Union and Confederate soldiers transformed these fields into campgrounds full of dingy tents, smoky campfires and boiling kettles during the Civil War. Shouting officers drilled their troops until Bolivar's grass was trampled into precision parade grounds. Cannon shells shrieked during two battles here. Later, somber faces watched comrades' coffins lowered into Bolivar's disturbed soil.

Follow this trail to discover the story of Bolivar Heights and some of the people who walked along this ridge.

"The heights west of Bolivar must be strengthened."

Col Thomas J. Jackson, CSA

Letter to Maj. Gen. Robert E. Lee, CSA

May 7, 1861

Marker is at the intersection of Whitman Avenue and Prospect Avenue, on the right when traveling west on Whitman Avenue.

Courtesy hmdb.org

Credits and Sources: