The Great Leaders of the Civil War

GREAT LEADERS OF THE CIVIL WAR PERIOD – THEIR HISTORICAL SITES, AND WHERE TO CAMP WHILE SEEING THEM

The Civil War brought out the best (and worst) of people. The heroes, of course, are those that gave their lives because of what they believed in. They are buried all over the place, from battlefield cemeteries, to national cemeteries, to places where no one can remember them. As you tour battlefields, you may come across patches of graves that are simply marked “Unknown.” Unlike today's military, soldiers then often did not carry any form of identification on them, and if they did, sometimes it was destroyed along with the body.

In this thread, we will mark the historical sites belonging to the great leaders: The Presidents, the Union Generals, and the Confederate Generals. These are not set up as a road trip, but are placed in order: east to west, north to south. Some of these sites are already within a Civil War road trip thread post. Others were not part of a natural progression within any of those road trips, but perhaps could be fit into another trip.

As per usual for this forum, we try to list public campgrounds if they are less than 40 miles from the historical site.

Post 2: The Presidents: Abraham Lincoln (USA - Union) and Jefferson Davis (Confederacy)

Post 3: The Union Generals: Gen. Grant, Gen. Sherman, and Gen. Meade

Post 4: The Confederate Generals: Gen. Lee, Gen. Longstreet, and General Jackson

As with other Civil War sites, the historic points of interest are in bold links. Campgrounds are below it/them, in regular link type.

USA PRES. ABRAHAM LINCOLN


Click here for this RTA Library Map

***The tent symbols on the map above -- are the locations of the campgrounds identified in the posts of this thread***

Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Monument
2995 Lincoln Park Rd., Hodgenville, KY
Note: This was included with Trip 6: OH, KY, IN, IL. Note: No public campgrounds are within 40 miles of this place.

Abraham Lincoln's Tomb, Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield IL
1441 Monument Ave., Springfield

Lincoln Home National Historic Site
413 S 8th Street, Springfield

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, Springfield
212 N 6th Street, Springfield

Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Park, Petersburg
15588 History Ln., Petersburg

Sangchris Lake State Park, Rochester
9898 Cascade Rd., Rochester

Riverside Park Campground, Springfield Park District, Springfield
4105 Sandhill Rd., Springfield


CONFEDERATE PRES. JEFFERSON DAVIS


Click here for this RTA Library Map

***The tent symbols on the map above -- are the locations of the campgrounds identified in the posts of this thread***

White House of the Confederacy, Richmond, VA
1201 East Clay Street, Richmond

Pocahontas State Park, Chesterfield
10301 State Park Rd., Chesterfield, VA

First White House of the Confederacy, Montgomery, AL
644 Washington Ave., Montgomery

Gunter Hill Campground, Alabama Lakes & Parks, Montgomery, AL
561 Booth Rd., Montgomery

Jefferson Davis Memorial State Historic Site, Fitzgerald, GA
338 Jeff Davis Park Rd., Fitzgerald, GA

General Coffee State Park, Nicholls, GA
46 John Coffee Rd., Nicholls, GA

Beauvoir, Jefferson Davis Home and Presidential Library, Biloxi
2244 Beach Blvd., Biloxi

Davis Bayou Campground, Gulf Islands National Seashore, Ocean Springs, MS
3500 Park Road, Ocean Springs, MS

Jefferson Davis State Historic Site, Fairview-Pembroke, KY
258 Fairview-Pembroke Rd., Fairview, KY

Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park, Dawson Springs, KY
20781 Pennyrile Lodge Rd., Dawson Springs, KY

THE UNION GENERALS


Click here for this RTA Library Map

***The tent symbols on the map above -- are the locations of the campgrounds identified in the posts of this thread***

GEN. ULYSSES S. GRANT – UNION (became President later)

General Grant National Memorial (and Tomb), New York City
W 122nd Street & Riverside Drive, NYC
Note: Resting place of Gen. Ulysses Grant and his wife Julia. They are not "buried"; they are above ground.

Jenny Jump State Forest, Hope, NJ
330 State Park Rd., Hope, NJ

Voorhees State Park, Glen Gardner, NJ
251 County Rd. Route 513, Glen Gardner, NJ
Note: Neither of these are particularly close to the Tomb site, but you may wish to camp and use public transportation into New York City.

Grant Home, Burlington, NJ
309 Wood Street, Burlington NJ
Note: This is little more than a drive-by site.

Brendan T. Byrne State Forest Campground, New Lisbon, NJ
Hwy. Rt. 72 East, New Lisbon, NJ
Note: Though the Grant Home is no more than a drive-by, there are plenty of places to see in Philadelphia, including Gen. George Meade's home and gravesite, plus Independence Square area.

Scott-Grant House, Washington DC
205 I Street, Washington DC

Prince William Forest Campground, NPS, Dumfries, VA
16058 Dumfries Road, Dumfries, VA

Pohick Bay Regional Park, No. VA Region, Lorton, VA
6501 Pohick Bay Drive, Lorton, VA

Ulysses S. Grant Birthplace, Point Pleasant, OH
1551 State Route 232, Point Pleasant, OH

U.S. Grant Boyhood Home and Schoolhouse, Georgetown, OH
Home at 219 East Grant Rd., Georgetown
Schoolhouse at 508 S. Water St., Georgetown

East Fork State Park, Bethel, OH
3294 Elklick Rd., Bethel, OH
Note: Not particularly close to Point Pleasant or Georgetown, but a reasonable commute to either or both, as well as other sites in the Cincinnati area. Also nearby is the Grant home in Covington, KY:

Grant Family Home, Covington, KY
520 Greenup Street, Covington, KY

Ulysses S Grant National Historic Site, St Louis, MO
7400 Grant Rd., St Louis MO
Note: This is Julia Dent Grant's childhood home, White Haven.

