keeping with National Cemetery regulations. 

AS-11. Visitor Center 

Service Road Trace

Noncontributing

Context: Historic Park Development

History: Access or service road built parallel to Route 3 west from visitor center 

entrance road during construction of visitor center, ca. 1961; remained to ca. 1979. Part of road used for alignment of Wounding of Stonewall Jackson Trail, 1979. 

Evaluation: The trace of the access or service road to the visitor center does not 

contribute to the historic character of the landscape because the road has lost historic character. There is little likelihood that subsurface remains can provide significant 

additional insight into the history of the landscape. 
299 

3. Analysisand Evaluation

TABLE 3.3. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: CHANCELLORSVILLE INN SITE (DRAWING 3.3)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

Chancellorsville Inn Site (Drawing 3.3)Natural Systems and Features (no associated features)Spatial Organization Features (Plan Key: SO)SO-4. Fairview 

Clearing Contributing See Table 3.1

Land Use Features (no associated features)Circulation Features (Plan Key: C)C-1. Orange Turnpike 

(Route 3)

Noncontributing See Table 3.0

C-6. Chancellorsville 

History Trail

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

See Table 3.1

C-7. Elys Ford Road 

(Route 610) Contributing See Table 3.1

C-22. Chancellorsville Inn Parking Area FHWA Route 0915 36538 22927/13312 68 Non- contributing (post-historic) Site with field north of Chancellorsville Inn, 1863. Property acquired by NPS, 1973; unmarked asphalt 100’ by 65’ parking lot for approximately 10 cars constructed 1987 with completion of landscape surrounding inn site. Bordered by timber bollards and concrete walk on south and west sides. C-23. Chancellorsville Inn Site Walk 22927/13319 84 Non- contributing (post-historic) Site with field and yard north of Chancellorsville Inn, 1863. Property acquired by NPS, 1973; 270’-long concrete walk with brick-edged plazas in front of interpretive waysides constructed 1987. Walk connects to concrete walks along edge of parking area. Topography (No associated features) 
Cultural

LandscapeReport for Chancellorsville Battlefield

300TABLE 3.3. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: CHANCELLORSVILLE INN SITE (DRAWING 3.3)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

Vegetation (Plan Key: V)V-15. Elys Ford Road 

Red-Cedar Row

Noncontributing

Context: Civil WarHistory: Elys Ford Road at the Chancellorsville Inn was lined by deciduous trees in

1863. Property acquired by A. J. Rowley, 1910; Rowley planted a row of Eastern redcedar trees along road, ca. 1920. Sycamore tree at end of row pre-1970. NPS incorporated property into park, 1973. 

Evaluation: The row of red-cedar trees at the Chancellorsville Inn site does not 

contribute to the historic character of the battlefield landscape because it did not 

exist during the battle. As a native species, they are compatible with the historic 

character of the landscape and provide some traffic screening.

V-16. Chancellorsville 

inn Site Lawn

Noncontributing

Context: Civil War

History: Fenced yard in front and side of Chancellorsville Inn covered in mown turf at time of Civil War. Turf restored post-war and maintained through ca. 1927, when 

building was destroyed by fire. Lawn reestablished after property acquired by NPS, ca. 

1973. Area of mown lawn expanded to 1.9 acres with completion of landscape, 1987. 

Evaluation: Although lawn existed historically in the front and side yards of the 

Chancellorsville Inn, the existing lawn covers a much greater expanse. The historic composition of the turf is not known. 

V-17. Chancellorsville Inn Site Specimen Trees

Noncontributing

Context: Civil WarHistory: The front of the Chancellorsville Inn was lined in 1863 by a row of approximately eleven elm and poplar trees, with additional trees to the sides of the house. Lower parts of the trunks whitewashed, corresponding with level of whitewashed inn foundation and whitewashed picket fence. To either side of the 

entrance walk outside of the front fence was a short row of four smaller deciduous trees. Some of the trees were damaged during battle and removed; four elms still stood in ca. 1927 when second inn burned; two remained in ca. 1940, but none stood when NPS acquired the property in 1973. Young red maple near inn site and young 

sycamore at end of red-cedar row existed by 1973. Specimen trees planted to west around new Rowley house, post-1932. Crabapples and other trees planted along walk to inn site, ca.1987.

Evaluation: The trees at the Chancellorsville Inn site do not contribute to the historic character of the landscape because they post-date the Civil War and do not relate to 

historic species and locations. 
301 

3. Analysis and Evaluation

TABLE 3.3. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: CHANCELLORSVILLE INN SITE (DRAWING 3.3)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

Buildings and Structures (Plan Key: BS)BS-24. 

Chancellorsville Inn Entrance Steps

Contributing

Context: Civil WarHistory: A five-flight set of stone steps was probably added in ca. 1825 when the 

front porch and side wings added to original 1816 building. Steps survived 1863 destruction of the inn and were incorporated into the rebuilt inn completed ca. 1872. 

Steps survived 1927 destruction of second inn and removal of ruined walls between 

1947 and 1966. Lower two steps intact; upper three steps collapsed at undetermined 

date.

Evaluation: The stone steps to the Chancellorsville Inn are the only visible built 

remnants of the namesake building of the community that was at the center of the battle on May 3, 1863. The existing condition of the steps reflects the ravaged history of the building and passage of time. 

BS-25. Chancellorsville Inn Interpretive 

Foundations 

Noncontributing

Context: Civil WarHistory: The Chancellorsville Inn site was the subject of archaeological investigation and stabilization by Temple University, 1976–77; foundation remains covered with 

earth and turf for conservation, and marked flush red argillite shale gravel bound by polyurethane (Rockbinder) installed in 1977 following completion of archaeological investigation.28 Park built interpretive low brick walls over sections of intact 

subsurface foundation remains to interpret 1816 building and pre-1863 additions, 

1987. 

Evaluation: The interpretive foundation walls and gravel lines at the Chancellorsville Inn site were built in 1977 and 1987 and are therefore not historic. The manicured 

lawn and well-mortared brick walls do not convey the building’s ravaged history. 

BS-26. Well 22927/13319 82 Unevaluated

Context: Civil WarHistory: The Chancellorsville Inn had a well with a hand pump in the front yard, west of the entrance walk and gate in the picket fence. Soldiers during the battle purportedly drank from this fountain. The inn may have had another well in the rear yard. Archaeological investigations by Temple University in 1976-77 identified this

feature as “Well #1,” but apparently no assessment or testing was undertaken. No feature associated with the front yard well was identified during investigations. NPS maintained a wood cover over the well. Another well to the west, probably 

associated with the 1932 Rowley bungalow, was identified, and subsequently removed or capped.29

Evaluation: The wood-covered well at the Chancellorsville Inn site is of undetermined origin. Additional research is needed to determine whether it is 

associated with the Civil War history of the site.
Cultural

LandscapeReport for Chancellorsville Battlefield

302TABLE 3.3. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: CHANCELLORSVILLE INN SITE (DRAWING 3.3)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

Views and Vistas Features (Plan Key: VV)V-3. Fairview View Contributing

Context: Civil WarHistory: The large clearing of the Chancellor (Fairview) Plantation allowed for 

expansive views within the heavily wooded Wilderness, probably lending the 

plantation its name, Fairview. Through this clearing was a long view looking southwest from the porch of the Chancellorsville Inn toward Hazel Grove with low hills in the distance. This became an important view during the Battle of Chancellorsville where intense artillery action was exchanged. The cupola on the 

rebuilt ca.1872 inn allowed visitors to take in the historic view. The view diminished by the early 20th century due to loss of inn and growth of woods between Fairview 

house and Hazel Grove. Establishment of the narrow Hazel Grove-Fairview vista 

clearing in ca. 1932 did not reestablish the full extent of the view (clearing not visible 

from Chancellorsville Inn site). Widening and heavy traffic on Route 3 by 1970s altered the viewshed. Evaluation: The Fairview view was the largest and one of the most strategically important viewsheds on the Chancellorsville Battlefield. It remains largely intact, 

although the existing viewshed is not as long due to growth of woods between the Fairview house and Hazel Grove. 

Small-Scale Features (Plan Key: SSF)SSF-26. Chancellorsville Inn Artillery (2) 22927/13319 61 Unevaluated

Context: Civil WarHistory: Two guns on reproduction steel carriages installed at the Chancellorsville Inn 

site as interpretive devices, 1987. They interpret the strategic firing lines toward Fairview house and Hazel Grove. Origin of cannon not documented for CLR (possibly moved from elsewhere in park) 

Evaluation: Further research is needed to determine if the two artillery pieces at the Chancellorsville Inn site are relocated historic features. Such cannon were introduced to the park late in the historic period, ca. 1960, but were traditional interpretive devices used by the War Department at national military parks since the late 19thcentury.

SSF-27. Post and 

Cable Railing

22927/13309

64

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

Concrete post and cable fence installed around Chancellorsville Inn site, ca. 1987; replaced stacked-rail fence installed ca. 1973. 
303 

3. Analysisand Evaluation

TABLE 3.3. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: CHANCELLORSVILLE INN SITE (DRAWING 3.3)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

SSF-28. Rowley 

Infants Headboard and Posts

NR 

Resource

Noncontributing 

Context: Civil WarHistory: Site within rear yard of Chancellorsville Inn, 1863. Part of rear grounds of second inn acquired by A. J. Rowley, 1910; son James Harold “Hal” Rowley and his wife Etta David Rowley raised three children at Chancellorsville; two other children died at birth and were buried in the back yard of the inn at some point between 1912 

and 1915. The Rowleys sold the property to Ralph England, 1966; state of graves not known. NPS acquired property from England, 1973; grave marker present by 1977.30

Park-maintained wood headboard and four white-painted wood posts marking the 

corners of the gravesite.

Evaluation: The headboard and posts of the Rowley infant gravesite do not 

contribute to the historic character of the landscape because they are not associated with the Civil War or historic park development. 

SSF-29. Stacked Rail 

Fence

22927/13309

64

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

Stacked rail fence built by NPS as part of interpretive enhancement of Chancellorsville Inn site, ca. 1987. Fence does not align with site or style of antebellum-era picket and plank fences around the inn’s front yard.

SSF-30. Battle of Chancellorsville State Historical Marker

Contributing

Context: Pre-Park CommemorationHistory: The State of Virginia (Conservation and Development Commission) erected a highway historical marker with text about the Battle of Chancellorsville (site J40) along Route 3 in front of ruins of Chancellorsville Inn, 1930, adjacent to United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) monument dedicated in 1927. The UDC monument was removed in 1980; NPS relocated state marker to parking area for 

Chancellorsville Inn site, ca. 1980. 

Evaluation: The Battle of Chancellorsville state historical marker is the only historic 

commemorative feature at the Chancellorsville Inn site. Although erected by the state, the monument reflects the historic recognition of the Chancellorsville Inn site as the center of the Battle of Chancellorsville. Relocation of the marker off its historic 

location on Route 3 detracts from the historic character of the landscape. 

Archeological Features (Plan key: AS)AS-11. Chancellorsville Inn Site ASMIS: FRSP042.00 44SP0181 23816 Contributing

Context: Civil WarHistory: Chancellorsville Inn (Chancellor House) completed 1816; flanking wings and front porch built ca. 1825; rear kitchen wing built ca. 1840. Served as US headquarters; burned during fighting on May 3, 1863. Standing walls on west wing incorporated into rebuilt building (second inn) completed ca. 1872. Second inn 

burned 1927; remaining walls (largely same as those that survived 1863 fire) collapsed in part during windstorm, 1947; remaining walls taken down by Ralph England, 1966; stone steps left (see BS-24). Inn site subject of archaeological investigation by Temple 

University, 1976-77; work included stabilization of foundation remains with protective 
Cultural

LandscapeReport for Chancellorsville Battlefield

304TABLE 3.3. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: CHANCELLORSVILLE INN SITE (DRAWING 3.3)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

mantle of soil and sod, and addition of interpretive outlines surfaced in gravel; NPS added interpretive brick walls, 1987 (see BS-25). Evaluation: The site of the Chancellorsville Inn is a significant place in the battlefield landscape, but was not interpreted or marked during the historic park period prior to1963 aside from a state historical marker. The existing landscape is not historic; no above-ground historic remains exist apart from the stone entrance steps. 

AS-12. Chancellorsville Inn Outbuilding Sites

Unevaluated

Context: Civil WarHistory: The Chancellorsville Inn had complex of outbuildings, including barns to the west and slave cabins to the rear. All were probably destroyed during fighting on May 3, 1863. New barns built near old barn sites with rebuilding of inn, ca. 1872; replaced by new barn to the northwest, ca. 1890; barn removed around time Rowley family built a new house on the site, 1932. Test areas excavated by Temple University to determine outbuilding sites, 1976-1977, but apparently little documentation retrieved.31 Rowley house removed by NPS, ca. 1977. 

Evaluation: Outbuildings associated with the Chancellorsville Inn were a significant part of the Chancellor (Fairview) Plantation at the time of the Civil War, but there are presently no traces or interpretive devices about them. Drawings provide clues to the 

location and massing of the barns to the west of the inn, but no graphic documentation has been found on the buildings at the rear, including slave quarters.

AS-13. Rowley 

Infants Gravesite

NR 

Resource

Noncontributing Graves of two infants belonging to owners of Chancellorsville Inn, ca. 1912–15. Marked by headboard and posts (see SSF-28). Not associated with Civil War or early park development history, but remains have other cultural value. 
305 

3. Analysisand Evaluation

TABLE 3.4. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: FURNACE LANDS (DRAWING 3.4)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

Natural Systems and Features (Plan Key: NSF)NSF-1. Forest Contributing 

See Table 3.0. Forest in 1863 covered most of the furnace lands, except at Furnace Hollow; there may have also been a clearing at McLaws Wedge. Large parts of the 

forest may have been dense successional woods that had grown back where the forest had been harvested for charcoal production to fuel the iron furnace. 

NSF-2. Great 

Meadow Swamp

Context: Civil WarHistory: Great Meadow Swamp (name in use by Civil War) was an area of wet woodssouth of the turnpike (Route 3) at headwaters of Nine Mile Run near west end of 

Chancellor (Fairview) Plantation. Swamp possibly created from changes to drainage following construction of Orange Turnpike, 1813, which required construction of a 

raised bed or causeway across lowlands. Relatively open canopy in swamp may have allowed site lines during Battle of Chancellorsville. Eastern part of swamp cleared after 1945 for expansion of post-war Craig Farm (current McLaws Wedge clearing); 

stream in the western part of swamp dammed after Civil War. 

Evaluation: The Great Meadow Swamp, most likely a human-influenced change to 

the natural environment, contributes to the historic character of the battlefield landscape; loss of its wooded eastern part detracts from the landscape’s historic 

character. 

Spatial Organization Features (Plan Key: SO)SO-13. Furnace 

Hollow Clearing Contributing

Context: Civil War, Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Furnace Hollow was a large, approximately 200-acre clearing along the Ni 

River owned by the Catharine Furnace company, 1863; included furnace complex and 

fenced agricultural fields associated with Wellford Plantation. Area became wooded after Civil War, including large areas of swamp; small clearing with cleared understory around furnace remnants reestablished by NPS, ca. 1935; reduced in extent post-1963; 

currently approximately one-quarter acre. Evaluation: The Furnace Hollow clearing is part of the park-era landscape, and 

reflects a small part of a much larger clearing that existed during the Civil War 

(including the existing Wellford Plantation clearing, see Table 3.5).
Cultural

LandscapeReport for Chancellorsville Battlefield

306TABLE 3.4. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: FURNACE LANDS (DRAWING 3.4)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

SO-14. Hazel Grove 

Vista Clearing

From Furnace Road

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

Site within woods along east edge of Furnace Hollow clearing, 1863; site probably logged after 1945 and grew back in pine; property acquired from Gayle estate by 

NPS, ca.1975.32 NPS cleared 1,300-foot corridor extending northwest from Furnace 

Road to provide visual connection to area near site of Hazel Grove, 1991. 

SO-15. Lee-Jackson 

Bivouac Clearing Contributing

Context: Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Site part of wooded Catharine Furnace property at intersection of Furnace Road and Orange Plank Road where Confederates bivouacked on evening of May 1, 1863; here, Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee held their so-called Crackerbox Meeting in which they plotted a surprise attack on the US right flank near Dowdall’s 

Tavern, according to tradition beneath a tall pine tree; site beginning of trail of 

Jackson’s march to flank attack, May 2, 1863. Site cleared of woods as part of postwar Lee Farm (no known relation to general). War Department acquired property

(Furnace Road corridor), ca. 1931; NPS planted a pair of cedars in the century of the 

clearing, 1937, and reforested the field to the west with conifers in ca. 1938. 

Evaluation: The Lee-Jackson Bivouac clearing, established after the Civil War, reflects 

development during the historic park period when the clearing was established as a small, defined area in what had been woods during the battle. The clearing remains 

intact but has become more enclosed since 1963 on the west and north sides due to 

growth of deciduous woods. 

SO-16. Maury House 

Site Clearing Contributing

Context: Civil War, Historic Park Development

History: Clearing originally established ca. 1797, when the Maury family settled on 

the property; clearing probably reduced in size with acquisition of property by Catharine Furnace Company, 1837; rectangular field extending north of Furnace Road at time of the Civil War. Clearing lost at undetermined date after the war along with the Maury house. NPS probably reestablished existing small clearing in woods around the house site when it acquired the property in 1937. Evaluation: The Maury House site clearing is a remnant of a larger Civil War-era clearing; its current extent probably originated during the historic park period. 

SO-17. McLaws 

Clearing (McLaws Wedge)

Unevaluated

Context: Civil WarHistory: The clearing site was probably on Catharine Furnace company property in 1863. Michler indicated that the site was wooded on the 1867 map of the battlefield; 

accounts from soldiers indicated there were long sight lines in area.33 Such sight lines 

may have been down road corridors, or in areas harvested for timber by the furnace company; additional open space may have been within Great Meadow Swamp, due to

lack of understory and widely spaced or dead trees. Site cleared or maintained as open field as part of post-war Craig Farm. Farm clearing enlarged to approximately 

110 acres, post-1945. Most of clearing (99 acre Ashley Farm parcel) acquired by 

Central Virginia Battlefields Trust, 1997 and conveyed to NPS, 1998. Clearing 

maintained as hayfield; northeastern corner reverting to woods.
307 

3. Analysis and Evaluation

TABLE 

3.4. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: FURNACE LANDS (DRAWING 3.4)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

Evaluation: Insufficient documentation has been found to verify that McLaws clearing existed as an open space during the Civil War. If it did, it most likely was a much smaller clearing, closer to the pre-1945 Craig Farm field comprised of the northeast quarter of the existing field.

Land Use Features LU-6. Conserved 

Battlefield Land: First 

Day at Chancellorsville

Contributing

(Setting)

Context: Civil WarHistory: Site part of Absalom McGee and Reuben McGee farms, where opening clash of the battle occurred May 1, 1863 within fields bordering the turnpike. War 

Department/NPS plans (ca.1927-40) did not include the property. Western part of 

Absalom McGee Farm redeveloped for Ashley Farms subdivision, ca. 1985. Eastern part and Reuben McGee Farm part of proposed major residential and commercial 

development, 2002; Coalition to Save Chancellorsville Battlefield, working with Civil War Trust and Central Virginia Battlefields Trust, agreed on conservation plan for 

smaller development that preserved fields along north side of Route 3; 140 acres, including fields where heaviest fighting occurred along with post-war farmstead, 

conveyed to Civil War Trust, 2004. Additional 74 acres acquired 2006.34

Evaluation: The First Day at Chancellorsville conserved land is part of the larger area 

of Chancellorsville Battlefield. The existing farmstead and visitor center are not historically associated with the battlefield. The property is outside the NPS authorized 

boundary. 

LU-7. Conserved 

Battlefield Land: Johnson and Warren Tracts (Nine Mile 

Run)

Contributing 

(Setting)

Context: Civil WarHistory: Site of woods along turnpike at east end of Chancellor (Fairview) Plantationcontaining headwaters of Nine Mile Run, 1863. Woods to west and north developed for Pipe Run subdivision, ca. 1990; woods to east subdivided for lots along Rensselaer Court, ca. 1990. Johnson and Warren tracts of 11.9 acres between Rensselaer Court and Nine Mile Run Drive acquired by Central Virginia Battlefields Trust in 1999 and 2002.35

Evaluation: The Johnson and Warren Tracts are part of the historic Chancellor (Fairview) Plantation property and the turnpike corridor of the battlefield that saw 

action on May 1-3, 1863. Property is outside the NPS authorized boundary. 

Easement Parcel 03-260 (Spotsylvania County)

Contributing 

(Setting) See Table 3.5. 

LU-8. Easement 

Parcels 03-264/265

(Sawhill Subdivision) 

Contributing 

(Setting)

Context: Civil War

History: Part of wooded 4,648-acre Catharine Furnace Company property along 

south side of Furnace Road, 1863. Furnace Road acquired by War Department, ca. 

1931. Property to south part of Sawhill subdivision begun ca. 1990; subdivision included two narrow parcels parallel to Furnace Road in which easements were conveyed to NPS. Houses built on lots, ca. 2000. Easement restrictions not documented for CLR.Evaluation: The 03-264 and 03-265 easement parcels within the Sawhill subdivision contain a thin margin of woods, but do not screen views of residential development 
Cultural

LandscapeReport for Chancellorsville Battlefield

308TABLE 3.4. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: FURNACE LANDS (DRAWING 3.4)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

from Furnace Road. Residential yards with lawn, vinyl and wood fences, and other features extend into easement area. Property is outside the NPS authorized boundary.

LU-9. Inholding 

Parcel 03-224: 

Wharton Property, Orange Plank Road

Contributing

Context: Civil War

History: Part of wooded 4,648-acre Catharine Furnace property, 1863. Subdivided 

post-war as part of Young property; 31.72-acre parcel east of Orange Plank Road 

owned by Ernest M. Wharton included within 1989 NPS boundary expansion. 

Evaluation: Parcel 03-224 is part of the historic battlefield and was wooded in 1863. The property contains woods and no known improvements. 

LU-10. Inholding 

Parcel 03-238: 6380 

Plank Road (Route 3)

Contributing

(non-historic 

landscape)

Context: Civil WarHistory: Area at intersection of Furnace Road and turnpike either wooded or part of small clearing on land probably owned by Catharine Furnace Company, 1863. Site of post-war Craig farmstead, removed ca. 1980. One-acre parcel owned by Thomas R. 

Hairfield with ca.1980 house, lawn, driveway included within 1989 NPS boundary 

expansion.

Evaluation: Parcel 03-238 is part of the historic setting of the battlefield area known 

as McLaws Wedge adjacent to McLaws Drive. Insufficient documentation exists to determine whether the site was wooded or field in 1863. The existing site improvements do not contribute to the historic character of the landscape. 

LU-11. Inholding

Parcel 03-240: 8483-

8489 Old Plank Road

Contributing

(non-historic 

landscape)

Context: Civil War

History: Part of wooded 4,648-acre Catharine Furnace property along Orange Plank 

Road, 1863. Part of field on post-war Lee Farm. Field subdivided and house constructed on back of 5.63-acre lot, ca.1975. Lot included within 1989 NPS boundary expansion; owned by Ernest M. Wharton. 36

Evaluation: Parcel 03-240 is part of the historic battlefield and was wooded in 1863. 

The existing house, lawn, driveway, and other improvements are not historic. Woods separate the house from NPS property at McLaws clearing.

LU-12. Inholding

Parcel 03-241: 8481 

Old Plank Road

Contributing

(non-historic 

landscape)

Context: Civil War

History: Part of wooded 4,648-acre Catharine Furnace property along Orange Plank 

Road, 1863. Part of field on post-war Lee Farm. Field subdivided and house 

constructed on back of 5.50-acre lot, ca.1975. Lot included within 1989 NPS boundary 

expansion; owned by William Masi. 37

Evaluation: Parcel 03-241 is part of the historic battlefield and was wooded in 1863. The existing house, lawn, driveway, and other improvements are not historic. Woods separate the house from NPS property at McLaws clearing.
309 

3. Analysis and Evaluation

TABLE 

3.4. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: FURNACE LANDS (DRAWING 3.4)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

LU-13. Inholding

Parcel 03-242: 8451 

Old Plank Road

Contributing

(non-historic 

landscape)

Context: Civil WarHistory: Part of wooded 4,648-acre Catharine Furnace property along Orange Plank 

Road, 1863. Part of field on post-war Lee Farm, and may have included Lee farmstead. 

Field subdivided and house constructed on back of 9.59-acre lot between 1975 and 1994. Lot included within 1989 NPS boundary expansion; owned by James T. Edmonds. 38

Evaluation: Parcel 03-242 is part of the historic battlefield and was wooded in 1863. 

The existing house, lawn, driveway, and other improvements are not historic. Woods 

separate the house from NPS property at McLaws clearing.

LU-14. Inholding 

Parcel 03-243: 8439 

Old Plank Road

Contributing

(non-historic 

landscape)

Context: Civil War

History: Part of wooded 4,648-acre Catharine Furnace property along Orange Plank 

Road, 1863. Part of field on post-war Lee Farm. Field subdivided and house 

constructed on back of 7.05-acre lot between 1975 and 1994. Lot included within 

1989 NPS boundary expansion; owned by Calvin Forbes. 39

Evaluation: Parcel 03-243 is part of the historic battlefield and was wooded in 1863. 

The existing house, lawn, pond, driveway, and other improvements are not historic. Woods separate the house from NPS property at McLaws clearing.

LU-15. Inholding

Parcel 03-244: 8415 

Old Plank Road

Contributing

(non-historic 

landscape)

Context: Civil WarHistory: Part of wooded 4,648-acre Catharine Furnace property along Orange Plank 

Road, 1863. Part of field on post-war Lee Farm. Field subdivided and house constructed on back of 5.76-acre lot between 1975 and 1994. Lot included within 

1989 NPS boundary expansion; owned by Gene Ackley. 40

Evaluation: Parcel 03-244 is part of the historic battlefield and was wooded in 1863. 

The existing house, lawn, pond, driveway, fences, and other improvements are not 

historic. Woods separate the house from NPS property at McLaws clearing and along 

McLaws Drive.

LU-16. Inholding

Parcel 03-245: 8408 

Old Plank Road

Contributing

(non-historic 

landscape)

Context: Civil War

History: Part of wooded 4,648-acre Catharine Furnace property along Orange Plank 

Road, 1863. Part of field on post-war Lee Farm that included Lee-Jackson Bivouac site. 

Pond pre-dates 1966. House constructed in field between 1966 and 1973. 1.42-acre lot 

included within 1989 NPS boundary expansion; owned by Parrish M. Wells. 41

Evaluation: Parcel 03-245 is part of the historic battlefield and was wooded in 1863. 

The existing house, lawn, driveway, pond, and other improvements are not historic.

Woods west of the lot are on NPS property. 
Cultural

LandscapeReport for Chancellorsville Battlefield

310TABLE 3.4. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: FURNACE LANDS (DRAWING 3.4)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

LU-17. Inholding 

Parcel 03-246: 8336-

8382 Old Plank Road

Contributing

(non-historic 

landscape)

Context: Civil War

History: Part of wooded 4,648-acre Catharine Furnace property along Orange Plank 

Road, 1863. Part of field on post-war Lee Farm that included Lee-Jackson Bivouac site. House constructed on field prior to 1966. One-acre lot included within 1989 NPS 

boundary expansion; owned by Robert Markham. 42

Evaluation: Parcel 03-246 is part of the historic battlefield and was wooded in 1863. 

The existing house, lawn, driveway, and other improvements are not historic. Woods 

west and south of the lot are on NPS property.

LU-18. Life Estate 

Parcel 03-239: 8507 

Old Plank Road 

Contributing

(non-historic 

landscape)

Context: Civil War

History: Part of wooded 4,648-acre Catharine Furnace property along Orange Plank 

Road, 1863. Part of field on post-war Lee Farm; house constructed ca. 1930; 1.06-acre 

lot owned by Roger David Lee included within 1989 boundary expansion. Lot acquired by NPS with life estate to owner, ca. 2010.

Evaluation: Parcel 03-239 is part of the historic battlefield and was wooded in 1863. 

The existing house, outbuildings, driveway, and other improvements are not historic.

Circulation Features (Plan Key: C)C-25. Driveway, 8108 

McLaws Drive

(Intersection)

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

Private driveway built through wooded park land to McLaws Drive between ca. 1950and 1966; adjoins McLaws Line marked by identification tablet. House along driveway 

visible from McLaws Drive, but is set far back.43

C-26. Driveway, 8453 

McLaws Drive 

(Intersection) 

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

Private driveway built through wooded park land to McLaws Drive between 1984 and 

1994 as part of Pemwood Lane subdivision off Old Plank Road; identified as part of 

Pemwood Lane on Google Maps. House along driveway visible from McLaws Drive.44. 
311 

3. Analysisand Evaluation

TABLE 3.4. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: FURNACE LANDS (DRAWING 3.4)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

C-27. Driveway, 8528-

8536 Furnace Road

(Intersection)

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

Private driveway built through wooded park land to Furnace Road between 1991 and 1994; close to Anderson’s gun pit and identification tablet. Two houses accessed off drive, one of which is visible from Furnace Road.45

C-28. Furnace Road

CH0084a

LCS:082122

NR HAF

FHWA 

Route 0013

23953 Contributing

Context: Civil War, Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Road built prior to 1797 to access Maury Farm; acquired by Fredericksburg 

Iron and Steel Manufacturing Company for access to Catharine Furnace, 1836. Used by 

Jackson’s troops for march to flank attack, May 2, 1863. Acquired by War Department, ca. 1931, and road reconstructed as 1.5-mile long, 18’ wide drive named Bivouac Road or Jackson Trail Bivouac, 1932; improvements completed ca. 1935 

included oiled pea-gravel surface, triangular intersection at Sickles Drive, culverts with 

stone headwalls, stone-lined ditches, double-arched bridge over Ni River, and stackedrail fence at entrance across from bivouac site. Paved in asphalt, ca. 1950. Chancellor 

West and Sawhill subdivisions built in adjacent woods beginning in ca. 1985. Concrete 

curbs and stone ditch added at Maury site parking area, ca. 2000. Stones replaced log

bollards at Lee-Jackson Bivouac at undetermined date. 

Evaluation: Furnace Road is part of the historic park circulation that was an improvement of a battle-period road. The drive has not undergone substantial changes since the historic period aside from addition of the curbed parking area at 

the Maury monument. The setting has been altered along the eastern section due to 

suburban development in close proximity to both sides of the drive.

Jackson Trail East Contributing See Table 3.5C-29. Lee-Jackson 

Bivouac Path

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

Short path from roadside parking area to interpretive waysides west of Lee-Jackson 

cedars, built ca. 2000. Metal narrative signs (Happel signs) replaced with interpretive 

waysides around same time. No documentation found on earlier circulation within bivouac site. 
Cultural

LandscapeReport for Chancellorsville Battlefield

312TABLE 3.4. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: FURNACE LANDS (DRAWING 3.4)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

C-30. Maury House Site Trail 23995 Contributing

Context: Civil War, Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Road from Furnace Road to Maury house existed by time of house’s construction, ca. 1797. Road extended northwest to Hazel Grove during antebellum period when property owned by Catharine Furnace Company. Section between Maury-Pulliam house site and Hazel Grove abandoned and partly removed with development of battlefield park, ca. 1931–35. Section between Maury house site and Furnace Road probably existed as unofficial trail during historic park period, and may have been maintained by NPS following donation of property to NPS, 1937.46 500’-

long trail currently maintained by park, with interpretive wayside. Evaluation: The Maury House site trail is a remnant of Civil War-era circulation on 

the battlefield; its current character as a foot trail probably reflects historic park 

development. 

C-31. McLaws Drive

LCS:082088

082091

CH0084a

NR HAF

FHWA 

Route 0013

23953 Contributing

Context: Civil War, Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Road connecting newly-built turnpike (Route 3) with Furnace Road 

constructed ca. 1813; site of Confederate defenses, 1863. Road acquired by War Department, ca. 1931 and 0.75-mile long, 18’ wide drive constructed in 1932 along 

old road alignment and following trench remnants; improvements completed ca. 

1935 included oiled pea-gravel surface and culverts with stone headwalls, and a 

stacked-rail fence at Route 3. Paved in asphalt, ca. 1950. Northern 75’ removed for 

widening of Route 3, ca. 1963. Driveways to houses added off east side beginning in 

ca. 1950. 

Evaluation: McLaws Drive is part of the historic park circulation that was an 

improvement of a battle-period road. Drive is significant for commemorating Confederate Major General Lafayette McLaws of the Confederate 1st Corps. The drive 

has not undergone substantial changes since the historic period aside from removal of a section at Route 3. The historic setting of the drive has been altered due to 

suburban development along the east side. 

C-32. McLaws Lane

(Intersection)

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

Road built through wooded park land along McLaws Drive ca. 1970; may have been extension of earlier access to South McLaws Place, a minor road parallel to NPS boundary on or adjacent to site of McLaws Line.47.Houses along road visible from 

McLaws Drive.
313 

3. Analysisand Evaluation

TABLE 3.4. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: FURNACE LANDS (DRAWING 3.4)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

C-33. McLaws Trail 61023

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

1.1-mile loop trail laid out through McLaws clearing (McLaws Wedge) following 

acquisition of property by NPS, ca.1998. Trail has earth and mown tread, and eight interpretive stops. 

C-34. McLaws 

Trailhead Parking

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

Small, two-car asphalt parking area off McLaws Drive built to service McLaws Trail, 

ca.1998. 

C-35. Orange Plank 

Road (Old Plank Road, Route 610, 

Part)

Contributing

Context: Civil WarHistory: Possible 18th-century road reconstructed as Orange Plank Road, 1853; 

Formed one leg of Chancellorsville intersection. Site of Confederate advance, May 1, 1863, and nexus of fighting on May 3, 1863. Section of road north of Furnace Road acquired by War Department, ca. 1931, and by NPS, ca. 1935 subject to public right-ofway. Maintained as state highway, designated as Route 610. Adjoining land 

developed for suburban housing subdivisions, post-1980. Evaluation: The Orange Plank Road (Old Plank Road) is a battle-period road that 

served a key strategic function. The road has not been substantially widened, and the historic rural setting at the McLaws Drive-Furnace Road/Bivouac and Slocum Drive intersections remains largely intact. The Chancellorsville intersection has been 

substantially changed due to widening of Route 3. 

C-36. Sickles Drive

LCS:082092

CH0091a

FHWA 

Route 0013

23953 Contributing

Context: Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Site part of clearings and woods between Hazel Grove and Catharine Furnace, 1863; Property acquired by War Department, ca. 1931 and 0.83-mile long, 18’ 

wide drive constructed 1932, on new alignment east of historic road between Hazel 

Grove and Catharine Furnace that was on private property; drive featured oiled pea gravel surface, triangular intersections with Slocum Drive and Furnace Road, hillside cut, culverts with stone headwalls, and a double-arch concrete/stone bridge over 

Lewis Run built in 1935. Drive paved in asphalt, ca. 1950.

