BGuthrie Photos: VA -- Chancellorsville Natl Battlefield -- Visitor Center

VA -- Chancellorsville Natl Battlefield -- Visitor Center:

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Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks including AI scrapers can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. CHANVC_130120_002.JPG: Virginia State Battle Flag: This flag was carried by Lieutenant Gabriel Shank of the 10th Virginia Infantry Regiment, a Shenandoah Valley native. At the Battle of Fisher's Hill, he gave the banner to a farmer to keep it from falling into enemy hands. Shank himself was captured just minutes later and was taken to a prison camp, where he later died of smallpox. Years later, the farmer ran into Shank's daughter and gave her the banner as a gift. She carried it to Oregon, where it remained until 1981, when her family generously donated it to the National Park Service.
2. CHANVC_130120_012.JPG: House at Chancellorsville, Virginia by Frederic A. Chapman
3. CHANVC_130120_063.JPG: Upriver from Fredericksburg: Union General Burnside's failure at the heights of Fredericksburg, December, 1862, pointed to future efforts up the Rappahannock.
4. CHANVC_130120_086.JPG: A Family Shattered: "My forefathers fought for my liberty, and I would be an unworthy descendant if I did not fight for the liberty of my children." -- John W. Patterson to his wife, Almira, January 7, 1863 The battles around Fredericksburg did more than obliterate lives. They shattered families. Each of the 15,000 deaths on these battlefields stimulated an emotional, financial, and often physical battle for survival on farms and in towns hundreds of miles from Spotsylvania County. Death on the battlefield often meant destitution at home. This is one such story -- the story of Colonel John W. and Almira Wendt Patterson.
5. CHANVC_130120_091.JPG: A Union Begun: ".... However 'beautifully' I may be able to express my feelings upon other subjects I do assure you my dear Almira that I am an entire loss to tell you in any manner whatsoever how happy I am [to be] in ... possession of that never dying love which you bear me." -- John to Almira, March 1, 1859
6. CHANVC_130120_096.JPG: John Williams Patterson, scion of Revolutionary War and War of 1812 soldiers, was an engineer. Almira Wendt was an orphan. At the age of 23, they met and fell in love. On March 2, 1859, John Patterson wrote to Almira's uncle requesting permission to marry her. I love her most devoutly and She returns my love with equal ardor and fervency... I have... received from her the promise of her hand in Marriage. All that now remains to be done is to obtain your consent, approval, and blessing and we shall then be made happy for life. I may not bring her wealth but I trust by the blessing of God that I do bring her a faithful loving heart and willing hands by which I can... make her happy through life. A month later the couple married and settled in Birmingham, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh. Their marriage produced three children: Frederick (b 1860), Agnes (b 1861), and Mary (d 1863).
7. CHANVC_130120_103.JPG: Letter by John to Almira's uncle requesting marriage
8. CHANVC_130120_109.JPG: Pre-war portrait of John Patterson and 1863 portrait of Almira
9. CHANVC_130120_120.JPG: "The Union Dissolved!" I would rather die now in the service of my Country than have Civil and Religious liberty wrenched from my dear wife and children." -- John to Almira, June 11, 1861
10. CHANVC_130120_125.JPG: With war's arrival, John Patterson left Almira and their two children to fight for the Union. He helped raise what became a company of the 102d Pennsylvania Infantry, and by virtue of diligent service in many battles he rose steadily in rank. Although shot through the right lung in 1862, Patterson recovered and by the start of the 1864 Overland Campaign was a colonel in command of his regiment. Meanwhile, Almira Wendt Patterson carefully followed the war through newspapers. She beseeched her husband to avoid the scourge of alcohol. And she freely (and forcefully) offered her opinions on major events and issues of the day. In November 1863, she gave birth to a third child, Mary -- a child Colonel Patterson saw only once, during a 30-day furlough in April 1864.
