Manassas · Fredericksburg · Richmond · Appomattox — Bull Run to Lee's Surrender
The Plan
Virginia was the heart of the Confederacy and the most fought-over ground of the entire war. This route follows the intense back-and-forth campaigns that defined four brutal years — from the first shots at Bull Run to the final handshake at Appomattox.
Starting point. Load up the Brinkley and head east toward Virginia.
Site of both First and Second Bull Run — where the North learned this would be no quick war. The first battle sent panicking spectators fleeing back to Washington. The second sent the Union army retreating in worse shape than the first.
Four major battles in one park — Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, the Wilderness, and Spotsylvania Court House. Chancellorsville was Lee's "perfect battle" but also where Stonewall Jackson was accidentally shot by his own men.
The Confederate capital for most of the war. Home to the Tredegar Iron Works — the South's most important arsenal — and now one of the best Civil War museum complexes in the country. Grant's long siege of nearby Petersburg ultimately broke the city.
June 1864–April 1865 — Grant's 10-month siege of the Confederate supply city south of Richmond. Union soldiers tunneled 511 feet under Confederate lines and detonated four tons of black powder — the Battle of the Crater. When Petersburg fell, Richmond fell within hours.
April 9, 1865 — the end. General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant in Wilmer McLean's parlor, effectively ending the Civil War. Grant's generous terms allowed Confederate soldiers to go home peacefully.