Evaluation: Sickles Drive is part of the historic park circulation, and is significant for commemorating US Major General Daniel E. Sickles who commanded the US 3rd

Corps. There have been no substantial changes to the drive since the since the historic 

period.
Cultural

LandscapeReport for Chancellorsville Battlefield

314TABLE 3.4. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: FURNACE LANDS (DRAWING 3.4)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

C-37. South Carolina 

Court (Intersection)

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

Private road/driveway through park land from Furnace Road, built between 1973 and 1991; houses on road not visible from Furnace Road. Across from Lee-Jackson Bivouac.48

Topography (Plan Key: T)T-12. Anderson’s Line 

Gun Pit, Confederate

LCS:082142

CH0094

ASMIS:

FRSP171.00

NR HAF

17556 Contributing

Context: Civil War, Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Earth lunette-shaped gun pit built by troops under Confederate Major 

General Richard H. Anderson along south side of Furnace Road, May 1, 1861. Property acquired by War Department, ca. 1931; marked by identification tablet and probably cleared of vegetation and sodded, ca. 1935. Sod not maintained, post-ca. 1963. Driveway and suburban residential development (Sawhill) in woods to south, post1990. 

Evaluation: Anderson’s Line gun pit contributes to the historic character of the 

battlefield and battlefield park landscape. The earthwork is inconspicuous due to growth of vegetation, but is identified by a tablet. Setting altered through suburban 

development in surrounding woods off Rockaway Court. 

T-13. McLaws’ Line

(Anderson’s Line), Confederate

LCS:007891

CH0095

ASMIS:

FRSP178.00

NR HAF

17548 Contributing

Context: Civil War, Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Linear trench approximately 4,200’ long built by Confederate troops under General R. H. Anderson through woods along east side of Furnace Road between turnpike/Route 3 and Orange Plank Road, May 1-3, 1863. May have included gun pits. 

Majority of earthworks removed at undetermined date. Property acquired by War 

Department, ca. 1931; Furnace Road rebuilt as McLaws Drive, 1932; remnant earthwork marked by identification tablet and probably cleared of small trees/shrubs and sodded, ca. 1935. Suburban development along east side of earthwork, post1950.

Evaluation: McLaws’ Line is a remnant trench earthwork, approximately 700’ long, that is inconspicuous and covered by vegetation and leaf litter. It is identified by a 

tablet. Historic setting altered by suburban development.

T-14. Posey’s Line, 

Confederate

CH0021

LCS:082145

ASMIS:

FRSP031.00

NR HAF

17555 Contributing

Context: Civil War, Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Linear trench built by Confederate troops under Brigadier General Carnot Posey south of Furnace Road on eastern edge of Furnace Hollow clearing, May 1, 1863. Field became wooded post-war. Property acquired by War Department, ca. 1931; earthwork marked by identification tablet and probably cleared of small trees/shrubs and sodded, ca. 1935; General Posey’s Foot Trail built around earthwork, ca. 1935, abandoned ca. 1950. Evaluation: Posey’s Line is a largely intact trench earthwork, approximately 600’ long, but is currently hidden by woods and debris. There is no public access to the earthwork, but it is identified by a tablet.
315 

3. Analysisand Evaluation

TABLE 3.4. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: FURNACE LANDS (DRAWING 3.4)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

Vegetation (Plan Key: V)V-1. Chancellorsville Park Drive Plantings and Turf Shoulders

Contributing See Table 3.0

V-2. ChancellorsvilleField Crops and Meadow Grasses

Contributing See Table 3.0 (McLaws’ Clearing field crops / hayfield) 

V-18. Furnace Drive 

Triangle Trees Contributing

Context: Historic Park Development

History: Site within Furnace Hollow clearing, 1863; became wooded post-war. Trees 

thinned from woods and planted within intersection triangle, with open mown understory, ca. 1931-1935.

Evaluation: The trees within the Furnace Drive intersection triangle are part of the 

historic maintained grounds along the park drives. The existing extent of tree and ground cover appears to be consistent with historic conditions.

V-19. Lee-Jackson 

Bivouac Memorial

Cedars

Contributing

Context: Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Pair of Eastern red-cedar trees planted on occasion of park’s 10th anniversary 

to symbolize and commemorate Lee and Jackson who met on the site to plan the 

flank attack, October 23, 1937; included small bronze plaque set beneath trees (see Small-Scale Features); monument given by park staff. Understory maintained in turf.

Evaluation: The Lee-Jackson Bivouac commemorative cedars are part of the historic 

park landscape and reflect the interpretive importance of the bivouac site. The trees 

are part of a uniquely rustic monument that reflects the importance of natural resources in NPS management. The cedars appear to be healthy, but are losing 

canopy on the north and west sides due to shading from adjoining deciduous trees.

Buildings and Structures (Plan Key: BS)BS-27. Furnace Road 

Bridge

LCS082117

CH0091c

NR HAF

23957 Contributing

Context: Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Temporary timber bridge over Lewis Run (Ni River) erected in initial 

construction of Furnace Road (Jackson Trail Bivouac), 1932. Concrete double-arch 

bridge with stone facing and parapets built 1935; probably based on standard War Department design; constructed through Public Works Administration with CCC labor. 

Road surfaced paved, ca. 1950. 

Evaluation: The Furnace Road bridge is part of the historic landscape along the park 

drives. There have been no changes to the structure since the historic period. It is the same design as the Sickles Drive bridge.
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

316TABLE 

3.4. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: FURNACE LANDS (DRAWING 3.4)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

BS-28. Furnace Road 

Drainage Culverts (2)

LCS:082093

CH0091b

NR HAF

23953/17531 Contributing

Context: Historic Park Development

History: Three single culverts with rectangular ashlar headwalls designed to carry roadside drainage, built between ca. 1933 and 1935 based on a standard War Department design and probably with CCC labor.Evaluation: The culverts on Furnace Road are part of the historic landscape along the park drives. There have been no substantial outward changes to the structures 

since the historic period; detailed assessment of the type and condition of culverts not part of CLR inventory.

BS-29. Furnace Road 

Stone-Lined Ditch

LCS:082089

CH0091b 23953/17531 Contributing

Context: Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Furnace Road (Jackson Trail Bivouac) reconstructed as park drive, 1932; road completed by NPS between 1933 and 1936. Completion included addition of rustic cobblestone-lined drainage ditch on approach to Lewis Run (Ni River), probably built by CCC. Evaluation: The Furnace Road stone-lined ditch is part of the historic landscape 

along the park drives and was designed to be harmonious with the natural setting. There have been no known changes to the structure since the historic period aside 

from concealment in areas by vegetation.

BS-30. Furnace Road 

Tree Rings (3) NR HAF Contributing

Context: Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Three low, approximately 1’-high circular stone walls near Lewis Run and 

across from the Maury stone built to protect pre-existing trees from changes in grade 

during reconstruction of Furnace Road as a park drive, ca. 1935; used same stone as 

culvert headwalls and built by CCC.

Evaluation: The tree rings on Furnace Road are part of the historic landscape along the park drives, reflecting the park’s sensitivity toward preserving trees. There may be other tree rings that are concealed beneath natural debris and sediment. The tree in a ring near Lewis Run (pictured) has been cut down.

BS-31. McLaws Drive 

Drainage Culverts (3)

LCS:082153

CH0093b

NR HAF

23953/17526 Contributing

Context: Historic Park Development

History: Three single culverts with rectangular and ‘L’-shaped ashlar headwalls designed to carry roadside drainage were built between ca. 1933 and 1935 based on a 

standard War Department design and probably with CCC labor.

Evaluation: The culverts on McLaws Drive are part of the historic landscape along 

the park drives. There have been no substantial outward changes to the structures 

since the historic period; detailed assessment of the type and condition of culverts not part of CLR inventory.
317 

3. Analysisand Evaluation

TABLE 3.4. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: FURNACE LANDS (DRAWING 3.4)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

BS-32. Sickles Drive 

Bridge

LCS:082117

CH0091c

NR HAF

23960 Contributing

Context: Historic Park Development

History: Temporary timber bridge over Lewis Run erected in initial construction of Sickles Drive, 1932. Concrete double-arch bridge with stone facing and parapets built 

1935; probably followed standard War Department design and constructed through Public Works Administration with CCC labor. Road surface paved, ca. 1950. 

Evaluation: The Sickles Drive bridge is part of the historic landscape along the park 

drives. There have been no changes to the structure since the historic period. It is the 

same design as the Furnace Road bridge. 

BS-33. Sickles Drive 

Drainage Culverts

LCS:082093

CH0091b

NR HAF

Contributing

Context: Historic Park Development

History: Six single culverts with rectangular ashlar headwalls designed to carry

roadside drainage were built between ca. 1933 and 1935 according to a standard War Department design and probably with CCC labor. 

Evaluation: The culverts on Sickles Drive contribute to the historic character of the battlefield park landscape as part of the design of the park drives. There have been 

no substantial outward changes to the structures since the historic period; detailed assessment of the type and condition of culverts not part of CLR inventory. 

BS-34. Sickles Drive 

Stone-Lined Ditch LCS:082093 23953/17534 Contributing

Context: Historic Park Development

History: Sickles Drive built 1932; road completed by NPS between 1933 and 1936, including a rustic stone-lined drainage ditch along the west side, probably built by the 

CCC. It empties into a culvert.Evaluation: The Sickles Drive stone-lined ditch is part of the historic landscape along 

the park drives and was designed to be harmonious with the natural setting. There have been no known changes to the structure since the historic period, but the ditch is obstructed by vegetation and is not draining. 

Views and Vistas Features (Plan Key: VV)VV-4. McLaws Wedge 

View Unevaluated

Context: Civil WarHistory: Michler indicated McLaws clearing (McLaws Wedge area) wooded in 1867 map of battlefield; accounts from soldiers indicated there were long sight lines in the 

area.49 Views expanded post-war when site was cleared or maintained as open field 

associated with post-war Craig Farm. Views from McLaws Drive as built in the 1930s 

were filtered through margin of woods. Views within the field expanded when the 

farm clearing was enlarged after 1945 as part of Ashley Farm. NPS acquired the 

clearing in 1998 and maintained it as hayfield. Field extended to eastbound Route 3; 

successional vegetation post-1998 obscured views from the highway. Park rangers use expansive view to give visitors an overview of action in the area on May 1–3, 1863.

Evaluation: Insufficient documentation has been found to verify that the views 

across McLaws clearing existed during the Civil War. The existing breadth of the view, 

one of the most expansive within the park, does not reflect battlefield conditions. Filtered views across the clearing through woods along McLaws Drive did exist during 

the historic park period.
Cultural

LandscapeReport for Chancellorsville Battlefield

318TABLE 3.4. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: FURNACE LANDS (DRAWING 3.4)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

Small-Scale Features (Plan Key: SSF)SSF-1. Cast Metal Narrative Signs(Happel Signs)

Contributing See Table 3.0. Located on Furnace Road and McLaws Drive; removed from bivouac and furnace sites. 

SSF-4. Identification 

Tablets Contributing See Table 3.0. Located at McLaws Line, Posey’s Line, Anderson’s gun pit, Furnace Drive-Sickles Drive intersection, and Sickles Drive bridge over Lewis Run. 

SSF-31. Catharine 

Furnace Fence

22927/13310

02

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

Area around Catharine Furnace ruins cleared and understory thinned, ca. 1935. Hillside allowed to revegetate, post-1950. Split rail fences added post-1963 to keep 

visitors off archaeological ruins. e 

SSF-32. Lee-Jackson 

Bivouac Memorial

Plaque

LCS:082141

NR

Resource

23991 Contributing

Context: Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Commemorative monument consisting of pair of red-cedar trees and small 

bronze plaque dedicated October 23, 1937 on occasion of park’s 10th anniversary. 

Bronze plaque approximately 12” by 24” and set on natural stone flush with the ground. Turf worn away around monument. Evaluation: The Lee-Jackson Bivouac commemorative cedars plaque is part of the 

historic park landscape and reflects the interpretive importance of the bivouac site.

The bronze is heavily patinated and subject to acid rain and other pollutants due to 

its horizontal position. 

SSF-33. Lee-Jackson 

Bivouac Monument

LCS:007899

NR 

Resource

23981 Contributing

Context: Pre-Park Commemoration History: First monument at site of Lee-Jackson bivouac installed in 1903 under direction of James Power Smith, a member of Jackson’s staff. One of ten monuments of the same style erected to mark sites important to the Confederacy on the Fredericksburg-Spotsylvania battlefields. Rusticated granite with finished and inscribed side face; 2.5’ tall, 1.5 feet square; positioned facing Orange Plank Road. Monument retained in development of park landscape, ca. 1931–35.Evaluation: The Lee-Jackson Bivouac monument is one of five Chancellorsville monuments that date to early commemorative efforts prior to establishment of the national military park in 1927. It remains unaltered; the setting reflects development of the bivouac site during the historic park period. 
319 

3. Analysis and Evaluation

TABLE 3.4. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: FURNACE LANDS (DRAWING 3.4)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

SSF-34. Matthew 

Fontaine Maury Birthplace Monument

CH0016

LCS:007909

NR 

Resource

23990 Contributing

Context: Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: The Maury family settled nearby in 1797; Matthew Fontaine Maury was born 

in a wood house 500’ north of Furnace Road, 1806; family moved to Tennessee, 1810. House replaced by brick house constructed by Pulliam family, 1821; acquired by 

Catharine Furnace Company, ca. 1837. Brick house taken down after the Civil War. Maury considered founder of Naval Observatory and US Hydrographic Office, and his research helped found the US Weather Bureau. Maury died in 1873. The Maury Birthplace Association placed natural boulder with a bronze plaque along north shoulder of Furnace Road in 1933 to the mark the Maury birthplace. Laurel shrubs were planted at rear of monument, ca. 1935.Evaluation: Although the story of Maury is unrelated to the Civil War history of the 

battlefield, the monument is part of the historic park landscape. 

Archeological Features (Plan key: AS)AS-14. Catharine 

Furnace Complex Ruins

CH0002a

LCS:007910

ASMIS: 

FRSP008.00

44SP0037

23820 Contributing

Context: Civil War

History: The Fredericksburg Iron and Steel Manufacturing Company, later known as the Catharine Furnace Company, acquired 4,648 acres south of Chancellorsville in

1836; furnace complex built on bluff along west side of Ni River (Lewis Run) south of Hazel Grove in 1837, and was closed in 1847. Returned to operation, 1862. 

Confederate forces took up positions extending west to near furnace, May 1, 1863; 

Jackson led nearly 30,000 soldiers past the furnace on the 12-mile march to the flank attack, May 2, 1863; minor action with Sickle’s US 3rd Corps damaged the furnace 

complex. Furnace was being repaired and prepared for new blast when US forces set 

up camp around it on May 6, 1864 during the Battle of the Wilderness; furnace set ablaze, destroying the complex but leaving the stone blast stack standing. Stack and archaeological remains subject of archaeological investigation, 1935, 2003; stack 

partially rebuilt and capped, ca. 1975.

Evaluation: The Catharine Furnace complex ruins are a remnant of the battlefield 

landscape. Although studied by NPS, the ruins were left largely unchanged during the historic park period. The furnace complex was standing at the time of the Battlefield 

Chancellorsville; the existing condition reflects later Civil War history during the 

Battle of the Wilderness. 

AS-15. Maury-Pulliam 

House Site 

CH0015a

ASMS:

FRSP020.00

44SP0063

NR 

Resource

Contributing

Context: Civil WarHistory: The Maury family erected a frame house in a clearing east of Ni River, 500’ 

north of current Furnace Road, ca. 1797; replaced by brick farmhouse by Pulliam 

family, 1821; property acquired by Catharine Furnace Company, ca. 1837. Civil Warera maps identified “Brick House” at the site; house taken down at undetermined date after the war. Site interpreted by NPS with site marker and interpretive wayside. 

Evaluation: The Pulliam house was a landmark on the Chancellorsville battlefield by 

which Confederate troops advanced on their march to the flank attack. The existing site is a minor depression concealed from Furnace Road by woods that reflect 

conditions during the early park period. 
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

320TABLE 

3.4. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: FURNACE LANDS (DRAWING 3.4)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

AS-16. Iron Mining 

Pits

CH002b–2h

ASMS:FRSP

00025–33

Contributing

Context: Civil WarHistory: The Fredericksburg Iron and Steel Manufacturing Company, later known as Catharine Furnace Company, acquired 4,648 acres south of Chancellorsville in 1836 

and was in operation from 1837–1847 and 1862–1864. Iron was mined mostly along 

sides of ravines and valleys where iron outcroppings known as gossans were exposed; mining created surface pits upwards of 20’ deep. Unknown number of mine pits created. 

Evaluation: The iron mine pits associated with the Catharine Furnace are part of the 

historic battlefield landscape, and may have been encountered by soldiers during the 

battles. Existing known pits are inconspicuous depressions within woods north of Furnace Road and west of the furnace ruins, numbered #6-12; another mine pit is on 

park property near Brock Road (see Table 3.5). The pits were inconspicuous, 

unmarked, and mostly off park property during the historic park period.
321 

3. Analysisand Evaluation

TABLE 3.5. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: JACKSON TRAIL (DRAWING 3.5)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

Natural Systems and Features (no associated features)NSF-1. Forest Contributing

See Table 3.0. Forest in 1863 extended along most of Jackson Trail, except at Furnace 

Hollow/Wellford Plantation, and Stephens and Trigg farms. During historic park period, there were several more farm clearings, but woods were maintained along perimeter of road; park/CCC reestablished wooded setting at west end of Jackson Trail East where it passed through a post-war farm clearing. 

Spatial Organization Features (Plan Key: SO)SO-18. Stephens and 

Trigg Farms Clearing Contributing

Context: Civil War

History: Farm clearing of approximately 250 acres contained two farmsteads on eve 

of Civil War belonging to Stephens and Trigg families; clearing crossed by bed of unfinished railroad. Upwards of 30,000 Confederate troops passed through clearing on march to flank attack, July 2, 1863. US trenches constructed within and north of clearing during Battle of the Wilderness, May 4-5, 1864. Farms remained during postwar period, but clearing changed in area; new Stephens farmstead, Rosemont 

(present Hilltop Farm) expanded clearing to south by ca. 1927. NPS acquired strip of land through clearing for Jackson Trail West, 1939. Northern half of clearing lost to woods and flooding of Brock Run that created Ashby’s Pond, ca.1960; Trigg Farm part of clearing redeveloped for Spring Creek subdivision, ca. 1990–2000.

Evaluation: The existing clearing of Hilltop Farm west of Jackson Trail West is in part a remnant of the battle-period clearing associated with the Stephens and Trigg farms

that existed in part during the historic park period. The historic clearing north of the railroad corridor has been lost to suburban development and old-field succession. Property associated with the clearing is privately owned except for shoulder of 

Jackson Trail West.

SO-19. Wellford 

Clearing Contributing

Context: Civil War

History: The Wellford clearing was probably established in the 18th century with 

construction of Hull mansion, which may have been the Brock plantation house, 

“Poplar Neck.” Extent of clearing around mansion not known. Property acquired by Catharine Furnace Company, 1836, and clearing of approximately 200 acres of agricultural land maintained in Furnace Hollow; Hull mansion demolished for new 

brick house built by Wellford family, 1838. Clearing around house south of railroad reduced in size during post-war period; orchard planted north of Wellford house, ca. 

1900. NPS acquired strip of property through clearing for Jackson Trail East, 1939. 

Wellford house demolished by private owner, 1970; clearing reduced to 3.5 acres along west side of Jackson Trail East post-1970.50 Clearing acquired by NPS, ca. 1975; 

maintained as meadow with a few trees and mown turf around interpretive waysides.

Evaluation: The Wellford clearing is a part of the historic battlefield landscape, and part of the historic park setting of Jackson Trail East. The clearing is only a small part 
Cultural

LandscapeReport for Chancellorsville Battlefield

322TABLE 3.5. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: JACKSON TRAIL (DRAWING 3.5)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

of the clearing that existed during the Civil War and historic park periods; most of the historic clearing is on private or county (parcel 03-250) property outside NPS 

authorized boundary. Loss of the Wellford house in 1970 further diminished the 

spatial character of the clearing. 

SO-20. RailroadSewer Line Corridor 

(Part)

Contributing

Context: Civil WarHistory: Corridor of undetermined width cleared through woods of Catharine Furnace property and through Furnace Hollow, 1853–57; railroad incomplete at time 

of Civil War. Railroad completed, 1872–76 and in operation through 1937. Woods 

grew on abandoned rail bed; south side of bed cleared and maintained as approximate 20’-wide corridor for underground sewer line, ca.1990. Bed of railroad along north side of corridor left wooded.

Evaluation: The corridor through the woods that crosses Jackson Trail East and West 

is part of the historic corridor of the unfinished railroad. The corridor was most likely 

historically wider and passed through open space within Furnace Hollow (Wellford 

Plantation); woods presently conceal the actual bed of the post-war railroad. Only a small part of the corridor is within the NPS authorized boundary; none is owned by 

NPS (see Land Use feature Parcel 03-191). 

Land Use Features LU-19. Easement 

Parcel 03-249, 

Jackson Trail East (Spotsylvania county)

Contributing 

(Setting)

Context: Civil War

History: Part of wooded 4,648-acre Catharine Furnace Company property, 1863.

18.32-acre tract along south side of Jackson Trail East acquired by Spotsylvania County at undetermined date; easement donated to NPS, ca.1995. Evaluation: Easement parcel 03-249 forms part of the historic wooded setting of the 

Jackson Trail. It remains wooded as it was during the historic period. Property is outside the NPS authorized boundary.

LU-20. Easement 

Parcel 03-250, 

Jackson Trail East(Spotsylvania County)

Contributing 

(Setting)

Context: Civil WarHistory: Part of 4,648-acre Catharine Furnace Company property south of railroad encompassing woods and small part of Furnace Hollow/Wellford Plantation clearing, 

1863. Clearing on tract became wooded, post-1970. 232.8-acre tract from railroad south acquired by Conservation Fund and conveyed to Spotsylvania County because 

outside of NPS authorized boundary, 1993; scenic easement prohibiting development

and allowing passive recreation donated to NPS; easement also allows for 

construction of small parking lot.51

Evaluation: Easement parcel 03-250 forms part of the wooded setting of the 

Wellford clearing and Jackson Trail East. Although it has lost the open field that existed in 1863, the property still contributes to the historic rural setting of the battlefield. It contains the abutments of a post-war stone railroad bridge over the Ni River, as well as a sewer lift station. It also has high natural resource values for its wetlands along the Ni River/Lewis Run. Property is outside the NPS authorized 

boundary.
323 

3. Analysis and Evaluation

TABLE 3.5. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: JACKSON TRAIL (DRAWING 3.5)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

LU-21. Easement 

Parcel 03-251, 

Jackson Trail East (Spotsylvania County)

Contributing 

(Setting)

Context: Civil War

History: Part of wooded 4,648-acre Catharine Furnace Company property at tributary of Cattail Branch of Ni River, 1863. Developed as farm post-war. Tract of 143.10 acres 

along south side of Jackson Trail East acquired by Conservation Fund and conveyed to Spotsylvania County, 1991; scenic easement prohibiting development donated to NPS.

52 Property became reforested in pine.

Evaluation: Easement parcel 03-249 forms part of the historic wooded setting of the 

Jackson Trail. Property is outside the NPS authorized boundary.

LU-22. Easement 

Parcel 03-0260, 

Jackson Trail East(Spotsylvania County)

Contributing 

(Setting)

Context: Civil WarHistory: Part of 4,648-acre Catharine Furnace Company property north of railroad to Furnace Road encompassing woods and large part of Furnace Hollow clearing, 1863. Property became wooded, post-battle. 167-acre tract owned by Deborah Gayle Garnett by late 20th century; scenic easement prohibiting development donated to 

NPS, ca.1990; property acquired by Spotsylvania County, ca. 2000.53

Evaluation: Easement parcel 03-260 forms part of the wooded setting adjacent to 

Furnace Road, Posey’s Line, and Jackson Trail East. Although it was mostly open field 

in 1863, the property still contributes to the historic rural setting of the battlefield. It also has high natural resource values for its wetlands along the Ni River/Lewis Run.

Property is outside the NPS authorized boundary.

LU-23. Easement 

Parcel 03-261, 

Jackson Trail West

Contributing 

(Setting)

Context: Civil WarHistory: Site of woods and south edge of Stephens and Trigg farm clearing, 1863. 

Parcel wooded at time of construction of Jackson Trail West, 1940-43. Tract of 303 

acres west of Jackson Trail West subdivided for Custers Trace residential development, 1998; 5.45-acre easement parcel bordering Jackson Trail West donated by Hollis D. 

Isham to NPS, ca. 1998.

Evaluation: Easement parcel 03-261 forms part of the historic wooded setting of 

Jackson Trail West. Although the north part of the parcel was field in 1863, the entire property still contributes to the historic rural setting of the battlefield. Jackson Trail West did not exist in this location at the time of the Civil War. Property is outside the 

NPS authorized boundary.

LU-24. Easement 

Parcel 03-262: Custers 

Trace Subdivision

Noncontributing

Context: Civil WarHistory: Site of woods to south of Stephens and Trigg clearing, 1863. Part of 

expanded post-war Stephens Farm clearing. Tract of 303 acres west of Jackson Trail 

West subdivided for Custers Trace residential development, 1998; easement of undetermined restrictions acquired by Civil War Trust (APCWS), ca. 1998. Tract subsequently developed with road and 15 residences on large lots.Evaluation: The existing suburban lots within parcel 03-262, which was wooded 

during the Civil War, has lost its historic battlefield character. The parcel is not 

contiguous with park property, but the development road, Custers Trace, only has 

access from Jackson Trail West. The easement held by the Civil War Trust restricts the amount of development on the parcel and thus the potential impact on the historic 

park road. Property is outside the NPS authorized boundary.
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

324TABLE 3.5. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: JACKSON TRAIL (DRAWING 3.5)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

LU-25. InholdingParcel 03-191, Railroad Crossing of Jackson Trail West(Delmarva Properties)

Contributing

Context: Civil War, Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Construction of Fredericksburg & Gordonsville Railroad begun 1853; bed graded but railroad left incomplete through Furnace Hollow/Wellford Plantation clearing,1857; bed crossed by road to Wellford house. Confederate forces passed unfinished railroad crossing on march to flank attack, May 2, 1863. Railroad completed 1872–76 and in operation through 1937. Railroad bed removed for improvement of antebellum road as Jackson Trail East, 1939, with understood rightof-way across private railroad property. Clearing along railroad became wooded, post-1966.54 Railroad corridor acquired by Delmarva Properties at undetermined date 

and used for county sewer line, ca. 1990; 0.22-acre parcel of railroad property at crossing of Jackson Trail East contained within NPS authorized boundary. 

Evaluation: Inholding parcel 03-191 contains part of historic Jackson Trail East and 

the flanking Civil War-era railroad corridor. The parcel was within open field during 

the Civil War. NPS presently has no easement or right-of-way, but does maintain the 

segment of Jackson Trail East on the property.55

LU-26. Inholding 

Parcels, Brock Road: 

03-175, 194, 205–206,

213–215

Contributing

(non-historic 

landscape)

Context: Civil WarHistory: 

Wooded section of Brock Road, 1863; east side probably part of 4,648-acre 

Catharine Furnace property. Confederate forces passed on march to flank attack, May 

2, 1863. Section of Brock Road used to connect Jackson Trail East and West, ca. 1939–40. From Jackson Trail East to the north cleared for farm, post-war; remainder stayed 

wooded through 1943; house built on west side of road and clearing made on east side by 1966; NPS boundary expansion included narrow strips along Brock Road, 1989; woods partially cleared and houses built along east side Brock Road post-1990.56

Evaluation: The inholding parcels along Brock Road are part of the historic wooded 

battlefield landscape; removal of woods and suburban development have altered the historic character of the landscape and the visual continuity between Jackson Trail East and West. NPS owns two parcels along this corridor: 03-182 and 03-203; others 

privately owned and part of larger properties. NPS interest in the west side of Brock 

Road is for scenic easements; on east side, fee ownership. 

LU-27. Inholding

Parcel 03-256 

Contributing 

(Setting)

Context: Civil WarHistory: Part 4,648-acre Catharine Furnace property within Furnace Hollow/Wellford 

Plantation clearing north of unfinished railroad along mouth of Brock Run, 1863. 

Became reforested, post-battle. Land to east acquired by War Department, ca. 1931. 4.77-acre parcel part of 1,482-acre Whitehall development property owned by Basheer & Edgemore of Gainesville, Virginia.

Evaluation: Inholding parcel 03-256 forms part of the wooded setting near Jackson 

Trail East. Although it was part of the Furnace Hollow/Wellford Plantation clearing in 1863, the property still contributes to the historic rural setting of the battlefield. It is 

part of the largest remaining contiguous parcel of undeveloped Catharine Furnace 

company property. 
325 

3. Analysisand Evaluation

TABLE 3.5. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: JACKSON TRAIL (DRAWING 3.5)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

LU-28. Granny Acres 

Parcel 03-268 (9939 

Brock Road)

Contributing

(non-historic 

landscape)

Context: Civil WarHistory: Parcel wooded and probably within 4,648-acre Catharine Furnace property, 

1863; adjoined section of Brock Road along which Confederate forces marched to flank attack, May 2, 1863. Property remained wooded along Brock Road; driveway 

built and rear of property cleared for house, after 1991.57 Property acquired by NPS 

ca. 2010, house removed.

Evaluation: The Granny Acres parcel is part of the historic wooded setting of the 

battlefield and route of Jackson’s flank march. The existing clearing and driveway (see Circulation) are not historic. Parcel is not contiguous with other NPS property; only road frontage is within NPS authorized boundary. 

Circulation Features (Plan Key: C) C-38. Driveway, 

11370 Jackson Trail East (Intersection)

Noncontributing

Context: Civil War, Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Part of wooded 4,648-acre Catharine Furnace property and mine road used 

by Jackson’s troops on march to flank attack, May 2, 1863. Farm developed north of mine road with access road off mine road, post-war. Access retained with 

reconstruction of mine road as Jackson Trail East, 1939.

Evaluation: The driveway at 11370 Jackson Trail existed during the historic park period, but is not significant in the context of the battlefield landscape or historic park landscape.

n/a

C-39. Driveway, 11401-11417 Jackson 

Trail East 

(Intersection)

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

Driveway across NPS property within historically wooded area to residences south of Jackson Trail East, built ca.1992.58 n/a

C-40. Driveway, 

11550 Jackson Trail East (Intersection)

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

Driveway across NPS property within historically wooded area to residence north of Jackson Trail East, built ca. 2005.59

C-41. Driveway, 11555 Jackson Trail East (Intersection)

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

Driveway across NPS property within historically wooded area to residence within clearing south of Jackson Trail East, built between 1973 and 1991.60 n/a
Cultural

LandscapeReport for Chancellorsville Battlefield

326TABLE 3.5. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: JACKSON TRAIL (DRAWING 3.5)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

C-42. Driveway, 

11609 Jackson Trail East (Intersection)

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

Driveway across NPS property within historically wooded area to residence south of Jackson Trail East, built between 1994 and 2003; clearing off NPS property greatly 

expanded 2005.61

C-43. Driveway, 

11630 Jackson Trail East (Intersection)

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

Driveway across NPS property within historically wooded area to residence north of Jackson Trail East, built ca. 2006.62

C-44. Driveway, 

11645 Jackson Trail East (Intersection)

Noncontributing

Context: Civil War, Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Part of wooded 4,648-acre Catharine Furnace property and mine road used 

by Jackson’s troops on march to flank attack, May 2, 1863. Haney Farm, “Spring Dell,” developed south of mine road with access road off mine road, post-war. Access 

retained with reconstruction of mine road as Jackson Trail East, 1939. Current twotrack road is probably the original entrance road.

Evaluation: The driveway at 11645 Jackson Trail East most likely existed during the historic park period, but is not significant in the context of the battlefield landscape 

or historic park landscape.

C-45. Driveway, 

11200 Jackson Trail West (Intersection)

Noncontributing

Context: Civil War, Historic Park Development

History: Part of Fitzhugh Farm, 1863 and farm road used by Jackson’s troops on 

march to flank attack, May 2, 1863. Driveway to Colonial Revival brick house built between 1943 and 1966, probably soon after completion of Jackson Trail West in 1943.63

Evaluation: The driveway at 11200 Jackson Trail West existed during the historic period, but is not significant in the context of the battlefield landscape or historic park landscape.

C-46. Driveways, 11332 Jackson Trail West (Intersection)

Contributing / 

Noncontributing

Context: Civil War, Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Road on Fitzhugh Farm used by Confederate troops on march to flank 

attack, May 2, 1863. NPS acquired property along part of farm road, 1939, and built new alignment to north for Jackson Trail West,1940-43.64 Bypassed segment 

abandoned; second battle-period farm road retained as driveway. House and second 

driveway built ca. 1995.65

Evaluation: The north leg of the driveways at 11332 Jackson Trail West is a battleperiod farm road; the south leg is a non-historic driveway built after the historic 

n/a
327 

3. Analysisand Evaluation

TABLE 3.5. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: JACKSON TRAIL (DRAWING 3.5)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

period. The intersection of these driveways with Jackson Trail West is the point where the original road used during the flank march diverted northwest from Jackson Trail West. Existence of a trace of this road was not determined for the CLR inventory.

C-47. Driveway, 

11615 Jackson Trail West (Intersection)

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

Driveway across NPS property near crossing of Jackson Trail West with railroad corridor, within historic Stephens and Trigg clearing, built ca. 1992.66

C-48. Driveway, 

11720 Jackson Trail West (Intersection)

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

Driveway across NPS property within historic Stephens Farm and north of railroad 

corridor (Hidden Lake Trail), built ca.1992.67

C-49. Driveway, 

11721 Jackson Trail West (Intersection)

Noncontributing

Context: Civil War, Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: House and driveway in former Stephens Farm clearing built 1932 prior to construction of Jackson Trail West.68 Present site of Wiltshire & Sons construction. 

Battle-period Stephens farmstead site just to west of driveway. 

Evaluation: The driveway at 11721 Jackson Trail West existed during the historic 

period, but is not significant in the context of the battlefield landscape or historic park landscape. House separated from Jackson Trail West by thin margin of woods.

C-50. Driveway, 11735 Jackson Trail West (Intersection)

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

Driveway across NPS property within historic Stephens clearing, built 2008.69 House 

set back from Jackson Trail West by wide margin of woods.
Cultural

LandscapeReport for Chancellorsville Battlefield

328TABLE 3.5. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: JACKSON TRAIL (DRAWING 3.5)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

C-51. Custer’s Trace

(Intersection)

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

Site of woods between Stephens-Trigg Farm and Fitzhugh Farm, 1863. Subdivision 

road across NPS property to Jackson Trail West built along earlier post-war farm road, ca. 1998. Road passes through parcel 03-261 with NPS scenic easement; remainder of road subject to easement held by Civil War Trust. Wood subdivision sign near 

intersection with Jackson Trail West. 

