Here’s the schedule from the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park:
Program Schedule
*Note: Programs details are subject to changes and weather-dependent.*
Sunday, April 30, 2023
7 pm
1863: Year of Confederate Reckoning
Join virtually through Zoom, register here.
Join Dr. Stephanie McCurry for a virtual talk exploring the state of the Confederate national experiment in the spring of 1863. Dr. McCurry will discuss how disenfranchised people in the Confederacy – particularly enslaved people and white women – brought their political voices to bear on the war effort. How did instability within the Confederacy impact the evolution of the war itself? Could another military victory salvage the struggling nation? (This virtual program will be hosted through the Civil War Trails Zoom account.)
Monday, May 1, 2023
10 am
Battle of Chancellorsville: Overview
Meet at the battle painting outside the Chancellorsville Battlefield Visitor Center.
What led the US Army of the Potomac and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia to clash in May of 1863? Join park staff to learn about the events of the Battle of Chancellorsville, how these events shaped the war to come, and what this battle means for us today. (45 minutes, stationary, wheelchair accessible)
2 pm
Day of Decisions: May 1 at Chancellorsville
Meet at the “First Day at Chancellorsville” site managed by the American Battlefield Trust, on the north side of Rt. 3, 3 miles east of the Chancellorsville Battlefield Visitor Center.
Join the conversation around the choices that military leadership and civilians made which set the course of the battle on May 1, 1863. (90 minutes, 0.5 mile walk, be prepared with good shoes, water, sunscreen, and bug spray)
10 am-4 pm
Chancellorsville in Memory: May 1
Join us at the tent outside the Chancellorsville Battlefield Visitor Center.
Join park staff at the Chancellorsville Battlefield Visitor Center from 10 am-4 pm to discuss the first day of the Battle of Chancellorsville. How do we remember the fighting on May 1 and the decisions that each commander made? What mythologies have crept in to our understanding, and what can we learn by peeling back the layers of historical memory? Join us to explore this pivotal day of the Civil War. (Drop-in at time between 10 am and 4 pm, wheelchair accessible)
Tuesday, May 2, 2023
10 am
Battle of Chancellorsville: Overview
Meet at the battle painting outside the Chancellorsville Battlefield Visitor Center.
What led the US Army of the Potomac and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia to clash in May of 1863? Join park staff to learn about the events of the Battle of Chancellorsville, how these events shaped the war to come, and what the battle means for us today. (45 minutes, stationary, wheelchair accessible)
2 pm
“They Hit us With Lion-Like Power”: Jackson’s Flank Attack
Meet at Jackson’s Flank Attack, Tour Stop 8.
Join park staff to examine the contexts and consequences of Jackson’s flank attack against the US 11th Corps. Explore the myths and memories of the fighting that subsequently took place, including the scapegoating of the 11th Corps and how the fighting disorganized many Confederate units. (2 hours, 2 mile walk, be prepared with good shoes, water, sunscreen, and bug spray)
10 am-4 pm
Chancellorsville in Memory: May 2
Join us at the tent outside the Chancellorsville Battlefield Visitor Center.
Join park staff at the Chancellorsville Battlefield Visitor Center from 10 am-4 pm to discuss the second day of the Battle of Chancellorsville. How and why did the fighting on May 2 come to define the battle as a whole? Which key events and figures have histories of the battle overlooked? Join us to explore this pivotal day of the Civil War. (drop-in any time between 10 am and 4 pm, wheelchair accessible)
Wednesday, May 3, 2023
10 am
Battle of Chancellorsville: Overview
Meet at the battle painting outside the Chancellorsville Battlefield Visitor Center.
What led the US Army of the Potomac and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia to clash in May of 1863? Join park staff to learn about the events of the Battle of Chancellorsville, how these events shaped the war to come, and what the battle means for us today. (45 minutes, stationary, wheelchair accessible)
2 pm
Crisis at the Crossroads: May 3 at Chancellorsville
Meet at Chancellorsville Battlefield Visitor Center.
