Battle of Chancellorsville • Tour the Battlefield • Monuments & Markers • The Armies
Three Virginia historical markers on the Chancellorsville Campaign are just south of Fredericksburg, Virginia, on the east side of Lafayette Boulevard (US Route 1B).
The Chancellorsville Campaign – E118
The Chancellorsville Campaign – E118 Virginia historical marker
Text from the marker:
E118
The Chancellorsville Campaign
While General Robert E. Lee engaged the Union army at Chancellorsville, Confederate Maj. Gen. Jubal A. Early confronted a smaller Union force led by Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick at Fredericksburg. On 3 May 1863, Sedgwick overran Early’s lines at Marye’s Heights, compelling Early to fall back to this point. When Sedgwick moved toward Chancellorsville, Early slipped in behind him, retaking Marye’s Heights. Early and other Confederate troops then attacked Sedgwick on 4 May, forcing the Union general to retreat across the Rappahannock at Scott’s Ford.
Department of Historic Resources 2000
The Cox House – E42 historical marker
The Cox House played a role in two major Civil War battles. During the Battle of Fredericksburg it was was a hospital. Brigadier General Thomas Cobb was taken there and died after he was wounded. During the Chancellorsville Campaign, in what is often called the Second Battle of Fredericksburg, Confederate troops rallied here after being driven from their position on Marye’s Heights.
The Cox House E42 Virginia historical marker at Fredericksburg
Text from the marker:
E42
Cox House
Across the road to the northeast stood the Cox House, also known as the Wiatt House. Maj. Gen. Lafayette McLaws’s division used it as a hospital, and there on 13 December, Brig. Gen. Thomas R.R. Cobb died from wounds received during the Battle of Fredericksburg. On 3 May 1863, during the Battle of Chancellorsville, Maj. Gen. Jubal A. Early rallied his Confederate troops at the Cox House after Union Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick drove them off Marye’s Heights. Early later retook the heights and attacked Sedgwick’s rear, while McLaws engaged him at Salem Church.
Department of Historic Resources 1995
Longstreet’s Winter Headquarters – E41
The marker tells about the Confederate commands that were not at the Battle of Chancellorsville. At the time of the battle about a quarter of Lee’s army, the divisions of Hood and Pickett, were detached under the command of Lee’s senior corps commander James Longstreet on an expedition to southern Virginia. The force started back as soon as the campaign started, but would not make it back until the fighting was over.
Lee missed Longstreet’s men. After Chancellorsville he told Hood, “Had I had the whole army with me, Hooker would have been demolished.”
Longstreet’s Winter Headquarters – E41 Virginia historical marker
Text from the marker:
:E41
Longstreet’s
Winter Headquarters
Following the Battle of Fredericksburg in Dec. 1862, Confederate Lt. Gen. James Longstreet established his headquarters in a tent near here. His command center was in close proximity to Generals Robert E. Lee and J.E.B. Stuart. Longstreet commanded the Army of Northern Virginia’s First Corps, a force totalling approximately 40,000 men. In Feb. 1863 Longstreet left Fredericksburg with the divisions of Maj. Gens. George E. Pickett and John B. Hood to conduct an independent military operation near Suffolk. He rejoined the Army of Northern Virginia in May following the Battle of Chancellorsville.
Department of Historic Resources 2002
Map and directions to the Virginia historical markers
The markers are south of Fredericksburg, Virginia, on the east side of Lafayette Boulevard (US 1B). It is about 2.7 miles south of the National Park Visitor Center at the National Cemetery and about half a mile north of the intersection of Lafayette Boulevard with Jefferson Davis Highway, US 1. (38°15’41.8″N 77°29’32.6″W)