C-52. Granny Acres 

Lane (9939 Brock Road driveway)

Noncontributing

(post-historic)

Site wooded, 1863 (see LU-28). Asphalt driveway off Brock Road to house built ca. 

1991. 70 Property acquired by NPS, ca. 2010 and house demolished. 

C-53. Railroad–

Hidden Lake TrailIntersection

Contributing

Context: Civil War, Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Construction of Fredericksburg & Gordonsville Railroad begun in 1853; bed 

graded but railroad left incomplete through Stephens and Trigg farms, 1857. Railroad 

completed 1872–76 and in operation through 1937. NPS acquired short segment of 

rail bed for crossing of Jackson Trail West, 1939; road built between 1940 and 1943.

Rail bed to east maintained as open corridor; rail bed to west rebuilt as private road

named Hidden Lake Trail, ca.1960. 

Evaluation: The intersection of Jackson Trail West and the battle-period unfinished 

railroad bed existed during the historic park period. The crossing has lost historic 

character with conversion of the rail bed to the west as Hidden Lake Trail. 

C-54. Jackson Trail

East

CH0092

LCS:007897

NR 

Resource

FHWA 

Route 0016

23978 Contributing

Context: Civil War, Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Eastern part of road built prior to 1837, possibly as access to 18th-century 

Hull Mansion replaced by Wellford house, 1838. Road extended west to new mines 

near Brock Road, ca. 1862. Route of Jackson’s flank march, May 2, 1863. Road north 

of railroad acquired by War Department, ca. 1931; road south of railroad to Brock 

Road acquired by NPS through donation, 1939. Road rebuilt by NPS to convey the 

character as Jackson found it in 1863, with straightened alignment; featured narrow 

gravel surface 2.86 miles long and approximately 12’ wide, inconspicuous corrugated pipe culverts, and earth causeways with concrete box culverts north of railroad. 

Roadside through post-war field near Brock Road planted to reestablish wooded 

setting, ca. 1939. Scattered residential development and driveways built off road post-1963. 

Evaluation: Jackson Trail East is part of the park’s historic circulation system, and 

relates to battle-period circulation. The distinctive design of the road reflects NPS

interpretation of Jackson’s flank march. The road retains its historic wooded setting in 

large part, but has lost some of its open space-setting around the battle-period 
329 

3. Analysis and Evaluation

TABLE 

3.5. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: JACKSON TRAIL (DRAWING 3.5)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

Wellford house. Scattered suburban residential development detracts from the road’s historic wooded setting. 

C-55. Jackson Trail 

West

WI002a

LCS:007897

NR 

Resource

FHWA 

Route 0017

46311 Contributing

Context: Civil War, Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Series of farm roads west of and parallel to Brock Road used by Jackson’s flank 

march, May 2, 1863. Property for park road acquired by NPS through donation, 

1939; Rustic road, designed by NPS to convey the character as Jackson found it in 

1863, laid out along pre-existing farm roads and new alignment through Stephens 

and Trigg farms; Trigg Farm buildings removed for new alignment. Construction begun by CCC, 1940; road completed by Army troops, 1943. Road featured narrow gravel surface 2.34 miles long and approximately 12’ wide with inconspicuous corrugated pipe culverts and rustic stone ford across Brock Run. Spring Creek 

subdivision developed in Trigg Farm clearing and other houses built off road after 1990. 

Evaluation: Jackson Trail West is part of the park’s historic circulation system, and 

relates to battle-period circulation. The distinctive design of the road reflects NPSinterpretation of Jackson’s flank march. The road retains its historic wooded setting in 

large part, but has lost its open space setting to suburban development and growth 

of woods in the former clearing of the Stephens and Trigg farms. 

C-56. Old Carter 

Road (Part) Contributing

Context: Civil War, Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Probably a battle-period woods road leading south to R. Lewis and Widow 

Lewis places off Catharpin Road. Access maintained in reconstruction of old mine road as Jackson Trail East, 1939. Section of road to south on property acquired 1993 by Spotsylvania County with scenic easement held by NPS (parcel 03-25). Right-of-way 

along road donated by county to NPS (NPS parcel 03-166). Vehicular access to road presently blocked by timbers. 

Evaluation: Old Carter Road is most likely a battle-period circulation feature that 

was maintained during the historic park period. It retains its historic wooded setting, 

but the bed of the road is disappearing due to loss of use/maintenance. Only a short segment is on NPS property; additional research would be necessary to evaluate the 

entire road.

C-57. Terembes Lane

(Intersection)

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

Road through NPS property on south side of Jackson Trail West within battle-period 

Catharine Furnace property, built ca. 1970.71 Houses off road visible from Jackson Trail 

East through thin margin of trees. Unidentified Civil War earthwork off southern end of road, on private property. 
Cultural

LandscapeReport for Chancellorsville Battlefield

330TABLE 3.5. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: JACKSON TRAIL (DRAWING 3.5)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

C-58. Wellford House 

Site Path

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

Path from Jackson Trail East to interpretive wayside for Wellford house, built ca. 

2005.72 Features 30’-long straight section with three stone steps at edge of road/pulloff parking, and 75’-long ramped section. 

C-59. Woods Road #1 Unevaluated

Context: Civil War, Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Unidentified minor woods road extending south from Wellford clearing to 

undetermined point; extends through cut and berm along Jackson Trail East, and has timber gate at entrance. Road not shown on 1867 Michler maps. County right-of-way 

along road (NPS parcel 03-180) donated to NPS, c. 1990.73

Evaluation: Insufficient documentation has been found to evaluate woods road #1 

(designation for CLR). Road appears old and may date to historic park period. It is 

presently abandoned and the bed is disappearing due to loss of use/maintenance. 

C-60. Woods Road 

#2, 11644-11668 

Jackson Trail East (Intersection)

Unevaluated

Context: Civil War, Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Road through 4,642-acre Catharine Furnace property extended north from 

mine road (Jackson Trail East), 1863. The existing road may be this same road, which extends north into 1,492-acre Whitehall development property.

Evaluation: Insufficient documentation has been found to evaluate woods road #2 (designation for CLR). It may be a Civil War-era mine road. 

n/a

C-61. Woods Road 

#3, 11512 Jackson Trail East (Intersection)

Contributing

Context: Civil War, Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Road through 4,642-acre Catharine Furnace property extended southeast 

from mine road (Jackson Trail East) toward Lewis Mill and Catharpin Road, 1863. Existing gravel road appears to align with location of this Civil War-era road; intersection was retained in reconstruction of Jackson Trail East, 1939. Presently used for access to tract with pine timber stands. Dead-ends on tract and does not extend to Catharpin Road.

Evaluation: The intersection of woods road #3 (designation for CLR) with Jackson 

Trail East appears to be part of a Civil War-era woods or mine road. The extent and 

condition of the road off NPS property was not determined for the CLR inventory.

C-62. Woods Road #4, 11512 Jackson Trail East (Intersection)

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

Intersection of minor forked dirt road that does not appear on historic maps. Provides access to timber stands on private property n/a

Topography (Plan Key: T)
331 

3. Analysis and Evaluation

TABLE 3.5. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: JACKSON TRAIL (DRAWING 3.5)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

T-15. Jackson Trail 

East Causeways Contributing

Context: Historic Park Development

History: Antebellum road between Catharine Furnace and Wellford house followed curving alignment following natural landforms west of the Ni River. Road 

reconstructed as Jackson Trail East along straight alignment, 1939; included cuts through rises and construction of two sections of earth causeways through lowlands at crossing of Ore Run and Brock Run. Causeways approximately 5’ to 15’ high, and 400’ to 750’ long, with concrete culverts. Evaluation: The causeways are part of the historic construction of Jackson Trail East designed for improved automobile use. There have been no substantial changes to the causeways since their construction. 

T-16. Railroad Bed

(Wartime Unfinished Railway, Part)

CH0097 Contributing

Context: Civil War History: Fredericksburg & Gordonsville Railroad partially constructed through woods and clearings south of Chancellorsville, 1853–57; railroad incomplete during Civil War and unknown if completed work included a graded rail bed. Railroad completed, 1872–76; included causeway (raised bed) up to 5’ to 10’ in height through Ni River 

valley, including crossing of road between Catharine Furnace and Wellford house. 

Railroad in operation through 1937, last as Virginia Central Railway. Bed partially removed for reconstruction of road as Jackson Trail East, 1939, and Jackson Trail West, 1940–43. 

Evaluation: While it is not known if the graded railroad bed existed in 1863 or dates to the completion of the railroad in 1872–76, it is the only extant built feature associated with the Civil War-era unfinished railroad and conveys the linear character 

of the historic corridor. The extant railway bed (causeway) to either side of Jackson Trail West was part of the historic park landscape, and is interpreted by a metal 

narrative sign; the causeway, located on the north side of the cleared sewer-line 

corridor, is obscured by trees and scrub that grew up at an undetermined point after ca. 1940. The graded bed also exists to either side of Jackson Trail West, but is less apparent; the rail bed to the west is presently a private road, Hidden Lake Trail.

T-17. Jackson Trail 

East Embankments Contributing

Context: Civil War, Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Road from Catharine Furnace, possibly dating to 18th century as access to 

Hull mansion (replaced by Wellford house, 1838), built through cut in rise of Wellford clearing. Reconstruction of road as Jackson Trail East, 1939, widened and straightened road, but retained embankment (cut) and incorporated drainage ditches along sides of road. Embankment of approximately 3’-5’ along north side of road along north 

end of clearing; second embankment along south side of road at west end of clearing to either side of woods road #1. Part of the embankment modified for construction of 

Wellford interpretive wayside pull-off and path, ca. 2005.Evaluation: The embankments along Jackson Trail East through the Wellford clearing are part of the historic construction of Jackson Trail East, and are a remnant of the Civil War-era road that predated it. There have been no known substantial changes since the historic period. 
Cultural

LandscapeReport for Chancellorsville Battlefield

332TABLE 3.5. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: JACKSON TRAIL (DRAWING 3.5)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

Vegetation (Plan Key: V)V-2. Chancellorsville Field Crops and Meadow Grasses

Contributing See Table 3.0 (Wellford clearing meadow) 

Buildings and Structures (Plan Key: BS)BS-35. Brock Run 

Ford

WI0220b

LCS:082105 Contributing

Context: Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Construction of Jackson Trail West begun by CCC in 1940; road followed new 

alignment through Stephens and Trigg farms. New alignment crossed Brock Run (Poplar Run) over a cobblestone ford built by CCC enrollees, 1940. Ford featured cobblestone curbs that created slight waterfalls. Construction included four 30’-long 

stone-lined ditches on the approaches to the ford.74

Evaluation: The Brock Run ford is a distinctive built feature associated with the rustic design of Jackson Trail West, reflecting NPS interpretation of Jackson’s flank march 

during the early park period. The ford remains unaltered, but mortar joints are eroded, and parts are covered by gravel washed off the roadbed. The approach ditches are filled with sediment and are largely invisible. A 5’-tall white plastic flood gauge pole is on the downstream side. Brock Run flows through private property to 

either side of ford.

BS-36. Jackson Trail 

East Ore Run Culvert Contributing

Context: Historic Park Development

History: Square cast concrete culvert with wingwalls built by CCC enrollees as part of

an earthen causeway across Ore Run on Jackson Trail East, 1939. Evaluation: The Ore Run culvert is part of the historic rustic design of Jackson Trail East. It was intended to be inconspicuous and is not visible from the road. Weathering 

and staining of the concrete has allowed it to visually blend in with the natural surroundings. The culvert has undergone no substantial changes since the historic period.

BS-37: Jackson Trail 

East Brock Run Bridge

Contributing

Context: Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Square cast concrete bridge (large culvert) with wingwalls and parapet built by CCC enrollees as part of an earthen causeway across Brock Run on Jackson Trail East, 1939.Evaluation: The Brock Run bridge is part of the historic rustic design of Jackson Trail East. It was intended to be inconspicuous and only its low parapet walls are visible from the road. Weathering and staining of the concrete has allowed it to visually blend in with the natural surroundings. The culvert has undergone no substantial changes since the historic period.

BS-38. Wellford 

House Site Well CH004b Unevaluated 

Context: Civil WarHistory: Well built near 1838 Wellford house at undetermined date. Well retained and capped with wood platform after demolition of Wellford house (early 1970s). Evaluation: Insufficient documentation was found to evaluate the well at the Wellford house site. It is an inconspicuous feature in the landscape. 

n/a
333 

3. Analysisand Evaluation

TABLE 3.5. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: JACKSON TRAIL (DRAWING 3.5)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

Views and Vistas Features (no associated features)Small-Scale Features (Plan Key: SSF)SSF-1. Cast Metal 

Narrative Signs

(Happel Signs)

Contributing

See Table 3.0. Located at railroad crossing of Jackson Trail East and at Brock Road; on Jackson Trail West at Brock Road south of Custers Trace subdivision and Brock Run; 

two along site of US trenches west of Stephens Farm; pair at the terminus on Brock 

Road. 

SSF-35. Hilltop Farm 

Fence

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

Privately-owned metal stake and barbed-wire pasture fence of recent origin, on or 

along NPS property boundary, west side of Jackson Trail West. Encloses field within 

Hilltop Farm. No documentation of fence during historic period. Road not on existing 

alignment in 1863. 

Archeological Sites (Plan key: AS)AS-17. Wellford 

House Complex Site

FRSP0009

CH0040a

ASMS:

FRSP009.00

44SP0415

23821 Contributing

Context: Civil WarHistory: Site of 18th-century Hull mansion, which may have been the Brock plantation 

house, “Poplar Neck” (nearby Brock Run earlier known as Poplar Run, neck may refer to confluence with Ni River). Property acquired by Catharine Furnace Company, founded by John Spotswood Wellford, 1836. Wellford built a new two-story brick

house on or near site of Hull mansion, 1838. Included approximately eight outbuildings: two near house, four across the road. House used as headquarters by J. E. B. Stuart during Battle of Chancellorsville. Wellford house demolished by private owner by the early 1970s, along with remaining outbuildings. House site acquired by NPS, ca. 1975; interpretive wayside added along Jackson Trail East, ca. 2005; site of 

house and outbuildings not marked. 

Evaluation: The Wellford house was a significant landmark on the battlefield and part of one of its most significant antebellum properties. The house stood throughout 

the historic park period, and was the last standing antebellum building on the battlefield. Loss of the house detracts from the historic character of the battlefield, but significant archaeological remains may exist; no archaeological investigation has been undertaken on the site. Only a distant ca. 1935 photograph of the Wellford house has been documented. 
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

334TABLE 3.5. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: JACKSON TRAIL (DRAWING 3.5)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

AS-18. Old Furnace 

Road Trace

CH0084c

LCS:082091

22889/13275

14 Contributing

Context: Civil WarHistory: Road from Orange Plank Road to Catharine Furnace and Wellford house possibly built in 18th century for access to Hull mansion (site of Wellford house). Road 

existed by 1838 with development of Catharine Furnace and Wellford Plantation; 

road used by Confederate troops on march to flank attack, May 2, 1863. Road reconstructed along straightened alignment as Jackson Trail East, 1939. Abandoned roadbed remains in vicinity of Ore Run crossing east and west of Jackson Trail East; additional traces may exist east of Catharine Furnace (along Furnace Road). 

Evaluation: The trace of Old Furnace Road near Ore Run is a significant remnant of 

the battlefield landscape. The remains of the road are documented in Geier and Sandcomb, “An Archaeological Survey of Selected Sections and Sites on the Chancellorsville Battlefield, Part II” (January 2003). The road trace is not marked, and is concealed in part by vegetation. 

AS-19. Surface Mine, 

Brock Road Contributing

Context: Civil WarHistory: The Catharine Furnace Company acquired 4,648 acres south of Chancellorsville in 1836, and operated from 1837–1847 and 1862–1864. Iron was 

mined throughout the property where iron outcroppings known as gossans were exposed; mined through surface pits upwards of 20’ deep. Mine pit on NSP parcel 03-

200 was leaching arsenic, and was sealed ca. 2005. Another mine exists on adjoining private property (parcel 03-263).

Evaluation: The iron mine pits associated with the Catharine Furnace are part of the historic battlefield landscape. Existing park-owned pit near Brock Road is an 

inconspicuous and inaccessible site. Not inspected for CLR inventory. (See also Table 

3.4 for mines near Catharine Furnace)

n/a

AS-20. Stephens 

Farmstead Site Unevaluated

Context: Civil WarHistory: Cluster of farm buildings on Stephens Farm established at undetermined date during antebellum period. Confederate troops passed farmstead on march to flank attack, May 2, 1863. Farmstead between US and Confederate lines during Battle of the Wilderness, May 1864. New farmstead built on hill to south after the war, when farm became known as Rosemont. The old Stephens farmstead may have been removed around the same time. House built to east of farmstead site, 1932 (11721 Jackson Trail West). Construction of Jackson Trail West in 1940–43 may have obliterated part of Stephens farmstead site. Evaluation: The Stephens farmstead was part of the battlefield landscape along the Jackson flank march and between lines during the Battle of the Wilderness. Site

presently wooded and unmarked, and extends onto adjoining private property. 

Integrity of site undetermined; no archaeological investigation has been undertaken. 
335 

3. Analysisand Evaluation

TABLE 3.5. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: JACKSON TRAIL (DRAWING 3.5)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

AS-21. Trigg 

Farmstead Site Unevaluated

Context: Civil WarHistory: Cluster of farm buildings on Trigg Farm established at undetermined date 

during antebellum period. Confederate troops passed farmstead on march to flank attack, May 2, 1863. Farmstead between US and Confederate lines during Battle of 

the Wilderness, May 1864. Buildings remained standing until 1940/43, when they were most likely removed for construction of Jackson Trail West. Site further 

compromised with development of Spring Creek subdivision, 1995–2000.

Evaluation: The Trigg farmstead was part of the battlefield landscape along the 

Jackson flank march and between lines during the Battle of the Wilderness. Site is 

presently partly wooded and unmarked, and extends onto adjoining back/side yards 

of houses along Chancellorsville Drive. Integrity of site undetermined; no 

archaeological investigation has been undertaken.
Cultural

LandscapeReport for Chancellorsville Battlefield

336TABLE 3.6. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: FLANK ATTACK BATTLEFIELD (DRAWING 3.6)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

Natural Systems and Features (no associated features)NSF-1. Forest Contributing

See Table 3.0. Historic areas of forest on NPS property within the Flank Attack 

battlefield consist mostly of margins around farm clearings, plus larger area north of the Wagner Farm. Non-historic woods are on the Talley Farm clearing and north of Hawkins Farm clearing (not owned by NPS), and north of Wilderness Church.

Spatial Organization Features (Plan Key: SO)SO-21. Hawkins Farm 

Clearing 75 Contributing

Context: Civil War

History: Hawkins Farm established prior to 1830. In ca. 1860, farm contained 594 

acres, with farm fields of approximately 220 acres; part of larger 600-acre clearing 

that included Locust Grove (Dowdall’s Tavern), Wilderness Church, and Talley Farm. Hawkins clearing contained three fenced fields, farmstead in center, and grove of 

trees along turnpike at forked entrance road. Site of Jackson’s flank attack, May 2, 

1863. Limits of fields reduced or subdivided to adjoining Talley Farm, post-war, including addition of farmstead (later Ashton Farm); westernmost part of field 

subdivided as Brygider Farm, ca. 1950. Northwest corner of clearing developed for 

Winfield Oaks subdivision after 1994. NPS acquired west part of clearing, 1998, and removed Ashton and Brygider farmsteads. Clearing presently about 140 acres. 

Evaluation: The Hawkins Farm clearing is a central part of the Flank Attack 

battlefield landscape. Although the limits of the clearing have been reduced due to growth of woods along the north and east sides, changes in fence lines, and suburban 

development at the northwest corner, overall the clearing retains its historic Civil 

War-era spatial character. Clearing of approximately 70 acres at present on property privately owned by the Hawkins family within the park authorized boundary. Clearing on NPS property to the west, currently farmed by Hawkins family under an 

agricultural lease, contains another 70 acres. (See also Land-Use features)

S0-22. Locust Grove (Wagner Farm) Clearing

Contributing

Context: Civil WarHistory: Locust Grove probably established in 18th century by Gatewood family. Farm 

(plantation) acquired by P. Bower Dowdall, 1849; acquired by Melzi Chancellor, 1859 

and renamed Locust Grove. In ca. 1860, the plantation contained 315 acres and clearing of approximately 150 acres that straddled both sides of turnpike; part of larger 600-acre clearing that included Hawkins Farm, Wilderness Church, and Talley 

Farm. Locust Grove clearing contained two large fenced fields and fenced farmstead 

(tavern) at center of clearing, on south side of turnpike. Site US 11th corps positions 

including General Howard’s headquarters, and Jackson’s flank attack, May 2, 1863; 

clearing north of turnpike contained site of 11th Corps’ Bushbeck Line. Portion of field 
337 

3. Analysis and Evaluation

TABLE 3.6. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: FLANK ATTACK BATTLEFIELD (DRAWING 3.6)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

north of Wilderness Church became post-war home of Melzi Chancellor (later Verna Farm). Chewning (later Wagner) farmstead built in middle of field north of turnpike, ca.1895. Clearing reduced and reconfigured after 1945 to approximately 60 acres on both sides of Route 3. Dowdall’s Tavern removed with widening of Route 3, ca. 1972.

Southern edge of clearing lost to Hazel Grove Lake, created ca. 1974. 85-acre Wagner

Farm acquired by Civil War Trust, 2009, and transferred to NPS ownership, 2014. 

Evaluation: The Locust Grove clearing forms the eastern part of the Flank 

Attack 

battlefield landscape. It has lost a substantial area of approximately 90 acres, primarily south of Route 3, and no longer reads as a single clearing due to growth of trees along the south side of Route 3. NPS owns 45 acres of the clearing north of Route 3 (Wagner Farm); clearing south of Route 3 privately owned and outside NPS authorized boundary. 

Land Use Features (Plan Key: LU)LU-29. Burton Farm 

(Parcel 03-102) Contributing

Context: Civil WarHistory: Burton Farm established prior to 1860; consisted of clearing of 

approximately 10 acres with a house and outbuilding on a hill along the north side of 

Orange Plank Road and south of Talley Farm. Burton Farm visited by Stonewall 

Jackson or his aides on May 1, 1863 to scout position of US troops along turnpike to the north at Dowdall’s Tavern, Hawkins Farm, and Talley Farm, which led Jackson to 

reroute his flank march west to Brock Road. Burton Farm probably saw no direct action during the battle, but the house was destroyed prior to 1867 and not rebuilt. 

Clearing remained by 1926, but became reforested by 1945. War Department and NPS plans did not call for acquisition of site. A 14.19-acre parcel of the farm was donated 

to NPS by Continental Can Company, 1960. Park maintained pull-off at site until 

construction of ditch along road, ca. 2000. Strategic view north toward turnpike lost 

due to growth of woods post-1945. Six Lakes West subdivision built adjacent to west side of Burton Farm beginning ca. 1990. 

Evaluation: The Burton Farm is related to Jackson’s flank march and flank attack, 

and was part of the park landscape during the late historic period, although there 

were minimal improvements. Loss of the historic clearing and views north detracts 

from the historic character of the landscape. There is presently no public access or 

interpretation at the site, which is adjacent to the Talley Farm parcels owned by the 

Central Virginia Battlefields Trust. (See also AS-22).

LU-30. Conserved 

Battlefield Land: Talley Farm Parcels76

(5)

Contributing

(Setting)

Context: Civil WarHistory: Talley Farm established by early 19th century; contained 126 acres and 

clearing of approximately 80 acres south of turnpike with farmstead along south side of road, ca. 1860; part of larger 600-acre clearing that included Hawkins Farm, Wilderness Church, and Locust Grove. Site of US positions including US General 

Charles Denver’s headquarters, and Jackson’s flank attack, May 2, 1863. War Department proposed acquisition of strip of land along Route 3 at Talley Farm, 1931, but not implemented. Clearing limits with farmstead remain little changed through 

1963. Farmstead removed for widening of Route 3, ca. 1972, and farm subdivided; 

clearing subsequently lost to woods and new construction. Five parcels covering most 
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

338TABLE 3.6. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: FLANK ATTACK BATTLEFIELD (DRAWING 3.6)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

of Talley Farm except for west end acquired by Central Virginia Battlefields Trust and Civil War Trust between 1999 and 2013. Buildings removed, except on Kronenwetter and Rodes-Doles properties. 77

Evaluation: The Talley Farm was an important part of the Flank 

Attack battlefield 

but has lost its historic open space and its farmstead due to highway widening, 

growth of woods, and development. Recent acquisition by land trusts has removed some of the development, but the clearing has not been reestablished. The five 

conserved parcels remain privately owned and outside the NPS authorized boundary. 

LU-31. Continental 

Can Parcel, Route 3 

(Parcel 03-165)

NR 

Resource 

(Site)

Contributing

Context: Civil WarHistory: Parcel part of woods along south side of turnpike between Talley Farm and Luckett Farm in area of Jackson’s flank attack, May 2, 1863. 1.4-acre wooded parcel 

just west of Stop 8 donated by Continental Can Company, Inc., to NPS along with 

Burton Hill tract, ca. 1960. Woods to east cleared for suburban development, post1950. Route 3 widened to north of parcel, ca. 1972. No known park improvementsmade to parcel. 78

Evaluation: The Continental Can Company parcel is part of the historic wooded setting of the Flank 

Attack battlefield. The landscape has lost its historic setting in 

part due to road widening and suburban development. It is not contiguous with other NPS park land, but is adjacent to a 355-acre wooded parcel acquired by the Civil 

War Trust in 2016.79

LU-32. Inholding 

Parcel 03-222: 

Wilderness Baptist Church and Cemetery 

CH

Contributing

(non-historic 

buildings, cemetery, 

parking lot)

Context: Civil WarHistory: Simpson’s Meeting House was built prior to 1778, 500’ north of Germanna Road (Route 3); building and surrounding one acre sold by John Simpson to a newly formed congregation, who renamed the building Wilderness Baptist Church, using the name for the region prior to the arrival of the Chancellor family. Church building

replaced during ministry of Melzi Chancellor, ca.1853. Building surrounded by grove of white pine trees within clearing of Hawkins Farm and Locust Grove/Dowdall’s Tavern; spring at rear of lot. At center of Jackson’s flank attack, May 2, 1863, but survived the battle. A new church building was constructed in 1899; one-acre tract 

expanded to east for cemetery, 1915. White pine grove replaced by deciduous trees by 1930s; multiple wings added to building and access road paved and expanded for parking, post-1945.

Evaluation: Wilderness Baptist Church was a landmark on the Flank 

Attack 

battlefield. Although the battle-period building has been replaced and the white pine 

grove has been lost, the existing building is in the same location and the original section has a similar massing. The existing 3.5-acre church property was included in 

the 1989 park boundary expansion but remains privately owned.
339 

3. Analysis and Evaluation

TABLE 3.6. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: FLANK ATTACK BATTLEFIELD (DRAWING 3.6)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

LU-33. Inholding 

Parcel 03-223: 

Hawkins Residence, Route 3

Contributing

(non-historic 

landscape) 

Context: Civil War

History: Parcel part of fields on Hawkins Farm during Civil War; contained part of farm entrance road. Hawkins family subdivided 2.23-acre tract and built ranch-style 

house with new driveway, ca.1990; pole barn added to north, 2008.Evaluation: Parcel 03-223 is part of the historic Flank 

Attack battlefield. The existing 

buildings, trees, and east driveway are not historic. The west driveway or main drive to the Hawkins Farm is a battle-period farm road. Property included in 1989 park boundary expansion, but remains privately owned.

LU-34. Inholding 

Parcels 03-224/226: 

Hawkins Farm

CH0073 Contributing

Context: Civil WarHistory: Hawkins Farm established prior to 1830. Farm contained 594 acres with 

farmstead in center of clearing 1,500 feet north of turnpike (Route 3), 1860; used for 

pasture and growing corn, oats, potatoes; farm contained forked entrance road with slave cabin near the turnpike. Farmstead contained fenced area with outbuildings, trees, and family cemetery. Farm within battlefield of Jackson’s flank attack, May 2, 

1863; farmhouse served as 11th Corps General Carl Schurz’s headquarters. Post-battle 

changes include replacement of antebellum farmhouse, ca. 1920, reconfiguration of fences and field patterns, loss of northern part of clearing to woods, and subdivision of farm property to approximately 140 acres (Ashton and Brygider farms in western part of clearing may have been part of Hawkins Farm); 2.23-acre parcel at southeast 

corner subdivided ca.1990 (see LU-33). Current Hawkins Farm property contains 

120.43 acres with park boundary, and 17.44 acres outside park boundary.

Evaluation: The Hawkins Farm is a central part of the Flank 

Attack battlefield. 

Although the antebellum farmhouse does not exist, acreage has been subdivided, and the clearing is smaller than it was in 1863, overall the landscape retains its historic battle-period rural character. The Hawkins Farm is the only property within the park boundary that remains in the same ownership and use as it was at the time of the Battle of Chancellorsville. 

LU-35. Jackson’s 

Take-Off (Parcels 04-

101, 102, 103)

NR 

Resource 

(Site)

 Contributing

Context: Civil War, Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Confederate troops under General Stonewall Jackson marched north on Brock Road and turned east on the turnpike (Route 3), stopping east of the Luckett 

Farm clearing to form for the attack on the US right flank, May 2, 1863. Narrow strips of land, approximately 200-300’ wide north of the turnpike along antebellum-period Black Meadow Road and south of the turnpike acquired by War Department, ca. 1931 to interpret the place where Jackson launched the flank attack; included three parcels totaling approximately 25 acres. Park installed narrative signs along turnpike, ca. 

1937, and forest may have been managed, but no other known improvements were 

undertaken. Antebellum woods road through northern parcel improved as state Route 640 (Black Meadow Road) between 1943 and 1966. 80 Approximately 75’ of 

northern parcel removed for widening of Route 3, ca. 1972; narrative signs probably removed at that time. 

Evaluation: The Jackson’s Take-Off parcels are part of the historic park landscape and reflect the original Antietam plan for Chancellorsville. The parcels have lost 

historic character through highway widening and suburban development in the surrounding area Jackson’s Take-Off is not contiguous with other park property and is 
Cultural

LandscapeReport for Chancellorsville Battlefield

340TABLE 3.6. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: FLANK ATTACK BATTLEFIELD (DRAWING 3.6)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

not part of current park interpretation. There are no signs indicating the identity or historic significance of the parcels. The southeast corner of the south parcel is contiguous with a 355-acre wooded tract acquired by the Civil War Trust in 2016. 

LU-36. Old Stop 8 

Median Parcel (Parcel 

03-101)

NR 

Resource 

(Site)

Noncontributing

Context: Civil War, Historic Park DevelopmentHistory: Parcel part of woods along turnpike at west end of Hawkins Farm clearing in 1863, near where Jackson’s flank attack began on May 2, 1863. NPS acquired 1.31-acre tract in ca. 1935 as place to interpret the flank attack. Parcel used as Stop 8 in 

auto tour route established ca. 1955. Northern part of tract acquired for widening of Route 3, ca. 1972, leaving park land in the highway median. Stop 8 maintained in median until new stop 8 established at Brygider Farm site, ca.1998. 

Evaluation: The old Stop 8 median parcel is part of the historic battlefield and historic park landscape. Although it is wooded as it was in 1863, the parcel has lost 

substantial historic character due to widening of Route 3. It is inaccessible to the public. The battle-era turnpike was along the eastbound lanes on the south side of 

the parcel. 

Circulation Features (Plan Key: C)C-1. Orange Turnpike(Route 3)

Noncontributing See Table 3.0. Battle-period alignment is westbound lanes to Hawkins Farm; eastbound lanes to the west past Stop 8 and Jackson’s Take-Off parcels. 

C-63. Ashton Farm 

Entrance Road 

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

Farmstead built on knoll in field on battle-era Hawkins or Talley farms, north of the turnpike across from the battle-era Talley farmstead at an undetermined date after the Civil War. Farmstead reached by 1,300’-long looped road off turnpike. NPS 

acquired property from JoAnn Ashton, 1998, and demolished the farmstead, but left 

the unpaved farm road. 

C-64. Black Meadow 

Road (Route 640)

Noncontributing

Context: Civil War. History: Minor road extended from Brock Road northeast through Luckett Farm clearing to woods across turnpike. Intersection on turnpike on or near site where 

Stonewall Jackson launched flank attack, May 2, 1863. Intersection along Route 3 

acquired by War Department to interpret beginning of the flank attack, ca. 1931. Portion of road south of turnpike abandoned post-1863. Northern part improved as

state Route 640, Black Meadow Road, between 1943 and 1966. Large subdivisions 

developed off road north of Jackson Take-off parcel, post-1990.81

Evaluation: Black Meadow Road has its origins as an antebellum woods road that was passed by Jackson’s flank attack, but due to substantial changes, does not 

contribute to the historic character of the battlefield or historic park landscape, but it does pass through the contributing Jackson Take-off parcel (see LU-35).
341 

3. Analysisand Evaluation

TABLE 3.6. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: FLANK ATTACK BATTLEFIELD (DRAWING 3.6)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

C-65. Stop 8 Drive

(Jackson Flank Attack Road)

FHWA 

Route 0407 46508

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

Unpaved 1,300’-long farm road from Route 3 to Brygider farmstead, built ca. ca. 1950. NPS acquired 39.99-acre property from Paul A. Brygider, 1998, and demolished buildings; retained unpaved farm road, including loop around barn at terminus, as drive to Stop 8 that was relocated from the median of Route 3 in ca. 1998.82

C-66. Wagner Farm 

Entrance Road

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

Paved 500’-long farm road from Route 3 to post-battle Wagner (Chewning) farmstead 

built in ca. 1895. Wagner farmstead determined not eligible for National Register 

listing. 

Topography (No associated features) Vegetation (Plan Key: V)V-2. Chancellorsville 

Mown Turf, Field Crops and Meadow Grasses

Contributing

See Table 3.0. Active agricultural land (pasture/crops) maintained on Wagner Farmthrough NPS lease, and on Hawkins Farm (private inholding); Hawkins family also 

leases park property in Stop 8 area (former Ashton/Brygider farms).

V-20. Ashton Farmstead Grove

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

Farmstead built on knoll in field across turnpike from Talley farmstead, either part of the Talley or Hawkins farms, at undetermined date after Civil War. Farmstead shaded by deciduous trees. NPS acquired property from JoAnn Ashton, 1998, and demolished farmstead, but left trees. Trees are compatible with the historic rural setting, although they obstruct some of the tactical views that the Confederates had during the flank attack on May 2, 1863. 
Cultural

LandscapeReport for Chancellorsville Battlefield

342TABLE 3.6. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: FLANK ATTACK BATTLEFIELD (DRAWING 3.6)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

V-21. Brygider Farm 

Oaks

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

West end of Hawkins/Talley farm clearing became wooded between 1865 and 1927. Land cleared and barns built, ca. 1950. Two oak trees maintained or planted near barns. NPS acquired 39.99-acre property from Paul A. Brygider in 1998 and 

demolished buildings, but retained two oak trees.83 Trees are compatible with the 

historic rural setting, although they obstruct some of the tactical views that the Confederates had during the flank attack on May 2, 1863. 

