The Fredericksburg Luminaria

I had the opportunity last night to visit the annual Luminaria event at Fredericksburg National Cemetery. This was the 19th year the National Park Service has held the event, but it was the first year I was able to go. I'm so glad I did. I can’t begin to tell you how beautiful it was.

During the day, hundreds of Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts place flags at each of the graves. They then place white paper bags on either side of the gravestones. The bags are weighted with sand to hold them in place, and a tealight sits at the bottom of each one.

This is no small undertaking. There are 15,436 graves in the cemetery. Only 16.5% of the soldiers are identified, though. They’re all Union soldiers because National Cemeteries were reserved for members of the United States Armed Forces; Confederate dead were buried in private cemeteries throughout the South. In the Fredericksburg area, there are two: one in downtown Fredericksburg and one just down the road from us here at Stevenson Ridge near the village of Spotsylvania Court House.

At around 7:00 p.m., the Scouts go down the rows and light up the candles, and at 8:00, gates officially open for the program. The Park Service has guides available at six tour stops along the way who share stories about some of the soldiers buried in the cemetery. Chris served as one of those historians last night. “It’s such an honor to do this,” he told me as he was getting ready. “Those guys gave the ultimate sacrifice for us.” (Read more about his experience at Emerging Civil War.)

I parked near the battlefield visitor center and walked up the luminary-lined sidewalk to the cemetery gate. There, a park ranger greeted me. I walked up the main driveway, with terraces of lights curving off to my left. Then I crested the ridge at the top and had my breath taken away: Thousands of lights, like a field of fireflies, hugged the contours of the ground. Row upon row upon row. It was one of those rare “wow” moments in life.

As we commemorate Memorial Day weekend, it’s important to remember why we have the holiday. Family picnics are nice, and an extra day off is always welcome, but this is what it’s all about.

The 150th Anniversary of the Fight at the Bloody Angle

Sunrise at the Mule Shoe
on the 150th anniversary of the battle

Today marks the 150th anniversary of the best-known engagement of the battle of Spotsylvania Court House: the fight at the Mule Shoe Salient. For 22 straight hours, soldiers engaged in hand-to-hand combat in the pouring rain. Most of the fight centered around a spot in the earthworks that became known as the Bloody Angle.

Chris does some volunteer work with the park, and he was out there today for a tour at dawn that traced the Union attack in real time, 150 years later. He’ll also be at the Spotsylvania battlefield exhibit shelter today from 10-2. Later this afternoon, he’s taking some of SR guest’s on a private guided tour. (It’s a busy tour week for him, with another tomorrow, and then a whole tour bus on Wednesday and Thursday.)

If you’d like to schedule a private tour, we do offer a guide service. Contact us at info@stevensonridge.com. You can also read more about the battle at Emerging Civil War.

In the meantime, if you have the chance to visit the battlefield on your own on this 150th anniversary, the Park Service is offering a special opportunity: Until 4 a.m., a historian will be on “silent sentinel” duty at the Bloody Angle in commemoration of the fight. It’s a rare opportunity to be on the battlefield at night. We’ll be taking advantage of it ourselves this evening. Chris says that, despite the terrible fighting that once took place there, it’s one of the most peaceful places to go for a walk.

In Memory of General Stevenson

One hundred and fifty years ago today, on May 10, 1864, Brig. Gen. Thomas Greeley Stevenson was killed during the battle of Spotsylvania Court House. Stevenson Ridge takes its name from Gen. Stevenson, who was killed near the property.

"Of all losses of gallant men, whom Massachusetts has been called upon to mourn in this war, no one has caused a greater or more general sorrow than that of General Thomas G. Stevenson," said The Boston Post. "No one will be more universally missed than he."

To learn more about Gen. Stevenson's story, check out the piece Chris wrote today for Emerging Civil War.

150th Commemoration of the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House

The Bloody Angle at
the Spotsylvania Court House battlefield

The 150th anniversary of the battle of Spotsylvania Court House is coming up in just a few weeks—part of the larger action known as the Overland Campaign. We’re busy at the Ridge getting ready for the commemoration.

A big chunk of the Union army occupied the ground that’s now Stevenson Ridge. We still have earthworks that criss-cross the property, but there are other signs of the army’s presence, too. Chris has been hard at work this spring piecing together the story that took place here, and he’s been developing new materials that will help tell that story to our guests.

