The Setting

Civil War sites abound in history-rich Virginia, but finding and interpreting them was a job left to the visitor. Many war-related places were unknown outside their vicinities and others faced possible destruction by commercial and residential development. Wasn’t there some way to save the sites at risk, capitalize on the vast untapped tourism potential, and make the tourist’s experience more pleasant and informative?

Avid history buffs from around the country travel to Virginia annually to visit the battlegrounds of lore: Manassas, Petersburg, Wilderness. But if you didn’t grow up in the Commonwealth of Virginia, odds are that many of the events, people, and places there that tell the story of the American Civil War are only barely known to you. There are hundreds of sites in this state—where more than 60 percent of that bloody war was waged—that bespeak history better than any textbook ever could. Yet, even the most diligent amateur historian would have trouble routing out the myriad details of the battles, sieges, and machinations of an intricate conflict waged by skilled military leaders and home-grown warriors alike.

“We have close to 300 sites that tell a piece of the tale of Civil War, right here in our state,” says Jack Berry, director of the Richmond Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB). “But no two places were talking to each other. No two jurisdictions were conferring on how best to put their history to work and build a solid base for heritage tourism and economic development.”

To be fair, promoting its own history has always been a big priority in the Old Dominion. Almost since the very day in 1865 when Lee surrendered his Confederate forces to Grant at Appomattox, dedicated enthusiasts have made sure visitors are aware of the significance of Virginia’s contributions and sacrifices in the war. In the 1920s, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) installed roadside historical markers along routes where armies advanced or retreated or where skirmishes and battles were waged. But these markers stood alone. It was up to the intrepid traveler to seek them out or, more likely, stumble across them.

Then there were all the places only locals knew about. Some places may not have played as significant a role in the war’s outcome, but their participation is nonetheless interesting to tourists. Yet, with limited to no marketing budgets or experience, those sites languished, at risk of permanently being forgotten.

So there sat this state, loaded with as much American history as you could stuff into its boundaries. But without a cohesive, well-coordinated, heavily marketed tourism campaign, it was losing potential revenue. The historical resources were all there. But who could pull them together and how?

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