Fairview - Chancellorsville VA
N 38° 18.466 W 077° 38.526
18S E 268984 N 4243266
An old family home was caught in an intense artillery duel at Hazel Grove during the Battle of Chancellorsville.
Waymark Code: WMB6BC
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 04/10/2011
Views: 6
Fairview was one of the homes of the Chancellor family in Spotsylvania, Virginia during the early 19th century. It was a one-and-half-story log house on a 800-acre farm. On the morning of May 3, 1863, it turned into a bloody battleground when it was caught in the crossfire of Union and Confederate guns from the surrounding woods.
James Moxley and his family occupied the house at the time, overseeing the farm and Frances Chancellor's 20 slaves. They fled as troops marched into Chancellorsville. The Union army set up headquarters at Fairview. An intense artillery battle ensued between the Federals and Confederates who hammered them from nearby Hazel Grove. The Union troops were forced to withdraw leaving behind many dead and wounded casualties. The Confederates gathered up more than 500 wounded Federal soldiers and brought them to Fairview. Union surgeons arrived two days later, but were overwhelmed. Many of the soldiers laid in the yard for a week with little or no medical attention.
Fairview was battered, but had survived the battle. Several weeks later, it burned down.
Two historical signs stand at the Fairview house -- Fairview and Ordeal of the Wounded on the Chancellorsville Battlefield at the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park which is open dawn to dusk. The signs face the location of the old home which is gone, but 4 posts mark the corners.