McLaws Trail - Chancellorsville VA
N 38° 17.896 W 077° 37.098
18S E 271035 N 4242152
A walking tour through a Civil War battlefield guides you through the events that took place in May 1863.
Waymark Code: WMB7TY
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 04/16/2011
Views: 5
A self-guided tour takes you through a rolling field on the Chancellorsville Battlefield and helps you to relive and imagine the events that took place here on May 1-3, 1863 during the Civil War.
The Union army held this ridge, but their commander, Gen. Joe Hooker, decided to pull the troops back to Chancellorsville. The Confederates took advantage of the retreat and advanced. While Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson was circling around to attack Hooker's vulnerable right flank. Gen. R. E. Lee's troops kept the rest of the Federals occupied by repeated charges and skirmishes. Finally, when Jackson launched his attack on Hooker's weak flank, Gen. Lafayette McLaws charged across this field in an all-out attack. It prevented Hooker from reinforcing his flank and he was ultimately forced to abandon Chancellorsville.
The McLaws Trail is a loop marked with numbered wooden posts. A guide and map to this one-mile walking tour can be obtained at the nearby Chancellorsville Visitor Center or seen online at the NPS website. There is a small parking area at the trailhead.
McLaws Trail and the Chancellorsville Battlefield are part of the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park which is open dawn to dusk. Admission is free.