Buildings and Structures (Plan Key: BS)BS-39. House and 

Garage, 9437 Plank Road/Route 3 (Parcel 

03-219) 

CH0069

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

Brick ranch house built along Route 3 near southeast corner of Wagner Farm clearing, ca. 1960. Property within expansion of authorized park boundary, 1989. NPS acquired 0.94-acre parcel from H. C. Thompson, 2008, subject to right of life estate for 20 years (to expire March 25, 2028).84 Site wooded in 1863; part of Locust Grove/Dowdall’s 

Tavern property. 

BS-40. Wagner Farm 

Complex

Noncontributing

Context: Civil WarHistory: Site was open field within historic Locust Grove/Dowdall’s Tavern property, 1863; farmstead on or adjacent to site of 11th Corps Bushbeck Line (no visible 

remnants). Two-story three-bay frame farmhouse with gable roof, front porch, and large rear addition built ca. 1895; one-story garage off east side and within fenced 

yard with two mature trees. Two large pole barns of recent origin at rear (probably replaced late 19th-century barns). 

Evaluation: The Wagner farmstead has been determined ineligible for National 

Register listing, in the context of architecture and agriculture, based on concurrence 

with the Virginia State Historic Preservation Officer.

Views and Vistas Features (Plan Key: VV)VV-5. Confederate 

Flank Attack View 

(Stop 8)

Contributing

Context: Civil WarHistory: Jackson’s flank attack charged US troops from the ridge at west end of 

Hawkins Farm, May 2, 1863; elevated site and open fields allowed for broad field of fire, looking east past Wilderness Church to the 11th Corps lines at Locust Grove. After 

1863, growth of trees and farm development limited expanse of the view. NPS 

acquisition of Brygider and Ashton farms returned some of the open expanse. Most of the field of fire south of the turnpike was lost to growth of woods and suburban development.

Evaluation: The eastward Confederate flank attack view is a significant part of the 

battlefield and remains largely intact north of turnpike, as viewed from existing Stop 8. Trees at the Brygider and Ashton farmstead sites, west of Hawkins farmstead, 
343 

3. Analysisand Evaluation

TABLE 3.6. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: FLANK ATTACK BATTLEFIELD (DRAWING 3.6)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

along the Hawkins ranch house boundary, and north of Wilderness Church restrict the historic viewshed. 

VV-6. US Flank Attack View Contributing

Context: Civil WarHistory: US 11th Corps erected defensive east-west lines across the open field south of 

Dowdall’s Tavern, expecting Confederate approach from south; in response to Jackson’s surprise flank attack, May 2, 1863, they threw up north-south lines 

(Bushbeck Line) in the fields of Locust Grove north of the turnpike, to try to hold back 

Confederate forces attacking from west, beyond Wilderness Church. Viewshed associated with southern US line lost to growth of woods; viewshed north of turnpike 

remains in part. 

Evaluation: The westward US flank attack view is a significant part of battlefield and 

remains largely intact north of Route 3. Agricultural uses have maintained the open rolling fields with Wilderness Church in the center. Development of the Wagner (Chewning) farmstead and growth of woods north of Wilderness Church have obstructed some of the view. Wilderness Church is a focal point; although the wartime building was replaced in 1899, the existing building maintains a similar 

massing and location. 

Small-Scale Features (Plan Key: SSF)SSF-35. Stop 8

Entrance Sign, Gates, and Fences

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

Unfinished wood plank fence, metal gate, and NPS arrowhead sign on wood post with mast arm installed after NPS acquisition of property, 1998. Sign and fences are

not consistent with types used elsewhere in park. 

SSF-36. Wagner Farm 

Fences

Noncontributing 

(post-historic)

Variety of wood plank and split-rail fences of recent origin that delineate pasture and corrals that do not follow Civil War-era fence lines, except bordering Route 3. 
Cultural

LandscapeReport for Chancellorsville Battlefield

344TABLE 3.6. LANDSCAPE FEATURE INVENTORY: FLANK ATTACK BATTLEFIELD (DRAWING 3.6)

CHANCELLORSVILLLE BATTLEFIELD - FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Drawing Key, Feature Name (Non-NPS in Italics)

Other 

Resource 

Inventory

FMSS Data

(Location / Asset 

records)

Evaluation 

Status

Evaluation

(Historic period: 1863–1963) 

Existing Conditions 

Photo Reference

Archeological Sites (Plan key: AS)AS-22. Burton House 

Site Unevaluated

Context: Civil WarHistory: Burton Farm was established prior to 1860, with a house and outbuilding on 

a hill along the north side of Orange Plank Road and south of the Talley Farm. Burton 

Farm visited by Stonewall Jackson or his aides on May 1, 1863 to scout position of UStroops along turnpike to the north at Dowdall’s Tavern, Hawkins Farm, and Talley Farm, which led Jackson to reroute his flank march to Brock Road. Burton Farm probably saw no direct action during battle. The house was destroyed prior to 1867 

and not rebuilt.Evaluation: Destruction of the Burton house reflects the destruction of the Civil War (either Chancellorsville or Wilderness, or the immediate aftermath). Depressions and hummocks, and scattered large stones, remained by the 1980s.85 No archaeological 

investigations have been undertaken. 

(See also LU-29)

n/a

GENERAL NOTES

1. All historical data is from the CLR Site History (Chapter 1), except where noted. 

2. The CLR inventory includes only extant features; historic removed features associated with the Civil War and historic park period are not inventoried but are shown on Drawings 3.1–3.6.

3. The CLR inventory only includes archaeological sites in the park’s resource inventory that have above-ground visibility or that are interpreted. 

4. The CLR inventory does not include historic features and sites outside of property that NPS owns or has interest in, or that has been conserved by NPS partners. 

5. The CLR inventory does not include all minor non-historic features, such as individual park signs, interpretive waysides, pipe culverts, overhead utility lines, and fire hydrants. These 

features on are not labeled on Drawings 3.1–3.6.

6. The CLR inventory incorporates FMSS data as of November 2015; assets inventoried in FMSS are not included where they do not correlate with CLR features, or where their location or 

identity could not be ascertained.

7. Photograph sources: SUNY ESF, 2013-2015; Google Maps aerials, street view, ca. 2012-2014.

Abbreviations: NR Resource – National Register ResourceNR HAF = National Register Historic Associated FeatureLCS = NPS List of Classified Structures database
345 

3. Analysisand Evaluation

ENDNOTES 

1 National Park Service, Eastern Division, Branch of Plans & Designs, “Chancellorsville Battlefield Preliminary Planting Plan for Bivouac Road,” December 12, 1934, drawing FRSP 326 

1056. 

2 Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, “Long-Range Interpretive Plan” (Unpublished NPS report, 2001), 24; Chris Mackowski, “Shaping Chancellorsville: The first 

reenactment and ‘The Last Meeting,’” Emerging Civil War blog, April 26, 2013, http://emergingcivilwar.com/2013/04/26/shaping-chancellorsville-the-first-reenactment-and-the-lastmeeting/ (accessed December 8, 2015). 

3 Letter attributed to George King, to John A. Jamison, May 18, 1967 regarding boundaries of cemetery parcel, Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park archives 

[hereafter, FRSP], Place Files, Chancellor Cemetery. 

4 National Park Service, “Visitor Center Road and Parking Area and Residence Roads, Chancellorsville,” plan NMP-FS 3020, May, 1961, FRSP 326 3020B_737. 5 Enclosing fence not evident in ca. 1940 photograph, FRSP unnumbered image. 6 Central Virginia Battlefields Trust, Projects page, http://www.cvbt.org/Latest_Urgent_projects.html (accessed December 7, 2015). 7 John Hennessey, Historian/Chief of Interpretation FRSP, communication with John Auwaerter, November 4, 2015. 8 PAL, Draft National Register documentation for Fredericksburg-Spotsylvania National Military Park, May 2015; NPS, Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County Battlefields National 

Military Park, Land Status Map, Segment 3, Drawing 326, August 1980 updated to 2003. 

9 Photograph of Elys Ford Road lined by stacked-rail fences, October 20, 1943, DeRenne Collection, Confederate Mus., Richmond, Album 98 A; National Park Service, “Road System 

Plan, Part of the Master Plan, Fredericksburg-Spotsylvania National Military Park,” January 1, 1942, FRSP 326 2152. 

10 NPS, “Preliminary Planting Plan for Chancellorsville Battlefield,” approved October 17, 1935, drawing FRSP 326 1057. This plan indicates the triangle being planted with 

understory and mown turf limited to the road shoulders. 

11 Trees are not visible in a 1936 aerial; evergreens visible 1975 aerial, FRSP photograph collection. 12 NPS interpretive wayside, Chancellor Cemetery. 13 PAL, National Register documentation, Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park (draft, February 2016), Section 7, page 50. 14 Lamppost is not on 1962 as-built site plan for Ranger Lane housing, drawing FRSP 326 3020B; no documentation on other quarters having the same lamppost. 15 Letter to John A. Jamison, May 18, 1967. 16 “The Chancellor Cemetery at Chancellorsville,” undated, unattributed paper, ca. 1985, FRSP Chancellorsville files. 17 John Hennessey, FRSP Chief of Interpretation, communication with John Auwaerter, November 4, 2015. 18 Fenced utility area not shown on as-built site plan of visitor center area, May 1961 updated to July 1962, drawing FRSP 326 3020B 7037. 19 As-built 1962 site plan for visitor center area does not indicate picnic area across entry drive from visitor center. 20 Shrub lines shown on as-built 1962 site plan; visible in ca. 1970 postcard of visitor center. 
Cultural

LandscapeReport for Chancellorsville Battlefield

346

21 As-built 1962 site plan for visitor center; ca. 1970 postcard. 22 Photograph of visitor center, ca. 1962, Denver Technical Information Center, image FRSP 326_P3_0001. 23 Structure not shown on as-built site plan for visitor center. 24 NPS, “Approach and Entrance Signs, Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania NMP,” June 22, 1961, drawing FRSP 326 3018A. 25 Fountain not on as-built 1962 site plan for visitor center. 26 As-built 1962 site plan for visitor center; ca. 1970 postcard. 27 Eric Mink, FRSP Historian, e-mail to John Auwaerter, November 24, 2015. 28 Daniel Crozier, “Archaeological Investigation and Stabilization of the Chancellorsville Inn” (Unpublished report prepared for the National Park Service, Temple University, 1979), 

180. 

29 Crozier, 78, Chancellorsville Inn Site Archaeological Investigations site map. 30 Crozier, 78. 31 Crozier, 78. 32 USGS topographic map, Chancellorsville Quadrangle, 1973 updated to 1977. 33 Eric Mink, communication with John Auwaerter, November 4, 2015. 34 Civil War Trust, “Saving the First Day’s Battlefield,” http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/chancellorsville/chancellorsville-history-articles/saving-the-first-days.html (accessed 

December 7, 2015). 

35 Central Virginia Battlefields Trust, Projects page, http://www.cvbt.org/Latest_Urgent_projects.html (accessed December 7, 2015). 36 USGS topographic map, Chancellorsville Quadrangle, 1973 updated to 1977; NPS land status map. 37 USGS topographic map, Chancellorsville Quadrangle, 1973 updated to 1977; NPS land status map. 38 USGS topographic maps, Chancellorsville Quadrangle, 1973 updated to 1977, 1994; NPS land status map. 39 USGS topographic maps, Chancellorsville Quadrangle, 1973 updated to 1977, 1994; NPS land status map. 40 USGS topographic maps, Chancellorsville Quadrangle, 1973 updated to 1977, 1994; NPS land status map. 41 USGS topographic map, Chancellorsville Quadrangle, 1966; NPS land status map. 42 USGS topographic maps, Chancellorsville Quadrangle, 1966, 1973; NPS land status map. 43 USGS topographic maps, Salem Church Quadrangle, 1943, 1966 (showing driveway). 
347 

3. Analysisand Evaluation

44 USGS topographic maps, Salem Church Quadrangle, 1966 updated to 1984, 1994. 45 USGS topographic maps, Chancellorsville Quadrangle, 1973 updated to 1991, 1994. 46 Trail near “stone” shown on NPS, “Chancellorsville Battlefield Preliminary Planting Plan for Bivouac Road,” 1934, FRSP 326_1056. 47 USGS topographic maps, Salem Church Quadrangle, 1966 updated to 1984. 48 USGS topographic map, Chancellorsville Quadrangle, 1973 updated to 1991. 49 Eric Mink, communication with John Auwaerter, November 4, 2015. 50 USGS topographic map, Chancellorsville Quadrangle, 1966. 51 NPS land status map, Segment 3, Chancellorsville Battlefield, 1980 updated to 2003, FRSP; Gregg Kneipp, FRSP Natural Resources Manager, e-mail to John Auwaerter, December 

1, 2015. 

52 NPS land status map, Segment 3, Chancellorsville Battlefield, 1980 updated to 2003, FRSP; Kneipp to Auwaerter. 53 NPS land status map, Segment 3, Chancellorsville Battlefield, 1980 updated to 2003, FRSP; Kneipp to Auwaerter. 54 USGS topographic map, Chancellorsville Quadrangle, 1966. 55 NPS land status map, Segment 3, Chancellorsville Battlefield, 1980 updated to 2003. 56 USGS topographic maps, Chancellorsville Quadrangle, 1966, 1974 updated to 1991, 1994; Google Earth historical imagery, 1994-2015. 57 USGS topographic maps, Chancellorsville Quadrangle, 1966, 1974 updated to 1991. 58 USGS topographic maps, Chancellorsville Quadrangle, 1966, 1974 updated to 1991, 1994. 59 Google Earth historical imagery, 1994-2015. 60 USGS topographic map, Chancellorsville Quadrangle, 1974 updated to 1991. 61 Google Earth historical imagery, 1994-2015. 62 Google Earth historical imagery, 1994-2015. 63 USGS topographic maps, Chancellorsville Quadrangle, 1943, 1966. 64 USGS topographic maps, Chancellorsville Quadrangle, 1943, 1966. 65 Google Earth historical imagery, 1994-2015. 66 USGS topographic maps, Chancellorsville Quadrangle, 1974 updated to 1991, 1994. 67 USGS topographic map, Chancellorsville Quadrangle, 1974 updated to 1991, 1994. 
Cultural

LandscapeReport for Chancellorsville Battlefield

348 68 Homesnap, 11721 Jackson Trail West, Spotsylvania, http://www.homesnap.com/VA/Spotsylvania/11721-Jackson-Trail-W (accessed December 9, 2015). 

69 Trulia, 11735 Jackson Trail West, Spotsylvania, http://www.trulia.com/homes/Virginia/Spotsylvania/sold/1000859315-11735-Jackson-Trl-W-Spotsylvania-VA-22553 (accessed 

December 9, 2015). 

70 USGS topographic maps, Chancellorsville Quadrangle, 1966, 1974 updated to 1991. 71 USGS topographic maps, Chancellorsville Quadrangle, 1966, 1974 updated to 1991. The maps do not show the road, but do show houses. 72 Google Earth historical imagery, 1994-2015. 73 NPS land status map, Segment 3, Chancellorsville Battlefield, 1980 updated to 2003. 74 PAL, Draft National Register documentation 2015, Section 7, page 8. The ditches were not field checked for the CLR inventory. 75 For the purposes of the CLR inventory, the Hawkins Farm clearing consists of the historic fields north of Route 3 and west of the Wagner and Verna Farm parcels. The clearing 

with the current NPS property north of Route 3 and west of Hawkins (Stop 8, Brygider and Ashton Farms) may have historically been part of the Talley Farm. 

76 For the purposes of the CLR inventory, the Talley Farm consists of the land south of Route 3. Fields north of Route 3 may have been partly owned by Talley, but are inventoried 

as the Hawkins Farm clearing. 

77 USGS topographic maps, Chancellorsville Quadrangle, 1966, 1974 updated to 1991; Civil War News, Virginia Grants Over $2M to Preserve Battlefields,” October 2013, 

http://www.civilwarnews.com/archive/articles/2013/oct/vagrant-101302.htm (accessed December 11, 2015). 

78 NPS land status map, Segment 3, Chancellorsville Battlefield, 1980 updated to 2003; USGS topographic maps, Chancellorsville Quadrangle, 1943, 1966. No documentation was 

found on the connection between Continental Can Company, a billion-dollar conglomerate in 1960, and the park. 

79 Civil War Trust, “Civil War Trust Preserves 355 Acres at Chancellorsville and Wilderness Battlefields,” https://www.battlefields.org/news/civil-war-trust-preserves-355-acreschancellorsville-and-wilderness-battlefields (accessed July 18, 2018). 80 NPS land status map, Segment 4, Wilderness Battlefield, 1980 updated to 2006; USGS topographic maps, Chancellorsville Quadrangle, 1943, 1966. 81 USGS topographic maps, Chancellorsville Quadrangle, 1943, 1966, 1973 updated 1991, 1994. 82 USGS topographic maps, Chancellorsville Quadrangle, 1943, 1966; John Hennessey, FRSP Chief of Interpretation, communication with John Auwaerter, November 4, 2015. 

Brygider property shown as wooded on 1943 map, cleared on 1966 map; 1966 and subsequent maps do not show road or barns. 

83 USGS topographic maps, Chancellorsville Quadrangle, 1943, 1966; John Hennessey, FRSP Chief of Interpretation, communication with John Auwaerter, November 4, 2015. 

Brygider property shown as wooded on 1943 map, cleared on 1966 map; 1966 and subsequent maps do not show road or barns. 

84 Gregg Kneipp, FRSP Natural Resources Manager, e-mail to John Auwaerter, December 1, 2015. 85 Noel Harrison, “Gazetteer of Historic Sites Related to The Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, Volume 1” (Unpublished report, 1986), 148. The current 

condition of the site was not inspected for the CLR inventory. 
Stonewall Brigade

Parcel (CVBT)

Old Mountain Road

(pre-1863–?)

i

i

i

i

i

i

i

i

i

i

i

i

i

i

i

i

i

i

i

#4 #5 #6

Matchline Drawing 3.4 Matchline Drawing 3.4

Matchline Drawing 3.4

Wilderness

Presidential

Resorts

(ca.1973)

ELYS FORD ROAD

Golden Oaks Dr.

LITTLE HUNTING RUN

COUCH’S LINE

SEE DWG. 3.2

SEE DWG. 3.3

20th-century

house clearing

20th-century

house clearing

Van Wart

house site

Chancellorsville

Inn Site

Schoolhouse

site

Approximate site of

Hazel Grove house

PENDER’S LINE

T-8

JACKSON’S 

CORPS LINE

T-7

SLOCUM’S LINE

T-9

Former

Miles Drive

St. Patricks

RC Church, rectory

(1983)

APEX OF HOOKER’S

LAST LINE

Boulevard of the Generals

U.S. Grant Court

French Trail

Hunt Trail 

Wilderness Road (HAZEL GROVE ROAD)

Stuart Drive

Berry Paxton Drive Stuart Drive

Sickles

Drive

Slocum Drive

Bullock Drive

Hooker Drive River Road

Old River Road

(pre-1863–

ca.1950)

MINERAL SPRINGS ROAD

20th-century

house clearing

P

P

P

P

P

P

Approximate 1863 boundary,

854-acre Chancellor (Fairview) Plantation

Estates of Lee-Jackson

Subdivision (1995)

Plank Road (TURNPIKE)

BULLOCK

PLANTATION

FAIRVIEW

(CHANCELLOR PLANTATION)

HAZEL GROVE







SO-1

SSF-8

SO-2

SO-4

V-2

SO-5 SSF-9

VV-1

SO-6

SSF-14

Johnston construction

yard clearing

BS-6

SO-10, C-17

BS-7

SO-7 SSF-11

BS-19

SO-9

SO-8

LU-2

LU-3

LU-4

LU-1

LU-6 (table 3.4)

AS-4

C-3, V-1

C-12

Berry-Paxton Drive

(ca.1933–72)

C-4, V-1

C-6

Mott-Carr Foot Trail

(1935–ca.1975)

Woods Road

(pre-1863–ca.1960)

C-6

C-6

C-6

C-6

Bullock’s Spring

(pre-1863–?)

Bullock Road

(pre-1863–ca.1935)

C-8

C-8

C-9, V-1

T-1

T-1

T-1

T-3

T-1

T-1

NSF-1

NSF-1

NSF-1

NSF-1

T-2

T-2

T-2

C-1

BS-18

C-16, V-1

BS-16 

C-15, V-1

SSF-2

SSF-2

C-10

C-11

C-12

C-13

BS-13

BS-14

C-14

C-16, V-1

T-3

SLOCUM’S

LOG WORKS

T-10

T-4

T-5

SSF-12

T-5

GRIFFIN’S 

LINE

T-6

V-3

V-4

C-5

V-5

BS-5

SSF-10

SO-3

AS-2

V-6

V-7

BS-1

BS-2

BS-3

BS-3

BS-3

BS-3

BS-3

BS-4

Signal station

oak (pre-1863–ca.1915)

BS-8

BS-8

BS-8

BS-9

BS-9

BS-11

BS-12

BS-17

VV-1

Captain

Dimick

Foot Trail

(1935–ca.1950)

Vista Picnic Grounds (ca.1935–1950)

Captain Dimick Foot Trail (1935–ca.1950)

Captain Dimick

Foot Trail

(1935–ca.1950)

Gunners Foot Trail

(1935–ca.1950)

Mott-Carr Foot Trail

(1935–ca.1950)

General Couch

Foot Trail

(1935–ca.1950)

LF

RF

SSF-13

AS-1

AS-3

AS-5

AS-6

Fairview

farmstead

Bullock

house

AS-7

AS-8

Fairview spring

(pre-1863–?)

Captain Dimick

Foot Trail

(1935–ca.1950)

Mott-Carr Foot Trail

(1935–ca.1950)



NSF-1

Woods Road

(pre-1863–ca.1960)

C-8

C-11

Former park 

property boundary

(ca.1930–1973)

T-3

Former park property

boundary 

(ca.1930–1973)

C-12

C-6 SSF-2

C-12

C-12

C-17

BS-23

AS-9

C-7

BS-18

BS-18

BS-18

BS-18

BS-16

BS-16

Houses adjoining

park built ca. 1995–2000

Estates of

Chancellorsville

(ca. 2000)

NSF-2

Dam

Power line corridor

Extension of

Bullock Road

(pre-1863–

ca. 1935)

SSF-15

Spur drive

(1961–ca.1974)

Approximate 1863 boundary,

854-acre Chancellor (Fairview) Plantation

1863 fence lines

1863 fence lines

Old Plank Road (ORANGE PLANK

ROAD)

SSF-2

Earthen dam

03-216

03-234

03-240

03-257

03-153

DRAWN BY

LEGEND

SOURCES

Drawing 3.1

Cultural Landscape Report

Chancellorsville Battlefield

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania

National Military Park

Spotsylvania County, Virginia

Analysis and Evaluation

Core Battlefield

National Park Service

Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation

www.nps.gov/oclp

in partnership with 

Department of Landscape Architecture

Center for Cultural Landscape Preservation

SUNY College of Environmental 

Science and Forestry, www.esf.edu/la/cclp

John Auwaerter and Nathan Powers, SUNY ESF

ArcGIS and Adobe Illustrator, 2015

North

Building

Trench, Lunette

Woods

Specimen Tree

Field/Open Ground

Road or Driveway

Park Drive

Trail

OLMSTED

for LANDSCAPE PRESERVATION

CENTER

Stream, Pond,

Wetland

Legislated

Park Boundary

NPS Easement

Boundary

Other Conservation

Boundary

County Tax Parcel

03-216 NPS Interest Parcel

NPS Property

Boundary

Bridge

20th-Century Non-Park

Building Site

Commemorative 

Monument, Cannon

Identification Tablets

(SSF-4)

Culvert with 

Stone Headwall

Tree Ring

Fence, Gate

Cast Metal Narrative Sign

(SSF-1)

Interpretive Wayside 

or Site Marker (SSF-3)

Edge of Civil War-era

Forest Canopy

Site of Civil War-era Feature

Non-Contributing or 

Non-Historic Feature

Historic Park-era Feature

Removed after 1963

NPS Parking Area

0 350 700 Feet 1400

P

i

1. Plan shows conditions in 2015; all features shown at approximate 

 location and scale.

2. Areas masked outside Chancellorsville NPS property (fee or interest), or other 

 conserved property

3. Contour interval: 5’.

4. Sites of features outside the historic period (1863-1965) or without 

 historic association to the battlefield are not shown, except for 20th-century

 building sites within the park.

5. Plan does not show contemporary minor small-scale features such as

 utility lines, directional signs, and movable benches. 

 

NOTES

1. Spotsylvania County and NPS GIS data

2. Google Earth aerials

3. Field inspection, 2013-15

Trace or Site of pre-1963

Park Feature
i

i

i

i

Plank Road VA3 (TUNRPIKE)

OLD MOUNTAIN

ROAD 

Stuart Drive

Bullock Drive (BULLOCK ROAD)

Bus

parking

Visitor Center

Approximte park boundary

CHANCELLORSVILLE 

BATTLEFIELD

Stream

SO-11 (see Table 3.1)

C-4, V-1

(see Table 3.1)

Bullock Road

(pre-1863–ca.1935)

C-6 

C-6

Overhead utility line

Culvert

BS-3 

SSF-4

Woods Road

(pre-1863–ca.1960)

NSF-1

SO-12

LU-5

C-17

C-18

C-19

C-19

C-20

C-21

C-21

T-11

V-8

V-9

BS-21

V-10

V-8

SO-11

V-11

V-12

SSF-21

V-14

V-14

BS-19

BS-20

BS-22

BS-23

VV-2

VV-2

SSF-1

SSF-16

SSF-17

SSF-18

V-13

SSF-19

SSF-20

SSF-23

SSF-22

AS-10

SSF-24

SSF-25

AS-8

AS-9

AS-11

Jackson Memorial

Wild Flower Preserve

(1935–ca.1950)

Visitor Contact

Station, Entry Drive

(1935-62)

Women’s toilet

(ca.1935–62)

Men’s toilet

(ca.1935–62)

Presumed location of

wild flower preserve

trails (1935–ca1950)

Orientation

disc (moved to 

visitor center ca.1963)

C-20

Spur drive

(ca.1961–74)

SO-11

V-11

V-10

Turf in 1965

Cultural Landscape Report 

Chancellorsville Battlefield

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania N.M.P.

National Park Service

Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation

in partnership with Department of Landscape Architecture

SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry Drawing 3.2

Jackson Wounding Area

Analysis and Evaluation Plan Detail 

DRAWN BY

NOTES

SOURCES

John Auwaerter, Adobe Illustrator, 2015

0’ 100’ 300’

LEGEND

1. NPS and Spotsylvania County GIS data

2. Aerial photographs, 1994 and 2013

3. Field survey, 2013-15

1. Plan shows landscape in 2015; all features are shown in 

 approximate scale and location.

2. Plan does not show contemporary minor small-scale features. 

3. See Drawing 3.1 for other notes.

Building

Road, Park Drive

Trail

Woods

Specimen Trees 

(hardwood, conifer)

Non-Contributing or 

Non-Historic Feature

i

Mown Turf

Identification Tablet, Cast Metal 

Narrative Sign

Interpretive Wayside or

Site Marker (SSF-3)

NPS Identification or Wayfinding

Signs 

Edge of Civil War-era

Forest Canopy

Picnic table, trash

container; Monument

Site of Civil War-era Feature

Trace or Site of pre-1965

Park Feature

INSET Chancellorsville Inn Traffic signal

Red-cedar

i

i

i

Traffic signal

VA 3 Westbound (TURNPIKE)

VA 3 Eastbound

ELY’S FORD ROAD

Red

maple

Sycamore

Holly, crabapple, black tupelo

Elm



C-7

C-6

C-6

Farm road

(pre-1863–?)

Part of Fairview clearing

(SO-4)

Part of Fairview clearing

(SO-4)

C-1

C-22

Parking

C-23

V-15

V-16

VV-3

V-17

V-17

V-17

V-17

V-17

V-17

BS-24

BS-25

BS-26

SSF-26

SSF-26

SSF-27

SSF-28

AS-13

SSF-29

AS-12 AS-11

AS-13

Row of elms and poplars

(pre-1863–ca.1950)

State historical marker

(ca.1930, moved ca. 1980)

United Daughters of the Confederacy

monument, 1927–1980)

Union trenches

(1863–ca.1870)

Chancellor house yard

Plank and picket fences

(pre-1863–1863)

Barn yard

(pre-1863

–1863)

Undetermined sites of

outbuildings, slave cabins

(pre-1863–1863)

Site of 1932

Rowley house

Approximate fence

location (pre-1863–1863)

Field fences (pre-1863–1863)

Agricultural fields

(1863)

Agricultural fields

(1863)

SSF-30

Bollards

NSF-1

(Agricultural field, 1863)

Union trenches

(1863–ca.1870)

Well

(pre-1863–?)

Red-cedar

crabapple or

hawthorne

Field fences

(pre-1863–1863)

Cultural Landscape Report 

Chancellorsville Battlefield

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania N.M.P.

National Park Service

Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation

in partnership with Department of Landscape Architecture

SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry Drawing 3.3

Chancellorsville Inn Site

Analysis and Evaluation Plan Detail

DRAWN BY

NOTES

SOURCES

1. Plan shows landscape in 2015; all features are shown in 

 approximate scale and location.

2. Plan does not show contemporary minor small-scale features. 

3. See Drawing 3.1 for other notes.

John Auwaerter, Adobe Illustrator, 2015

0 25 Feet 50

LEGEND

1. NPS and Spotsylvania County GIS data

2. Aerial photographs, 1994 and 2013

3. Field survey, 2013-15

Road

Trail

Woods

Specimen Trees 

(hardwood, conifer)

Non-Contributing or 

Non-Historic Feature

Historic Park-era Feature

Removed after 1965

i

Mown Turf

Bench, Bollards

Fence

Interpretive Wayside

(SSF-3) 

NPS Identification or Wayfinding

Signs, or State Historical Marker 

Site of Civil War-era Feature

BS-27

BS-28

BS-28

BS-28

Plank Road (TURNPIKE)

Heritage Ave.

Wesley Dr.

Matchline Drawing 3.1 Matchline Drawing 3.1

Matchline Drawing 3.5

P

P

P

P

Approximate 1863 boundary,

854-acre Chancellor (Fairview) Plantation

8528 Furnace Road

8536

Furnace Road

South Carolina Ct.

i i

i

i

i

HAZEL GROVE

FAIRVIEW (CHANCELLOR

PLANTATION)

CATHARINE FURNACE PROPERTY

CATHARINE FURNACE PROPERTY

ABSALOM

McGEE

FARM

NEWTON

PERRY FARM

ALRICH

FARM

C-29

C-2

C-2

LU-6

LU-7

Cool Spring Lake

dam #1 (ca. 1974,

on NPS property line)

Lewis Run

Cool Spring

Lake (ca.1974)

NSF-1

SO-13

Parking (ca.1935–1980)

Archer-Thomas Foot Trail (1935–ca.1950)

Furnace Picnic Grounds (ca.1935–1945)

Old Furnace Road

(pre-1863–1932)

Hazel Grove-Furnace

road (pre-1863–ca.1970)

Mine roads

(pre-1863–ca.1950) SO-14

SO-15

SO-17

V-2 

LU-22

LU-22

LU-8

LU-10

LU-11

LU-12

LU-13

LU-14

LU-15 LU-16

LU-17

LU-18

McLaws Lane

8108 McLaws

Drive

8543 McLaws

Drive

Pemwood Lane

Old Plank Road (ORANGE PLANK ROAD)

McLaws Drive

Old Furnace Road

(ca.1813–1935)

C-31

C-32

C-26

C-2

C-27

Furnace Road

C-28

C-30

V-1

V-1

C-33

C-34

C-35

C-36

V-1

C-37

T-12

T-13

T-13

POSEY’S LINE

General Posey Foot Trail

(ca.1935–1950)

V-18

SSF-2

V-19

SSF-33

SSF-32

N I R I V E R

LEWIS RUN

BS-29

BS-30

BS-30

BS-30

BS-31

BS-31

BS-31 Sickles Drive

Jackson Trail East

Stuart Drive

Slocum Drive

B-32

B-33

B-33

B-33

B-34 B-33

VV-4

SSF-31

SSF-34

AS-14

AS-15

Hazel GroveMaury/Pulliam

House Road 

(pre-1863–?

Hazel Grove

house (ca.1837–63)

C-27

LU-9



Cool Spring Lake

dam #2 (ca.1974))

Wilderness

Presidential

Resorts

(ca.1974)

Houses adjoining park

built ca. 2000

Sawhill

Subdivision

(ca.1990)

Chancellor West

Subdivision

(ca.1988)

Houses adjoining park

built ca. 1989–2001

Estates of Lee-Jackson

subdivision 

(1995)

Lee-Jackson Circle 

Sawhill Boulevard

NSF-2

Headwaters

Nine Mile Run

C-25

C-28

V-1

Furnace Road

C-33

#6

#10 #10

#11

#12

#7

#8

#9

Post-war McGee

farmhouse

South McLaws Place

McLAWS WEDGE

SO-16

03-234

03-240

03-241

03-242

03-243

03-244 03-245

03-246

03-264

03-265

03-260

03-191

03-256

03-238

03-257

03-250

DRAWN BY

LEGEND

SOURCES

Drawing 3.4

Cultural Landscape Report

Chancellorsville Battlefield

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania

National Military Park

Spotsylvania County, Virginia

Analysis and Evaluation

Furnace Lands

National Park Service

Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation

www.nps.gov/oclp

in partnership with 

Department of Landscape Architecture

Center for Cultural Landscape Preservation

SUNY College of Environmental 

Science and Forestry, www.esf.edu/la/cclp

John Auwaerter and Nathan Powers, SUNY ESF

ArcGIS and Adobe Illustrator, 2015

 Feet

North

0 350 700 1400

OLMSTED

for LANDSCAPE PRESERVATION

CENTER

1. Plan shows conditions in 2015; all features shown at approximate 

 location and scale.

2. Areas masked outside Chancellorsville NPS property (fee or interest), or other 

 conserved property

3. Contour interval: 5’.

4. Sites of features outside the historic period (1863-1965) or without 

 historic association to the battlefield are not shown, except for 20th-century

 building sites within the park.

5. Plan does not show contemporary minor small-scale features such as

 utility lines, directional signs, and movable benches. 

