The Union (also known as the North) won the American Civil War. The main reasons for the Union’s victory were its superior resources (including manpower), transportation, and industrial capacity, as well as the effective leadership of President Abraham Lincoln and the military strategies of General Ulysses S. Grant. Moreover, the Union’s decision to abolish slavery...Read More
As we’ve discussed previously on the Battlefield Tours of Virginia Blog, the legacy of the American Civil War is still being felt today. With around 750,000 casualties and a country divided between North and South, the world’s first major industrialized conflict has unsurprisingly left deep scars. However, the war was also the final answer to...Read More
Whether the American Civil War could have been avoided has been passionately debated since April 12, 1861, when Confederate forces opened fire on the Union-held Fort Sumter. All war is tragic, but the nature of a civil conflict means it is always particularly toxic. How can men raise arms against their fellow citizens? How can...Read More
“A house divided against itself cannot stand…” – Abraham Lincoln, Springfield, IllinoisJune 16, 1858 The event that triggered the American Civil War was the Confederate army’s opening fire on a federal garrison at Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861. But what series of crises led to the events of that fateful day? Was a Civil War...Read More
Between 1861 and 1865, around three million Americans fought in the Civil War, a conflict that would eventually leave up to a million people dead, including over one hundred thousand civilians. The bloody legacy of the conflict still reverberates today, and many aspects of Civil War historiography remain contentious. Hence, a question as supposedly straightforward...Read More
For many visitors to our nation’s capital in Washington D.C., it is a must to visit Thomas Jefferson’s home, Monticello, in Charlottesville, Virginia. This long 3-hour drive can be broken up by seeing two outstanding Civil War battlefields halfway in Culpeper along the way! Save time and avoid headaches by getting a local battlefield guide...Read More
There are many Civil War battlefield sites that are not well known but are still worth visiting. Many battlefields are lesser known because of their geographic location, they had fewer combatant/casualty numbers, were not well defined by battlefield preservation, or lack of attention in Civil War media and popular culture. These battlefields are still worth...Read More
The Fredericksburg area battlefields have one of the highest concentrations of battlefields anywhere in the U.S. You will find 5 Civil War Battlefields within 20-square miles: Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Mine Run, The Wilderness, and Spotsylvania Court House. The Fredericksburg area battlefields are a wonderful place to make your basecamp to study the American Civil War and...Read More