Join park staff to consider the conflict, cost, and legacies of one of America’s bloodiest landscapes. Walk along the Chancellorsville History Trail in the footsteps of regiments who fought through thick woods on the morning of May 3, 1863. (90 minutes, 2 mile walk, be prepared with good shoes, water, sunscreen, and bug spray)
10 am-4 pm
Chancellorsville in Memory: May 3
Join us at the tent outside the Chancellorsville Battlefield Visitor Center.
Join park staff at the Chancellorsville Battlefield Visitor Center from 10 am-4 pm to discuss the third day of the Battle of Chancellorsville. Was Hooker drunk? Was this truly Lee’s Greatest Victory? What does is mean, and what does it matter, to win or lose? Join us to explore this pivotal day of the Civil War. (drop-in any time between 10 am and 4 pm, wheelchair accessible)
Friday, May 5, 2023
10 am
“Everybody was full of confidence”: The Origins of the Chancellorsville Campaign
Meet at the Chancellor House Site, Tour Stop 3.
This program will compare the experiences of the US and Confederate armies during the spring of 1863 and uncover the leadership decisions that brought them to Chancellorsville. Learn about the changes made by each army after the Battle of Fredericksburg, such as the creation of the US Bureau of Military Information, and the civilians who interacted with the armies, including enslaved people who responded to the newly released Emancipation Proclamation. (45 minutes, stationary, outdoors, visitors are welcome to bring a chair or blanket, wheelchair accessible)
2 pm
Reconsidering a Battlefield Landmark
Meet at Hazel Grove, Tour Stop 9.
While Hazel Grove is commonly known as a Confederate artillery position, other significant events transpired there throughout the battle. Examine how historians and the National Park Service have remembered and interpreted these stories. (90 minutes, stationary, outdoors, visitors are welcome to bring a chair or blanket)
6:30 pm
Jackson Wounding Walking Tour
Meet at the Chancellorsville Battlefield Visitor Center picnic area.
Join park staff to examine the varying accounts and meanings behind the historical hyper-focus of the wounding of Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson by his own men in the darkness on May 2, 1863. Work together to compare accounts and areas where writers differ. Consider how we analyze these different narratives, work through mysteries and evidence, and better understand the role of memory and the Lost Cause in our collective memory of this fatal night reconnaissance. (1 hour, less than 0.2 mile walk, wheelchair accessible)
Saturday, May 6, 2023
Fairview Living History Day
The following programs will all take place at Fairview, Tour Stop 10, on the Chancellorsville Battlefield. The parking spaces at Fairview will be reserved for accessible parking. Park staff will direct visitors to park along Berry-Paxton Drive for these Saturday programs. The living history camps will be set up along the Fairview trails. The trails here are flat, dirt trails. All of these programs will take place outdoors. Be prepared with good shoes, water, sunscreen, and bug spray.
9 am-7 pm
Living History Camp at Fairview
Meet at Fairview, Tour Stop 10.
Experience the lives of soldiers and civilians during the Civil War at Fairview on Saturday, May 6, 2023. The living history camps will include a US artillery camp, Confederate infantry camp, and a civilian refugee setup. Our living history partners will be onsite throughout the day to talk, answer questions, and provide insight into the lives of the people who lived and fought here 160 years ago. (drop in any time between 9 am and 7 pm)
10 am-5 pm
Orientation and Family Tent at Fairview
Meet at Fairview, Tour Stop 10.
Learn about the Battle of Chancellorsville and get some orientation to anniversary programs with park staff at Fairview. Visit the family tent for children’s activities, to pick up Junior Ranger programs, and more! (drop in any time between 10 am and 5 pm, wheelchair accessible)
10 am
The Soldiers of Chancellorsville
Meet at Fairview, Tour Stop 10.
