By Matthew Cumberledge, Executive Director of Greene County Historical Society Museum
The Battle of Chancellorsville was fought from April 30th to May 6th 1863, in Chancellorsville, Spotsylvania County, Virginia. It was a significant victory for Confederate General Robert E. Lee, who divided his army in the face of a much larger union force. Stonewall Jackson was injured during a surprise attack against the Union Army’s right flank that resulted in the amputation of his left arm. As a result of his injuries, he contracted pneumonia and died on May 10th 1863.
The Chancellorsville Campaign began with the crossing of the Rappahannock River by the Union army on the morning of April 27th 1863, and the most fierce fighting, second only to the Battle of Gettysburg, took place on May 3rd as Confederate General Robert E. Lee launched multiple attacks on the Union positions in Chancellorsville.
Though the Confederate forces would hail the cries of victory that day, and Chancellorsville would go on to be known as Lee’s “perfect” battle, the tides of war would change for an overall victory of the Union Army at the end of the war.
The artifact from the GCHS Collection this month is a recent acquisition, and was found at the site of Confederate camps at the Chancellorsville battlefield and donated to the musuem by Mr. Walter Seal.
This rough, hand forged iron “grill” was used in the camps by the Confederate Army to cook on and prepare their meals. It could very well have been used to prepare the last meal for some poor soul who was one of the great numbers who lost their lives at Chancellorsville.
The Civil War was a dark and bloody conflict, and it is easy beyond measure to forget the human aspect of both sides of the War when one is reading the hard facts of battles fought and won. Artifacts like this, that show what life was like in camp bring the human affect back to us all. Seeing how the men and, yes, even the women on the battlefields lived outside of fighting is something we can all relate to.
Please come out and visit us at the Greene County Historical Society, Tuesday through Saturday, 10AM to 3PM to view this artifact and the rest of our Civil War Collection. We maintain a local history museum at the site of the Former Greene County Poor House. Our building contains 52 rooms, most of which are open to the public, that showcase artifacts from all epochs of history, both local and national.