CHANCELLORSVILLE BATTLEFIELD AGAIN UNDER ATTACK

Last meeting of Lee and Jackson
The last meeting of Generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson is just one of many significant events that took place on the Chancellorsville battlefield
Although the guns fell silent at Chancellorsville 139 yeas ago, the site is once again the site of fierce fighting -- only this time the weapons are bulldozers and human greed rather than minié balls and artillery shells.

According to the Coaltion to Save Chancellorsville Battlefield, "Spotsylvania County has scheduled a meeting to discuss plans to build an enormous development on the heart of the first day's battlefield at Chancellorsville. The county is considering a proposal to replace the rolling farmland where the Blue and Gray once struggled with 2,350 houses and 2.4 million square feet of commercial space."

Four major battles of the War Between the States are represented at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County Battlefields Memorial National Military Park (NMP), where the wide Rappahannock waters protected Confederates from the Union Army. Although the Confederacy secured a victory at Chancellorsville, it was here that the South's legendary leader, Stonewall Jackson, was killed accidentally by his own men.

"Chancellorsville represents the epitome of Robert E. Lee's generalship," says Al Eisenberg, NPCA's deputy director of conservation policy, who has studied the War Between the States extensively. "Ironically, it cost him his best general and set the stage for the Battle of Gettysburg, Lee's greatest defeat. It was an exceedingly important battle."

Located approximately 50 miles south of metropolitan Washington, D.C., Fredericksburg and its western suburbs -- of which Chancellorsville is a part -- have produced a fast-growing population of commuters whose only routes north to Washington are Interstate 95 or Route 1.

Many of the farms and fields that were present during the days of the Civil War are under siege as bulldozers tear up the land daily to accommodate burgeoning new growth. Currently, as much as 40 to 50 percent of the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County battlefields are not owned by the Park Service and are therefore vulnerable to the development onslaught.

Robert E. Lee

General Robert E. Lee

The Coaltion goes on to state that "The Battle of Chancellorsville was one of the most costly struggles of the [War Between the States].

"For nearly a week, 200,000 men in Union blue and Confederate gray fought among the forests and rolling farmland of Spotsylvania County. At the end of the battle, 30,000 soldiers were casualties....The Dogwood development is planned for the 790-acre Mullins Farm, the scene of fighting on the first day of the battle."

Virginia Division, United Daughters of the Confederacy, urges you to write a letter stating your strong opposition to the destruction of this hallowed ground, which is precious not only to those who live near Chancellorsville but also to those whose ancestor(s) fought in the War Between the States. As Virginia Daughters, we feel a special responsibility to protect and preserve the land where brave Confederate soldiers from every Southern State fought and died to protect the approaches to the Confederate capital of Richmond.

You may visit the following websites to read about what has been taking place (No Longer active websites (3/15/19):

The National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) is also promoting a letter-writing campaign on its website:

A list of Spotsylvania County officials to contact include:

Also send a copy to the following e-mail addresses for the County Planning Board:

UDC MEMBERS

Please remember to write your letter as a descendant of a Confederate soldier and not as a member of Virginia Division, United Daughters of the Confederacy. Also please remember not to use our official (Division or General) stationery.