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littlepowell
Upstate, SC, USA
Posts: 266
 | | John Rincon
Ooltewah, TN, USA
Posts: 77
| | Re: Which battlefield should I visit? | | Posted on: 6/22/2009 2:35:50 PM | On the way back to SC I'd rather vote for Chancellorsville, The Wilderness, and Spotsylvania. There all in the same neck of the woods and absolutely fantastic.
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"Where'd it land?"
"Right in the lumber yard."
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| littlepowell
Upstate, SC, USA
Posts: 266
| | Re: Which battlefield should I visit? | | Posted on: 6/22/2009 2:54:13 PM |
Quote:On the way back to SC I'd rather vote for Chancellorsville, The Wilderness, and Spotsylvania. There all in the same neck of the woods and absolutely fantastic.
--John Rincon
Hmm.. Yeah, I guess you do get a lot of bang for your buck in that area. Wish I could add it to the poll.
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http://www.scourgeofwar.com/ - New Gettysburg PC game from Norb Software Development.
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| Aragorn243
Ephrata, PA, USA
Posts: 1025
| | Re: Which battlefield should I visit? | | Posted on: 6/22/2009 5:09:35 PM | Depends what you want to see.
You want to see monuments and descriptive plaques, go to Antietam. While not as documented as Gettysburg, the field is pretty well covered.
You want to see a lot of empty fields relatively close to the way they were when the battle was fought, go to Manasses. These 2 battlefields are pretty barren marker/monument wise.
I've never seen either battlefield being all that busy but Manasses would be the quieter of the two. You do have to deal with local traffic there though.
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| borderstates
Raceland / Lafayette, LA, USA
Posts: 684
| | Re: Which battlefield should I visit? | | Posted on: 6/22/2009 5:10:33 PM | Antietam is virtually untouched by expansion. You get a very true feeling for the battle with very little intrusion of the last 140 plus years.
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Respectfully yours,
Mike
OUR DEBT TO THE HEROIC MEN AND VALIANT WOMEN IN THE SERVICE
OF OUR COUNTRY CAN NEVER BE REPAID. THEY HAVE EARNED OUR
UNDYING GRATITUDE. AMERICA WILL NEVER FORGET THEIR SACRIFICES.
President Harry S Truman
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| littlepowell
Upstate, SC, USA
Posts: 266
| | Re: Which battlefield should I visit? | | Posted on: 6/23/2009 9:18:24 AM | Looks like the vote is unanimous. Antietam it is! I would like to see Chancellorsville/Fredericksburg/Spotsylvania eventually. Maybe next time. Thanks everyone.
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http://www.scourgeofwar.com/ - New Gettysburg PC game from Norb Software Development.
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| KP
Belle Vernon, PA, USA
Posts: 263
| | Re: Which battlefield should I visit? | | Posted on: 6/24/2009 12:20:18 AM | The only problem with Chancellorsville/Fredericksburg/Spotsylvania is the encroachment of everything from shopping centers to gated communities. I wanted to see the place where Jackson was shot. That was on private land. Then, I wanted to see the location where Longstreet was wounded. That was inside a gated community.
You drive down the roads at Chancellorsville (north/south) and you get the impression that your are driving through peoples' back yards. That destroyed the whole place for me.
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With respect,
KP
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| littlepowell
Upstate, SC, USA
Posts: 266
| | Re: Which battlefield should I visit? | | Posted on: 6/24/2009 8:53:28 AM |
Quote:The only problem with Chancellorsville/Fredericksburg/Spotsylvania is the encroachment of everything from shopping centers to gated communities. I wanted to see the place where Jackson was shot. That was on private land. Then, I wanted to see the location where Longstreet was wounded. That was inside a gated community.
You drive down the roads at Chancellorsville (north/south) and you get the impression that your are driving through peoples' back yards. That destroyed the whole place for me.
--KP
Ouch.. That's too bad. Secessionville in Charleston is a lot like that. Everywhere you walk in Ft. Lamar, you feel like you are about to step into someone's back yard.
That's one thing that is great about Antietam; from what I could tell, it's virtually untouched by development. I'm glad I'll get to spend a day there this time.
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http://www.scourgeofwar.com/ - New Gettysburg PC game from Norb Software Development.
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| KP
Belle Vernon, PA, USA
Posts: 263
| | Re: Which battlefield should I visit? | | Posted on: 6/29/2009 9:18:40 PM | Antietam is still nice, but the development is getting closer. Development along the road and railroad from Harpers Ferry has been creeping northward.
