The Richmond Howitzers at Spotsy
It was a beautiful day to be on the battlefield today….
I was at Spotsylvania Court House, doing some prep for a program I’m giving for the Chambersburg Civil War Seminar tonight about Emory Upton’s attack on May 10, 1864. The day could not have been more pleasant. Even though I write about and tell the stories of some pretty horrible events, one of the most sublime aspects of that duty is how beautiful the battlefields can be today. It’s a great reminder of how lucky I am to do this work.
These artillery pieces mark the location of the Richmond Howitzers. This is also as far to the west that Upton’s men pushed in their breakthrough on May 10.
Dan Davis wrote a great two-part series on Upton’s attack, which you can read here and here.
Edward Alexander did an excellent modern trail map for Upton’s Attack route that you can find here.
Those artillery pieces really add a lot to that location. If someone gave you “one” artillery piece to put anywhere in the Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania Military Park….where would it be? For me, I’d put one at the site of the Bernard Cabins at the end of one of my favorite trails on the Fredericksburg battlefield.