 

NOTES

1. Spotsylvania County and NPS GIS data

2. Google Earth aerials

3. Field inspection, 2013-15

Building

Trench, Lunette

Woods

Specimen Tree

Field/Open Ground

Road or Driveway

Park Drive

Trail

Stream, Pond,

Wetlands

NPS Easement

Boundary

Other Conservation

Boundary

County Tax Parcel

03-216 NPS Interest Parcel

NPS Property

Boundary

Bridge

20th-Century Non-Park

Building Site

Commemorative 

Monument, Cannon

Identification Tablets

(SSF-4)

Culvert with 

Stone Headwall

Tree Ring, Iron Mine Site

Fence, Gate

Cast Metal Narrative Sign

(SSF-1)

Interpretive Wayside 

or Site Marker (SSF-3)

Edge of Civil War-era

Forest Canopy

Non-Contributing or 

Non-Historic Feature

Park-era Feature

Removed after 1963

P NPS Parking Area

i

Trace or Site of pre-1963

Park Feature

Site of Civil War-era Feature

Legislated

Park Boundary
?

?

Old Carter Road

Matchline Drawing 3.4

Ashby’s Pond Chancellorsville Dr.

Battleground Ct.

Spring Creek

Subdivision

(ca.1990)

Custers Trace

BROCK RUN

AUNT

SARAH SPRING

CREEK

BROCK ROAD

Whiteha ll Blvd.

Whitehall

Subdivision

UNFINISHED RAILROAD

(Virginia Central Railway 

Grade, Abandoned)

Powerline

corridors

CATTAIL BRANCH

BROCK ROAD



Hilltop

Farm

Terembes Ln

11200 Jackson

Trail West

11332 Jackson

Trail West

11336 Jackson

Trail West

Hilltop Farm Lane

Hidden Lake Trail (railroad bed)

11720 Jackson

Trail West

11721 Jackson

Trail West

11735 Jackson

Trail West

11401 Jackson

Trail East

11417 Jackson

Trail East

11550 Jackson

Trail East

11555 Jackson

Trail East

Granny Acres Lane

11609 Jackson

Trail East

11645 Jackson

Trail East

Sewer lift

station

Railroad

bridge

abutments

Brock Road

Elementary

School

Fitzhugh

Farmstead Site

FITZHUGH 

FARM

TRIGG 

FARM

STEPHENS 

FARM

COOK

FARM

CATHARINE FURNACE PROPERTY

(4,648 acres, 1863)

See Drawing 3.4

11630 Jackson

Trail East

11615 Jackson

Trail West

11370 Jackson

Trail East

11512 Jackson

Trail East

Powerline corridor

C-38 C-39

NSF-1

NSF-1

C-59

C-60

C-43

C-44

C-42

Catharine Furnace

mine road (ca.1862–1939,

exact alignment not known)

C-56

C-61

C-62

Woods Road #3

Woods Road #4

Woods road #2

Woods

road #1

C-58

C-54

C-54

C-45

SO-18

SSF-35

SO-18

C-53

C-48

C-49

SO-20

Jackson Trail East

Jackson Trail East

C-57

C-47

C-50

NSF-1

Jackson Trail West

WILDERNESS

BATTLEFIELD

CHANCELLORSVILLE

BATTLEFIELD

N I R I V E R

BROCK RUN

Spotsylvania County

Spotsylvania County

Spotsylvania County

SO-20

LU-25

LU-19

LU-20

LU-21

LU-24

Route of Jackson’s

Flank March, May 1, 1863

Union trench

Battle of the Wilderness

1864

Stephens Farm

entry road

(pre-1863–ca.1900)

Trigg Farm

entry road (trace remains)

(pre-1863–ca.1950) Hawkins house

site (ca.1800–64)

Cemetery

site

Custers Trace

Subdivision

(1998)

(Civil War Trust

easement)

BROCK ROAD (Herndon Road) 

LU-26

LU-26

LU-27

CATHARINE 

FURNACE FURNACE ROAD

LU-28

C-40

C-41

C-51

C-52

C-55

C-46

Jackson Trail West

C-55

T-15

T-15

T-17

T-17

T-16

T-16

V-2

SO-19

WELLFORD

PLANTATION

BS-35

AS-17

BS-38

i

AS-18

AS-19

AS-20

AS-21

BS-36

BS-37

Whitehall development

property, 1,492 acres

(Basheer & Edgemore)

May be same road

P

LU-22

LU-23

Unidentified earthworks

(1863 or 1864)

Farm road

(pre-1863–

ca.1940)

Houses adjoining

Jackson Trail West

built ca. 1995-2000

Easement

held by CWT

ORE RUN

Brock Road

(ca.1960)

Pine timber 

plantations

1863 fence

1863 fence

1863 fence

03-260

03-250

03-191

03-256

03-261

03-260

03-191

03-251

03-249

03-214

03-215

03-213

03-194

03-175

03-205

03-204

03-206

Spotsylvania County

03-262

DRAWN BY

LEGEND

SOURCES

Drawing 3.5

Cultural Landscape Report

Chancellorsville Battlefield

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania

National Military Park

Spotsylvania County, Virginia

National Park Service

Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation

www.nps.gov/oclp

in partnership with 

Department of Landscape Architecture

Center for Cultural Landscape Preservation

SUNY College of Environmental 

Science and Forestry, www.esf.edu/la/cclp

John Auwaerter and Nathan Powers, SUNY ESF

ArcGIS and Adobe Illustrator, 2015

North

OLMSTED

for LANDSCAPE PRESERVATION

CENTER

Analysis and Evaluation

Jackson Trail

0 500 1000 Feet 2000

Building

Trench, Lunette

Woods

Specimen Tree

Field/Open Ground

Road or Driveway

Park Drive

Trail

Stream, Pond

Leg. Park Boundary

C’ville, Wilderness

NPS Easement

Boundary

Other Conservation

Boundary

County Tax Parcel

03-216 NPS Interest Parcel

NPS Property

Boundary

20th-Century Non-Park

Building Site

Fence

Gate

Edge of Civil War-era

Forest Canopy

Non-Contributing or 

Non-Historic Feature

Historic Park-era Feature

Removed after 1965

NPS Parking Area P

i

Cast Metal Narrative Sign

(SSF-1)

Interpretive Wayside 

or Site Marker (SSF-3)

1. Plan shows conditions in 2015; all features shown at approximate 

 location and scale.

2. Areas masked outside Chancellorsville NPS property (fee or interest), or other 

 conserved property

3. Contour interval: 5’.

4. Sites of features outside the historic period (1863-1965) or without 

 historic association to the battlefield are not shown, except for 20th-century

 building sites within the park.

5. Plan does not show contemporary minor small-scale features such as

 utility lines, directional signs, and movable benches. 

 

NOTES

1. Spotsylvania County and NPS GIS data

2. Google Earth aerials

3. Field inspection, 2013-15

Site of Civil War-era Feature

Culvert with 

Concrete Wingwalls

Iron mine site

Mine pits

ca.1863

Union trenches,

Battle of the

Wilderness

1864
Fence lines, 1863

Autumn Lane

Matchline Drawing 3.4

BIG HUNTIN G RUN

Winfield Oaks Dr.

Laurel Hill

Memorial

Park

(ca.1980+)

BLACK MEADOW ROAD

Jackson’s

Take-off

Six Lakes Subdivision

(ca.1990)

W. Lake Circle



BURTON

FARM

Kronenwetter

Property

(CWT)

Rodes-Doles

(CVBT)

Talley

Farm

Ridge

(CVBT)

Talley

Farm

(CVBT)

L E WI S

R U N

Hazel

Grove

Lake

Wagner Farm

Plank Road (TURNPIKE)

Orange Plank

Road Parcel

(CVBT)

HAWKINS

FARM

TALLEY

FARM

WILDERNESS

CHURCH 

LOCUST

ORANGE PLANK ROAD

HERNDON ROAD

Wilderness

Presidential

Resorts

property

Wilderness

Presidential

Resorts

i

NSF-1

AS-22

SO-21

SO-22

LU-30

LU-35

LU-31

LU-36

LU-29

LU-32

LU-33

LU-34

C-1

C-63

C-64

C-65

C-66

V-2

V-2

V-20

V-21

P

BS-39

BS-40

LEWIS RUN

VV-5

VV-7

VV-7

SSF-35

SSF-36

NSF-1

NSF-1

Union 11th Corps trenches

(1863–ca.1870)

Hawkins house

(pre-1830–ca.1920)

Dowdall’s Tavern

(ca.1830–1869,

second house,

1869-ca.1972)

Bushbeck Line

Union 11th Corps 

trenches

(1863–ca.1870)

Talley house

(pre-1830–

1926)



CARPENTER

FARM

Planned Legends of Chancellorsville

Subdivision

Fence lines, 1863

Fence lines, 1863

LUCKETT

FARM

154th NY Volunteers

monument

House (ca.1972)

(ca.1973)

(ca.1973)

GROVE

Former Brygider Farm 

Former Ashton Farm 

Former Verna Farm

(post-war Melzi

Chancellor residence) 

Part of Locust Grove

clearing, 1863

Hawkins Farm property

outside park bounday

Former Verna Farm

property outside

park boundary

Former Wagner

Farm property 

outside park boundary



Winfield Oaks

subdivision (ca. 2000)

Post-1950

residential

development

Land conserved as part of Legends of Chancellorsville subdivision

Civil War Trust Property 

(355 acres acquired 2016;

not inventoried)

03-224

03-223

03-222

03-216

03-266

03-259

03-267

DRAWN BY

1. Spotsylvania County and NPS GIS data

2. Google Earth aerials

3. Field inspection, 2013-15

LEGEND

SOURCES

Drawing 3.6

Cultural Landscape Report

Chancellorsville Battlefield

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania

National Military Park

Spotsylvania County, Virginia

National Park Service

Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation

www.nps.gov/oclp

in partnership with 

Department of Landscape Architecture

Center for Cultural Landscape Preservation

SUNY College of Environmental 

Science and Forestry, www.esf.edu/la/cclp

John Auwaerter and Nathan Powers, SUNY ESF

ArcGIS and Adobe Illustrator, 2015, updated 2018

North

OLMSTED

for LANDSCAPE PRESERVATION

CENTER

Analysis and Evaluation

Flank Attack Battlefield

0 350 700 Feet 1400

Building

Trench, Lunette

Woods

Specimen Tree

Field/Open Ground

Road or Driveway

Park Drive

Trail

Stream, Pond

Other Conservation

Boundary

County Tax Parcel

03-216 NPS Interest Parcel

NPS Property

Boundary

Bridge

20th-Century Non-Park

Building Site

Commemorative 

Monument

Culvert with 

Stone Headwall

Fence, Gate

Edge of Civil War-era

Forest Canopy

Non-Contributing or 

Non-Historic Feature

NPS Parking Area P

i Interpretive Wayside 

or Site Marker (SSF-3)

1. Plan shows conditions in 2015, except for CWT property acquired 2016;

 all features shown at approximate location and scale.

2. Areas masked outside Chancellorsville NPS property (fee or interest), or other 

 conserved property

3. Contour interval: 5’.

4. Sites of features outside the historic period (1863-1965) or without 

 historic association to the battlefield are not shown, except for 20th-century

 building sites within the park.

5. Plan does not show contemporary minor small-scale features such as

 utility lines, directional signs, and movable benches.

6. CWT = Civil War Trust; CVBT = Central Virginia Battlefields Trust.

 

NOTES

Site of Civil War-era Feature

Legislated

Park Boundary
361 

4. Treatment Recommendations

Treatment

Recommendations

TREATMENT FRAMEWORK

TREATMENT ISSUES AND GENERAL GUIDANCE

SUNY ESF
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

362

Chancellorsville Battlefi ld beckons visitors to 

 its open fi lds and woods, accessible through 

 scenic park drives and trails (fig. 4.1). As long 

promoted by the National Park Service, the landscape 

tells the story of the Battle of Chancellorsville. Yet for 

many visitors, the history and commemorative purpose 

of the park are hidden by lack of a clearly recognizable 

park identity, by the subtle nature of the battle traces, 

and by the small number of markers and monuments. 

In a fast-growing suburban region, the battlefi ld no 

longer just tells a story, but has gained importance as 

recreational open space. It has become a major highspeed pass-through for commuter traffic d access 

way to new residential neighborhoods. The landscape 

today is serving a much larger local community than 

when the last major additions to the park landscape occurred in 1963. 

This chapter provides guidance for addressing these 

challenges and opportunities in ways that preserve and 

enhance the historic character of the battlefi ld landscape in the context of contemporary site management 

and use. The guidance focuses on the park-owned 

lands with existing or potential impact on the visitor 

experience, as well as those areas that have particular 

historical significa ce or provide critical natural habitat. 

Park staff developed initial landscape treatment ideas, 

which were refi ed based on the fi dings of this Cultural Landscape Report and treatment workshops held 

in February, September, and November 2015.1

 Articulation of treatment issues and preliminary treatment 

concepts were developed by a SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry landscape architecture 

studio in a report to park staff completed in May 2015.2

 

The chapter begins by defini g a framework for treatment of the Chancellorsville landscape and concludes 

with discussion of treatment issues and related guidance to assist future park planning. Specific t eatment 

tasks (actions) are not included in the body of the 

report since many require additional planning and 

analysis, especially those that rely in part on the future 

of Route 3, future ownership of partner-owned land, 

and development of lands adjacent to park property. 

A list of potential treatment tasks developed during 

research for this report is included in the appendix for 

future consideration. 

Figure 4.1. Chancellorsville’s fields, woods, and trails, looking northeast through the Hazel Grove-Fairview clearing, 2011. (SUNY 

ESF)
363 

4. Treatment Recommendations

The framework for treatment of the Chancellorsville 

Battlefi ld landscape is based on park legislation, 

National Park Service resource management policies, 

current park planning, and other planning. Based on 

this precedence and the fi dings of the Cultural Landscape Report Analysis and Evaluation, the framework 

concludes with a treatment philosophy intended as a 

guiding vision for the management of the Chancellorsville Battlefi ld landscape. 

LEGISLATION AND POLICIES

Chancellorsville Battlefi ld was established in 1927 as 

part of the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County 

Battlefi lds Memorial National Military Park, which 

had a dual purpose of commemoration and historic 

preservation. Congress established the park and authorized acquisition of land and construction of roads “to 

commemorate the Civil War battles of Fredericksburg, 

Spotsylvania Court House, Wilderness, and Chancellorsville, including Salem Church...and to mark and 

preserve for historical purposes the breastworks, earthworks, gun emplacements, walls, or other defenses or 

shelters used by the armies in said battles...”3

 In addition to acquiring land and constructing roads based 

on a modified Antietam Plan (park land restricted to 

strips along park roads), the act authorized the Secretary of War to mark defensive positions, buildings, and 

other historical sites within the park or its vicinity with 

“historical monuments, markers, tablets, or otherwise,” 

and also to erect observation towers, akin to the type 

of park development at Gettysburg National Military 

Park.4

 The original act did not call for restoring the 

1863 battlefi ld, but rather for developing a park that 

commemorated the Battle of Chancellorsville through 

both preservation of historic traces of war and addition 

of commemorative features. 

Transfer of the national military park to civilian administration of the National Park Service in 1933 resulted 

in modific tion of the park development philosophy. 

The park service completed the War Department program of building roads and marking traces of the 1863 

battlefi ld, but emphasized historic preservation and 

natural resource conservation over addition of commemorative works or other features that did not fit w th 

the historic character of the 1863 battlefi ld. Buildings, 

signs, and railings were designed in a rustic style that 

harmonized with the natural environment and recalled 

pioneer building traditions. A memorial to General 

Stonewall Jackson developed in 1937 was designed as 

native wildfl wer garden, rather than a built structure. 

MISSION 66-era improvements completed by 1963 

likewise sought to harmonize built features with the 

natural setting of the park, using a Modernist aesthetic. 

The shift away from the more formal military and commemorative approach to national military park development was in keeping with the National Park Service’s 

founding mission: “...to conserve the scenery and the 

natural and historic objects and the wild life therein 

and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such 

manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.”5

The National Park Service today continues to follow a conservation/historic preservation philosophy 

in its management of the Chancellorsville landscape. 

This philosophy is articulated in The Secretary of the 

Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties, which in turn informs a hierarchy of National Park 

Service regulations and policies that comply with the 

National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as well as 

the National Environmental Policy Act of 1970. 6 The 

application of these regulations and policies to cultural 

landscapes is contained within National Park Service 

Management Policies (2006), Director’s Order #28: 

Cultural Resource Management, and NPS-28: Cultural 

Resource Management Guideline. NPS-28 provides the 

following treatment standards for cultural landscapes 

that are applicable to the Chancellorsville landscape: 

TREATMENT FRAMEWORK
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

364

•	 Land use activities, whether historic or introduced, do 

not impair archeological resources.

•	 Uses addressing programmatic needs or park facilities within a cultural landscape, such as visitor centers, 

parking, interpretive structures, housing, administrative facilities, maintenance yards, and storage areas, are 

carefully considered in the context of the significa ce 

of the landscape.

•	 Use is monitored and regulated to minimize both immediate and long-term damage.

•	 Contemporary facilities do not adversely impact the 

landscape’s physical and visual character. New facilities 

are compatible with the historic character and material 

of the landscape.

•	 Contemporary structures to facilitate access, such as 

ramps, railings, signs, and curb cuts, are designed and 

located to minimize adverse impacts on the character 

and features of a cultural landscape.

•	 Access to a cultural landscape that is vulnerable to 

damage from human use is limited, monitored, or 

controlled.

•	 All treatment and use decisions refle t consideration of 

effects on both the natural and built features of a cultural landscape and the dynamics inherent in natural 

processes and continued use.

•	 Use of destructive techniques, such as archeological 

excavation, is limited to providing suffi ent information for research, interpretation, and management 

needs.

•	 All modific tion, repair, or replacement of materials 

and features is preceded by suffi ent study and recording to protect research and interpretive values.

•	 New work, materials, and replacement features are 

identified, ocumented, or permanently marked in an 

unobtrusive manner to distinguish them from original 

work, materials, and features.

•	 Representative features salvaged from a cultural landscape are accessioned and cataloged, provided that 

they fall within the park’s scope of collection statement.

•	 All changes made during treatment are graphically 

documented with drawings and photographs. Records 

of treatment are managed as archival materials by a curator or archivist within the park’s museum collection.

•	 Work on historic structures, including modific tions 

to improve drainage and access, does not harm the 

character-defini g features of a cultural landscape.7

PARK PLANNING

Cultural Landscape Reports are the implementation 

document for landscape treatment based on a foundation of park planning, from service-wide initiatives 

to park-level program plans. Park planning for the 

Chancellorsville unit includes Salem Church and the 

Jackson Shrine, both of which are outside the CLR 

project scope. 

Foundation Document

National Park Service “Foundation Documents” 

provide basic guidance for planning based on a park’s 

fundamental values and resources, which are those 

features, systems, processes, experiences, stories, 

scenes, sounds, smells, or other attributes that warrant 

primary consideration during planning and management. The Foundation Document for Fredericksburg 

and Spotsylvania National Military Park (2015) identifies he significa ce of the Chancellorsville unit as the 

site of the Battle of Chancellorsville, April 30 to May 6, 

1863 that was Lee’s greatest victory and emboldened 

him to invade the North in the hope of ending the war. 

The document identifies he following fundamental 

resources and values at Chancellorsville: the battlefi ld 

landscape including remnant and recreated patterns of 

forest and fi lds; battlefi ld archeology that can provide 

documentation on battle action; earthen fortific tions; 

historic roads, traces, and trails; and commemorative 

landscapes including veteran-related and post-Civil 

War monuments and memorials; natural quiet, light, 

and lack of modern visual intrusions; and the regional 

landscape context outside of park boundaries that in-
365 

4. Treatment Recommendations

form why the area became the site of multiple Civil War 

battles. Secondary resources and values include scenic 

views across rural landscapes outside park boundaries, and passive (low-impact) recreation. There are no 

special mandates or administrative commitments at 

Chancellorsville, such as requirements or easements 

through other federal agencies or local governments, 

that need to be considered in park planning.8

 

The Foundation Document also identifies cur ent 

conditions, trends, and potential threats to the fundamental resources. The park’s battlefi ld landscape, 

including Chancellorsville, is described as having varied conditions and potential threats that include lack of 

staffing to maintain open spaces and development outside park boundaries that is impacting battlefi ld land 

and viewsheds. Battlefi ld archeology is threatened by 

looting that is increasing with growing development 

adjacent to park boundaries. Earthen fortific tions 

are threatened by tree/shrub growth and windthrow, 

erosion, and trampling, and by a lack of an approved 

preservation maintenance/treatment plan. Historic 

roads, traces, and trails are threatened by modern commuter traffic d lack of maintenance and interpretation. Traffic noise d development threaten the natural 

quiet, light, and lack of modern visual intrusions that 

characterized the landscape historically, as well as the 

larger historic regional context. The Foundation Document identifies hat cultural landscape inventories and 

reports are needed to address many of these threats.9

 

Land Protection Plan

The last boundary increase for the Chancellorsville 

Battlefi ld unit, as recommended in the 1986 General 

Management Plan (GMP), was authorized by Congress 

on December 11, 1989 (103 Stat. 1851). The boundary increase brought the portion of the Flank Attack 

battlefi ld north of Route 3, a tract near the Catharine 

Furnace east of Sickles Drive, and McLaws Wedge 

(area west of McLaws Drive to Old Plank Road) within 

the authorized park boundary. Most of the land was 

privately owned and used for housing or farming, except for the Verna Farm in the Flank Attack Battlefi ld 

that had been previously acquired by the park. 

A Land Protection Plan (LPP) for the park was fi alized in 1986 as part of the preparation for the General 

Management Plan. Mandated by NPS policy, the LPP 

was developed to identify lands that should be in federal ownership to achieve the purpose of the park; to 

identify alternatives to federal fee ownership; to cooperate with private and other government land owners 

to manage lands for public use or to protect them for 

resource conservation; and to ensure socio-cultural 

impacts are considered. The LPP was updated in 1988, 

1991, 1994, 2001, and 2008. For Chancellorsville, the 

most recent version of the plan identifies he Flank 

Attack battlefi ld as the number one priority for land 

protection in the entire park. Other priorities include 

the Catharine Furnace area and Jackson Trail.Specific

recommendations of the LPP that remain unrealized 

include fee acquisition of the Hawkins Farm (tracts 03-

223, 224) and Wilderness Church (03-222), two small 

inholdings with non-historic houses (03-153, 216) 

along Route 3 and Elys Ford Road, and a tract along 

the former railroad that forms a gap in park land along 

Jackson Trail East (03-191), the remaining privatelyowned tracts along Brock Road between Jackson Trail 

East and Jackson Trail West (03-204, 205, 206, 213, 214, 

215), and eight parcels along Old Plank Road (Route 

610) between the Lee-Jackson bivouac and Route 3, 

most of which contain single-family houses (03-234, 

240–246) (see Drawings 3.1–3.6). 10 

The LPP identifies hreats to park resources from access easements across park property. Those that have 

the greatest potential impact (Category 1) are on park 

property east of Elys Ford Road (tracts 03-157, 158), 

which have three deeded access easements (18’ wide 

and 25’ wide) to 1,025 acres of private property east of 

the park where large residential subdivisions have been 

proposed. Construction of access roads through these 

parcels would destroy earthworks within the Apex of 

Hooker’s Last Line and historic Mineral Springs Road 

and would lead to loss of woods that screen modern 

development to the north. An owner of a 154-acre 

tract east of Hooker Drive has sought access to another 

residential development across park property (tract 

03-143). Along Jackson Trail East, an easement across 
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

366

tract 03-111 provides access to a tree farm that breaks 

an uninterrupted edge of woods. The LPP also identifies any additional access easements that pose less of 

a threat to park resources because there is no current 

development proposal (Categories 2, 3, and 4). Many 

existing driveways to individual residences exist with 

access easements from park drives, primarily from 

Jackson Trail East, Jackson Trail West, Furnace Road, 

and McLaws Drive.11

Also included in the LPP are recommendations for 

related lands outside park boundaries that could have 

detrimental impacts to park resources and visitor 

experiences should they be developed. None of the 

local jurisdictions adjoining park property have historic 

preservation ordinances or development restrictions. 

The LPP calls for working with federal, state, and local 

agencies and neighboring jurisdictions to identify critical land and establish limits of acceptable change. The 

plan does not identify specific roperties surrounding 

Chancellorsville. The park has accepted scenic easements on county-owned land along Jackson Trail East, 

and on a privately-owned parcel along Jackson Trail 

West.12

Commemorative Monument Policies

The National Park Service has a monument policy 

for Civil War battlefi lds and national military parks 

adopted in 2006 that states “new commemorative 

works will not be approved, except where specific lly 

authorized by legislation. However, consideration may 

be given to proposals that would commemorate groups 

that were not allowed to be recognized during the commemorative period.” For parks such as Fredericksburg 

and Spotsylvania where the enabling legislation allows 

for erecting commemorative works, the 2006 NPS 

monument policy stipulates that “superintendents will 

prepare a plan to control their size, location, materials, and other factors necessary to protect the overall 

integrity of the park.”13 In response, Fredericksburg 

and Spotsylvania National Military Park adopted a 

park-specific m nument policy in 2007 to regulate addition of new monuments within the park, in keeping 

with other laws, regulations, and management policies. 

The park allows new monuments at Chancellorsville 

according to the following policy: 

Monuments to military organizations (regiments, brigades, divisions, etc.) shall be erected only on their battle 

line. These monuments shall mark battle positions and 

shall be site related. Only those monuments which fulfill

the legislated purpose of the park (to mark the lines of 

battle of military units) and that are offi ally proposed 

by individual states will henceforth be permitted within 

the park. Proposals from states must be either endorsed 

by legislative resolution or funded by appropriation from 

the state’s legislative body or by expenditure by a state 

agency charged specific lly with commemorative activities 

related to the military history of the state in question (for 

example, a battle monuments commission). Additionally, 

proposals must include the endorsement or concurrence 

of the chief executive of the state..14

Final approval of the design, materials, inscription, 

location, size, and construction of the monument is 

assigned to the Director of the National Park Service, 

based on recommendations by the Superintendent of 

the park. The policy also requires the establishment of 

a maintenance trust for the monument.15

Long-Range Interpretive Plan

The Long-Range Interpretive Plan for Fredericksburg 

and Spotsylvania National Military Park, adopted in 

2001, articulates interpretive themes as well as issues 

in the landscape that impact interpretation and visitor 

experience. For Chancellorsville, the plan identifies he 

following issues and opportunities: 

•	 Location of the visitor center “consumes historic ground” 

close to the site of “Stonewall” Jackson’s wounding. 

•	 Highway traffic trudes on the Chancellorsville Inn site, 

the path from the parking lot is not clearly marked, and 

the interpretation of the building site that depicts various 

time periods is confusing

•	 Interpretative media at the Lee-Jackson bivouac, Catharine Furnace ruins, Jackson’s Wounding, and Apex of 

Hooker’s Last Line need improvement

•	 The rise at the Jackson Flank Attack/Tour Stop 8 offers 

excellent views of Jackson’s flank ttack on the US 11th

Corps

•	 Landscape restoration has improved interpretive potential 

at sites such as Hazel Grove and Fairview
367 

4. Treatment Recommendations

Specific andscape treatment prescribed by the plan 

applicable to Chancellorsville (not executed to date) include future consideration of removal of all cast-metal 

narrative signs (Happel signs); eventual relocation of 

the visitor center, possibly to McLaws Wedge; interpretive improvements at Hazel Grove and Fairview 

through restoration of the war-time fi ld and forest patterns; opening of the original alignment of the Jackson 

Trail south of Catharine Furnace; development of a major new interpretive area at the Flank Attack battlefi ld; 

and extension of the trail to the Maury birthplace site 

to interpret local industry and the dense character of 

the battle-period forest. This proposal includes allowing the Hazel Grove vista clearing off Furnace Road to 

revegetate in stages to interpret the dense successional 

woods that characterized the battlefi ld, and accessing a number of mining pits, with recreated wood piles 

along the way to interpret charcoal production.16 

Natural Resources Planning

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military 

Park has undertaken a number of natural resource 

studies to inform management of natural resources 

in the park. The most recent is the “Natural Resource 

Condition Assessment” completed in 2015. The report 

concluded with unbinding recommendations that included the following pertinent to Chancellorsville: 

•	 Maintain current cultural grassland management and 

expand where culturally appropriate

•	 Examine land ownership and zoning around areas of conservation interest and work with local conservancies, land 

owners, and municipalities to assist in their protection

•	 Along streams, improve shade, increase forested riparian 

buffers, and minimize impervious surfaces to improve 

water quality and fi h habitat 

•	 Establish non-native plant removal plans, especially for 

Japanese honeysuckle and Japanese stiltgrass

•	 Maintain connectivity between and among part parcels 

via conservation easements, reforestation efforts, and 

rezoning.17

General Management Plan

The Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military 

Park General Management (GMP) was completed in 

1986 and is today considered out of date for park planning. GMPs are no longer being developed for parks 

and have been replaced in part by Foundation Documents described previously. Despite this, the GMP 

documents issues and management ideas that are still 

relevant to treatment of the Chancellorsville Battlefi ld 

park landscape. The major issues identified in he GMP 

related to the cultural landscape include earthwork 

preservation, loss of Civil War-era fi lds, intrusion of 

non-historic buildings and commuter traffic, he need 

for land protection in the face of development pressure, and the lack of clear wayfi ding among the four 

battlefi lds within the park.18

Specific andscape-related recommendations in the 

General Management Plan at Chancellorsville included 

the following that are relevant to current landscape 

treatment planning (in addition to Land Protection 

summarized previously under the Land Protection 

Plan):

Earthwork Preservation

A program of selective clearing and stabilization was 

recommended for trenches with a high level of visibility 

and interpretive value, including the Federal Works 

north of Route 3, Apex of Hooker’s Last Line, Slocum’s Log Works, Slocum’s Line, and Anderson’s Line 

(McLaws Line). 

Historic Scene Restoration

A program of clearing and reforestation was recommended to reestablish Civil War landscape patterns, 

including enlarging the Bullock clearing by 65 acres 

(not implemented); enlarging the Fairview clearing 

around the Chancellorsville Inn by 15 acres (four acres 

east of Elys Ford Road have been cleared); and reestablishing fi lds around the Catharine Furnace by clearing 

nine aces (not implemented). More extensive clearing 

of Furnace Hollow to its war-time condition was not 

recommended due to ecological issues. 
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

368

Visitor Use and Development

The 1986 General Management Plan anticipated 

increased visitor use at Chancellorsville and recommended expanded parking at the visitor center by 

redesigning the existing lot; improving the maintenance 

garage; and developing a viewing area for the Flank 

Attack Battlefi ld along Route 3 with an access road, 

parking for 10-20 cars, and an elevated viewing platform. The plan anticipated that this would become the 

most important visitor stop at Chancellorsville after the 

visitor center. The Flank Attack stop was built in 1998 

along a pre-existing farm road and did not include the 

viewing platform. 

The 1986 General Management Plan recommended 

changes to the park drive system, including making 

Bullock Drive one-way north to reduce non-park traffic (im lemented). It also called for removing Slocum 

Drive and Hooker Drive (from maintenance area to 

River Road) because of limited use and because they 

were outside the tour route (not implemented). The 

plan called for replacing them with hiking trails to reduce maintenance and maintain access to earthworks.19

RELATED NON-PARK PLANNING

Future treatment of the Chancellorsville Battlefi ld 

park landscape is influe ced by approved land conservation efforts, subdivision proposals, and transportation planning outside park boundaries.

Battlefield Conservatio

The National Park Service’s American Battlefi ld Protection Program (ABPP), established in 1991, promotes 

preservation of historic battlefi lds. Through the Civil 

War Sites Advisory Commission, the ABPP identified

the Chancellorsville Battlefi ld (VA032) as one of the 

top fift Civil War battlefi lds for preservation action 

(Priority I Battlefi ld). The updated (2008) condition 

statement on Chancellorsville states: 

Much of the landscape has been altered and fragmented, 

leaving some essential features. Despite local, state, and 

national efforts to protect this premier battlefi ld, half of 

Chancellorsville’s Study Area has been lost to development. Protection efforts need to be redoubled to save 

remaining historic lands and resources.20

The ABPP report on Chancellorsville recognized the 

efforts of the Civil War Trust and Central Virginia 

Battlefi lds Trust in protecting the Chancellorsville 

Battlefi ld. Both trusts have been working since the 

1990s on acquiring land in the Flank Attack battlefi ld, 

McLaws Wedge, and the First Day areas. These efforts 

have been supplemented by funding through the state’s 

Civil War Sites Preservation Fund. Parcels within park 

boundaries have been acquired by the National Park 

Service. The land trusts do not publicize their land 

acquisition strategies to prevent speculation. 21

Spotsylvania County Trailways Master Plan

In 2011, Spotsylvania County adopted a master plan 

for trails throughout the county that was an implementation of recommendations from the county’s 2008 

Comprehensive Plan. The Trailways Master Plan was 

written to provide a framework for the development 

a comprehensive system of trails both on public and 

private land, to encourage non-motorized travel to link 

neighborhoods, parks, schools, business, and public 

facilities, and to link and protect important natural, 

historic, and cultural resources.22

Planned or existing trails at Chancellorsville addressed 

in the report include the Ni River Trail and the Virginia 

Central Rail (VCR) Trail. These are planned to serve 

as part of “The Spotsylvania Battlefi lds Loop” that 

would connect all of the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park units. The 17.1-mile rail 

trail (2.1 miles existing) is planned to extend along the 

Civil War-era unfini hed railroad corridor that crosses 

Jackson Trail East and Jackson Trail West at Chancellorsville (fig. 4.2). The intersection with Jackson Trail 

East is planned as the terminus of the Ni River Trail 

heading southeast toward Spotsylvania Court House. 

No preferred alignment is identified in he report, except for the planned northern terminus at the Jackson 

Trail East-VCR Trail intersection.23
369 

4. Treatment Recommendations

Elys Ford Road Bypass Planning

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), 

Spotsylvania County, and the National Park Service 

recognize that traffic ongestion at the historic Chancellorsville intersection—the intersection of Routes 

3 and 610 (Elys Ford Road/Old Plank Road) in front 

of the Chancellorsville Inn site along with the nearby 

intersection of River Road (Route 618)—will continue 

to increase. The park acknowledges that this traffic ll 

have increasing impacts on the visitor experience and 

overall historic character at one of the most important 

sites within the Chancellorsville battlefi ld landscape. 

The county tasked the Silver Companies, as part of a 

major rezoning to allow a large 249-lot residential subdivision north of the park off Elys Ford Road (Legends 

of Chancellorsville), to work with the park service to 

develop alternative alignments that would shift the 

intersection away from the Chancellorsville Inn site. 

The Silver Companies developed alternatives, and the 

park contracted with the consulting firm f Rhodeside 

& Harwell to evaluate the proposals. In September 

2015, the park conducted a two-day charrette to further evaluate and articulate 

the alternatives that would 

best achieve the park’s goals 

of enhancing the visitor 

experience and assessing 

the future of the entire 

Route 3 corridor through 

the Chancellorsville unit. 

