Dr. James Edgar Chancellor studied at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia and at the University of Virginia. He operated a successful store and medical practice at this site from 1855 until 1862. After the death of his wife, he sold his 235 acre tract and took his four children to Charlottesville. He continued medical practice at the Confederate States Army Hospital and served as surgeon of the 55th VA. After the war, he was “Demonstrator of Anatomy” at the University of Virginia from 1865 to 1872. 

A famous well at Spotsylvania Courthouse was excavated around 1798. It was conveniently located at the intersection of the Fredericksburg Road, Brock Road and the road to Massaponax and Louisa County. It was a reliable stopping point for the stagecoach and locals. During the Civil War, both Confederate and Union troops utilized the well for themselves and their horses. In 1887, the well was the scene of the gathering for the procession to the Sedgwick monument dedication (background photo). Through the years, it became known as the place where General “Stonewall” Jackson was given a drink of water on his ambulance trip to Guinea Station. There is no known written record of this event.

The Sanford Hotel- also known as the Spotswood Hotel was used as the headquarters for Major General Jubal Early. General Lee visited here at one point during the battle and used the upper northeast window as a lookout.

Joseph Sanford purchased the “Tavern Tract” from Lewis Rawlings in 1853 and soon began operating Sanford’s Tavern and Inn. When the Civil War broke out his two sons, Joseph Jr. and Lawrence joined the Fredericksburg Artillery. Joseph Jr. was killed near Falling Waters, Maryland in September of 1862, during the Army of Northern Virginia’s retreat from Antietam. General Lee had an excellent view down the Fredericksburg Road from the upper right window.

Sanford’s Inn, because of its position at the crossroads, offered a point of observation for General Lee, who surveyed the Federal lines from the upper windows facing north and east. Lee’s headquarters tent was on the Courthouse grounds across the street. At the Inn on May 10, General Lee had his last meeting with General JEB Stuart who would be killed two days later at Yellow Tavern. On May 8th artillery fire started to strike the Inn from Burnside’s lines due east down the Fredericksburg Road. Joseph Sanford collected a large oak stump from the “Bloody Angle” after the battle, it was confiscated by Union troops in 1865, and eventually placed in the National Museum of American History. In 1865, Sanford and his son, Lawrence, contracted with General Sherman to remove bodies of fallen Union soldiers and transport them to the new cemetery at Fredericksburg.

Jackson’s ambulance passed here on the way to Guinea Station. The ambulance had another passenger, Spotsylvania born Lieutenant Colonel Stapleton Crutchfield Jr., his right leg amputated following his wounding on May 2nd. Here the ambulance stopped and his uncle removed Stapleton and took him to “Snow Hill” on the road to Snell to recuperate. Crutchfield served as Jackson’s Chief of Artillery through numerous battles. He would recover and return to duty only to die, shot through the head at Sayler’s Creek on April 6th, 1865. His body was buried somewhere on the battlefield. After leaving the Courthouse, the ambulance turned south on Massaponax Road and passed by Massaponax Church to Guinea Station.

The jail- Built in 1855 during the Civil War the jail also housed Confederate deserters. In 1863, prisoners from the Battle of Chancellorsville were housed in the jail and confined within a stone fence that surrounded the Courthouse grounds.

Berea Church- The church was initially used as a field hospital during the battle on May 8th. On May 11th, it became the headquarters of General Jubal Early. On May 13th, it came under artillery fire from Federal lines across the Fredericksburg Road. A large artillery shell passed through the front doors and lodged within one of the walls. Damage to the church can be seen in the photos below by the many different colored bricks in the wall. After a fire on July 3, 1899, the artillery shell that was lodged in the wall was discovered. The shell was donated to the Fredericksburg Museum of War Relics, but it’s location today is unknown.

The cemetery is behind the church. Dr. Addison Durrett is buried here. He enlisted on September, 13, 1861, as an Assistant Surgeon into the 9th VA Cavalry and was assigned to a hospital in Fredericksburg. He would later be promoted and assigned to the 35th GA in the field as Surgeon.

The Christ Episcopal Church- Prior to March of 1839, Lewis Rawlings, who owned the adjacent tavern, erected a small brick building to be used as a place of public worship. The bricks came from a field near Stapleton Crutchfield’s old tanyard on the road to Snell. On February 3rd, 1842, he sold the brick building and an acre of land, for the sum of $10 to a group of trustees for a new church called Christ Episcopal Church. During the Civil War it was used as a hospital and was hit by artillery.

From the sign below written by Captain John Sloan

“The 11th was passed in comparative quiet, with the exception of our usual salutation from the enemy attacks. They made daily practice on our works, and endeavored to batter down and destroy the buildings in the in the village. They appeared to have special spite at the little brick church in immediate rear of our regiment, occupied our surgeon (Dr. Hunt) as a dispensary. “Gwin” had hardly opened up when a wicked shell came thundering through the gable, and he concluded to vacate, which he did in considerable disorder. When we quit our lines the little church was sadly in need of a contribution box.”

Captain John Sloan, 27th NC infantry along with Dr. Leander “Gwin” Hunt would both survive the war. The outside walls of the church still bear the scars of the battle. Alfred Waud sketched the fighting on May 9th. Christ Church is depicted on the left side of the drawing marked by the red X.

In 1861, when the Civil War started, Edgar Harrison joined his friends in Company E, 9th VA Cavalry. and served for the duration of the war. In May 1864, his wife Ann along with their children Edgar, William, Ellen and Maria all under the age of 10, would be caught directly in the battle for Spotsylvania Courthouse. General Robert E. Lee used the Harrison house as a temporary headquarters as the fighting raged at the “Bloody Angle.”

The Zion Methodist Church served for a time as Robert E. Lee’s headquarters.

Confederate graves in the church cemetery.

Next- The Chancellorsville Visitor Center- Spotsylvania Court House Exhibit