Many Virginians enjoy re-enacting Civil War battles.

Having hosted three out of five Civil War battles, including the first major battle (Manassas) and Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox, Virginia faced more devastation from war than any area in the Western Hemisphere has from any war.

Today Virginia invites you to walk in soldiers' footsteps across battlefields, attend Civil War related events or don 1800s garb yourself. Don't forget to see the many historic churches and homes, museums and cemeteries while making your way along the trails!

"Abandon your animosities and make your sons Americans." - Robert E. Lee, 1865

Mitch Bowman holds one of the Civil War Trails signs you can see throughout Virginia.

Reared in a rich historic region, Mitch Bowman’s passion for Virginia’s war history began at home in Charles City County. Bowman heads up the Virginia Civil War Trails, a network of more than 400 Civil War sites across Virginia that allows visitors to follow the campaigns and marches of the armies, and learn about Virginia leaders such as Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. “Virginia is the heart and soul of the Civil War,” says Bowman.

• Alumnus, University of Virginia
• Officer and Pilot, United States Air Force
• Founder, Historic Air Tours, Williamsburg
• Executive Director, Virginia Civil War Trails
• Author, WHERE BANNERS FLEW: An Aerial View of Virginia's History
• Commended for exemplary service to the Commonwealth as executive director of Virginia Civil War Trails, Virginia General Assembly, January 20, 2005

"... those fields are silent reminders of what our ancestors paid to get us where we are today. To ignore that, and them, would be sacrilegious." - James I. Robertson, Jr.

Experience the Civil War dramatically by tracing the five different Civil War Trails throughout the state including:

• Central Virginia 
• Southside & Lee's Retreat  
• Valley & Mountains  
• Northern Virginia  
• Tidewater

More than 400 sites tell stories never before told through pictures, battle maps, and clear interpretation. Travelers can spend two days or two weeks following the campaigns fought in Virginia through 79 cities and counties. Each site is car-accessible and describes events specific to that location.

Our nation's history begins in Virginia.

The first of thirteen colonies and the site of the first permanant English settlement, Virginia boasts a bounty of historical sites! From the oldest plantations and churches to Presidents' homes, this is the place to begin your explorations into our country's birth.

Thomas Jefferson's Monticello

• Jamestown
• Captain John Smith Trail
• Colonial Williamsburg
• Mount Vernon
• Monticello
• Montpelier
• Ash Lawn-Highland
• Berkeley Plantation
• Shirley Plantation
• St. Luke's Church
• Christ Church
• St. John's Church