Advantages and disadvantages were discussed for 

four options provided by 

the Silver Companies. All 

of these options required 

use of park land to build 

new road alignments east 

of the existing intersection. Rhodeside & Harwell 

proposed two additional alternatives: Options 5 and 6 

as a modific tion of Option 2A (a new intersection and 

new park roads east of Hooker Drive that connect to 

Slocum Drive) that call for depressing Route 3 at the 

Elys Ford Road intersection and at the Stuart-Bullock 

drives intersection to create overpasses that would 

allow the park drives to continue uninterrupted across 

Route 3 (fig. 4.3) 24

The Rhodeside & Harwell report on the charrette 

concluded that the park recognizes all options have advantages and disadvantages that require further analysis 

and planning to achieve a workable solution. The 

report did not identify a preferred alternative, although 

Options 5 and 6 were presented as also achieving park 

goals articulated in the park’s Foundation Document.25

VDOT Route 3 Arterial Management Plan

In 2016, the Virginia Department of Transportation 

(VDOT) completed a plan to provide a joint state and 

local strategy to guide development and transportation 

decisions along Route 3 from near Salem Church west 

to the Orange County Line in the Wilderness. There 

are no other proposed VDOT projects for other state 

routes in the Chancellorsville area, aside from the realignment of the Elys Ford Road/River Road intersection with Route 3 described above.26

Figure 4.2. Map of existing and proposed county Greenway Trails 

through Chancellorsville Battlefield. (Detail, Greenway Trail Plan, 

Spotsylvania County Trailways Master Plan, 2010, annotated by 

SUNY ESF). 
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

370

The proposed plan for Route 3 calls for 

improving safety and capacity of the existing four-lane divided highway without 

major widening. Road improvements are 

intended to handle traffic olume increases 

through 2040 to accommodate economic 

development while being sensitive to 

historic resources. Through Chancellorsville, project proposals aside from the Elys 

Ford Road/River Road intersection involve 

minor changes including modific tion of 

the eastern turn lanes into the visitor center, 

lengthening turn lanes at the Stuart Drive/

Bullock Drive intersection, and lengthening 

the westbound left turn lane that provides 

access to Stop 8 (Flank Attack Battlefi ld) 

(fig. 4.4). ore substantial changes include 

widening the Orange Plank Road (Route 

621) intersection and building a northern leg 

into the park between Wilderness Church 

and the Hawkins Farm to provide access to 

land north of Route 3 (plan zone N4), and 

constructing a new signaled intersection 

along the western park boundary at the Flank Attack 

Battlefi ld to provide access to land north and south of 

Route 3 (zones N4 and S5).27 

Figure 4.3. One of the alternative explorations (Option 5) for 

realignment of the Route 3 and Elys Ford Road intersection 

showing complexity of issues pertaining to separation of park 

and highway traffic. (Rhodeside & Harwell, “Ely’s Ford Road at 

Chancellorsville, Charrette Results and Recommendations,” 2015)

Figure 4.4. Detail of state arterial management plan for modifications to Route 3 through Chancellorsville Battlefield, 2018. The labels identify 

addition of turn lanes, removal of cross-overs, and addition of a signaled roadway into the Hawkins Farm. (Michael Baker International and 

Virginia Department of Transportation, “Route 3 Arterial Management Plan,” Figure 11, Recommended Build Condition)
371 

4. Treatment Recommendations

PRIMARY LANDSCAPE TREATMENT

Based on current park planning, Rehabilitation is the 

appropriate primary (overall) treatment for the Chancellorsville cultural landscape. One of the Secretary of 

the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic 

Properties, Rehabilitation is defi ed as the process of 

returning a property to a state of utility, through repair 

or alteration, which makes possible an efficient ontemporary use while preserving those portions and features of 

the property which are signifi ant to its historic, architectural, and cultural values. (Standards for Rehabilitation 

in Appendix A)

Rehabilitation is an appropriate treatment because it 

allows for flexi ility in sensitively adapting the historic 

landscape to accommodate contemporary issues such 

as universal accessibility, traffic anagement, interpretation, natural resource conservation, and maintenance 

operations. Rehabilitation also allows for application of 

the other Standards, including Preservation, Restoration, and Reconstruction, to specific ituations. 

These other three Standards are not appropriate as the 

primary treatment for the Chancellorsville landscape 

because they would not allow the park to address the 

issues articulated in its Foundation Document. Preservation would maintain the landscape in its existing condition, which would result in retention of non-historic 

development and traffic onditions, and would not, 

for example, allow for changes to address protection 

of viewsheds, return of Civil War-era forest and fi ld 

patterns, or the barrier formed by Route 3. Restoration 

to 1863 (Civil War) or 1963 (historic park development) 

conditions is not a feasible primary treatment because 

of the significa t changes that have occurred since 

these historic periods, such as widening of Route 3 and 

large resort and suburban subdivisions. Restoration 

and Reconstruction of the battlefi ld landscape would 

not be appropriate as a primary treatment because 

of lack of documentation necessary to return the 

landscape to its exact 1863 appearance, and because 

these treatments would require removal of historically 

significa t park development. 

TREATMENT PHILOSOPHY

A treatment philosophy articulates the reasoning for 

future decision-making pertaining to management of 

a cultural landscape. It is based on the Cultural Landscape Report site history, existing conditions, analysis 

and evaluation, and a framework of historic preservation guidelines, legislation, and park planning. 

To guide rehabilitation of the Chancellorsville Battlefi ld landscape, the recommended treatment philosophy is based on two main goals, in keeping with 

the purpose of the park and recent park planning: to 

preserve and enhance the historic character of the 1863 

battlefi ld, and to reinforce the park’s commemorative 

purpose to recall and honor the memory of those who 

fought on its hallowed ground. The Chancellorsville 

Battlefi ld is one cultural landscape with multiple historic layers that include both battle remnants and battle 

commemoration. The goal of landscape treatment is to 

allow visitors to understand the Chancellorsville landscape from perspective of the present—as the legacy of 

the battle and the subsequent 150 years of preservation 

and commemoration. 

Within this broad philosophical framework, the recommended goals and objectives of landscape treatment 

are organized by two areas: the battlefi ld landscape 

consisting of the landscape patterns and built remnants 

dating to the Battle of Chancellorsville in 1863, and 

the overlay of the historic park landscape comprised 

of areas designed and developed for commemoration 

and park uses between ca. 1931 and 1963 (figu e 4.5). 

Within both treatment areas, landscape changes and 

additions under the primary treatment of Rehabilitation may be appropriate to meet the needs of park 

operations, allow for conservation of natural resources, 

and addresses the surrounding modern context (roads, 

subdivisions).

Overall, the battlefi ld landscape is the primary resource of the Chancellorsville Battlefi ld unit. There 

may be instances where treatment of the battlefi ld 

landscape may take precedence over preservation of 

features associated with the historic park landscape. 
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

372

Treatment should protect the ability of the battlefi ld 

landscape to function as an evocative historic resource, 

and not be overawed by interpretive devices and other 

park infrastructure. 28

Battlefield Landscape (1863

The battlefi ld landscape consists of the natural systems, fi lds, roads, earthworks, vegetation, views, and 

archaeological sites that are the physical remnants of 

the Battle of Chancellorsville.29 This landscape includes 

all land within park boundaries outside of areas of historic park development undertaken between ca. 1931 

and 1963. Most of the lands acquired by the park since 

1963 constitute battlefi ld landscape. 

The recommended treatment goal for the battlefi ld 

landscape is to manage toward its 1863 character that 

is defi ed by large-scale spatial patterns, while preserving extant remnants that convey the aftermath of the 

battle and the passage of time. Features should not be 

restored to their antebellum condition or post-battle 

ruined state, but spatial patterns of fi ld and forest 

should be reestablished within the constraints of natural resource protection and relationship to adjoining 

historic park development and non-historic suburban 

development. Reconstruction or restoration of features 

may also be considered to aid interpretation of the 1863 

battlefi ld and enhance the distinctive identity of the 

battlefi ld. These actions may include rebuilding fence 

lines, reestablishing walks and roads, and replanting of 

Figure 4.5. Map of the Chancellorsville Battlefield showing corridors along park drives (highlighted in yellow) to be treated as the Historic 

Park Landscape (1931-63), and the remainder of the park and partner lands to be treated as the Battlefield Landscape (1863). The Jackson 

Trail (East and West), only partially shown on this map, is part of the Historic Park Landscape. (SUNY ESF)
373 

4. Treatment Recommendations

trees and orchards where appropriate to help visitors 

understand the patterns of the landscape that were critical to the outcome of the battle. Markers may enhance 

the identity and interpretation of battlefi ld features. 

To preserve the historic continuity of the Chancellorsville landscape, historic park development (1931-

1963) should not be removed or altered to restore 1863 

battlefi ld character, unless the development interferes 

with a critical interpretive story, such as the wounding 

of Stonewall Jackson. Areas with other cultural values 

not directly related to the Battle of Chancellorsville, 

such as the Wilderness Baptist Church Cemetery, 

should be retained if they do not obstruct battle-era 

landscape patterns. Non-historic buildings on or adjacent to the location of historic buildings, such as the 

Hawkins farmhouse, should be retained to maintain 

battle-era patterns of development. Continued agricultural use is appropriate to maintain the overall rural 

character of the landscape, but crops should be similar 

in scale and type to those that existed during the battle 

(for example, planting orchards where cultivated fi lds 

existed in 1863 would not be appropriate). Modern 

development (buildings, roads) that intrudes on the 

battlefi ld landscape should be removed or screened 

where possible, or left visible and interpreted as part of 

the contemporary setting. 

Areas of the battlefi ld landscape where park development is needed to address contemporary park uses, 

notably at the Flank Attack battlefi ld, should be 

managed for a character that is visually connected with 

the historic park landscape to promote a unified a d 

consistent appearance to park infrastructure throughout Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military 

Park. 

Historic Park Landscape (1931–1963)

The historic park landscape consists of the drives, 

trails, buildings, markers, and other features designed 

and built between 1931 and 1963, as well as commemorative works that date back to 1879. This landscape, 

which follows the drive corridors that were the structure of the park’s original modified Antietam Plan, 

conveys the park’s commemorative purpose as executed by veterans and the US military. The historic park 

landscape contains designed park features that visually 

unite Chancellorsville not only with the other units 

of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military 

Park, but also with other Civil War national military 

parks developed by the War Department between 1890 

and 1933, such as Gettysburg, Antietam, and Vicksburg. 

The recommended treatment goal for the historic park 

landscape is to preserve historic characteristics and 

features that date through the end of the period of 

significa ce in 1963, and to maintain them for continued use for the benefit f park visitors. Park landscape 

features that have been removed since the historic period may be reestablished if they support current park 

operations or enhance the historic character of the 

landscape. Changes to the historic park landscape that 

are necessary to fulfill he park mission of battlefi ld 

preservation and commemoration, and are needed to 

support park operations, may be appropriate provided 

they are designed in a manner that is compatible with 

the historic character of the landscape. 

In general, there may be more flexi ility in treatment of 

later historic park landscape features from the civilian 

National Park Service years because they do not refle t 

the historic military context of the national military 

park. The features associated with post-battle commemoration and the original development of the park 

refle t continuity between the battle and its commemoration by veterans and the War Department through 

the early 1930s. 
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

374

This section discusses treatment issues that are impacting the Chancellorsville cultural landscape and provides general treatment guidance on possible solutions. 

This guidance is general in nature because the issues 

requires further study to articulate specific t eatment 

actions. The issues and guidance refle t fi dings of 

this Cultural Landscape Report, park planning, and 

workshops with park staff. A list of potential treatment 

tasks that address these and other treatment issues is in 

Appendix B. 

ROUTE 3 CORRIDOR

Virginia Route 3, historically the Orange Turnpike/Orange Plank Road, is today a four-lane, divided arterial 

highway that provides access from Fredericksburg and 

I-95 to suburban communities in Spotsylvania County 

and west into Orange County, as well as longer-haul 

connections to the Shenandoah Valley. Route 3 is the 

only east-west highway corridor in Spotsylvania and 

Orange counties south of the Rappahannock River. 

The road has been the primary transportation corridor 

in the region since the 18th century and was one of the 

reasons why the Battle of Chancellorsville occurred 

where it did. However, the existing widened roadway 

and heavy automobile and truck traffi (23,000 vehicles/

day as of 2015) detracts from the historic character of 

battlefi ld landscape and disrupts park circulation and 

cohesion. The future condition of Route 3 is the single 

most influe tial factor in determining the future condition and use of Chancellorsville Battlefi ld. 

While Route 3 has lost much of the character from the 

battle and historic park periods when it was a two-lane 

road, the highway still remains the core of Chancellorsville Battlefi ld and is part of the battlefi ld interpretation. It also provides the primary access for visitors to 

the park, who overwhelmingly arrive by private automobile. It is therefore important that the highway corridor be managed in a way that enhances the historic 

character and identity of Chancellorsville Battlefi ld. 

From the partner-owned First Day Battlefi ld on the 

east to Brock Road and the Jackson Trail on the west, 

the Route 3 corridor should be managed to convey 

a continuous character of park land that is readily 

identifi ble as Chancellorsville Battlefi ld. Current 

Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) plans 

call for minor changes to the highway to accommodate 

additional development in the area and improve safety, 

primarily through modific tion of intersections (see fig.

4.4). The state is also involved in plans being developed 

by others to build a bypass for Elys Ford Road around 

the Chancellorsville crossing (see fig. 4.3). As planning 

for these improvements continues, the park should 

work with VDOT to consider the following issues and 

guidance that pertain to the historic character of the 

Chancellorsville Battlefi ld landscape and park operations. This guidance does not address traffic esign 

issues pertaining to Route 3. 

Scenic Quality

Consider designation of the Route 3 park corridor as a 

scenic zone, such as through the National Scenic Byway 

program. Designation could be extended west through 

the Wilderness Battlefi ld along Route 20. The Scenic 

Bypass designation could serve as a tool to unify federal, state, and local management of the Route 3 corridor, 

and would heighten public awareness of the highway 

as a route that has significa ce beyond commuter and 

truck traffi 30 The following design guidelines should 

be considered to enhance the historic character of this 

corridor: 

•	 Prohibit commercial signage on the shoulders, such 

as for real-estate developments. 

•	 Minimize size and number of highway signs; prohibit use of overhead sign structures. 

TREATMENT ISSUES AND GENERAL GUIDANCE
375 

4. Treatment Recommendations

•	 Use inconspicuous and rustic-style Cor-ten steel 

and/or wood for guiderails and sign supports. 

•	 Use refle tive devices instead of highway lighting to 

preserve rural character and night skies.

•	 Maintain turf shoulders and minimize clear zones 

that require removal of woods; reestablish woods 

in the medians where the landscape was historically 

wooded (such as near Bullock Drive and Stuart 

Drive); use guiderails along edges of woods where 

there is not adequate space for turf shoulders/clear 

zones. 

•	 Remove woods in medians and shoulders where 

there were historically fi lds (such as through Flank 

Attack Battlefi ld).

•	 Develop roadside planting specific tions that maintain a native palette (hardwoods forest). 

•	 For private inholdings, work with owners to enhance the historic character of the frontage of their 

properties along Route 3. This could be accomplished through purchase of scenic easements along 

the private property frontage by VDOT, NPS, or 

NPS partners such as the Civil War Trust. An easement that extends back from the state right-of-way 

(50 to 100 feet or more) could be used to manage 

the frontage of Route 3 in a way that enhances the 

historic character of the park. Such easements could 

be used to: 

–Reestablish historic wooded conditions along 

the road that would screen modern buildings and 

landscapes, such as Wilderness Presidential Resorts 

and residential properties. Such wooded buffers 

could also benefit he private properties by screening traffic.

–Remove non-historic woods to reestablish historic 

views (such as at the Hawkins Farm)

–Place limits on signs, fences, mailboxes, and other 

features. 

–Allow NPS to install standard park features such 

as fencing and signage that would visually unite the 

private inholdings along Route 3 with park-owned 

lands.

Park Circulation

Overall, Route 3 has caused a major physical, visual, 

and psychological barrier to the park drive system, essentially dividing the park into two separate sections. 

In addition to instituting design guidelines for Route 

3, the park should continue to work with VDOT and 

FHWA to reduce the impact of the highway on park circulation. Options range from depressing the highway, 

building a cut-and-cover tunnel through the core of 

the park, building overpasses for park drives, realigning public roads (such as Elys Ford Road) or building 

new park drives on park land. Among park staff, there 

is no consensus on the use of park land for new roads, 

either for public roads or for park drives. The park and 

other federal agencies would be required to consult 

with the Virginia State Historic Preservation Office d 

Advisory Council on Historic Preservation to explore 

alternatives to the likely adverse effects that would 

result from redesign of Route 3 and the construction of 

roads within Chancellorsville Battlefi ld. In addition, 

presuming likely federal involvement in Route 3 improvements, no federal transportation project may use 

park land or historic resources unless all prudent and 

feasible alternatives to the taking have been explored.31 

The existing VDOT Route 3 Arterial Management 

Plan (see Treatment Framework) does not address 

park circulation in short-term improvements to Route 

3. Until major redesign of Route 3 is undertaken, the 

park should work with VDOT to consider the following minor improvements in the short term to enhance 

pedestrian and automobile circulation within the park, 

as well as the overall environmental quality of the park: 

•	 Reduce speed limits (currently 55 mph) within the 

park corridor to improve safety and reduce noise on 

adjoining park lands. Consider traffic lming measures to reduce the design speed of the highway. At a 

minimum, maintain the existing width of pavement 

and turf shoulders. 
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

376

•	 Install sensor-triggered signals at Stuart Drive/

Bullock Drive and the Stop 8 entrance drive (also requires median access). Signals at these areas are not 

warranted due to traffic olumes but are necessary 

to improve internal park circulation and safety (see 

also following guidance, “Park Drives”).32

•	 Build a pedestrian bridge across Route 3 within the 

core of the park (see also following guidance, “Park 

Trails”). 

PARK DRIVES

The existing park drive system remains little changed 

from the end of the historic period in 1963 but has 

been greatly impacted in function through the subsequent widening of Route 3 and large increases in traffi

volume, as discussed previously. Improvements to the 

overall drive system in terms of visitor circulation are 

contingent on addressing Route 3, as well as traffi

fl w on other public roads including Elys Ford Road 

and Old Plank Road (VA 610), Orange Plank Road 

(VA 621), Herndon Road (VA 600), and Brock Road 

(VA613). In addition, the existing private driveway access easements and potential for new easements from 

the park drives is detrimental to the visitor experience 

and the intended purpose of the park drives. 

Because of the unresolved issues with Route 3 and 

potential development of new roads and private access 

drives on park land, park staff have articulated the following principles to guide future planning for improvements to the park drive system: 33

•	 Given the size of the park and physical ability of 

most visitors, automobile transportation will remain 

the primary mode of transportation to access park 

resources.

•	 Park drives should be managed to prioritize visitor 

safety and preservation of cultural resources.

•	 Route 3 should be removed from the park driving 

tour/park circulation system (i.e., visitors should not 

have to use Route 3 to access park sites).

•	 The park drive system should access sites of significance outside existing park boundaries, including 

the First Day battlefi ld and Talley Farm.

•	 Jackson Trail should be integrated into the park 

driving tour.

•	 The Flank Attack battlefi ld should be connected by 

a park drive to the core of the park and the visitor 

center.

•	 Stuart Drive/Bullock Drive should have a separated 

crossing (overpass) at Route 3. 

•	 Prohibit new road/driveway construction on existing access easements on park property; plan for 

eventual extinguishment of all private access easements. 

Other considerations for the park drive system, including parking areas:

•	 Redesign the park tour route to provide options for 

visitors, such as a short loop through the core of the 

park along Bullock, Elys Ford Road, Slocum, BerryPaxton, and Stuart Drives. A longer option could 

be a Flank Attack tour that would follow McLaws 

Drive, Furnace Road, Jackson Trail, Brock Road, 

and Route 3 to the Flank Attack Battlefi ld.

•	 Provide a park tour route for bicycles. 

•	 Maintain existing width and surface of park drives 

(including gravel surface of the Jackson Trail) to 

maintain historic character and discourage nonpark traffi

•	 To reduce growth of non-park through-traffic

consider addition of visually subtle traffic-calming 

features such as speed bumps/humps, changes in 

traffic d ection, and closing of roads. 

•	 Reestablish the historic roadbed of the removed 

northern section of Berry-Paxton Drive and maintain it for pedestrian use only (see Drawing 3.1). 

Alternatively, reestablish the parallel Civil War-era 

Fairview farm road to provide access to the Fairview 

gun pits.
377 

4. Treatment Recommendations

•	 Maintain the historic integrity of Hooker Drive and 

Slocum Drive, which were recommended for removal and replacement with trails in the 1986 General Management Plan. These drives are contributing resources in the park’s National Register listing. 

Removal of the road beds, turf shoulders, and other 

features would adversely affect the historic park 

landscape. Changes in use, such as from vehicular to 

pedestrian use, or surface (restoration of pea gravel 

surface), may be appropriate. 

•	 For intersections of public roads with park drives, 

such as McLaws Place, South Carolina Court, Old 

Plank Road, Brock Road, and Terembes Lane, 

replace standard green street signs with FHWA 

brown-faced signs, or work with VDOT to use park 

standard signage at these locations. 

PARK TRAILS

During the 1930s, the park developed an extensive trail 

system that allowed visitors to access much of Chancellorsville Battlefi ld on foot (see Drawings 3.1, 3.4). Two 

trails connected park lands north and south of Route 

3. This system was abandoned following World War 

II, and new trails, using small segments of the original 

system, were developed beginning in 1979. These trails 

do not cross Route 3 and are not heavily used. The park 

drives are used by pedestrians, mainly by local residents 

for recreation. 

Trails provide a way for visitors to make a more intimate 

connection with the landscape, have minimal environmental impact, and support healthy living. Because surrounding developments are not designed for pedestrian 

use (the area has received a walkability rating of zero 

out of 100 34), it is likely that residents in the future will 

make greater use of park trails for recreation. The following guidelines should be considered in planning for 

future trail improvements:

Trail Locations

•	 Make use of historic trail alignments for new construction where feasible.

•	 Reestablish historic trail names that served commemorative purposes, such as the Captain Dimick 

Foot Trail and General Posey Foot Trail (see Drawing 3.1); consider renaming existing non-historic 

trails with names that commemorate unrepresented 

veterans.

•	 Provide for trails to commemorative works and 

battlefi ld sites that are not accessible by car, such as 

the 114th Pennsylvania and Slocum’s Log Works.

•	 Extend trails from the visitor center to the Flank 

Attack battlefi ld; connect Stuart Drive (Paxton 

Monument) to Fairview and the 114th Pennsylvania 

Monument; provide a trail to the Burton Farm site.

•	 Build a pedestrian overpass across Route 3 within 

the core of the park. Two options include:

–At the historic alignment of the Captain Dimick 

Foot Trail (east of visitor center, see Drawing 3.1).

–At the Jackson monument and visitor center area.

•	 Allow for trail connections to surrounding neighborhoods, provided the connections do not impact 

the historic character of the park landscape.

•	 Work with county and private property owners to 

preserve Mineral Springs Road outside park boundaries, and to establish it as a county trail that would 

provide linkages between the park and the Rappahannock River (possible addition to Spotsylvania 

County Trailways Master Plan).

•	 Work with the county to establish a bike loop trail 

that follows Jackson Trail East, Jackson Trail West, 

and the planned Virginia Central Rail Trail (outside 

park boundaries). This would require a new pedestrian/bike trail segment along Brock Road, either in 

the road shoulder or through park land, to connect 

Jackson Trail East and Jackson Trail West.

Trail Design

•	 Provide trailhead parking where necessary.

•	 Make trails universally accessible where feasible and 

without adversely affecting the historic landscape. 
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

378

•	 Maintain trails in earth/gravel that was used historically, except in problem areas where alternative 

pavements that maintain a similar visual appearance 

should be used, such as poly pavements that can use 

earth and gravel in a binder. Avoid surface materials 

that alter the historic grade of the trails. 

•	 For trails on historic roads or closed park drives, 

maintain the historic width and alignment of the 

roadbed to retain the character of a road. Asphalt 

may be removed, but a gravel/earth surface should 

be maintained. 

PARK IDENTITY AND COMMEMORATION

The Chancellorsville Battlefi ld landscape lacks a 

strong visual identity, both within the park and along 

the public highways that pass through it. This is due to 

lack of visual cues, as well as the dispersed geography 

of the park that includes multiple segments that are 

interrupted by roads and suburban development. As 

a vernacular rural landscape of fi lds and woods, the 

park lands are not clearly distinguished from surrounding lands. 

Features that historically identified he park landscape 

included the distinctive design of the park drives, along 

with park signage (notably War Department-style iron 

identific tion tablets), cannons, monuments, and rail 

fences. Today, some of these features have been lost, 

while others have become inconspicuous, are not 

uniformly applied, or have been removed or reduced 

in number. Park drives, for example, are inconsistently 

marked and due to standard asphalt pavement and 

adjoining suburban development have lost some of 

their distinctive character. Battlefi ld sites are marked 

by interpretive waysides and other devices designed to 

recede visually rather than impart a distinctive identity. 

Fences consist of a variety of types and are not used 

consistently. Entrance signs into the park are standard 

brown-faced highway signs that connote recreational 

uses; at speeds of 45 and 55 mph, they provide little 

lasting impression. Two large signs mounted on brick 

walls along Route 3 are the most prominent signs, 

but mark the entrances to the visitor center, not the 

entrances into the battlefi ld park, and are not visible 

to eastbound traffic hey were built before Route 3 was 

widened into a divided highway).

The lack of a strong and coherent visual identity to the 

Chancellorsville park landscape is not in keeping with 

the park legislation that calls for marking the battlefi ld, and also hinders public appreciation of the park 

as hallowed ground. The need for strong visual identity has become more acute with growth of adjoining 

suburban residential subdivisions that contrast with the 

solemn purpose of the national military park. These 

changes have led to increased direct or indirect use of 

park lands for non-commemorative purposes including 

commuting, housing, and recreation. 

The following guidance is intended to enhance the 

identity of the park and its commemorative purpose, 

in keeping with the historic rural character of the 

Figure 4.6. Contemporary masonry entrance sign to Shiloh 

National Park, as design precedent for first-tier entrance signs at 

Chancellorsville Battlefield, ca. 2018. (National Park Service

Figure 4.7. Contemporary rustic entrance sign to Shiloh National 

Park, as design precedent for second-tier entrance signs at 

Chancellorsville Battlefield, ca. 2018. (Courtesy Buckeye Bill, Shiloh 

National Park tour, CivilWar Talk blog, July 31, 2015)
379 

4. Treatment Recommendations

Chancellorsville landscape and its relationship to War 

Department-era national military parks. Implementation will require development of a park-wide signage 

and identific tion program for all units of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. 

Entrance Sign Standards

Entrance signs into Chancellorsville Battlefi ld should 

have a substantial, prominent and distinctive quality that connotes the solemn nature of the battlefi ld, 

while meeting FHWA/VDOT safety standards. Consideration should be given to using framing/structure, face 

color, and font style that are different from standard 

highway signs. Signs should be designed according to 

the following two tiers that denote different entrances 

into the park: 

First Tier

Design signage to mark the main approaches into 

Chancellorsville Battlefi ld along Route 3. An appropriate design could include a stone base that would 

employ the same stone masonry of the park’s historic 

culverts and bridges, similar to the recently built entrance signs at Shiloh National Military Park (fig. 4.6).

Such signs at Chancellorsville would need to be set 

back from the road outside of the clear zone. 

Second Tier

Design signage to mark the entrances 

into the park from the secondary public 

roads (such as Old Plank Road, Orange 

Plank Road) and at the entrances to the 

park drives. These should be designed at 

a scale below that of the fir t-tier signs, 

and could include information about the 

drives’ commemorative namesakes. An 

appropriate design could recall the rustic 

style of the early park-service signs, but 

using a contemporary design, such as 

used at Shiloh National Military Park (fig.

4.7). 

War Department-Style Identification ablets 

It is recommended that the park perpetuate the system 

of identific tion tablets designed by the War Department that date back to the earliest federal administration of the park. Today, some sites and park drives are 

marked with these tablets, but many are not, leading to 

an inconsistent system of marking that diminishes the 

visual cohesion of park lands. Use of these tablets for 

marking sites and park drives would provide visitors 

with a consistent identifier a d perpetuate Chancellorsville’s origins as a War Department-era national 

military park (fig. 4.8).

New tablets should be marked with a date stamp on 

the back to distinguish them from historic tablets and 

could be made of alternative materials, provided they 

are durable and have a similar appearance to cast iron. 

Identific tion tablets at historic sites such as farms, 

building sites, and earthworks would serve as markers and would not replace interpretive media. Tablets 

should generally be installed along park drives and 

public roads within the historic park landscape and 

other park roads (such as the Stop 8 drive), and not 

within the battlefi ld landscape areas. Existing historic 

identific tion tablets should be preserved.

Battle sites that should be considered for marking with 

identific tion tablets include: 

Figure 4.8. Simulation of a new identification tablet at the Catharine Furnace, looking 

southwest from Furnace Road. Addition of these tablets at presently unmarked battle 

sites and features would provide a consistent system of marking within the historic 

park landscape, as intended in the park’s original legislation. (SUNY ESF)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

380

•	 Civil War Natural Features: Ni River (Furnace Road 

crossing), Brock Run (Jackson Trail East and West)

•	 Civil War Roads: Old Mountain Road (intersection at visitor center entrance drive and Bullock 

Drive), Mineral Springs Road, Orange Plank Road, 

Fairview-Hazel Grove Road (trace along Fairview 

gun pits), Elys Ford Road, River Road (Civil War 

alignment crossing at Hooker Drive), Brock Road, 

Old Furnace Road (traces along Jackson Trail East)

•	 Civil War Farms/Plantations (install tablet at approaches to clearings; Hazel Grove is the only one 

presently marked with a tablet): Fairview Plantation, 

Bullock Plantation, Catharine Furnace Property 

and Wellford Plantation, Stephens and Trigg Farms, 

Burton Farm.

•	 Building Sites: Bullock House, Chancellorsville 

Inn, Fairview House, Catharine Furnace, Wellford 

House, Wilderness Church

•	 Unfini hed Railroad

•	 Chancellor Cemetery

•	 Lee-Jackson Bivouac

•	 Earthworks—existing or sites: Couch’s, Griffin’s

Pender’s, Bushbeck Line, Fairview gun pits May 1, 

Fairview gun pits May 2, McCarthy’s batteries

Park drives should have identific tion tablets at both 

ends as well as at intersections. The following is a list 

of park drives that are missing identific tion tablets. 

Jackson Trail is not recommended for marking with 

War Department-style tablets because it was a National 

Park Service-designed road and is recommended for a 

different system of marking (see following guidance). 

•	 Bullock Drive, at Elys Ford Road

•	 Miles Drive, at River Road and Hooker Drive 

intersections (even though the road is today known 

as River Road, the tablets should be installed to 

reestablish the commemorative intent of the drive)

•	 Hooker Drive at both ends

•	 Slocum Drive at Old Plank Road

•	 Stuart Drive at Route 3

•	 Furnace Road at Old Plank Road

•	 McLaws Drive at both ends

•	 Sickles Drive at Furnace Road

Jackson Trail Markers

It is recommended that a system of distinctive markers 

be developed to identify and unite the various segments of the Jackson Trail (Furnace Road, Jackson Trail 

East, Brock Road, Jackson Trail West, Brock Road, and 

Route 3 between Brock Road and Jackson’s Take-off). 

The markers should have a subdued character that is 

compatible with but distinguishable from the historic 

rustic character of the Jackson Trail. The design could 

take the form of a small boulder or a traditional wood, 

stone, or concrete milestone with inscriptions that 

indicate direction of the troops and mileage from its 

beginning at the Lee-Jackson bivouac (fig. 4.9). C ncrete would be inconspicuous and would relate to 

historic use of concrete for the road’s culverts. The 

markers should be installed in the road shoulders at 

regular intervals. 

Figure 4.9. A simple, inconspicuous concrete mile marker that would 

be appropriate design for marking distances along the Jackson Trail. 

(Courtesy 87 Counties / Minnesota Adventures, 87counties.com)
381 

4. Treatment Recommendations

Marking of Artillery Positions

Cannons are a widely-recognized Civil War battlefi ld symbol and could be used to mark and interpret 

artillery positions that are presently unidentified r 

inconspicuous. New installations should make use of 

the type of guns and carriages used historically on the 

site where possible. Sites appropriate for marking with 

cannons include the Apex of Hooker’s Last Line along 

Elys Ford Road and Mineral Springs Road, McLaws 

Line, and Anderson’s Gut Pit along Furnace Road. 

Battlefield Narrative Signs (Happel Signs

Located parallel to the park drives and off public roads, 

these large signs long conveyed a distinctive identity 

to the FRSP park units. Many, however, do not refle t 

current interpretation of the battle, and the park’s 

Long-Range Interpretive Plan calls for their removal. 

The few remaining signs should be documented prior 

to removal. Consideration should be given to retaining 

several examples in the park’s collections. 

Rail Fences

Stacked-rail or Virginia worm fences are today widely 

understood symbols of Civil War battlefi lds. Installation of these fences along public roads at Chancellorsville would provide a visual cue that could enhance 

public understanding and appreciation of park lands. 

These fences also could serve practical purposes of 

limiting or guiding access. Appropriate locations may 

include on the approaches to the park drives, and along 

fi lds such as the Bullock clearing along Bullock Drive 

and Elys Ford Road where the park once maintained 

Virginia worm fences (see fig. 1.149). ences for these 

contemporary purposes would need to be balanced 

with interpretive programming, the existence of sound 

historical documentation, and a feasible maintenance 

plan (see also following general guidance, “Battle-Era 

Fences”). 

MARKING MILITARY POSITIONS

Chancellorsville Battlefi ld lacks a system of military 

position markers in the landscape such as found at 

other historic national military parks. Some of this is 

due to the lack of documentation on battle lines and 

the chaotic strategy of the battle in the heavily wooded 

environment. Only several battle lines and other 

military positions are identified y commemorative 

monuments; others are identified y interpretive waysides designed to fade in the landscape and therefore 

do not serve as visible markers. A systematic marking 

of known military positions using a common visual cue 

could assist visitors in better understanding the strategy 

and outcome of the battle. This would constitute a different system of marking from the War Department-era 

identific tion tablets. 

A new system of markers could be designed as waysides 

that serve as both visual markers and conveyors of 

information about the unit’s service in the battle. Additional research would be necessary to determine the 

locations and extent of marking on the Chancellorsville 

Battlefi ld. These would be contemporary additions 

to the landscape, and while visible, should not intrude 

on or clutter the 1863 battlefi ld landscape. Markers 

should be considered for sites that add interpretive 

value and are accessible from park drives and trails or 

public roads. Potential designs for markers include: 

•	 A small metal tablet on a stone, refle ting traditional 

marking in national military parks, such as was 

recently installed by the Civil War Trust at the First 

Day at Chancellorsville Battlefi ld site (fig. 4.10).

•	 Use of small “Burma-Shave”-style brown signs 

along public roads outside of the park to locate key 

troop positions.

•	 Standard park waysides modified w th a visual cue 

such as a colored flag r marking (red-Confederate, 

blue-US). 

A new system of markers could also include a hierarchy 

that refle ts the organization of the armies. For example, Headquarters sites such as the Chancellorsville 

Inn (US headquarters) and Bullock House (Couch’s 

headquarters) could receive a more prominent marker 

than the line of an infantry regiment. Marking these 
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

382

locations could provide a structure and extent to the 

Chancellorsville Battlefi ld that at present is not visible. 

Addition of new regimental monuments (substantial 

ornamental stone objects as opposed to smaller-scale 

markers) on park lands is discouraged. The park today 

considers the period of major monumentation to have 

passed. However, upon request, individual states may 

be allowed to erect regimental monuments on battle 

positions, per park legislation and monument policies 

(see Treatment Framework section of this chapter). 

Each would need to be considered on an individual 

basis. Monuments should be subdued in character 

and scale to minimize visual intrusion in the historic 

landscape. 

BATTLE-ERA FIELD AND FOREST PATTERNS

The Chancellorsville Battlefi ld landscape has lost 

some of the patterns of fi ld and forest that influe ced 

the strategy and outcome of the battle. Since the 1930s, 

the National Park Service has recognized the interpretive value of these landscape patterns, but over the 

years, maintenance constraints, lack of documentation, 

and adjoining development have eroded the battlefi ld’s spatial character. Private inholdings and property that has recently been incorporated into the park 

have generally not been managed to maintain 1863 

landscape patterns. 

The following guidance is intended to reestablish the 

1863 spatial organization of the landscape defi ed by 

forests and fi lds. This treatment is especially needed 

in the inholdings and partner-owned areas of the Flank 

Attack battlefi ld, such as the Talley Farm. Guidance 

is also included for managing woods to interpretive 

the dense successional character that existed in 1863. 

Environmental assessments would need to be done for 

any large-scale clearing of mature forest. 

1863 Fields

Open fi lds were a defini g characteristic of the battlefi ld and are well documented on the 1867 Michler 

maps, although it is possible some areas represent 

post-battle clearings. All battle-era clearings cannot 

be reestablished due to a number of factors, including 

protection of natural resources, particularly sensitive wetland and riparian habitat; the need to screen 

modern development; and limits of park boundaries. 

Restoration of the exact limits of the clearings may 

not be necessary to reestablish the landscape’s overall 

1863 character. Clearings should be managed as natural 

grassland habitat, annually-mown meadow, or as leased 

agricultural land.

The Analysis and Evaluation plans (Drawings 3.1–3.6) 

provide direction on where fi ld clearing may be 

warranted based on comparison of 1863 and current conditions. The 1986 General Management Plan 

identified hree areas that still warrant consideration 

today: enlargement of the Bullock clearing by 65 acres; 

enlarging the Fairview clearing north of the Chancellorsville Inn; and establishing a clearing of nine acres 

around the Catharine Furnace, which would reveal and 

protect archeological resources from windthrow. Other 

areas warranting treatment include enlargement of the 

Fairview-Hazel Grove vista clearing; the Fairview clearing west of the US gun pits; the Talley Farm to open 

strategic sight lines from Burton Farm (would require 

coordination with park partners); and the Maury birthplace, to open a fi ld that historically extended south 

Figure 4.10. A recently installed military position marker at the 

Civil War Trust’s First Day at Chancellorsville Battlefield property. 

(Chris Mackowski, “First Day at Chancellorsville,” Emerging Civil 

War blog, May 1, 2018).
383 

4. Treatment Recommendations

to Furnace Road. Less extensive clearing to adjust fi ld 

boundaries would also be warranted at the Hawkins 

Farm (partly on a private inholding), Locust Grove 

(Wagner Farm), and the Wellford clearing. 

1863 Forests

Reestablishment of missing battle-era forested areas 

could be undertaken through replanting, or through 

natural succession. Areas that warrant reforestation, 

as documented on the Analysis and Evaluation plans 

(Drawings 3.1–3.6) include clearings at the sites of 

removed suburban houses along Route 3 and Old 

Plank Road, and in the non-historic Hazel Grove vista 

clearing north of Furnace Road. The frontage of private 

inholdings (residential lots) along Old Plank Road 

and Route 3 could be reforested through easements 

with the property owners to better convey the historic 

wooded character of the battlefi ld (see previous guidance on Route 3 Corridor). Inconclusive documentation exists to support reforestation of the McLaws 

clearing (McLaws Wedge), which is shown on the 1867 

Michler maps as being forested, but soldiers’ accounts 

indicate long sight lines in the area. 

Demonstration Area of Second-Growth Woods

Since most of the woods in the park are mature with 

relatively open understory, they do not refle t the 

dense, second-growth character that existed in many 

areas during the battle in 1863. This dense, second 

growth was largely a result of timber harvesting to 

provide charcoal for the local iron industry. To provide 

an area of woods to interpret these conditions, existing 

non-historic fi lds could be allowed to undergo natural 

succession. Possible sites include part of McLaws 

clearing or the Hazel Grove vista clearing off Furnace 

Road. The latter site was recommended in the park’s 

1986 General Management Plan. Another site that 

could be used to interpret second-growth woods is 

near Hooker’s Last Line along Mineral Springs Road, 

where there already exists dense second-growth as a 

result of a blow-down during Hurricane Isabel in 2003. 

BATTLE-ERA FENCES

The spatial patterns of the battlefi ld landscape in 1863 

were formed by fence lines as well as by fi lds and forest. These included stacked-rail fences (Virginia worm 

fences) around fi lds and along roads; and rail, plank, 

or picket fences around gardens and domestic yards, 

such as around the Chancellorsville Inn. Most all of 

these fences are missing from the park landscape. The 

existing rail fence at the Chancellorsville Inn site has 

no relationship to fences that existed at the time of the 

battle, and therefore does not convey the 1863 spatial 

organization of the grounds. 

Field and yard fences should be considered for reconstruction where they would serve an interpretive 

purpose, provided there is sound documentation to 

inform their reconstruction. These fences should also 

be considered where they could serve a contemporary 

function, such as providing separation between visitors 

and traffic, r providing an identity to park lands along 

public roads. 

While fences were an important part of the battlefi ld’s 

character at the onset of the battle, there are both benefits a d drawbacks to rebuilding them.

Benefit

•	 Reconstructing battle-era fences could enhance 

visitor understanding of the spatial organization 

of the battlefi ld landscape at the onset of fi hting. 

For example, the well-documented picket, board, 

and rail fences around the Chancellorsville Inn yard 

could be accurately reconstructed to convey the organization of this key site on the battlefi ld (see also 

following guidance, Battle-Era Building Sites). In the 

absence of remaining buildings, such fences can be 

used to interpret the landscape’s historic character. 

•	 The 1867 Michler map does not indicate fence 

styles, but Virginia worm fences were typically used 

to enclose agricultural fi lds. Reestablishing these 

fences can enhance the spatial character of the 

battle-era fi lds.
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

384

•	 Reconstructing Virginia worm fences, which today 

are a widely-understood symbol of Civil War-era 

battlefi lds, can help provide a unifying visual identity to park lands when installed along public roads. 

•	 Reconstructed fences could help to screen traffi

and contemporary development. 

•	 Reconstructing and maintaining wood fences could 

be an opportunity for park partner involvement. 

Drawbacks

•	 Maintaining extensive lines of wood fences on the 

battlefi ld could pose a burden on park operations. 

•	 The 1867 Michler map documents fence lines that 

existed four years after the battle and may therefore 

indicate fence lines that did not exist in 1863.

•	 The 1867 Michler map does not indicate fence 

types; the Forbes sketches and other graphic sources are not consistent in identific tion of locations 

and styles of fences.35

•	 Most of the fences that existed on April 30, 1863 

were destroyed during the following three days of 

the battle. Reconstructing these fences therefore 

does not accurately portray the aftermath and 

legacy of the battle. However, the fences could be 

interpreted as contemporary interpretive devices 

that also refle t continued agricultural and domestic 

uses that resumed following the battle. 

BATTLE REMNANTS

Built remnants of the Battle of Chancellorsville, 

primarily earthworks but also roads and structures, 

provide visitors with the most tangible connection to 

the events of 1863 apart from the land itself. Long-term 

preservation of existing remnants should be a priority for management through detailed documentation 

of existing conditions and institution of a monitoring 

system to determine levels of deterioration. A comprehensive condition assessment was not undertaken for 

this Cultural Landscape Report. 

Earthworks

Aside from gun pits at Fairview and along Furnace 

Road, earthworks on the Chancellorsville Battlefi ld 

are primarily trenches concealed in part by trees, scrub, 

and leaf litter. Treatment and maintenance guidelines 

for earthworks is addressed in Andropogon Associates, 

Earthworks Landscape Management Manual (National 

Park Service, 1989). The plan found that in general, 

earthworks are best stabilized by native plant communities, rather than by turf. The park’s 1986 General Management Plan recommended that a program of selective 

clearing and stabilization be undertaken for trenches 

with a high level of visibility and interpretive value.

Detailed treatment recommendations for the Chancellorsville earthworks are not included in this report 

because Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National 

Military Park is planning on developing a management 

plan for the park’s earthworks. Based on research for 

this Cultural Landscape Report, it is recommended that 

the earthworks plan consider the following:

•	 Earthworks in historically open fi lds, such as 

in the Bullock and Fairview clearings, should be 

maintained in turf or similar low-growing vegetation to maintain the open spatial character of the 

landscape, while allowing the earthworks to read as 

distinct topographic features. 

•	 Earthworks in historically wooded areas (including the corridors cleared around them during the 

battle), such as Jackson’s Corps Line, Pender’s Line, 

and Slocum’s Line, should be managed to improve 

visibility of the earthwork. An approach that would 

be compatible with the historic character of the park 

landscape would be to retain trees, clear understory, 

and established a sod cover, as was done during the 

1930s. An alternative to sod could be retention of 

a layer of leaf litter, which would maintain the visibility of the topography. Consideration should be 

given to cutting down large trees that pose the risk 

of damage to the earthwork through windthrow.

•	 Sites of earthworks lost to post-battle agricultural 

use and development, such as those around the 
385 

4. Treatment Recommendations

Chancellorsville Inn site, and on Bushbeck’s Line 

on the Flank Attack battlefi ld (Wagner Farm) 

should be documented through an archaeological survey. Marking of these earthworks could be 

undertaken where it provides value to the interpretive experience (see general guidance, “Marking 

Military Positions”).

•	 Priorities for earthwork treatment should include 

those accessible by trails and drives. The presently 

concealed and inaccessible earthworks associated 

with the Apex of Hooker’s Last Line should also be 

a priority for treatment given their importance to 

the strategy of the battle.

Road Traces

In addition to earthworks, there are also traces of 

battle-period roads, but most are hidden by vegetation 

or accumulation of debris (others were redeveloped 

as park drives). These include traces of the old Furnace Road along Jackson Trail East south of Catharine 

Furnace, mine roads leading out from the Catharine 

Furnace, old River Road at Hooker Drive, and Mineral 

Springs Road. These roads could be cleared of scrub 

and trees to reveal their historic circulation and spatial 

character. It may also be appropriate to return circulation to some of these roads, such as for pedestrian use 

(see also general guidance, “Park Drives” and “Park 

Trails”). 

Unfinished Rail oad Bed

The bed of the Virginia Central Railway—the unfi -

ished railroad at the time of the Civil War—is presently 

covered by vegetation. The existence of the cleared 

county sewer-line corridor immediately to the south is 

generally mistaken for the railroad bed. The rail bed is 

not within park boundaries; it is on county-owned land 

in which the park owns an easement, and on private 

property. The park should work with the county to 

clear the historic railroad bed and stabilize the earthen 

embankments as part of the planned Virginia Central 

Rail Trail. It is recommended that the rail bed serve as 

the pedestrian trail, rather than the adjoining sewerline corridor, for interpretive purposes. Completion 

of the rail trail would complete a major trail loop with 

Jackson Trail East and Jackson Trail West. 

BATTLE-ERA BUILDING SITES

Buildings, including houses, barns, and most notably 

the Chancellorsville Inn, were important landmarks 

during the battle. Most buildings were casualties of the 

Civil War. Some were rebuilt on or near the same site, 

or lost at a later time, including the rebuilt Chancellorsville Inn. The last battle-era building to be lost was the 

Wellford House, which was demolished by its private 

owner by the early 1970s. 

The park presently uses two methods to mark and 

interpret Civil War building sites: a border of contemporary stone block to outline the location of the 

building foundation, such as at the McCoull House 

at Spotsylvania, and wood posts to mark the corners 

of the building, such as at the Bullock and Fairview 

house sites at Chancellorsville. These methods require 

minimal ground disturbance, and do not create confusion about being actual building remnants. Drawbacks 

include lack of visibility from afar in the context of the 

larger battlefi ld, and lack of defin tion to the building’s 

historic massing. The Chancellorsville Inn site has its 

own treatment that includes low fini hed brick walls 

with gravel strips that were intended to convey different 

building periods. This treatment has proved confusing 

to visitors and suffers from the same drawbacks at the 

other two methods. At all sites, there is no interpretation of outbuildings such as barns and slave quarters, 

or the landscape context once formed by lawn, fences, 

trees, gardens, and orchards. Turf is generally mown 

around the house sites, but without reference to the 

historic landscape. 

The interpretive experience for visitors could be improved by employing new methods to convey the scale, 

massing, materials, and landscape context of key buildings on the Chancellorsville Battlefi ld. These include 

the Bullock House, Chancellorsville Inn, Fairview 

House, Maury-Pulliam House, Wellford House, and 

buildings associated with the Catharine Furnace. The 

following are alternative methods for identifying and 
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

386

interpreting building sites. Interventions will depend 

on availability of adequate documentation and archaeological sensitivity of the site, in addition to funding. 

Ghost Structure

This method consists of an outline of the lost building’s 

massing using framing that depicts wall and roof lines. 

Examples include a white-painted steel frame that depicts the Ben Franklin House in Philadelphia; a similar 

structure with faux windows at Pole Green Church in 

Richmond; and timber framing that depicts houses at 

St. Mary’s City, Maryland (fig. 4.11). The timber framing conveys a sense of the original construction techniques, but may not be appropriate for brick buildings 

such as the Chancellorsville Inn and Wellford House. 

Potential concerns with use of ghost structures include 

introducing a modern structure into the landscape, lack 

of precedence within national military parks, and maintenance burden. Use of durable Cor-ten steel instead 

of wood could reduce maintenance but would raise 

construction costs. 

Interpretive Reconstruction

Partial reconstruction of a building, as a sort of interpretive ruin but with clear cues it is a modern structure, 

can be an evocative means of depicting a lost building’s materials and massing. This technique was used 

to interpret the President’s House site at Independence 

National Historical Park in Philadelphia (fig. 4.12).

The interior of the reconstruction has openings that 

allow for viewing of the below-ground archaeological 

remains of the historic building. 

Ground Plane Manipulation

The existing use of corner posts or foundation outlines 

could be enhanced by using gravel, soil cement, or 

other hard surface for the interior ground plane rather 

than turf. Differentiating the ground plane would 

provide visitors with a better sense of the building’s 

massing and convey the character of a missing feature 

or ruin. 

Digital Interpretation

Digital three-dimensional representations of missing 

structures could be made available to visitors, either 

through hand-held devices such as cell phones, or 

through viewers installed as part of interpretive waysides. Such virtual viewers, using historic photographs 

and sketches that are superimposed over the existing 

site, are used at Historic Jamestowne to interpret missing buildings. Use of permanent viewers could introduce issues with maintenance and vandalism.

Landscape Context Interpretation

The historic setting of battle-era building sites could be 

interpreted through reconstruction or representation 

Figure 4.11. A timber-frame ghost building at Historic St. Mary’s 

City, Maryland. (Courtesy of Historic St. Mary’s City) 

Figure 4.12. Interpretive ruin of the President’s House at 

Independence National Historical Park, Philadelphia. (SUNY ESF) 
387 

4. Treatment Recommendations

of associated landscape features. This treatment could 

include building fences to defi e yards and grounds 

surrounding the buildings. This method was recently 

used to interpret the site of the Ziegler farmstead at 

Gettysburg, which had a picket fence in front and rail 

fences along the sides (fig. 4.13). owing patterns 

could also be used to distinguish the maintained house 

grounds, barnyard, and other areas from the surrounding landscape. Specimen trees, such as the battle-era 

row of elms/poplars at the Chancellorsville Inn or the 

peach orchard at the Fairview house site, would give 

further form to the landscape. Reintroducing or revealing roads, walks, and yard spaces would also provide 

visitors with enhanced understanding of the landscape. 

This could include rebuilding the front walk that led to 

the existing steps of the Chancellorsville Inn, and the 

Fairview-Hazel Grove Road that extended across the 

front of the Fairview House site and provided structure 

to the US artillery positions. 

CATHARINE FURNACE PROPERTY

The Catharine Furnace Company was the largest 

landowner in Chancellorsville during the antebellum 

period and through the Civil War. Company property 

extended across 4,648 acres south of Locust Grove, 

Hazel Grove, and Fairview. Although fi hting occurred only on the periphery of this 

property, the largely wooded and remote 

tract played a major role in the Confederate strategy, allowing General “Stonewall” 

Jackson to divert his troops around to the US 

right for the famous Flank Attack. Today, it is 

diffi lt for visitors to understand the extent 

of the furnace property and the impact of 

its operations on the landscape. The only 

interpreted feature of this extensive property 

is the furnace stack ruins; most of the traces 

and archaeological sites at the core of the 

historic furnace operations are inaccessible. 

One method of enhancing the historic identity of the 

furnace lands would be to install signs indicating visitors are entering the Catharine Furnace property (see 

previous general guidance, “Park Identity and Commemoration”). These could be installed at the entrances to McLaws Drive off Route 3 and/or at Furnace 

Road off Old Plank Road; on Sickles Drive south of 

Slocum Drive; and at Jackson Trail East off Brock Road. 

The Long-Range Interpretive Plan (2001) identified

a program of landscape interventions to interpret the 

furnace and its impact on the landscape at the area 

north of Furnace Road near and west of the Maury 

birthplace. A more interesting location for interpretation would be the core of the furnace lands around 

the blast-furnace stack ruins. Mine pits, building sites, 

and other resources could be interpreted here, provided issues pertaining to protection of archaeological 

resources are addressed. This area could be accessed 

by reestablishing the historic park-era Archer-Thomas 

Foot Trail and old mine roads. Additional research and 

consideration would be necessary to develop an interpretive plan for this area. 

CCC CAMP SITE

The Civilian Conservation Corps camp MP-3 that 

stood at the intersection of Hooker Drive and Elys Ford 

Road between 1933 and 1944 was a significa t part of 

the military park’s initial development. Today, the camp 

Figure 4.13. Reconstructed fences, based on historic documentation, 

used to interpret the site of the Ziegler farmstead (house and barn 

yards) at Gettysburg National Military Park. The actual building sites 

within the fences are not marked. The ornamental streetlights and 

sidewalks are not part of the park. (SUNY ESF) 
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

388

site is unmarked and concealed by woods, and there is 

no interpretation elsewhere at Chancellorsville of the 

major contribution of the CCC to the construction of 

the park. The story of camp MP-3 is also important to 

the post-Civil War legacy of segregation and civil rights 

because the enrollees in camp MP-3 were AfricanAmerican. 

The park completed an archeological survey (Sancomb 

and Geier, 2003) that found few surface remains of the 

camp, which was a complex of mostly tar-paper frame 

buildings. If the post-battle woods on the site (Bullock 

Plantation) are cleared (see previous guidance, “BattleEra Field and Forest Patterns”), a more extensive 

archaeological survey should be undertaken to map the 

location of the camp complex and more thoroughly 

identify archaeological remains. Once this is complete, 

the camp could be interpreted through a trail and 

waysides that lead from the CCC-built maintenance 

building and follow the historic camp road off Hooker 

Drive. Interpretation of the CCC camp could be done 

in a way that is unobtrusive within the larger battlefi ld 

landscape context. 

BATTLEFIELD VIEWS 

Visitors to Chancellorsville Battlefi ld have little opportunity to get a sense of the entire battlefi ld landscape 

due to the relatively low elevation and forested character of the land. More limited views are possible within 

the major clearings at the Flank Attack battlefi ld, Fairview, and McLaws Wedge. Drivers along Route 3 have 

expansive views through the Chancellorsville clearing. 

Chancellorsville Battlefi ld never had observation 

towers, although the 1986 General Management Plan 

recommended an “elevated viewing platform” at the 

Flank Attack Battlefi ld/stop 8. Park staff today feel 

that adding elevated viewing structures would have 

an adverse effect on the battlefi ld landscape. Instead, 

natural rises should be considered for areas where 

visitors could gain views across the landscape. These 

exist at Hazel Grove, where an additional view could be 

opened south across the Catharine Furnace lands, and 

at Burton Farm off Orange Plank Road, where views 

looking north across the Flank Attack battlefi ld could 

be opened. The Burton Farm site could provide visitors 

with the same view that Stonewall Jackson or his scouts 

had of the US 11th Corps as it amassed around Wilderness Church prior to the Flank Attack.

Views across the Chancellorsville landscape could also 

be provided by installation of digital cameras as different locations, which visitors could access from screens 

in the visitor center or even from their cell phones. 

NON-HISTORIC LANDSCAPE REMNANTS

Non-historic landscape features on park-owned land 

that are the legacy of private development should be 

removed. Priority should be given to those features that 

presently serve no viable use and which detract from 

the historic character of the landscape. In addition to 

clearings that should be reforested (see previous guidance, “Battle-Era Field and Forest Patterns”), examples 

of non-historic features that warrant removal include:

•	 Ashton Farm driveway (feature C-63) and grove 

(V-20)

•	 Johnston Construction site concrete road (C-10)

near Fairview

•	 Wagner Farmstead BS-40, C-66 (upon retirement of 

occupant’s life estate); consider moving post-battle 

farmhouse, rather than demolishing it

•	 Specimen trees in the Chancellorsville clearing 

north of Route 3 remaining from removed houses

•	 Driveways to removed houses along VA 610

FLANK ATTACK BATTLEFIELD

Aside from the removal of non-historic Brygider and 

Ashton farm buildings, the park’s Flank Attack battlefi ld property has undergone little treatment to restore 

its battlefi ld character or enhance interpretation. Two 

major inholdings at the center of the battlefi ld—Wilderness Church and the Hawkins Farm—remain in 

private ownership and divide park property, while 
389 

4. Treatment Recommendations

the park-owned Wagner Farm, historically part of the 

Locust Grove Plantation (Dowdall’s Tavern) is subject 

to life estate of the current occupants. The Talley Farm 

and southern part of Locust Grove, site of federal 

headquarters and part of the historic clearing of the 

Flank Attack battlefi ld, remain outside park boundaries. Issues relating to the redesign of Route 3, which 

divides the Flank Attack battlefi ld, also pose unknown 

issues with regard to landscape treatment in this area. 

Because of these constraints, the park presently cannot 

implement treatment for the entire Flank Attack battlefi ld, including the Burton Farm. Once the park has the 

right to manage properties in the Flank Attack battlefi ld (either through fee acquisition or easements), a 

master plan should be developed that addresses the 

following issues and guidelines.

Overall

Treatment should reestablish the historic 1863 character of the landscape in keeping with the treatment 

philosophy for the battlefi ld landscape (see Treatment 

Framework). Treatment would include clearing nonhistoric woods, particularly at the Talley Farm and in 

the median of Route 3, and reestablishing the historic 

edge of woods on the Hawkins Farm and Wagner Farm 

(Locust Grove north). Non-historic buildings on park 

property should be removed unless they maintain 

historic development patterns, such as the Hawkins 

farmhouse and Wilderness Church. Other guidance 

regarding park identity, marking, and addition of fi ld 

fences should be implemented (see previous guidance, 

“Park Identity and Commemoration,” “Marking of 

Military Positions,” and “Battle-Era Field and Forest 

Patterns”). 

Access

Planning is needed to determine how to provide or 

improve pedestrian and vehicular access to the Flank 

Attack battlefi ld in a way that avoids reliance on Route 

3 (see previous guidance, “Route 3 Corridor”). Presuming Stop 8 remains in its existing location, an internal 

park road would require access through the privatelyowned Hawkins Farm. Access to the battlefi ld lands 

south of Route 3, including the park-owned Burton 

Farm and partner-owned Talley Farm, should also be 

addressed. Access to the Flank Attack battlefi ld could 

be improved by designation of the Jackson Trail as an 

offi al tour route, which would bring visitors to Stop 8 

in the direction of Confederate troop movement, using 

an existing signal at Brock Road. The VDOT proposal 

to install a new signaled intersection at the western 

boundary of park property and new access at the 

Orange Plank Road (Route 621) intersection could be 

used as new entrances into the Flank Attack Battlefi ld 

(see fig. 4.4).

Orange Plank Road (Route 621) and Herndon Road 

(Route 600) Corridors

It is recommended that the park work with its partners 

to preserve the historic wooded setting of these two 

roads, particularly at the north and east ends. Maintaining woods along these roads would protect the 

rural setting of the Flank Attack battlefi ld and allow 

visitors to reach Burton Farm from Route 3 without 

passing contemporary suburban development.

Locust Grove North (Wagner Farm)

Once the existing life estate ends, the park should 

reestablish the historic spatial limits of the fi lds, which 

would include both clearing and reforestation. Consideration should be given to reestablishing battle-era fi ld 

limits by realigning existing fences, if adequate documentation exists. The site of the Bushbeck Line should 

be identified y markers or other means to identify the 

line of the earthworks. The mid-to-late 20th century 

metal-sided sheds should be removed; the Wagner 

farmhouse should also be removed, since it is on the 

Bushbeck Line in the middle of an area of intense fi hting during the Flank Attack. 

Private Inholdings

Treatment of the private inholdings within the Flank 

Attack Battlefi ld (Hawkins Farm, parcels 03-223, 

03-224 and Wilderness Church, 03-222) should be addressed if the National Park Service acquires interest in 

these properties. 
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

390

Talley Farm

The core of the Talley Farm south of Route 3 covers 

approximately ten parcels, fi e of which are owned by 

park partners (Civil War Trust, Central Virginia Battlefi lds Trust). Conservation of the remaining fi e parcels 

at the west end of the Talley Farm would allow for 

reestablishment of the 1863 clearing. The western-most 

partner property (Rodes-Doles) extends into the historic Locust Grove clearing; part should remain wooded to maintain the historic separation between the two 

fi lds. Even if the remaining parcels are not acquired 

in the short term, park partners should reestablish the 

portion of the clearing on their properties and remove 

non-historic development that falls within the clearing. While the site of the Talley house was destroyed 

for the expansion of Route 3, the spatial organization 

of the building cluster (farmstead) could be marked by 

reestablishing the historic perimeter fence line. 

Burton Farm

The Burton Farm site is a key part of the Jackson Trail 

and Flank Attack battlefi ld—the place where Stonewall Jackson or his aides climbed the low hill and saw 

the US 11th Corps spread out to the north, and then 

revised their attack to launch farther 

to the west. Burton Farm could provide a side stop off the Jackson Trail 

from the south, or be a fir t stop on a 

Flank Attack Battlefi ld tour. Treatment of the Burton Farm landscape 

is contingent in part on planning 

for the partner-owned Talley Farm 

property, which could potentially be 

used for access, and modific tions 

to Orange Plank Road to allow for 

an access drive or shoulder parking. Reestablishment of the Burton 

Farm view would require removal 

or pruning of trees, and clearing 

of the woods within the historic 

Talley Farm to the north. Burton 

Hill would be a prime location for visitors to view the 

entire Flank Attack Battlefi ld, once battle-era fi lds are 

reestablished. 

Jackson’s Take-Off

The two narrow parcels of park property north and 

south of Route 3 that the park originally called Jackson’s Take Off have long been outliers on the Chancellorsville Battlefi ld (they are presently identified as pa t 

of the Wilderness Battlefi ld unit). They were intended 

as a place to interpret where Jackson launched the 

Flank Attack, at the end of the Jackson Trail. In 2016, 

the Civil War Trust acquired a large parcel of nearly a 

square mile adjoining the southern parcel (fig. 4.14).

With this property in park partner ownership, there 

may be new opportunities to better tie the two remote 

parcels into the Flank Attack Battlefi ld. This acquisition could create a block of park land along the south 

side of Route 3 that would tie in the Tally Farm and 

Burton Farm. As suggested by the parcel name coined 

by the Civil War Trust, the property could also serve 

as a link between the Chancellorsville and Wilderness 

Battlefi lds, possibly serving as a new route for visitors 

following the Jackson Trail that could avoid Route 3.36 

Figure 4.14. Property acquired by the Civil War Trust in 2016 adjacent to the Jackson’s Take-Off 

parcel in the Flank Attack Battlefield. (National Park Service map, annotated by SUNY ESF)
391 

4. Treatment Recommendations

BATTLEFIELD LANDS OUTSIDE PARK BOUNDARY

Battlefi ld lands outside the park boundary or not 

owned by park partners continue to be threatened by 

development. Such development may have a direct or 

indirect impact on the setting of park lands, such as 

through visual intrusion, traffic noise, d light pollution, as described in the park’s Foundation Document. 

It is recommended that the park continue to coordinate 

with its non-profit a d state/federal partners, including 

the American Battlefi ld Protection Program, Civil War 

Trust, Central Virginia Battlefi lds Trust, and Spotsylvania County, to protect historically significa t land 

and land that contributes to the historic rural setting of 

the park. Areas that should be prioritized for protection include the northeastern edge of the park off Ely’s 

Ford Road, including the Apex of Hooker’s Last Line 

and Mineral Springs Road; the Flank Attack battlefi ld, 

including the southern part of Locust Grove (site of 

Dowdall’s Tavern); Catharine Furnace Lands west of 

the Catharine Furnace; Orange Plank Road across from 

Burton Farm and the Talley Farm; and properties adjacent to the narrow park corridor along Jackson Trail 

East and Jackson Trail West, including Hilltop Farm 

(historic Stephens Farm). 

The rural setting of the park is also impacted by existing development that introduces suburban residences 

and resort development into landscapes that were 

woods or fi lds throughout the historic (1863–1963) 

period. Areas of particular intrusion include Hazel 

Grove artillery site, the east side of McLaws Drive, 

both sides of Furnace Road, scattered areas along 

Jackson Trail East and Jackson Trail West including 

Brock Road, and at the western side of the Flank 

Attack battlefi ld. In some areas, particularly along 

McLaws Drive, Furnace Road, and the Jackson 

Trail, houses and residential landscape features are 

either within park property where there are access 

easements, or visible from the park drives due to the 

narrow width of park property.

The following are possible landscape treatment actions to reduce the impacts of contemporary private 

development on the historic landscape of Chancellorsville Battlefi ld:

•	 Along park drives, work with private property owners to move mailboxes, ornamental house number 

signs, and other residential furnishings that are on 

park property along access easements. These should 

be moved off park property to where they are less 

visible from the park drives. Design an inconspicuous standard sign, such as a rustic wood post with 

the house number identified n the side, to be used 

at all driveway/park drive intersections.

•	 For screening of adjacent development, plantings 

are recommended over fences or other structures 

to avoid increasing the park’s maintenance load. 

Plant native evergreens, such as Eastern red-cedar, 

Virginia pine, American holly, and laurel where 

growing conditions are adequate (fig. 4.15).

•	 In open fi ld conditions such as on Jackson Trail 

West at the Spring Creek Subdivision, allow park 

property along the boundary to revert to natural 

succession to allow woods to grow up, even if the 

property was open fi ld historically.

To better control the impact of adjoining private 

properties on the historic setting of Chancellorsville 

Battlefi ld, the park should work with Spotsylvania 

County to enact a historic district ordinance or scenic 

Figure 4.15. Simulation of native evergreens planted in the understory of a 

narrow border of deciduous woods along Furnace Road to screen residential 

development. (SUNY ESF)
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

392

overlay zoning.37 Such land-use regulations would address private properties that abut park boundaries, are 

along public roads within the core of the park (such as 

Old Plank Road), or otherwise impact the setting of the 

park. The ordinance could be used to:

•	 Require use of building paint colors that are muted

•	 Restrict use of white vinyl and other highly visible 

fence styles along park boundaries.

•	 Control lighting and prohibit use of flood l ghts that 

cast into park lands.

•	 Establish a minimum setback for new development 

from park boundaries

•	 Require maintenance or planting of screening vegetation adjacent to park boundaries. 

•	 Maintain or reestablish wooded frontage on public 

roads within the core of the park. 

•	 Control signage and construction of subdivision 

gate houses and walls on public roads within the 

core of the park.

Future development should be designed in ways that 

conserve land adjacent and near to the park boundary 

and other battlefi ld lands by employing conservation 

subdivision practices, where buildings are clustered to 

maximize open space and/or build off existing development.38 

POTENTIAL SITES FOR VISITOR CENTER 

The Chancellorsville visitor center, which is now over 

fift years old, is a contributing resource to the park’s 

National Register district. The building functions well 

and its interpretive displays were updated for the 150th

anniversary of the battle in 2013. Despite this, the 

building, according to the 2001 Long-Range Interpretive Plan, “consumes historic ground” because it is 

close to the site of “Stonewall” Jackson’s Wounding, 

and is on the alignment of the Old Mountain Road. 39

Widening of Route 3 in the long-term could provide an 

opportunity for the park to redesign the visitor centerENDNOTES

1 “Recommendations for Treatments, Chancellorsville 

CLR, Prepared by the Staff of FRSP,” Unpublished park 

list of treatment ideas, ca. 2013.

2 SUNY College of Environmental Science and 

Forestry, class LSA 470/670 (Bill Elliot, Chris Kraus, 

Esvin Secaida, Greg Ernst, Lauren Ziska, Matt Leach, 

Mike Sheldon, Livia Liu, Victoria Kam, and Erica Grohol, 

Professor Margaret Bryant), “Chancellorsville at a 

Crossroads” (Unpublished fi al studio report, May 2015). 

3 Park legislation (44 Stat. 1091), February 14, 1927, 

transcript in Joan M. Zenzen, “At the Crossroads 

of Preservation and Development: A history of 

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park...

Administrative History” (Unpublished report prepared for 

the National Park Service, August 2011), 431.

4 44 Stat. 1091, Section 5, in Zenzen, 433. 

5 “An Act to Establish a National Park Service, and for 

other purposes” (National Park Service Organic Act, 

August 25, 1916), 39 Stat. 535.

