From Enslaved to Soldier: African American Civil War Tour

Join a comprehensive African American Civil War tour in Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County, Virginia.

We’ll take you to the City Docks where the first enslaved people arrived in Fredericksburg. Next, we’ll stop at a plantation home to discover what life was like for a slave. Find out about one of the earliest and largest self-emancipation events when the Federal army arrived in 1862.

Hear the personal stories and accounts of local enslaved people in the Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania County area.

Last, we’ll learn more about the Emancipation Proclamation and the arming of the United States Colored Troops (U.S.C.T.). The climax of the tour is when we’ll take you to the location where the U.S.C.T clashed with Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia for the first time.

If you enjoyed the academy award-winning motion picture Glory about the 54th Massachusetts in Georgia and South Carolina, then you will enjoy hearing about the actions of the 23rd U.S.C.T. in Virginia.

Along the way, our local battlefield guide historians will answer some of these popular questions.

• What is the difference between Agricultural and Urban slaves?
• How could so few people control so many slaves?
• How interictal was slavery to this community and what was the impact when slavery ended?
• What is one of the largest slave escapes during the Civil War?
• Will black soldiers fight against their old slaveholders?
• Are slaves too timid to be soldiers?
• Were there 300,000 black Confederate soldiers?
• And much more…..

This private battlefield tour pairs nicely with the battle of Fredericksburg which happened December 11-13, 1862.

Let a Local Battlefield Guide Show You the Way

Let us show you the way as you relax and skip the self-guided tour hassle. Your own battlefield guide will meet you at the Fredericksburg Battlefield Visitor Center; in front of the museum shop building off of the back parking lot.

After an introduction, your battlefield guide will join your vehicle as you depart to your first stop. It is recommended that the battlefield guide drive your vehicle so you can relax and enjoy the tour, but it’s up to you who drives.

Joining your vehicle keeps the cost down so you can see more battlefields with us.

Step-on battlefield guides are available for larger passenger vehicles (van or bus). For more information and prices, please contact us.