Piedmont

Rolling hills leading west to the Blue Ridge Mountains are the prime landscape feature of Virginia's Piedmont area. During the Civil War residents of this countryside experienced a share of heavy fighting, but more often the area was the site of camps, cavalry action, hospitals and Confederate supply. Most of the sites listed below are readily accessible from Routes 29 and 15.

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Culpeper County

540-727-0611 or www.visitculpeperva.com

Driving tour information about touring Culpeper County Civil War sites is available at the visitor center in the Town of Culpeper and at the Museum of Culpeper History. Click for Interactive Map. Download tour map from visitculpeperva.com.

Museum of Culpeper History, 803 S Main St – This fine community museum covers the full scope of the county's history. An electronic Civil War map highlights the dramatic Civil War battles nearby including Brandy Station and Cedar Mountain. Monday–Saturday 10 am–5 pm; Sunday 1–5 pm. $3. 540-829-1749. Ask about the Civil War walking tours.

Brandy Station Battlefield, visitor center in the town of Brandy Station. Take Brandy Station exit from US 29, then left – A driving/walking tour of the site of the largest cavalry battle in North American (June 9, 1863) is now open. JEB Stuart got quite a scare here. Stop at the “Graffiti House” visitor center for orientation. Open April–November Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday 11 am–4 pm. Open Wednesday and Saturday other months. Driving tour brochure is available. Car-caravan themed tours of various areas of the battlefield are offered on Saturday mornings (10 am–noon) April 9–October. Tours begin at the Graffiti House. Cost is $5. www.brandystationfoundation.com. 540-727-7718.

Kelly's Ford, Trails sign at the Rappahannock River near the bridge from Remington – Big cavalry fight along the Rappahannock March 17, 1863, resulted in a technical Confederate victory but cost the South one of its best and most charismatic soldiers, Maj. John Pelham, who was killed in the battle. To get there from Remington, take Business US 29 to Route 651, then Route 620 to the river and across to the sign. From Culpeper, take Route 29 to Route 674 then east to Route 620, then to the river. Interpretive signs on the north side of the new bridge.

Cedar Mountain – Stonewall Jackson confronted elements of Union Gen. John Pope's Army of Virginia here on Aug. 9, 1862, and got quite a scare. The Confederates gained a narrow victory and continued north toward Manassas. An interpreted walking trail now leads into the battlefield from a cluster of historical markers, including a Civil War Trails marker. Look for the signs on Route 15 south of Culpeper, then turn west onto Route 657.

Town of Culpeper, Trails signs at the restored railroad station/visitor center downtown – Information here describes the Union encampment in Culpeper and surrounding areas during the winter of 1863-64 and a Sept. 13, 1863, Union cavalry raid on Confederate supplies loaded in rail cars at the station. Pick up self-guided Civil War tour booklet of Culpeper County sites at the visitor center.

"Pelham's Last Days," Trails sign two blocks north of the intersection of Main and Davis streets in Culpeper – Confederate Maj. John Pelham, commander of JEB Stuart's horse artillery, left from near here to fight Union horsemen who crossed the Rappahannock River at Kelly's Ford March 16, 1863. Wounded in the battle, he was returned to Culpeper, dying that night at the Shackelford House.

Orange County

Refer to the 1864 Overland Campaign tour, and stop at the Fredericksburg national park visitor centers for information about the Civil War Trails site at Germanna Ford and touring the Wilderness battlefield. The Confederate army camped near Orange and Gordonsville on the eve of the 1864 Overland Campaign.

Montpelier, entrance on Route 20, four miles south of Orange – A ¾-mile, four-stop walking trail explores the site of a Confederate camp and the farm of slave-turned-freedman James Gilmore. Confederate troops camped on the grounds of President James Madison’s home during the winter of 1863–1864. Interpretive signs along the trail describe the archeological exploration of the camp and soldier life during that winter. The Confederates hurriedly abandoned their Orange County camps in May 1864 to meet the Union army in the Wilderness. Remains of soldier hut sites and other physical evidence of the camp can be seen. The trail also explores the transition from slave life to freedom for the Gilmore family, who farmed the property 1820-1920. The Gilmores’ cabin survives. The trail is on the grounds of Montpelier, which is open to visitors while being restored to Madison’s time. Trail is free with house admission. 540-672-2728.

Exchange Hotel and Civil War Museum, in Gordonsville – Evocative of its past as a railroad hotel turned Civil War hospital. Excellent exhibits and artifacts (especially medical) on display. Special medical reenactments in the spring and fall. Call for details. Open April-November Monday–Saturday 11 am–4 pm; Sunday 1–4 pm. $6 adults. 540-832-2944 or www.hgiexchange.org.

Town of Orange, Civil War Trails interpretation at the new visitor center at the old train station downtown – Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia was camped in the area during the winter of 1863-64. He moved out to meet the Union threat in May 1864 as U.S. Grant began his campaign, crossing the Rapidan River into the Wilderness.

St. Thomas Church in Orange – Big-name Confederates, including Lee, Jefferson Davis and A.P. Hill, worshipped here. Call 540-672-3761 for information about visiting.

Madison County

A visitor center in Madison will get you started. They say you will travel back in time in Madison County, and you do. The following Madison County sites have Civil War Trails interpretation:

Battle of James City, Route 29 near Route 631 – Only remnants of this little town remain today after day-long fighting between cavalry under Confederate Gen. J.E.B. Stuart and Union Gen. Judson Kilpatrick on Oct. 10, 1863. Roadside historical marker just northeast of the intersection.

Battle of Jack's Shop, modern-day Rochelle on Route 231 – J.E.B. Stuart got a bad scare here and was almost captured by Union cavalry under Kilpatrick and John Buford Sept. 22, 1863. This countryside is little changed since the Civil War and is still dotted with antebellum homes along the old Blue Ridge Turnpike (Route 231). It's well worth the short trip from Route 29. Roadside marker in Rochelle.