11. CHANVC_130120_136.JPG: Valentine's Day card from John's children to their father in the field
12. CHANVC_130120_146.JPG: Bullet that wounded John at the Battle of Fair Oaks in 1862
13. CHANVC_130120_155.JPG: Lives Transformed: "The bones of one of the bravest soldiers that ever battled in the cause of freedom now lie mouldering beneath the cold cold clods... The heart that was once so warm towards all his friends has [sic] ceased to beat & his form once so manly is now food for the worms." -- Captain David A. Jones, May 20, 1864
14. CHANVC_130120_160.JPG: On May 4, 1864, Colonel John Williams Patterson led his 102d Pennsylvania Volunteers into battle near the intersection of the Brock and Plank roads in the Wilderness. "... Presently we were under the hottest fire of Musketry that we ever experienced. Here our beloved Colonel fell shot through the face the ball passing entirely through and lodging in his shoulder, poor fellow. He never moaned but ere his body touched the ground the immortal part had flown and before we could have him carried to the rear we were compelled to fall back & had to leave him." -- Captain D.A. Jones, May 20, 1864 The next day, officers of the 102d recovered Colonel Patterson's body, giving him an impromptu burial near a field hospital. After the war, Almira arranged for the recovery of his body, and he was re-interred again in Pittsburgh in 1867.
15. CHANVC_130120_165.JPG: The headboard marked the temporary grave of Colonel Patterson on the Wilderness Battlefield, where his body lay for about two years. It is the only headboard of its kind known to survive.
16. CHANVC_130120_176.JPG: Colonel Patterson's death proved ruinous for his family. In 1865, the Orphan's Court of Allegheny County directed the sale of the Patterson's home to support the family. Almira -- with three fatherless children, without job skills, and amidst a society that frowned on women working -- received a widow's pension of about $360 a year. She never remarried. Almira had lost her parents by age 12 and her husband when she was 28. In 1869, the tide of tragedy continued when her youngest daughter, six-year-old Mary, died of scarlet fever. After raising her two remaining children, Almira lived out her life with her oldest daughter, Agnes. Almira died in 1908 at the age of 73. Her obituary identified her simply as "the widow of Colonel John W. Patterson." In the wake of John's death at the Wilderness, Almira had to sell her house to support her family. She had this posted printed in 1865. "I think that should I live, or the expiration of 3 months I can pay off the last installment on our house and make you comfortable." -- John to Almira, June 6, 1861
17. CHANVC_130120_182.JPG: Fountain Boat and Wagon (models): Six horses pulled each pontoon wagon. The engineers launched the boats and anchored them side by side across the water. Pre-fitted timbers and planks finished the bridge.
18. CHANVC_130120_188.JPG: Gold dollars given to one of the Chancellor girls by Confederate General JEB Stuart on the eve of the battle.
19. CHANVC_130120_207.JPG: Those Who Fought, Those Who Fell, Those Left Behind. "Kiss my dear little ones for me, and assure yourself I will do all I can to save myself consistent with honor." -- A soldier to his wife, three weeks before his death For those at home, there would be no folded flags, no solemn processions, no formal letters from the government. There would be just a name in a newspaper -- the names of a dead son or husband -- or a scribbled note from a commanding officer. Sometimes there would be no word at all. Thousands of loved ones simply vanished, recorded as "missing," buried as "unknown." More than 15,000 men died in and around Fredericksburg during the Civil War. Each death brought sorrow to a community for long before these men were soldiers they were fathers, sons, husbands, and friends; they were farmers, shopkeepers, churchmen, and teachers. Their death's challenged the will of each side to continue this most horrific of American wars.
20. CHANVC_130120_217.JPG: Confederate in the Pines: "Such an executive officer the sun never shone on. I have but to show him my design, and I know that if it can be done, it will be done..." -- R.E. Lee (speaking of Jackson) At the junction of the Orange Plank and Furnace Roads, Lee and "Stonewall" Jackson bivouacked. Here, they decided that Lee would remain with a small force while Jackson moved to outflank the Federal right.
21. CHANVC_130120_221.JPG: Found on the field after the Battle of Chancellorsville, this crate held artillery fuzes made in Richmond. Soldiers often sat on the empty crates or used them for firewood.
22. CHANVC_130120_229.JPG: "... I hop as soon as practicable to attack..." -- Jackson, 3pm, May 2, 1863 "... We know that the enemy is fleeing, trying to save his trains..." -- JH Van Alen, aide-de-camp to Hooker, 4:10pm, May 2
23. CHANVC_130120_264.JPG: Piece of fabric clipped from Jackson's uniform coat
24. CHANVC_130120_281.JPG: Over the River: On May 5, Hooker took his troops across the Rappahannock in defeat. Give days later, Jackson passed over another river to "rest under the shade of the trees."
25. CHANVC_130120_292.JPG: Rifle and Musket... ruled the battlefield.
26. CHANVC_130120_304.JPG: Corps Badges: In March, 1863, the Federal Army of the Potomac adopted badges to provide easy identification and add to the esprit de corps. Chancellorsville was the first campaign in which they were used.
