9 Civil War Battlefields in Virginia That Are Worth Your Time

These Places Aren’t Just Old Fields with Historical Markers

If you grew up in Virginia, you probably had a school field trip to at least one of these places. Maybe you didn’t care back then, but as an adult, it hits differently. These battlefields aren’t just patches of land with old cannons. 

They’re the spots where some of the bloodiest fights of the Civil War happened, and a lot of them still look just like they did back then.

Manassas (Bull Run) – The First Time People Realized This War Was Serious

Ever driven on Route 29 through Manassas? Then you’ve passed right by this battlefield without even thinking about it.

The First Battle of Bull Run was supposed to be quick and easy, but instead, Union soldiers ran back to Washington in a full-blown retreat. The Second Battle of Bull Run happened here too, but most people don’t talk about it as much.

Henry Hill is still wide open, and the Stone House, which was used as a hospital, is right there at the intersection where everyone gets stuck in traffic.

Fredericksburg – A Pointless Charge That Ended in Disaster

If you’ve ever stood at the base of Marye’s Heights and looked up, you know Union soldiers never had a chance here. They had to run across an open field while Confederate soldiers sat behind a stone wall and picked them off.

The battlefield hasn’t changed much. The Sunken Road is still there, and you can walk the same path those soldiers took.

The national cemetery at the top of the hill is filled with Union graves, most marked with just a number because there were too many bodies to identify.

Chancellorsville – The Battle That Shouldn’t Have Worked

Lee took one of the biggest risks of the war here. He split his army in half while facing a larger Union force and somehow pulled off a win.

The big story from this battle, though, is Stonewall Jackson getting shot by his own men. He survived the wound but died days later from pneumonia.

The Chancellor House burned down during the battle, but you can still see its foundation. Jackson’s wounding site is marked, and the battlefield trails take you through some of the most important spots.

The Wilderness – A Battle That Felt Like a Nightmare

Thick woods, low visibility, and gunfire that set the dry brush on fire, this was one of the most chaotic battles of the war.

Soldiers couldn’t see more than a few feet ahead, and the whole thing turned into close-range fighting in the middle of dense forest.

Some of the trenches are still there, but the battlefield mostly looks like an overgrown mess, which is exactly how it was in 1864. If you’ve ever been out here in the summer, you know the bugs are brutal, just like they would have been back then.

Spotsylvania Court House – A 24-Hour Fight in the Mud

This is where soldiers fought for almost an entire day, sometimes standing on bodies just to keep firing. The “Bloody Angle” was one of the worst parts, where they were stuck in a downpour, fighting in knee-deep mud.

The remains of the trenches are still here, and you can see just how close the opposing lines were. The story about the tree getting shot apart by bullets is famous, and whether or not it happened exactly like that, it says a lot about how intense this battle was.

Cold Harbor – A Complete Disaster for the Union

Grant made a huge mistake here. Union soldiers charged straight into well-built Confederate trenches and got mowed down within minutes. Some of them pinned their names to their uniforms because they knew they wouldn’t make it.

The battlefield is still in good shape, with well-preserved trenches. If you’ve ever tried to dig into the hard-packed Virginia clay, you can imagine how tough it must have been for soldiers to build these defenses without modern tools.

Petersburg – The Explosion That Should Have Worked

The Union came up with a solid plan here: dig a tunnel under Confederate lines, pack it with explosives, and blow a hole straight through.

The explosion worked, but the attack didn’t. Instead of going around the crater, Union troops ran straight into it and got stuck. The Confederates recovered fast and turned the whole thing into a massacre.

The crater is still here, and it’s deeper than you’d think. The siege of Petersburg lasted almost ten months, and there are forts and trenches all over the park.

Richmond – The Capital That Burned Before the Union Arrived

By the time Union troops got to Richmond, the Confederates were already gone, but not before setting parts of the city on fire.

Some of the defenses outside the city are still standing, including Fort Harrison, where you can see how they built up earthworks to hold off attacks.

If you’ve ever walked through these sites in the summer, you know how rough the terrain is. Imagine trying to fight through it.

Appomattox Court House – The Place Where It All Ended

This is where Lee surrendered to Grant and ended the war. The McLean House is still standing, and the surrender room is set up exactly as it was that day.

The village itself looks frozen in time, with original buildings and roads. If you’ve ever been out here, you know it’s quiet. Almost too quiet. It feels like the kind of place where something important happened, and it did.