# Mosby to the Bloody Angle A 3-day, ~240-mile Southern road trip from Alexandria / DC. It chains Bull Run to the Bloody Angle. - **Days:** 3 - **Distance:** ~240 mi - **Starts in:** Alexandria / DC - **Themes:** History - **Routes chained:** [Bull Run to the Bloody Angle](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/nova-civilwar) The Northern Virginia war loop, run counterclockwise so the history happens in order — First Manassas to Jackson's deathbed. ## Why this itinerary works Starting in Alexandria / DC, this 3-day itinerary connects Bull Run to the Bloody Angle. It suits travellers interested in battlefields, the movement & the past. The day-by-day bases let you split roughly 240 miles into a sequence of visits rather than trying to cover every linked route end to end. Use the daily highlights to decide which places deserve your longest stops. ## Day by day ### Day 1: Bull Run & Mosby Country Henry Hill at opening (beat the school buses), Second Manassas' Deep Cut, then US 50 west: Aldie Mill, Middleburg lunch, Upperville's stone walls. Overnight Warrenton near Mosby's grave. Separate the two Manassas battles in your notes before walking the ground; the same landscape tells different stories. Keep the horse-country afternoon flexible, with one village walk rather than a stop at every crossroads. Warrenton makes the next day's battlefield run easier than returning to Washington traffic. Bring water for the exposed walks and confirm visitor-center hours. Highlights to consider: - **Manassas: Henry Hill** (Manassas) — July 21, 1861 — picnicking spectators watched the war get suddenly, permanently real; Jackson stood 'like a stone wall' by the Henry House. Second Manassas' Deep Cut a year later was bigger and darker. [Bull Run to the Bloody Angle](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/nova-civilwar) - **Aldie Mill & the Mosby Highway** (Aldie) — US 50 is signed the John Mosby Highway: the Gray Ghost's rangers melted in and out of these gaps and hamlets all war. The 1807 twin-wheel mill still grinds on weekends. [Bull Run to the Bloody Angle](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/nova-civilwar) - **Middleburg & Upperville** (Middleburg) — Stone-walled horse country strung on the old turnpike — June 1863 cavalry clashes at every crossroads as Stuart screened Lee's march to Gettysburg. The Red Fox Inn has poured since 1728. [Bull Run to the Bloody Angle](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/nova-civilwar) - **Mosby's Warrenton** (Warrenton) — The Gray Ghost practiced law and is buried here; the Old Jail museum keeps his revolver and the county's stories. [Bull Run to the Bloody Angle](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/nova-civilwar) ### Day 2: Cavalry Country to Fredericksburg Brandy Station's Graffiti House (check hours), Cedar Mountain's quiet, then the Wilderness and Ellwood's arm grave, Chancellorsville's flank-attack woods. Overnight Fredericksburg; walk the Sunken Road at dusk. Highlights to consider: - **Cedar Mountain** (Culpeper) — August 9, 1862: Jackson — famously indifferent to gunfire — drew his sword (rusted into its scabbard, the story goes) to rally a breaking line. Preserved fields, walking trail, profound quiet. [Bull Run to the Bloody Angle](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/nova-civilwar) - **Chancellorsville** (Chancellorsville) — Lee's masterpiece, May 1863 — outnumbered two to one, he split his army and sent Jackson crashing through the flank. That night Jackson was shot by his own men in the dark woods; the visitor center stands near the spot. [Bull Run to the Bloody Angle](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/nova-civilwar) - **Brandy Station: Fleetwood Hill** (Brandy Station) — June 9, 1863: 20,000 horsemen in the largest cavalry battle ever fought in North America. The Graffiti House's plaster still carries soldiers' charcoal signatures from both armies — they billeted in shifts. [Bull Run to the Bloody Angle](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/nova-civilwar) - **Wilderness: Ellwood** (Locust Grove) — May 1864: Grant and Lee's first collision, fought in burning scrub. In Ellwood's little family cemetery stands the war's strangest marker — the grave of Stonewall Jackson's amputated arm, buried a year before the rest of him. [Bull Run to the Bloody Angle](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/nova-civilwar) - **Fredericksburg's Sunken Road** (Fredericksburg) — December 1862: fourteen assaults up Marye's Heights against the stone wall; none got within fifty yards. Chatham Manor across the river hosted Lincoln in better days — then Walt Whitman and Clara Barton beside the surgeons' tables. [Bull Run to the Bloody Angle](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/nova-civilwar) ### Day 3: The Quadrilateral closes Chatham Manor over the river, Spotsylvania's Bloody Angle in morning silence, the Stonewall Jackson Death Site at Guinea — then home via US 1, no interstate required. Highlights to consider: - **Stonewall Jackson Death Site** (Woodford) — The plantation office at Guinea Station where Jackson died of his wounds, May 10, 1863 — 'Let us cross over the river, and rest under the shade of the trees.' The clock on the mantel still runs. [Bull Run to the Bloody Angle](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/nova-civilwar) - **Manassas: Henry Hill** (Manassas) — July 21, 1861 — picnicking spectators watched the war get suddenly, permanently real; Jackson stood 'like a stone wall' by the Henry House. Second Manassas' Deep Cut a year later was bigger and darker. [Bull Run to the Bloody Angle](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/nova-civilwar) - **Wilderness: Ellwood** (Locust Grove) — May 1864: Grant and Lee's first collision, fought in burning scrub. In Ellwood's little family cemetery stands the war's strangest marker — the grave of Stonewall Jackson's amputated arm, buried a year before the rest of him. [Bull Run to the Bloody Angle](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/nova-civilwar) - **Chancellorsville** (Chancellorsville) — Lee's masterpiece, May 1863 — outnumbered two to one, he split his army and sent Jackson crashing through the flank. That night Jackson was shot by his own men in the dark woods; the visitor center stands near the spot. [Bull Run to the Bloody Angle](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/nova-civilwar) ## Practical planning Budget an average of about 80 miles per day across the whole trip, or roughly 1.8–2.7 hours behind the wheel at an assumed 30–45 mph back-roads pace. This is a planning estimate, not a measured time for each leg: transfer days can be longer and rest days shorter. Add meal stops, tours, ferries, traffic and hikes separately; use each day's navigation link for current driving estimates. ### Overnight bases - Day 1: Warrenton near Mosby's grave - Day 2: Fredericksburg - Day 3: near Alexandria, VA ### Best season & route notes - [Bull Run to the Bloody Angle](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/nova-civilwar): The NPS app's audio tours for all four Fredericksburg-area battlefields are excellent and free. ## Frequently asked questions ### How many days and miles is Mosby to the Bloody Angle? Mosby to the Bloody Angle is a 3-day trip of about 240 miles. ### Where does Mosby to the Bloody Angle start? It starts in Alexandria / DC. ### Which routes does Mosby to the Bloody Angle chain together? It chains Bull Run to the Bloody Angle. ### Where are the overnight bases on Mosby to the Bloody Angle? Day 1: Warrenton near Mosby's grave; Day 2: Fredericksburg; Day 3: near Alexandria, VA. ## Related itineraries - [Presidents & Pinot](https://dixieroadtrip.com/trips/presidents-pinot) — 3 days, ~160 mi - [The Eastern Crescent](https://dixieroadtrip.com/trips/eastern-crescent) — 15 days, ~1800 mi - [The Whole Hog](https://dixieroadtrip.com/trips/whole-hog) — 28 days, ~4300 mi --- Canonical URL: https://dixieroadtrip.com/trips/nova-loop Publisher: Dixie Media (Dixie Road Trip, https://dixieroadtrip.com/) Last updated: 2026-10-04