6 As a cultural resource, management of the 

Chancellorsville landscape is defi ed by 36 Code of 

Federal Regulations: Parks Forests and Public Property, 

Part 2: Resource Protection, Public Use and Recreation 

(preservation of natural, cultural and archeological 

resources).

Jackson Wounding area, including relocation of the 

visitor center as mitigation. If in the future the park determines that relocation of the visitor center is required 

for the park to meet its mission, possible sites include:

•	 First Day at Chancellorsville Battlefi ld (partner 

property), current location of Lick Run Community 

Center. This location is at the start of the battle and 

is readily accessible off Route 3. 

•	 West or north of the current location away from the 

site of Jackson’s wounding.

•	 At the northeast corner of McLaws Wedge off

Route 3 and McLaws Drive.

•	 At the southwest corner of McLaws Wedge, near 

the Lee-Jackson bivouac site.40 
393 

4. Treatment Recommendations

7 National Park Service, “NPS-28: Cultural Resource 

Management Guideline” (NPS policy, http://www.

nps.gov/history/history/online_books/nps28/28chap7.

htm), Chapter 7: Management of Cultural Landscapes, 

D. Stewardship, 1. General Treatment. These standards 

also include two process-related standards: “1. A 

proposed treatment project is initiated by the appropriate 

programming document, including a scope of work and 

cost estimate from a CLR or ICAP. Such projects include 

preservation maintenance as well as major treatment. 

No treatment is undertaken without an approved CLR 

or work procedure specifying the work, and Section 

106 compliance. 2. A treatment project is directed by a 

historical landscape architect and performed by qualified

technicians.”

8 National Park Service, “Foundation Document, 

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park” 

(draft report, November 2013), 7013.

9 Foundation Document, 15-32.

10 National Park Service, “Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania 

County Battlefi lds Memorial National Military Park Land 

Protection Plan” (Unpublished report, August 26, 1986, 

last updated October 2008), 24, 30–34.

11 Land Protection Plan, 42-45. Details of these access 

easements are included in the report, but appear not to 

have been updated in the text. 

12 Land Protection Plan, 53.

13 Quoted in “Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National 

Military Park [FRSP] Monument Policy,” approved May 

24, 2007, 2.

14 FRSP Monument Policy, 3.

15 FRSP Monument Policy, 6.

16 National Park Service Harpers Ferry Center, “LongRange Interpretive Plan, Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania 

National Military Park” (Unpublished report, July 2001), 

24, 28-29.

17 Carolyn G. Mahan, The Pennsylvania State University, 

and John A. Young, US Geological Survey, “Natural 

Resource Condition Assessment for Fredericksburg and 

Spotsylvania National Military Park” (Unpublished report 

prepared for the National Park Service, February 2015), 

84-85.

18 National Park Service, “General Management Plan, 

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park” 

(Unpublished National Park Service report, 1986), 9-10 

[hereafter, GMP].

19 GMP, 55–78.

20 American Battlefi ld Protection Program, “Update 

to the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission Report 

on the Nation’s Civil War Battlefi lds, Final DRAFT, 

Commonwealth of Virginia,” online report, ca. 2008, 

http://www.nps.gov/abpp/CWSII/CWSIIStateReports.htm 

(accessed February 8, 2016).

21 Civil War Trust, “Saving the Flank Attack,” http://www.

civilwar.org/battlefi lds/chancellorsville/chancellorsvillehistory-articles/saving-the-flank attack.html (accessed 

February 8, 2016); “CVBT Chancellorsville Battlefi ld 

Successes,” http://www.cvbt.org/CVBT_Chancellorsville_

Sites.html (accessed February 8, 2016). 

22 Spotsylvania County Planning Department, 

“Spotsylvania County Trailways Master Plan (Unpublished 

report, 2011), 6. 

23 Trailways Master Plan, 30-35. 

24 Rhodeside & Harwell, “Ely’s Ford Road 

at Chancellorsville: Charrette Results and 

Recommendations” (Unpublished report prepared for the 

National Park Service, October 2015), 3, 6–17.

25 Rhodeside & Harwell, 3, 19.

26 Virginia Department of Transportation, Spotsylvania 

County, and Michael Baker International, “Route 

3 Arterial Management Plan” (Route 3 Corridor 

Transportation Plan), 2016, http://www.virginiadot.org/

projects/resources/ Arterial_Management_Plans/Rt._3_

Spotsylvania_Arterial_Management_Plans.pdf (accessed 

June 11, 2018); Virginia Department of Transportation, 

Fredericksburg Projects, http://www.virginiadot.org/

projects/fredericksburg/default.asp (accessed February 11, 

2016).

27 Route 3 Arterial Management Plan. 

28 John Hennessy, FRSP Chief Historian, comments on 

February 2016 CLR draft (fir t draft treatment), May 2016. 

29 The landscape also refle ts the aftermath of the Battle 

of the Wilderness in 1864, notably at the Catharine 

Furnace and in earthworks along Jackson Trail West.

30 Nation Scenic Byway Designation criteria available at: 

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/scenic_byways/.

31 Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act 

of 1966; Section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation 

Act of 1966.

32 Route 3 Arterial Management Plan.

33 These guiding principles were discussed at a workshop 

with park staff on November 4, 2015.

34 Walk Score, Chancellorsville, https://www.walkscore.

com/score/chancellorsville-va (accessed June 13, 2018).

35 Noel G. Harrison, comments on fir t draft CLR 

treatment chapter, May 2016. 

36 “Civil War Trust aims to save Chancellorsville, 

Wilderness battlefi lds’ ‘land bridge’, Fredericksburg.com, 

May 1, 2016, http://www.fredericksburg.com/news/local/

spotsylvania/civil-war-trust-aims-to-save-chancellorsville-
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

394

wilderness-battlefi lds-land/article_f968e58f-14b2-56f6-

8eed-be1868c92ed8.html (accessed June 14, 2018). 

37 In the past few decades, there has been little 

enthusiasm for enacting such land-use controls in 

Spotsylvania County. Hennessy, comments on fir t draft 

treatment chapter, May 2016. 

38 See Randall Arendt, Rural by Design: Planning for Town 

and Country (New York: Routledge, 2017).

39 Long-Range Interpretive Plan, Fredericksburg and 

Spotsylvania National Military Park, 10. 

40 “Recommendations for Treatments, Chancellorsville 

CLR, Prepared by the Staff of FRSP”; Hennessy, 

comments on fir t draft treatment chapter, May 2016.
395 

References

Selected References

PRIMARY SOURCES

MANUSCRIPT COLLECTIONS

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park (FRSP) Archives

Photograph Collections

Chancellorsville Photographs, digital collection (FRSP numbered photographs/drawings)

Chancellorsville Photographs, boxes 1–9

Aerial Photographs, box 1

Place Files

Chancellorsville places (multiple files

Basement Files

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park NPS records, National Archives II, RG79, 

photocopies and research notes by Joan Zenzen from the FRSP Administrative History report 

project, 2011.

Superintendent’s reports

Annual reports

Branch of Forestry reports

Monthly reports by ECW (CCC), Historical-Educational Staff

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County Battlefi lds Memorial Commission records, 1928–1933

Map Collection

Park Historian’s Offi

Von Schon & Garner, “Map of Chancellorsville, VA. The Property of the Chancellorsville Battlefi ld 

Association,” August 1891.

National Park Service, Technical Information Center

FRSP, Chancellorsville maps and plans

Library of Congress

American Memory website, https://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html

Online map and photograph collections 

Nathaniel Michler, “Chancellorsville...Prepared...under the Authority of the 

Hon. Secretary of War, 1867.” New York: Lithographic, Engraving & Printing Co., 1867.

Historic American Building Survey records, Chancellorsville Inn site

Library of Virginia

 

LVA Catalogs, online map and photographic records

Spotsylvania County, Virginia

Deed books

PUBLISHED SOURCES

Lederer, John. The Discoveries of John Lederer, In three several marches from Virginia, to the West of Carolina, and other parts 

of the Continent: Begun in March 1669, and ended in September 1670. London, 1672. http://rla.unc.edu/Archives/accounts/

Lederer/LedererText.html. 

Fredericksburg National Military Park Establishment Act of 1927, 44 Stat. 1091, 69th Congress, 2nd Session.
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

396

Recollection of Private David Kyle. “Wounding of Stonewall Jackson Trail.” http://www.nps.gov/frsp/jacktr.htm.

Recollection of Sue Chancellor. National Park Service Civil War Series website, “The Battle of Chancellorsville.” http://

www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/civil_war_series/8/sec2.htm.

Report of General Robert E. Lee and Subordinate Reports of the Battle of Chancellorsville. Richmond: R. M. Smith, 1864.

Trowbridge, John Townsend. The South: A Tour of Its Battlefields and Ruin d Cities... Hartford: L. Stebbins, 1866.

“Virginia Battle-Fields...Chancellorsville as it Now Looks.” Cleveland Plain-Dealer, August 12, 1881 (clipping, FRSP Place 

Files, Chancellorsville). 

US Geological Survey. Chancellorsville Quadrangle topographic maps, 1932, 1943, 1966, 1972/77, 1994/2015.

SECONDARY SOURCES

Adams, Sean P. “Iron from the Wilderness: The History of Virginia’s Catharine Furnace.” Unpublished National Park Service report, Northeast Region History Program, 2011. 

Barnette, Stuart M. “The Ruins of Chancellorsville Inn, A Narrative Description of How the Investigation was Conducted 

in the Year 1935.” Unpublished report prepared for the National Park Service, 1975.

Civil War Trust. “Saving the First Day’s Battlefi ld.” http://www.civilwar.org/battlefi lds/chancellorsville/chancellorsvillehistory-articles/saving-the-fir t-days.html.

Craven, Avery O. Soil Exhaustion as a Factor in the Agricultural History of Virginia and Maryland, 1606-1860. Columbia, 

South Carolina: University of Southern Carolina Press, 2006.

Crozier, Daniel. “Archaeological Investigation and Stabilization of the Chancellorsville Inn.” Unpublished report prepared 

for the National Park Service, Temple University, 1979.

Felder, Paula. Forgotten Companions: The First Settlers of Spotsylvania County and Fredericksburg Town (with notes on early 

land use). Fredericksburg: Historic Publications of Fredericksburg, 1982.

Gallagher, Gary W., ed. Chancellorsville: The Battle and its Aftermath. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 

1996.

Geier, Clarence and Kimberly D. Sancomb. “An Archaeological Survey of Selected Sections and Sites on the Chancellorsville Battlefi ld, Part II:...Catharine Furnace Project Area.” Unpublished report prepared for the National Park Service by 

James Madison University, January 2003.

Happel, Ralph. “The Chancellors of Chancellorsville.” The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, 1963. http://

www.150spotsylvania.com/assets/chancellors-of-chancellorsville.pdf.

Happel, Ralph. “A History of the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County Battlefi lds Memorial National Military Park.” 

Unpublished National Park Service report, 1955.

Harrison, Noel G. Chancellorsville Battlefield Sit s. Lynchburg, Virginia: H. E. Howard, 1990.

Harrison, Noel G. “Gazetteer of Historic Sites Related to the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, Volume 1.” Unpublished report prepared for the National Park Service, 1986.

Harrison, Noel G. Mysteries and Conundrums blog entry:

“Walt Whitman’s Battles of Chancellorsville, January 31, 2013.” http://npsfrsp.wordpress.com/2013/01/31/walt-whitmans-battles-of-chancellorsville-horrifi -wounds-night-fi hting-and-other-strange-and-fearful-pictures/ 

Hennessy, John. Mysteries and Conundrums blog entries:

“Wilderness Military Cemetery #2, May 27, 2010.” http://npsfrsp.wordpress.com/2010/05/27/wilderness-militarycemetery-2.

“Battlefi lds as fundraising tools—1868, October 23, 2010.” http://npsfrsp.wordpress.com/2010/10/23/battlefi lds-asfundraising-tools-1868-and-the-fate-of-walls-on-the-sunken-road/ 

“The Obscure Carpenter Farm and a Soldiers’ Grave, November 1, 2010.” http://npsfrsp.wordpress.com/2010/11/01/

the-obscure-carpenter-farm-and-a-soldiers-grave/.
397 

References

Krick, Robert. “Civilians in the Midst of Battle.” Fredericksburg.com, August 17, 2002. http://fredericksburg.com/CivilWar/

Battle/chanc_story?dy=08172002&fn=695970.

Lee, Ronald F. “The Origin and Evolution of the National Military Park Idea.” Unpublished National Park Service report, 

1973.

Lonsdale, J. “Geology of the Gold-Pyrite Belt of the Northeastern Piedmont Virginia.” PhD diss., University of Virginia, 

1927.

Mackowski, Chris. Emerging Civil War blog entries:.

“Shaping Chancellorsville: Pre-park preservation efforts, April 24, 2013.” http://emergingcivilwar.com/2013/04/24/

shaping-chancellorsville-pre-park-preservation-efforts/#_ftn6

“Shaping Chancellorsville: The First Reenactment and ‘The Last Meeting,’” Emerging Civil War blog, April 26, 2013, 

http://emergingcivilwar.com/2013/04/26/shaping-chancellorsville-the-fir t-reenactment-and-the-last-meeting/#_ftn2

Mansfi ld, James R. A History of Early Spotsylvania. Orange, Virginia: Green Publishers, Inc., 1977.

John Milner Associates, Inc. and HNTB, “Draft Cultural Landscape Assessments: Sunken Road, Salem Church, and Chancellorsville Inn of Fredericksburg Spotsylvania National Military Park.” Unpublished report prepared for the National Park 

Service, 2004.

Mink, Eric. Mysteries and Conundrums blog entry:

“Battlefi ld Contact Stations, June 22, 2010,” http://npsfrsp.wordpress.com/2010/06/22/%E2%80%9Cin-an-effort-tobe-of-still-further-service-to-the-traveling-public%E2%80%A6%E2%80%9D-%E2%80%93-battlefi ld-contact-stations/. 

National Park Service, American Battlefi ld Protection Program. “Update to the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission 

Report on the Nation’s Civil War Battlefi lds, Final Drive, Commonwealth of Virginia.” Unpublished report, 1993, revised 

2007. http://www.nps.gov/abpp/CWSII/CWSIIStateReportVA.htm.

National Park Service “Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, Nature and Science.” http://www.nps.gov/

frsp/naturescience/plants.htm.

National Park Service, Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. “Long-Range Interpretive Plan.” Unpublished National Park Service report, 2001.

Northington, O. F., Jr., “The Revival of the Iron Industry in Eastern Virginia as Exemplified y the History of the Catharine 

Furnace in Spotsylvania County.” William and Mary Quarterly, vol. 16, no. 1 (January 1936).

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Virginia (1778-2009).” Unpublished paper. http://www.wildernessbaptistchurch.org/history/History% 20of%20the%20

Wilderness %20Baptist%20Church.pdf.

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report, 2007.

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Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

398

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1892.

Sullivan, Pat. Spotsylvania Memory blog entries:

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by the Department, 2006.

Vlach, John Michael. Back of the Big House, The Architecture of Plantation Slavery. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina 

Press, 1993.

Woolf, Lee. “Houseful of Memories.” Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, August 2, 2003, 8-9.

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of American Historians, August 2011.
399 

Appendices

Appendix A

The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for

Rehabilitation

“Rehabilitation” is defi ed as “the process of returning a property to a state of utility, through repair 

or alteration, which makes possible an effi ent contemporary use while preserving those portions 

and features of the property which are significa t to its historic, architectural, and cultural values.” 

1. A property shall be used for its historic purpose or be placed in a new use that requires minimal change to 

the defini g characteristics of the building and its site and environment.

2. The historic character of a property shall be retained and preserved. The removal of historic materials or 

alteration of features and spaces that characterize a property shall be avoided.

3. Each property shall be recognized as a physical record of its time, place, and use. Changes that create a 

false sense of historical development, such as adding conjectural features or architectural elements from 

other buildings, shall not be undertaken.

4. Most properties change over time; those changes that have acquired historic significa ce in their own 

right shall be retained and preserved.

5. Distinctive features, fini hes, and construction techniques or examples of craftsmanship that characterize 

a historic property shall be preserved.

6. Deteriorated historic features shall be repaired rather than replaced. Where the severity of deterioration 

requires replacement of a distinctive feature, the new feature shall match the old in design, color, texture, 

and other visual qualities and, where possible, materials. Replacement of missing features shall be substantiated by documentary, physical, or pictorial evidence.

7. Chemical or physical treatments, such as sandblasting, that cause damage to historic materials shall not be 

used. The surface cleaning of structures, if appropriate, shall be undertaken using the gentlest means possible.

8. Significa t archeological resources affected by a project shall be protected and preserved. If such resources must be disturbed, mitigation measures shall be undertaken.

9. New additions, exterior alterations, or related new construction shall not destroy historic materials that 

characterize the property. The new work shall be differentiated from the old and shall be compatible with 
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

400

the massing, size, scale, and architectural features to protect the historic integrity of the property and its 

environment.

10. New additions and adjacent or related new construction shall be undertaken in such a manner that if 

removed in the future, the essential form and integrity of the historic property and its environment would be 

unimpaired.

Source: 36 CFR 67; https://www.nps.gov/tps/standards/rehabilitation/rehab/stand.htm 
401 

Appendices

Appendix B

List of Draft Landscape Treatment Tasks

for Chancellorsville Battlefield

Treatment tasks are specific a tions recommended to preserve and enhance the historic character of a landscape, or 

to improve its contemporary use and operation. The extent of the Chancellorsville Battlefi ld landscape, its relationship to the other units of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, and the many unknowns related 

to the future of Route 3 and the extent of adjoining development makes it diffi lt for the park at present (2018) to 

adopt treatment tasks as actions to be undertaken in the short-term (5-10 years). The following list of treatment tasks 

are therefore included in this appendix for future consideration only and are not intended as directives to be implemented.

The tasks, which are grouped as potential FMSS work orders, were developed based on research for this report, on 

staff reports, and through workshops with park staff. They are organized according to unit-wide tasks, and tasks in 

each of the areas of the park as documented on the Analysis and Evaluation plans (Drawings 3.1–3.6). Features that 

are the subject of treatment are referenced to the Analysis and Evaluation tables (Tables 3.1–3.6). Most of the treatment tasks are based on the broader guidance provided as treatment guidance in the body of the report (Chapter 4: 

Treatment Recommendations). 

Tasks are grouped into three general project types in each area: 1. Remove or Screen Non-Historic Features; 2. Interpret, Reveal, or Restore Historic Landscape Features (“historic” equals those documented as contributing in the 

National Register documentation, 1863–1963); and 3. Operational Improvements. The treatment tasks pertain only 

to the landscape that is presently owned or managed by Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. 

UNIT-WIDE TASKS

1. Interpret, Reveal, or Restore Historic Landscape Features

a. Reestablish 1863 fi ld fence lines based on Michler maps (1867) reconciled with other historic documentation. Install where they provide an interpretive value or enhance park identity. Possible priority 

areas:

i. Bullock clearing.

ii. Fairview/Chancellorsville clearing (north and south of Route 3).

iii. Stop 8 parcel (road frontage).

b. Undertake earthworks management plan.

c. Reconstruct missing War Department-style identific tion tablets; fabricate new tablets to unidentified

battlefi ld sites to provide a consistent system of marking (apart from standard park waysides).

2. Operational Improvements

a. Develop signage plan to include new battlefi ld entrance signs along Route 3, and secondary entrance 

signs along other public roads and at entrances to park drives.
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

402

CORE BATTLEFIELD TASKS (SEE DRAWING 3.1)

1. Remove or Screen Non-Historic Features 

a. Remove Johnston construction site concrete road (C-10) and remaining refuse from construction yard.

b. Remove features from 20th-century house sites along Old Plank Road and Route 3, including driveways; 

reforest where wooded in 1863. 

c. Plant evergreens or encourage understory growth in woods south of Slocum Drive to screen houses in 

Estates of Lee-Jackson.

2. Interpret, Reveal, or Restore Historic Landscape Features

a. Enlarge Fairview clearing (SO-4): Clear woods to reestablish 1863 fi ld limits.

i. North of Route 3: remove woods east, north, and west of Chancellorsville Inn site.

ii. South of Route 3: Remove woods west of Fairview gun pits to west of 114th Pennsylvania monument (may need to exclude stream corridor), south of Chancellor Cemetery (including non-historic 

Johnston construction site yard), and east of Old Plank Road. 

b. Enlarge Fairview-Hazel Grove vista clearing (SO-5): Clear woods to reestablish 1863 fi ld limits (including woods at north end of Berry-Paxton Drive) to reestablish strategic sight lines between Hazel Grove 

and Fairview/Chancellorsville Inn. Adjust 1863 limits to keep margin of trees along western north side 

of Berry-Paxton Drive south of 27th Indiana monument; maintain low riparian vegetation along streams.

c. Enlarge Bullock clearing (SO-2). Clear woods to reestablish extent of 1863 clearing. If necessary for 

earthwork and archaeological site preservation, clearing could exclude woods at Couch’s Line (T-4), 

part of Apex of Hooker’s Line (T-3), unnamed earthwork south of Bullock House site (T-1), as well 

as archaeological site of the CCC camp (AS-3). Maintain wooded corridors along park boundaries for 

screening of potential development on adjoining property. 

d. Reestablish Fairview-Hazel Grove Road (AS-5): Reestablish earthen surface of 1863 roadbed from 

Berry-Paxton Drive to near Route 3 (use as new alignment for trail to Fairview gun pits). Road is necessary to understand why gun pits were positioned as they were. Road should not be extended to Route 3 

due to steep slope and to prevent vehicles from turning off Route 3. 

e. Replant Signal station oak in Fairview clearing. Further research may be needed to fully document tree’s 

existence.

f. Restore Mineral Springs Road (C-11): Clear and repair roadbed on park property to interpret 1863 

landscape. Work with county to convert portion to the east as part of the greenway trails system. 

g. Reestablish landscape features around Fairview farmstead site (AS-6):

i. Reconstruct fence to interpret space of house yard.

ii. Replant peach orchard (using low-maintenance/sterile variety). Planting should reestablish overall 

spatial limits of orchard, not necessarily the location or number of individual trees.

iii. Possible Fairview house chimney stones: Undertake archaeological investigation of debris pile 

at edge of woods off trail to Fairview house site (AS-4) to determine potential for reconstructing 

chimney ruins.

3. Operational Improvements

a. Redesign Berry-Paxton Drive terminus (C-3): 
403 

Appendices

i. Redesign dead-end into turn-around consistent with historic formal design of drive (to beckon 

 visitors toward Fairview). 

ii. Relocate parking off drive to the east (toward site of Johnston construction yard). Provide for 

 continued maintenance vehicle access from the drive. 

b. Maintain Slocum Drive (C-15) and Hooker Drive (C-9) Alternative Treatments: 

i. Preserve and keep open to vehicles as components of historic park drive system.

ii. Convert to pedestrian use (part of Captain Dimick Foot Trail, Chancellorsville History Trail) if vehicular use deemed unnecessary; maintain historic pavement or restore original gravel surface; use 

inconspicuous chain gate or removable bollards to close off road. 

c. Realign and extend Fairview-Hazel Grove Trail (C-8):

i. Extend northwest leg along proposed reestablished Gunners Foot Trail to access the Paxton Monument (SSF-13); create expanded trailhead parking along Stuart Drive.

ii. Extend northeast along proposed reestablished Captain Dimick Foot Trail to access the 114th

Pennsylvania monument (SSF-8); build new extension east to connect with proposed reestablished 

Fairview-Hazel Grove Road.

d. Extend Chancellorsville History Trail (C-6): 

i. Build new trail segment along former Mott-Carr Foot Trail to loop back to Bullock Drive at Jackson’s Corps Line, to provide greater access to Pender’s Line and create new trail route opportunities.

ii. Realign the main section south along Jackson’s Corps Line following site of Mott-Carr Foot Trail 

(possible pedestrian overpass across Route 3 here). Extend east, possibly following Old Mountain 

Road trace (AS-9) to create views of Fairview across Route 3 to Chancellorsville Inn site. 

CORE BATTLEFIELD TASKS: VISITOR CENTER AREA (SEE DRAWING 3.2)

1. Remove or Screen Non-historic Features

a. Reinter remains of unknown solider near Jackson Monument (AS-10, SSF-24) to Fredericksburg National Cemetery. The national cemetery is the appropriate location for this grave; existing location from 

the historic park period but does not convey honor and respect. Existing grave marker is not historic.

2. Interpret, Reveal, or Restore Historic Landscape Features 

a. Redesign rear of visitor center to enhance visitor appeal and create a more formal commemorative setting for the Jackson Monument (BS-21) (reestablish as focal point) 

i. Expand area of turf by removing dense understory between visitor center, Jackson Monument, and 

Jackson Rock (SSF-19) to increase visibility of monuments and enhance open spatial character that 

existed during historic park period. 

ii. Reduce size of utility area (SO-12) and improve screening.

iii. At Jackson Monument, replace screen of mixed deciduous shrubs (V-9) with clipped hedge approximately 4’ tall that provides a more formal character and creates a feeling of separation from 

Route 3. Hedge would allow monument to be visible from the highway. Existing shrubs provide 

minimal screening. 

b. Redesign Wounding of Stonewall Jackson Trail (C-21):
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

404

i. Between visitor center and Jackson Monument, realign trail to be on axis with monument, with 

circular walk around monument (similar to pre-1935 alignment). Replace existing rubber mulch 

surface with gravel or a gravel poly-pavement to establish a more formal appearance. 

ii. Realign and extend eastern part of trail through woods by reestablishing idea of Jackson Memorial 

Wild Flower Preserve. This could be an opportunity for a park partner project. 

iii. Realign east entrance to trail from side of visitor center to align with presumed alignment of wildfl wer preserve trail (see Drawing 3.2)

iv. Realign trail so it crosses the Old Mountain Road trace perpendicularly, rather than extending 

parallel to it. 

c. Enhance visibility of Old Mountain Road trace (AS-9): 

i. Remove rubber mulch from road trace (realign trail, per previous task) and reestablish historic 

earthen surface extending to visitor center wall (see Drawing 3.2).

ii. Plan interpretive feature (such as painting or mirror) on visitor center wall to convey historic continuation of the Old Mountain Road through the building site. 

iii. Extend and clear trace of Old Mountain Road east of trail (possible trail linking east to realigned 

Chancellorsville History Trail, see prior task). 

d. Reestablish original 1963 axial planting scheme at front of visitor center (see Drawing 3.2):

i. Shrubs (V-8)

ii. Small trees (V-14)

iii. Remove or redesign ornamental garden club plantings (V-12, V-13)

CORE BATTLEFIELD TASKS: CHANCELLORSVILLE INN SITE (SEE DRAWING 3.3)

1. Remove or Screen Non-Historic Features

a. Remove non-historic trees (hawthorns, holly) within fi ld north of inn site and red maple in front of 

inn site (V-17); retain aged non-historic line of red cedars (V-15) along Elys Ford Road as screen and to 

retain feeling of age to the landscape; and retain large elm (V-17) that is near historic line of trees.

b. Remove stacked-rail fence (SSF-29)—replace with historic fences as noted below.

c. Remove cable fence around foundation (SSF-27). 

2. Interpret, Reveal, or Restore Historic Landscape Features 

a. Undertake archaeological investigations to determine extent of remains outside of inn building footprint (to determine locations of outbuildings, front walk, well/pump, fence lines, etc.). 

b. Redesign foundation interpretation: 

i. Modify brick foundation (BS-25) outline to refle t only 1863 building and provide continuous brick 

line (remove gravel sections).

ii. Convert interior ground surface from turf to a stabilized soil (soil cement) to enhance distinction of 

building mass.

c. Reconstruct historic fences to delineate yards around house, using documented fence types; use contemporary fence where documentation lacking on location/type .

d. Reestablish front walk from entrance steps (BS-24).

e. Reestablish line of elms and poplars along front of house grounds to interpret spatial character of site 

and provide buffer to Route 3.
405 

Appendices

f. Interpret barn sites (AS-12) and barnyard to west of inn site; replant tree row along west side (corner 

post method?)

g. Interpret service area at rear of inn—kitchen yard and slave cabins, based on archaeological fi dings.

h. Reduce area of mown turf (V-17). Maintain lawn within house grounds/yard to reinforce historic spatial configu ation. Maintain meadow outside of the house grounds, except at interpreted building sites 

and along access walk and parking lot.

3. Operational Improvements

a. Extend access walk (C-23) to bring visitors to front of house, rather than the rear facing Route 3. Extend 

through front yard, inside of fence, to front walk recommended for reconstruction. Use surface material 

that is distinguishable from historic front walk.

b. Expand parking area (C-22) to accommodate buses: 

i. Alternative #1: Expand existing lot to north (away from inn site)

ii. Alternative #2: Shift entire parking lot north to clearing of 20th-century house (see Drawing 3.1). 

May require adjustment of proposed removal of woods to reestablish 1863 clearing. Tree should be 

retained to screen lot from inn site. May require accessible parking spots closer to inn site. 

FURNACE LANDS TASKS (SEE DRAWING 3.4)

1. Remove or Screen Non-Historic Features

a. Remove Hazel Grove vista clearing (S0-14). Stop mowing to allow natural succession.

b. Plant native evergreen trees and shrubs along south side of McLaws Drive to improve screening of 

residential development.

c. Plant native evergreens or encourage growth of understory along Furnace Road to improve screening of 

Chancellor West and Sawhill subdivisions.

2. Interpret, Reveal, or Restore Historic Landscape Features 

a. Clear understory in woods along McLaws Drive to expand views into clearing, if clearing is maintained 

(documentation on 1863 condition inconclusive)

i. Consider allowing McLaws Wedge fi ld to grow up and maintain open character by prescribed fi e.

b. Reestablish Maury/Pulliam House clearing north of Furnace Road; extend trail along historic Hazel 

Grove-Pulliam House road alignment north to Sickles Drive.

c. Clear small area of woods east from Posey’s Line and south of Furnace Road toward Catharine Furnace 

to reestablish some of the historic clearing of Furnace Hollow (not feasible to clear entire area due to 

sensitive wetlands).

d. Enhance Interpretation and Access at Catharine Furnace

i. Enlarge clearing around Catharine Furnace to suggest larger historic clearing (see prior task), provided clearing does not impact archaeological resources. Removal of large trees would remove risk 

of windthrow damage to archaeological sites

1. Alternative: remove understory to increase visibility of furnace complex archaeological site.

ii. Establish interpretive trail following alignment of Archer-Thomas Foot Trail (ca. 1935) to mine road 

at top of bluff and looping back to Furnace Road/Jackson Trail. Build spur trail spur to iron mine/
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

406

pit #10. Trail would not be ADA accessible due to slopes; provide alternative interpretation at existing wayside locations.

iii. Provide overlook at location of bridge house on top of bluff. 

iv. Mark or identify furnace complex building sites. 

3. Operational Improvements

a. Redesign McLaws Wedge/Stop 4

i. Expand parking (2 currently)

b. Move Lee-Jackson Bivouac parking out of viewshed (on approach from McLaws Drive):

i. Alternative #1: Move to north of bivouac site along Old Plank Road.

ii. Alternative #2: Move parking off road to within woods west of bivouac site.

c. Move Catharine Furnace parking lot (on furnace archaeological site) to 1930s parking area site along 

west side of Sickles-Furnace triangle.

JACKSON TRAIL TASKS (SEE DRAWING 3.5)

1. Remove or Screen Non-Historic Features

a. Plant native evergreen trees/shrubs or encourage undergrowth to screen Terembes Lane houses and 

other houses visible from Jackson Trail.

b. Plant line of native evergreen trees/shrubs to screen Spring Creek subdivision from Jackson Trail West; 

maintain open corridor along railroad bed.

c. Remove Granny Acres Lane (driveway to removed house, on park property); reforest road frontage.

2. Interpret, Reveal, or Restore Historic Landscape Features

a. Clear bed of unfini hed railroad adjacent to Jackson Trail East and Jackson Trail West.

b. Enlarge Wellford clearing (most of clearing outside of park boundary).

i. Remove woods along west side of road, between clearing and railroad bed to reestablish view of 

clearing on approach from the north.

c. Interpret Wellford house site, such as with corner posts and mown/paved area, and provide path from 

Jackson Trail. 

3. Operational Improvements

a. Build two-car shoulder parking along Jackson Trail West near Stephens/Trigg farmstead sites and crossing of unfini hed railroad as potential tour stop for interpreting relationship between Wilderness and 

Chancellorsville battlefi lds. 

FLANK ATTACK BATTLEFIELD TASKS (SEE DRAWING 3.6)

1. Remove Non-Historic Features

a. Remove remaining pond on NPS Stop 8 property and restore natural creek corridor.

b. Remove traces of Brygider Farm buildings and driveway at Stop 8, restore natural landform.

c. Remove Ashton Farm driveway (C-63) and grove (V-20).

d. Remove Wagner farmstead (BS-60, C-66) following end of life estate for current occupant.
407 

Appendices

2. Interpret, Reveal, or Restore Historic Landscape Features

a. Thin/clear woods to open view north from top of Burton Hill, based on viewshed analysis. Would require working with Civil War Trust and CVBT to clear woods and reestablish fi lds on Talley farm north 

of Burton Hill.

b. Mark/interpret site of Burton farmhouse.

c. Clear non-historic woods on Verna Farm and at north side of NPS Stop 8 property to expand views 

across Flank Attack Battlefi ld from Stop 8.

d. Reforest southwest corner of NPS Stop 8 property. 

3. Operational Improvements

a. Stop 8/Flank Attack Battlefi ld Improvements

i. Rebuild Stop 8 drive to be consistent in character with other park drives (formalize turn-around, 

maintain turf shoulders, standard entrance fence/gates), and improve alignment for bus use. 

1. Alternative 1: Asphalt pavement/full reconstruction

2. Alternative 2: Gravel surface (less archaeology required)

ii. Relocate Stop 8 west to top of ridge to improve views across Flank Attack battlefi ld; remove or 

prune oak tree that partly blocks view.

iii. Relocate Stop 8 parking out of viewshed, and expand capacity (1986 GMP: 10-20 cars).

iv. Design gathering area for interpreters, such as in shade of oak tree or in shade structure.

v. Build loop trail from Stop 8 through Flank Attack battlefi ld, with possible stops at high ground 

of Ashton farmstead site, and through woods with possible extension to the visitor center (would 

require easement through Hawkins Farm, or through private conserved land to the north). 

b. Burton Farm Site

i. Build trail to top of Burton Hill to access reestablished view across Flank Attack battlefi ld. Possible 

extension west and north through new Civil War Trust property to NPS Stop 8 property.

ii. Build four-car shoulder parking along Orange Plank Road to access Burton Farm site (coordinate 

with VDOT).
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

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409 

Appendices

NOTES
Cultural Landscape Report for Chancellorsville Battlefield

410

National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior

National Park Service

Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation

15 State Street, 6th Floor

Boston, Massachusetts 02109

www.nps.gov/oclp