CVBT makes it easy to help preserve the places where history happened. You can quickly set up a monthly or annual recurring gift on the safe and secure CVBT website. It’s as simple as that! Go to bit.ly/3IHicta #cvbt #battlefieldpreservation cvbt.org

According to his service records, Sgt. Nimrod Burke was among the men in the 23rd Usct who fought on May 15, 1864, on the piece of ground that CVBT is currently working to save. You can help CVBT save this historic ground by donating at: bit.ly/4nuW0FI

Pvt. James Branscomb, 3rd AL: “Last Sunday morning [5/3/1863] was the hardest fought battle I have ever seen. Our men fought more [like] devils than men, we at last drove them from their position . . . many a poor wounded man was burned to death by the burning of the woods.”

Col. Charles Edward Griswold, 56th MA, May 3, 1864: “To-morrow we march again for some new field, and we may be in a fight any day. What may soon happen, I cannot tell; but pray that I may be preserved to return." Col. Griswold was killed on May 6, 1864, at the Wilderness.

Lt. Col. Jarrett Harrell along with a large portion 1st NC was captured on May 12, 1864, when their position was overrun along the Mule Shoe salient at Spotsylvania. Sent to Fort Delaware, he was released on July 24, 1865, after pledging the oath of allegiance.

CVBT released its October 2025 e-newsletter last Friday. If you missed it, it is available at: bit.ly/49gyPez If you don’t want to miss future CVBT email newsletters, you can sign up for them at: bit.ly/3IElLAr cvbt.org

Among the killed at Fredericksburg was Capt. John Murray of the 5th NH. By the time the regiment passed the Stratton House, its color guard was decimated. Capt. Murray took up the national colors and within moments was killed after being hit in the head.

Pvt. Jasper Gillespie, 45th GA about the night of May 2, 1863: “[I]t was a dreadful night. [A]ll knew well that the Stonghold that we could so plainly hear them building had to be charged the next morning in the very mouth of 12 lb. Cannon[,] beside a world of small arms.”

Today is National Mule Day! Hundreds of thousands of mules served the Union and Confederate armies during the Civil War. Their surefootedness, willingness to work hard, and ability to survive on less food and need for less care than horses, made them a staple beast of burden.

WE NEED YOU! Without our members’ support, we would not have been able to preserve nearly 2,000 acres of battlefield land in what has been and continues to be a fast-moving, high-demand real estate market. Join us and help make a differnece. cvbt.org/support-us/

While serving as medical director for the Army of the Potomac Dr. Jonathan Letterman pioneered several advances, including triage and medical supply systems, that helped save many lives at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. cvbt.org

Writer Benson John Lossing visited the Spotsylvania battlefield on June 7, 1866. He observed, “full one-half of the trees of the woods, at a point where the fiercest struggle ensued . . . were dead, and nearly all the others were scarred from the effects of musket balls.”

Corp. James E. Holmes, 6th ME on the Battle of Second Fredericksburg: “I thought I had become callous having witnessed so much suffering, having seen so many dead and dying of the past years, but I never . . . felt so bad as I did on the ever memorable 3rd of May [1863]."

Pvt. Robert Hemphill of the 1st SC (Orr’s Rifles) on Mine Run: "The weather was so cold that water would freeze in our canteens and on a man’s whiskers. . . .” “We worked very hard building breastworks & if the Yankees had come on us, they would have met with a great defeat."

In 1868, five years after Chancellorsville, Rev. Isaac Moorhead traveled with Lt. Col. David McCreary of the 145th PA to visit the battlefields where McCreary fought. One stop they made was where the May 3, 1863, Nine Mile Run fight occurred and where McCreary was captured.

Corp. George G. Walters,148th PA Inf.: " We dug a grave, laid [Sgt. Sloan's] body in, covered it with leaves and buried him there. Put a board at the head of his grave with his name, company and Regiment." Sgt. W.C. Sloan, KIA May 12, 1864, now in Fredericksburg National Cem.

CVBT released its Nov. 2025 "History Wire" last Saturday. The post focuses on James Lane's NC Brigade's actions at Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and the Battles of the Wilderness and Spotsylvania Court House. It is available on the CVBT website at: bit.ly/4nAWOZC

Many Civil War soldiers suffered multiple wounds during their service. One soldier, Henry Scott, 5th MA Lt Arty., was first wounded in the face at Gettysburg. Scott's bad luck continued at Mine Run on Nov. 27, 1863, where an artillery shell fragment wounded the his left hand.

CVBT is thankful for all of our members and donors who have helped us over the last three decades. With the public’s generous support we continue to fulfil our mission of saving the area’s Civil War sites of conflict. Please consider joining us at bit.ly/4qKu9UB

May 20, 1864, LTC Stephen Minot Weld, Jr, 56th MA: “I have been in three severe fights, and have come out without a scratch. . . . About all my friends have been killed or wounded, & a fellow's chance of getting through seems pretty slim.