Protect the Ground Where Jackson’s Flank Attack Began
A vital two-acre parcel can connect preserved battlefield land along one of the Civil War’s most consequential routes. Your support can help protect it before the opportunity is lost.
Support This Battlefield Help CVBT raise $125,000 to preserve this historic ground.A Key Piece of the Battlefield Is Within Reach
This new two-acre tract—Jackson’s Flank Attack—First Wave—marks the position where many soldiers of the Union XI Corps first encountered the opening wave of Jackson’s attack on May 2, 1863.
Preserving it will help link properties CVBT has protected to the east with land saved by the American Battlefield Trust to the west, strengthening an extraordinary preservation corridor along modern Route 3.
Once historic land is altered, the story written on that landscape can never be fully recovered.
Support This Battlefield
Your Support Moves This Land Toward Permanent Protection
CVBT has spent 30 years turning threatened ground into protected battlefield landscapes. You can be part of the next preservation success.
Support the Campaign
Make a gift toward the $125,000 needed to acquire and protect this parcel.
Help Secure the Land
Your support gives CVBT the resources to act while this preservation opportunity is available.
Preserve the Story
Future generations will be able to experience the landscape and understand what happened here.
The Gamble That Reshaped Chancellorsville
Around midnight on May 1, 1863, Lee’s cavalry chief, “Jeb” Stuart, brought startling news: the Union right flank was exposed. Before dawn, Lee and Jackson studied a rough map and chose one of the boldest gambles in American military history.
Jackson would lead 27,000 men by back roads toward the Union right while Lee used 14,000 infantry along a three-mile front to hold Hooker’s attention. The plan left the Confederate army dangerously divided—but created the possibility of a decisive surprise.
Early on May 2, Jackson led his column down Furnace Road. Union scouts spotted the movement, but as the day passed Hooker concluded that Lee was retreating. Meanwhile, Jackson’s troops slipped through the Wilderness toward the exposed Union right.
By about 3 p.m., Jackson’s men had completed a 12-mile march and formed a battle line nearly two miles long. Eleven of his fifteen brigades were in position before the attack.
Late that afternoon, wild game—turkeys, rabbits, and deer—suddenly burst from the woods west of this clearing. Moments later, gray-clad soldiers emerged behind them: the first wave of Jackson’s 27,000-man attack.
“Along the road it was pandemonium…and on the side of the road it was chaos.”
Howard’s men fought bravely and formed additional defensive lines, but the assault drove the XI Corps from the field. Jackson had reached the height of his success, fame, and military glory.
One Parcel at a Time, a Battlefield Corridor Is Becoming Reality
Since CVBT’s first five-acre acquisition along Jackson’s flank-attack route in 1998, supporters have helped acquire or assist with ten additional tracts totaling more than 110 acres.
In CVBT’s 30th anniversary year, this property offers another chance to connect protected land and carry that legacy forward.
Jackson’s maneuver shaped the Confederate victory at Chancellorsville and influenced later decisions by both armies. Military leaders still study it today. Protecting the landscape gives every visitor a clearer way to understand that history.
Help Keep This Historic Ground from Being Lost
Together, we can raise $125,000 and preserve Jackson’s Flank Attack—First Wave.
Your gift helps protect the battlefield landscape so future generations can stand where history happened and understand the choices, courage, and consequences that shaped Chancellorsville.
Support This Battlefield