Grant's Farm, St Louis

Hardscrabble - NPS Site
10501 Gravois Rd., St Louis
Note: Includes the Grant Cabin “Hardscrabble”. Property now owned by Anheuser-Busch and is very commercial.

Babler Memorial State Park, Wildwood, MO
800 Guy Park Dr., Wildwood, MO
Note: This is the closest you're going to get to either St Louis site unless you stay commercial. While you're here, you can visit Gen. Sherman's gravesite, too.

Grant Home, Galena, IL
500 Bouthillier St., Galena, IL

Blanding Landing Recreation Area, USACE, Hanover, IL
5720 S River Rd., Hanover, IL




GEN. WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN, UNION

Sherman House Museum & Birthplace, Lancaster, OH
137 East Main Street, Lancaster, OH

A. W. Marion State Park, Circleville, OH
7317 Warner-Huffer Rd., Circleville, OH
Note: About 20 miles from Lancaster.

William Tecumseh Sherman Gravesite, Calvary Cemetery, St Louis, MO
5239 Florissant Ave., St Louis, MO

Babler Memorial State Park, Wildwood, MO
800 Guy Park Dr., Wildwood, MO
Note: While you're here, you can visit two of the sites for Gen. Grant.




GEN. GEORGE G. MEADE - UNION

Note: George Meade was born at the US Naval Hospital in Cadiz, Spain.

Major General George Meade's House, Historical Landmark, Philadelphia, PA
1836 Delancey, Philadelphia., PA

Gen. Meade Gravesite, Laurel Hill Cemetery Sect. L, Lot 1-7, Philadelphia
3822 Ridge Ave., Philadelphia
Note: While in this cemetery, you may be able to find the gravesites of Sarah Josepha Hale (“Mary Had a Little Lamb” author, among other things) and Lt. General John Pemberton (the only Confederate buried in this cemetery).

Benjamin Rush State Park, Philadelphia
15001 Roosevelt Blvd., Philadelphia PA

Fort Washington State Park, Fort Washington, PA
500 S Bethlehem Pike, Fort Washington, PA

THE CONFEDERATE GENERALS


Click here for this RTA Library Map

***The tent symbols on the map above -- are the locations of the campgrounds identified in the posts of this thread***

GEN. ROBERT E LEE – CONFEDERATE

Robert E Lee Birthplace, Stratford, VA
483 Great House Rd., Stratford, VA

Westmoreland State Park, Montross, VA
145 Cliff Rd., Montross, VA

Arlington House, Arlington National Cemetery, VA


Prince William Forest Campground, NPS, Dumfries, VA
16058 Dumfries Road, Dumfries, VA

Pohick Bay Regional Park, No. VA Region, Lorton, VA
6501 Pohick Bay Drive, Lorton, VA

Robert E Lee Boyhood Home, Alexandria VA
NO WEBSITE
607 Oronoco St., Alexandria (Old Town)
Note: This is a home on the National Register of Historic Places, but it is privately owned and no tours are available. Drive-by only! In 2019, the owners were attempting to sell it. It finally sold in April, 2023, for $4.2Mil.

Stewart-Lee House, Richmond, VA
707 E Franklin St., Richmond, VA

Pocahontas State Park, Chesterfield
10301 State Park Rd., Chesterfield, VA

Lee Chapel & Museum, Washington-Lee College, Lexington, VA
100 N Jefferson St., Lexington, VA
Note: General Lee is buried here, rather than near Arlington House.

Glen Maury City Park, Buena Vista, VA
Maury River Rd., Buena Vista, VA

Lake Robertson Recreation Park, Lexington, VA
106 Lake Robertson Rd., Lexington, VA


GEN. JAMES LONGSTREET, CONFEDERATE
Note: Did you know that Gen. Longstreet was a cousin of Julia Dent Grant, the wife of General and President Ulysses S. Grant?

Birthplace of James Longstreet, Historical Marker, North Augusta, SC
33°*33.883′*N, 82°*0.717′*W
Note: Sorry to disappoint, but it's just a historical marker.

James Longstreet Gravesite, Alta Vista Cemetery, Gainesville, GA
521 Jones Street., Gainesville, GA

Don Carter State Park, Gainesville, GA
5000 N Browning Bridge Rd., Gainesville, GA


GEN. STONEWALL JACKSON, CONFEDERATE

Stonewall Jackson Death Site, Fredericksburg

Prince William Forest Campground, NPS, Dumfries, VA
16058 Dumfries Road, Dumfries, VA

Stonewall Jackson Grave, Stonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery, Lexington, VA
316 S Main Street, Lexington, VA

Glen Maury City Park, Buena Vista, VA
Maury River Rd., Buena Vista, VA

Lake Robertson Recreation Park, Lexington, VA
106 Lake Robertson Rd., Lexington, VA

Stonewall Jackson Birthplace, Clarksville, WV (then in Virginia)
Note: There is a bronze plaque in the center of town, at 326-328 Main Street. There is a statue at the Courthouse to honor the man.

Grafton City Campground, Grafton, WV
1318 Parkview Rd., Grafton, WV

Tom Herbertson has built brand new maps showing the Civil War historical sites mentioned in this thread and the locations of the campgrounds that are also identified with a special campground symbol on each map.

Dennis Goza created the roadtrip attractions and verified the physical addresses for each campground which should make it easier for those who are planning to visit these historic sites and are also planning to camp along the way.

--RTA Custom Maps