27. CHANVC_130120_309.JPG: Original circular of I Corps announcing the badges. The shape identified the corps; the color, the division; 1st Division, red; 2nd, white; 3rd, blue. (The red circle has faded to tan.)
28. CHANVC_130120_320.JPG: Cavalry: In the Chancellorsville campaign, the Confederate cavalry kept Lee well-informed. With the bulk of his cavalry absent, Hooker did not know what Lee's army was doing.
29. CHANVC_130120_327.JPG: Spurs worn by a cavalry officer
30. CHANVC_130120_338.JPG: Grant Takes Command May 1864: "If you see the President, tell him, from me, that, whatever happens, there will be no turning back." -- US Grant
31. CHANVC_130120_345.JPG: McClellan saddle found on the Chancellorsville Battlefield. This type, sponsored by the famous Civil War general, remained in official use for many years.
32. CHANVC_130120_350.JPG: The Fight in the Wilderness May 5-6, 1864: Before Grant could get his soldiers through the dense, tangled Wilderness, Lee struck. The armies fought to a draw.
33. CHANVC_130120_356.JPG: Minie balls melted in Wilderness fires
34. CHANVC_130120_361.JPG: The Wilderness, "Wild, Weird Region": "It is a region of doom and the shadow of death." Thus one Union officer described the Wilderness, a dense woodland region extending south from the Rapidan River. In its tangle thickets, two major battles of the Civil War would be fought.
35. CHANVC_130120_367.JPG: Bible stolen from the Lacy family home by a Pennsylvania soldier
36. CHANVC_130120_373.JPG: Ellwood: Farmsteads in the Wilderness were generally small in size and few in number. An exception was "Ellwood," a plantation owned by the Lacy family.
37. CHANVC_130120_378.JPG: The Medal of Honor: In July 1862, Congress created the Medal of Honor to recognize soldiers who distinguished themselves in combat. 1,522 individuals received the award for their actions in the Civil War. Two of those medals are displayed here. The one on the right was awarded in 1897 to former First Lieutenant John H. Patterson of the 11th United States Infantry. Seven years after Paterson received his award, Congress redesigned the medal. The one of the left, awarded to Private John F. Chase of the 5th Maine Battery, is an example of the updated design.
38. CHANVC_130120_383.JPG: Private John F. Chase: John Chase received the Medal of Honor for his actions at Chancellorsville on May 3, 1863, when he and Corporal James Lebroke continued to operate their gun after all the other men in their cannon crew had been killed or wounded. Their efforts saved the battery from capture and helped cover the retreat of the Union army. Two months after that action, Chase was wounded 48 times a shell exploded just feet in front of him during the Battle of Gettysburg. Although he lost an arm and an eye, Chase survived his wounds and lived another half century, becoming a minor celebrity. The cane below was likely presented to him in his later years by an admirer.
39. CHANVC_130120_388.JPG: Lieutenant John H. Patterson: John Patterson risked his life to save another soldier. On May 5, 1864, during the Battle of the Wilderness, Patterson hoisted a wounded officer onto his back and carried him to safety, preventing the man from being either captured by the enemy or consumed by the burning woods around him. Patterson survived the war and remained in the army until 1898, when he was seriously wounded leading troops at El Caney, Cuba, during the Spanish-American War. He retired the following year at the rank of brigadier general and lived until 1920.
40. CHANVC_130120_414.JPG: The Armies Move to Spotsylvania: "This army is in motion on his [the enemy's] right flank, and our advance is now at Spotsylvania Court House." -- R.E. Lee, May 8, 1864 "I... propose to fight it out on this line if it takes all summer." -- US Grant, May 11, 1864
41. CHANVC_130120_436.JPG: "Should it be my lot to die in the present struggle, let the thought that I die in the defense of my country console you. And when peace with its happy train of attendants shall once more visit this land, let it be your greatest joy to teach my child that I was one who loved my country more than life. This is the only legacy I can bequeath to him, but it is one that a prince might well be proud of." -- Sgt. James R. Woodworth, 44th New York Volunteers Killed, May 5, 1864, in the Battle of the Wilderness Sergeant Woodworth, a 22-year-old father, wrote this note on the inside leaf of his diary before sending it home to his wife, Phebe, for safekeeping.
42. CHANVC_130120_455.JPG: Roar of the Cannon: Above the rattle of musketry the big guns roared out the challenge of battle.
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