Battle of Fredericksburg • Tour the Battlefield • Monuments & Markers • Armies
The compass on Prospect Hill is one of several placed on the battlefields of Spotsylvania County. It is at Stop Six of the Fredericksburg Battlefield Auto Tour. (38°14’52.5″N 77°26’07.5″W; map) There is another compass on Marye’s Heights in the National Cemetery.
The cast brass compass shows the distance and direction to a number of significant Civil War locations. It is interesting to note that it is almost exactly halfway between Washington and Richmond in a due north/south line. This is one of several compasses placed on battlefields around Fredericksburg.
Text from the compass:
N
Washington 52 m.
Richmond Stage Road 0.7 m.
Rappahannock River 1.2 m.
E
Port Royal 16 m.
Massaponax Creek 1.3 m.
S
Richmond 51 m.
Massaponax Church 6 m.
Spotsylvania C.H. 10 m.
Gordnsville 44 m.
W
Chancellorsville 12 m.
Lee’s Hill 3.5 m.
Marye’s Heights 4m.
Mansfield 1.8 m.
The Compass Rose is on the left side of the path leading up from the parking area to the overlook.
Location of the Compass Rose
The Compass Rose is on the left side of the footpath that climbs out of the north side of the parking area to the overlook. (38°14’53.8″N 77°26’07.6″W)