Ride to Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville (April 27, 2014)

 Beautiful day on April 27...took the motorcycle some 60 miles North of Richmond (via highway, the only part of the trip I did not like...prefer twisty backroads on the motorcycle) to Fredericksburg battlefield (one of two I saw that day). Got more photos on my "Racing With the Wind" Blog, and also on my photo page. Had never been to this place (though had been past it twice on my way to Washington, DC). Seen here is the Union cemetery which is located on the battlefield. Most of the graves (seen by the small square stones) are unknown...and come from 4 area battles.  

 Lots of monuments there, this one struck me to Richard Kirkland, as I read was put up by soldiers of both sides. He got water during the battle for both sides soldiers. Read on the back that he died in a latter Civil War battle.
It was a most remarkable place, nice battlefield with a lot of items and places from the day (the wall is mostly replica, but a portion of it remains and is preserved).
I enjoyed the visit there, and give a real shout out to the Visitor Center, where you can get a lot of good information on the battle, and others in the area. From that headed to the next one...

Which was Cancellorsville...another Confederate victory but came at the cost of General Stonewall Jackson, one of R.E. Lee's top generals, being shot by friendly fire. The wound caused him to lose his left arm.
Alot has changed in the area over time, in 150 years the battlefields see a lot of development, and a lot of the cities and many houses have come closer to where these men fought and died.
On the bright side, the US and Virginia has done a great job of preserving the history that is what makes these sights so remarkable.    

This is the bed that General Jackson died in. In fact the building he died in has also been preserved...part of a plantation he was taken too. His loss was a major blow to the Confederacy's slim hopes of defeating the Union.
Got to see two of the four battlefields in the area, though they are scattered over a fairly wide area. I salute the brave men of both sides, hard to believe that all this happened...but it did, and good for us to look back at what the war cost in human lives. Still, the good it did lives on today, and is a important part of US history.