What did soldiers wear, carry, eat, and think? How did the Confederates cope with supply shortages? What was the Union Army’s “Flying Column” concept? Find out from those portraying the troops from both sides. Presented in partnership with living historians of the Liberty Rifles. (45 minutes, stationary)
11 am
Equine in the Army
Meet at Fairview, Tour Stop 10.
Hundreds of thousands of horses and mules drove the war efforts in both armies. Learn more about the many functions of horses and how equine animals integrated into the armies by seeing them in action. Presented in partnership with living historians of First Section. (45 minutes, stationary)
1 pm
War Strikes Home
Meet at Fairview, Tour Stop 10.
This program will view the battle through the eyes of local civilians and enslaved people caught up in the fighting around Chancellorsville. Presented in partnership with living historians of the Liberty Rifles. (45 minutes, stationary)
2 pm
“The Sight Was Frightful”: May 3 at Fairview
Meet at Fairview, Tour Stop 10.
This ranger-led program and focuses on the intense action that took place here on May 3, 1863. This program will include a demonstration of the actions and movements of horse-drawn artillery with 30 horses and full crews of artillerymen. This program will also include a demonstration of an infantry attack. This program will include loud noises and firing demonstrations. Presented in partnership with living historians of the Liberty Rifles and First Section. (1 hour, stationary)
4 pm
Stable Call
Meet at Fairview, Tour Stop 10.
What did it take to keep an army horse healthy and fit for service? Find out about the care of military animals by getting up close with them at this interactive program. Warning: you might be put to work! Presented in partnership with living historians of First Section. (45 minutes, stationary)
7 pm
Night on the Battlefield
Meet at Fairview, Tour Stop 10.
With the backdrop of the living history encampment, experience the sights and sounds of nightfall on the battlefield. Learn more about how Union and Confederate soldiers coped with the darkness and nights before, during, and after a battle. There will be sounds of gunfire and other experiential components in this program. (1 hour, stationary, outdoors, visitors are welcome to bring a chair or blanket)
Sunday, May 7, 2023
10 am-3 pm
Salem Church Open House
Old Salem Church is located at 4054 Plank Road, Fredericksburg, VA 22407.
Step inside Salem Church to explore the history of this special place. Discuss the fighting that took place there, the civilian experience, the care of casualties, and the burial of the dead in the aftermath of battle. (drop in any time between 10 am and 3 pm, wheelchair accessible)
10 am
“Take a Fresh Breath My Lads and We’ll Go to the Top of the Hill”: The Second Battle of Fredericksburg
Meet at Howison Hill, Fredericksburg Battlefield Tour Stop 4.
The fighting at Chancellorsville was only half the battle. Learn about the Second Battle of Fredericksburg, the second front to the Battle of Chancellorsville. This program will specifically look at stories of fighting that took place south of Marye’s Heights and centered around the combat near Lee’s Hill. (90 minutes, 1 mile walk, be prepared with good shoes, water, sunscreen, and bug spray)
2 pm
“Everything ahead looks like war”: The Aftermath of Chancellorsville
Park along Hooker Drive on the Chancellorsville Battlefield.
This program will focus on the outcome of the Battle of Chancellorsville, considering the battle’s impact in 1863 and its significance today. Learn how different individuals on all sides of the war chose to remember Chancellorsville. The program will examine topics such as the true cost of victory, the road to Gettysburg, and the people and community impacted by one of the war’s bloodiest battles. (90 minutes, 1.5 mile walk, be prepared with good shoes, water, sunscreen, and bug spray)
Bonus Program! Thursday, May 4, 2023
Civil War Book Group
The May title for our recurring Civil War Book Group is Inventing Stonewall Jackson: A Civil War Hero in History and Memory, by Wallace Hettle. Wallace Hettle traces the history of “Stonewall” Jackson though the authors who interpreted the Confederate general’s life, provoking readers to address the questions of how and why Jackson lives on in American memory. This is a monthly book club that meets on first Thursdays at 6 pm, at Fredericksburg Library Branch (1201 Caroline St., Fredericksburg). Learn more about the Civil War Book Group.