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With respect,
KP
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| Gary
CA, USA
Posts: 73
| | Re: Which battlefield should I visit? | | Posted on: 7/7/2009 11:40:33 PM | Better preserved battlefield. Less traffic too.
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High Private in The Company of Military Historians
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| colbertnation
Posts: 535
| | Re: Which battlefield should I visit? | | Posted on: 7/13/2009 3:38:19 PM | Still....
If you were to have chosen Chancellorsville, you would easily have been able to also visit Elmwood, burial site of Jackson's arm.
And Guyney(Guinea?) Station.
Ah, well!..... Try again next time.
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"Life is a journey. Time is a river. The door is a jar." -- the Dresden Files
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| littlepowell
Upstate, SC, USA
Posts: 266
| | Re: Which battlefield should I visit? | | Posted on: 7/13/2009 9:36:37 PM |
Quote:Still....
If you were to have chosen Chancellorsville, you would easily have been able to also visit Elmwood, burial site of Jackson's arm.
And Guyney(Guinea?) Station.
Ah, well!..... Try again next time.
--colbertnation
I'll get up there one of these days. It's on the to do list, along with Fredericksburg, Petersburg, etc. 
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http://www.scourgeofwar.com/ - New Gettysburg PC game from Norb Software Development.
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| Michigan Dave
Muskegon, Michigan, MI, USA
Posts: 1244
| | Re: Which battlefield should I visit? | | Posted on: 7/18/2009 8:17:11 AM |
Quote:Still.... If you were to have chosen Chancellorsville, you would easily have been able to also visit Elmwood, burial site of Jackson's arm. And Guyney(Guinea?) Station. Ah, well!..... Try again next time. --colbertnation[/quote Ahh Colbert, So many Battlefields, so little time!? MD ---------------
"The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract."
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| Monty Corse
Alexandria, VA, USA
Posts: 244
| | Re: Which battlefield should I visit? | | Posted on: 8/11/2009 3:24:53 PM | I just read this thread.
Manassas is much larger than Antietam with a million more trails, both for hiking and horseback riding. Antietam, more people are familiar with and it is an easy understanding of that day's events, because the three primary assaults of Sept 17th are all preserved in a nice, pleasant, accommodating drive. Where one virtually wouldn't have to get out of their car at all, accept for a few picture taking moments.
Manassas is very well preserved as well as Antietam, almost equal, if not more, there just is not as much agriculture going on at MNBP. At Sharpsburg you will find period barns and homes, cultivated fields, where at Mannasas the landscape is wooded with the open fields left as open grasslands, that is the one big difference. Mentioned above also, is the fact Antietam has more monuments, at Manassas you can count the majority on your two hands. Antietam has a drive taking you to all locations from inside the prak roads, at Manassas you have to go from one point to the next on busy state roads.
You have to realize to that you are inside the Washington, DC metropolitan area as well, lots more people to dodge. Getting around at Manassas, you HAVE to jump out onto the historic highways to get from one stop to the next, unless you walk the trails, which are WONDERFUL!
Going to Manassas you have two battefields to take in as well, very different in their own right, but both amazingly fascinating in their complexity. My gripe about Manassas are the intrusions of too much traffic and Henry Hill on some days has more people walking their dogs than people taking in the 1st Manassas trail. More people use the park for their own cross country jogging adventures too.
On other matters above I read about the Fredericksburg and Spotslyvania NAtional Military Park, I'd like to say:
Where Stonewall Jackson was shot is NOT in private ownership, it is within the military park boundary.
Where Longstreet was shot is anyone's guess off of Orange Plank Road, but John Hennessy and the historians there have nailed down the approximate vicinity and there is a wayside that decribes this information and the incident itself. The gated community is called Fawn Lake and although that property saw action (Longstreet's counterattack), he was not shot on this land, farther to the northeast.
Visiting the "Four Majors" of Spotsylvania County in one day is not recommended in one day. The fields are too big, they are spread out and there is too much to see on the fields. Through in a visit to the waysides or visitor centers and your time gets eaten away fast. Through in traffic and you won't be able to get in a good battlefield tour at all.
Don't get me wrong, it is possible to run around to all four battlefields in one day, but what would that get you? You wouldn't be able to take hold of the landscape or ponder the actions of the engagements.
My 2 Cents, thanks everyone.
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