Civil War spots, Chester/Richmond, Va.

We stayed near Chester, Va., during our Richmond trip.

On the first day we got to the area pretty late in the afternoon. After checking into our hotel, we jumped back in the car to head back to Richmond for some exploring. Along the way we saw signs for two Civil War sites and turned off the main drag to check 'em out.

Now, we're not big Civil War history buffs or anything, but Chris likes history and is always interested in learning about local areas and our nation.

Fort Wead
First stop was Fort Wead, a former Union fort. It was really hard to find this site. It was smack dab in the middle of a subdivision. If it wasn't for the large sign beside the road, we would have missed it.

It's nice that the site was preserved, but it was awfully weird to visit a site in the middle of a residential neighborhood.

What's left of this small fort was the earthworks and the powder magazine. Here's a brief history on the Chesterfield Historical Society's website.

I doubt you can read the sign, but it explains how earthworks, surrounded by a moat, was used for this fort.

This is a shot of the whole fort from the back looking forward. The fence to the far right is where the magazine was located. See all the houses? Amazing a historic site would be located in a neighborhood!

Battery Dantzler
The next stop was Battery Dantzler. Read a brief history here.

This fort also has earthworks and there are interpretive signs showing where artillery and the powder magazine were located.

The powder magazine was to the left of the platform where the interpretive signs were.

The sign shows the position of artillery weapons.

This shows a photo of the original earthworks.

From the site, you can get a great view of James River.

Confederate troops fought Union boats from here.