Civil War Buffs Get Cemetery
Thursday February 1 2001
Civil War Enthusiasts Get Cemetery
CHANCELLORSVILLE, Va. (AP) - The grounds where Confederate Gen. Thomas ``Stonewall'' Jackson planned his 1863 attack on Union soldiers at the battle Chancellorsville is about to become a cemetery for Civil War buffs.
The 370-acre Chancellorsville Memorial Garden is scheduled to open by June.
'This is such a historically significant area. We thought this idea was rather unique,'' said Edward Laux, president of DTR, a California development company that owns the land.
The cemetery, about 60 miles north of Richmond, is already advertising in Civil War magazines.
No fighting took place on the site, but it served as a staging area for the attack that brought a decisive victory for Confederate troops commanded by Gen. Robert E. Lee. It was also the battle in which Jackson suffered wounds from friendly fire that led to his death. The company plans to do an archaeological dig with help from students at Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg.
Though the land probably has been picked over by relic hunters, ``we think there may be some remains out there,'' Laux said.
