Spotsylvania Court House: Battle of the Ni

Federal forces cross the Ny River. The column of troops in the left of the image ascend a slope that takes them past modern Stevenson Ridge.

from Chris

One hundred fifty-five years ago today, a portion of the Federal army appeared along the Fredericksburg Road–modern day Rt. 208–and moved southwest toward Spotsylvania Court House. The previous day, three-fourths of the army had collided with the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia to the west along Brock Road, where Confederates successfully bottlenecked …

A Sketch of Stevenson Ridge, 1864

from Chris

Looking through issues of Harper’s Weekly from the Civil War era a couple weeks ago, I came across an unexpected surprise: an illustration that shows Stevenson Ridge in the background.

The image was captioned “Army of the Potomac—Crossing the River Ny, Virginia.” The Ni River (as it’s spelled today) runs past the base of the hill that Stevenson Ridge sits atop. Of course, it wasn’t Stevenson Ridge back then, so all you see of our …

A Little Wedding, A Little History

from Chris

We’re getting ready for a wedding this afternoon here at Stevenson Ridge. Teal, peach, and off-white pom-poms festoon the fireplace in the chapel, and spider-thin curly-que candelabras, also teal, sit at the center of each table. A sign in the lobby says, “Happiness is not a destination. It is a way of life.”

Outside, it’s the kind of day our handyman, Frank, would call a “Chamber of Commerce” day—sunny and pleasant and enticing.

As I look out the …