Explore Virginia's Civil War History

Drive the tour of the Peninsula Campaign, beginning at Fort Monroe in Hampton and ending on the bloody battlefield of Seven Pines near Richmond.

Don't Miss: Watch out for several interpreted stops relating to the March 1862 Battle of Hampton Roads, which is known for having the first action between two ironclad ships, the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia.

Sites of Interest Along the Trail: 

• Lee Hall Mansion, Newport News
• Historic Endview, Newport News
• USS Monitor and The Mariners' Museum and Park, Newport News
• Casemate Museum of Fort Monroe, Hampton

Virginia's Shenandoah Valley region is known as the great breadbasket — and thus it was a place of near constant, desperate action during the Civil War.

Don't Miss: Trace the steps of Stonewall Jackson's famous 1862 Valley Campaign. Fast forward two years to Philip Sheridan's 1864 Valley Campaign, which would help bring Union victory and an end to the war. 

Sites of Interest Along the Trail: 

• Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District
• New Market Battlefield State Historical Park, New Market
• Virginia Military Institute Museum, Lexington
• Cedar Creek Battlefield, Middletown

The events leading up to the Battles of Manassas and Mosby Country, the defenses of Washington, and many other topics are explained at dozens of trail sites from the rolling hills of Fauquier County to the DC suburbs.

Sites of Interest Along the Trail:

• Fort Ward Museum, Alexandria
• Arlington House, Arlington
• Ball's Bluff Regional Park, Leesburg
• Virginia Piedmont Heritage Area, Middleburg

Central Virginia is considered the bloodiest ground in the country. The 1864 Overland Campaign, led by Union General Ulysses S. Grant, began west of Fredericksburg and ended with the Siege of Petersburg.

Sites of Interest Along the Trail: 

• Virginia Museum of History & Culture, Richmond
• The American Civil War Museum – Tredegar, Richmond
• Pamplin Historical Park & The Museum of the Civil War Soldier, Petersburg
• Chancellorsville Battlefield, Fredericksburg
• Ellwood Manor, Locust Grove
• Spotsylvania County Museum, Spotsylvania

Cover the route of Robert E. Lee's final march from Petersburg to Appomattox, where he would surrender the Army of Northern Virginia to General Ulysses S. Grant. Visit Sailor's Creek Battlefield State Park, where Lee lost a substantial part of his army, and explore the 1864 Wilson-Kautz Raid, as well as the critical Battle of Lynchburg.

Sites of Interest Along the Trail: 

• High Bridge Trail State Park, Farmville
• Sailor's Creek Battlefield State Park, Rice
• Staunton River Battlefield State Park, Randolph
• Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History, Danville