Every Friday night during the summer Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park hosts its History at Sunset specialized tours in and around the battlefields. Each tour begins at 7 PM and is designed to last 90 minutes. The tours are free to the public and deal with a wide variety of topics.
If you need directions beyond those given below, call the Fredericksburg Battlefield Visitor Center at 540-373-6122 or the Chancellorsville Battlefield Visitor Center at 540-786-2880.
History at Sunset, Summer 2011:
Note below the rescheduling of the July 8 program (rained-out) for August 19.
June 10, 7 PM: Fredericksburg 1861--Movers and Shakers and Institutions of Import. Meet at Market Square, Fredericksburg. John Hennessy and Donald Pfanz.
June 17, 7 PM: Seeking Death Everywhere: Jackson's Attack to the Buschbeck Line. Meet at the Jackson Flank Attack tour stop, Chancellorsville. Frank O'Reilly and Jake Struhelka.
June 24, 7 PM: Gordon's Flank Attack. Park on Hill-Ewell Drive at Route 20, meet at tour stop 3 (exhibit shelter), Wilderness Battlefield. Greg Mertz and Jake Struhelka.
July 1, 7 PM: Inside the Muleshoe: Lee and Crisis on May 12, 1864. Meet at Bloody Angle parking area, Spotsylvania Battlefield. Jake Struhelka and Ryan Longfellow.
July 8, 7 PM: Stafford's Sherwood Forest: Slaves, Balloons, and Washington's "Lower Plantation." John Hennessy and Caity Stuart. Meet at Sherwood Forest, a ridgetop farm whose driveway beings on the north side of Rt. 3 (north side of westbound lanes) in Stafford County, exactly one mile east of McDuff Green Park.
July 15, 7 PM: Scarred Jewel: Brompton Amidst War. Meet at Fredericksburg Battlefield Visitor Center. Eric Mink and Greg Mertz.
July 22, 7 PM: "Beyond the Call of Duty:" The Medal of Honor at Fredericksburg's Slaughter Pen. Tidewater Trail (Route 2). Frank O'Reilly and Donald Pfanz.
July 29, 7 PM: The Forgotten Front at Chancellorsville: Combat on the Orange Plank Road. Meet at tour stop 4 (McLaws Drive), Chancellorsville Battlefield. Beth Parnicza and Eric Mink.
August 5, 7 PM: Building a Battlefield: The Civilian Conservation Corps and Spotsylvania Battlefield. Park on Anderson Drive near tour stop 4, Spotsylvania Battlefield. Eric Mink and Caity Stuart.
August 12, 7 PM: War Comes Home: An Exploration of Lower Caroline Street. Meet at City Dock, south end of Sophia Street, Fredericksburg. John Hennessy and Steward Henderson.
August 19, 6:30 PM (note: start-time 1/2 hour earlier than usual): Stafford's Sherwood Forest: Slaves, Balloons, and Washington's "Lower Plantation." John Hennessy and Caity Stuart. Meet at Sherwood Forest, a ridgetop farm whose driveway beings on the north side of Rt. 3 (north side of westbound lanes) in Stafford County, exactly one mile east of McDuff Green Park.