On May 1, we’ll be hosting Spotsylvania County’s annual Dinner with the Generals. That will kick off four days of commemoration by Spotsylvania County, including the annual reenactment, which is always very popular.

On May 2, the Friends of Fredericksburg Area Battlefields will host their third annual Civil War Symposium at the Old Courthouse in Spotsylvania. One of the featured speakers is John Cummings, who offers tours for our guests here at the Ridge.

On May 3, Chris will be a featured speaker for the Lake of the Woods Study Group’s program commemorating the battle of the Wilderness. On May 4, he’ll be doing a book signing at the NPS’s Chancellorsville Battlefield Visitor Center.

And of course, the National Park Service will be hosting a number of events throughout the first two weeks of May.

(And while we’re talking about Civil War events, don’t forget about our upcoming Emerging Civil War Symposium August 15-17!)

As you might imagine, lots of visitors are coming to Spotsylvania County for the sesquicentennial events, and that means our houses are filling right up. In fact, all of our historic houses are booked for the first two weekends of May. (The only exception is the Riddick House, which is still available May 9 & 10; rates are $285-$395/night, depending on the number of lodgers.)

We do still have limited availability for several of our houses on weeknights during the first two weeks of May, too.

We hope to see you here in Spotsylvania for these once-in-a-lifetime events!

Remembering the Forgotten Front

Our historian-in-residence, Chris Mackowski, woke up to some good news a few days ago. A book he co-authored has been selected as a finalist for a pair of awards!

Chancellorsville’s Forgotten Front: The Battles of Second Fredericksburg and Salem Church, which Chris co-wrote with his longtime collaborator Kristopher D. White, has been chosen as a finalist for both the Library of Virginia's Literary Award and the Army Historical Foundation's Award.

Aside from his work here at Stevenson Ridge, Chris is a writing professor at St. Bonaventure University and the managing editor of Emerging Civil War. Among his other publications, he and Kris have written a book about the battle of Spotsylvania Court House, A Season of Slaughter, that includes a little background about Stevenson Ridge’s Civil War history.

Congratulations, Chris and Kris!

Yard Sale at Stevenson Ridge this Saturday!

We have a different sort of event coming up at Stevenson Ridge this weekend: a big yard sale!

Over 5 families are participating—including not only those of us who work here but some of our family members and close friends, too. We have all been cleaning out our closets and digging through our basements and emptying out our garages.

That means LOTS of good stuff, cheap!

We’ll be set up in the Lodge on Saturday, March 22 . Doors open at 8am, and the yard sale will run through noon.

Stop by and see what goodies we have, spend some time checking out the property, and take a minute to say hello. We’d love to see you!

Baby Shower at the Riddick House

Our of our event coordinators, Erin Terapane, hosted her baby shower here at the Riddick House Saturday, March 8th. Most of the Ridge ladies were invited (Elizabeth, Debbie and myself), so we got to enjoy the fruits of our hard work first hand!

Erin's very creative and organized family, including her mother and two beautiful sisters, transformed the banquet room of the Riddick House into the perfect hideaway for a girls' day out. With a "milkoholic" theme, the tables were decorated with miniature milk bottles, pink cow bells, and milk chocolate bars in cow-print wrappers. Lots of games and picture taking with milk-trimmed mustache props made for a fun-filled day.

Erin received enough gifts to fill TWO nurseries! I joked to my mom that I need to get the email list of these attendees and invite them to MY baby shower (whenever that day comes).

The guests raved about the food prepared by our executive chef, David Knapp. A menu of baby BLTs, Mediterranean pasta salad, homemade sweet-and-sour meatballs, broccoli quiche, and miniature fruit salad cups kept the guests coming back for seconds. This wasn't a dry shower, so the hearty food helped keep our tummies full as we sipped on chilled wine (don't worry—the mom-to-be enjoyed sweet tea as everyone celebrated her growing family).

Spring was peeking its head around the corner, with temps reaching the mid-60s. What a beautiful day with good food, great company and lots of laughter!

Left: Water-breaking game; Center: Mini Fruit Salad Cups; Right: Milkoholic tablescape