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March 6, 1816--An advertisement in the Virginia Herald by George and Ann Chancellor announce that a large and spacious building is now open to travelers along the turnpike about 10 miles west of Fredericksburg. The property upon which the inn is constructed is owned by Anne Chancellor's half-brother, William Lorman, a wealthy Baltimore merchant.
The house operates as an inn and tavern and, by 1821, also contains a post office. Known as "Chancellorsville," the landmark is simply a large, brick Georgian-style structure with attached wings. It is 2stories tall and has a two-story, inset front porch, an L-shaped floor plan and a cellar.
1846--A traveler describes Chancellorsville as "one of the most celebrated houses in Virginia." The tavern operates through 1852, and rooms are rented on a long-term basis as late as 1859.
1860--The house is home to Dr. Samuel S. Guy and his family. Guy suffers financial difficulties in 1861, however, and the house is repossessed by Samuel Pettus, who had bought the property from the Chancellor family in 1854 and sold it to Guy in 1859. Pettus then rents the house to Frances Chancellor, whose mother had once run the tavern.
March 1863--The property is bought by George Guest and he continues to rent the house to Frances Chancellor, who provides lodging to civilian refugees and welcomes Confederate soldiers. Visitors include Gens. Jeb Stuart, Richard Anderson, Billy Mahone and Carnot Posey.
May 1-3, 1863--The house serves as headquarters for Union Gen. Joseph Hooker and as a hospital during the Battle of Chancellorsville. Frances Chancellor, her children and a few other local people remain sheltered in the house while the battle rages around them.
On May 3, Hooker is knocked to the ground and rendered briefly unconscious when a porch column against which he is leaning is split in half by a Confederate artillery shell.
Sue Chancellor, then 14 years old, witnesses the battle and leaves a detailed description of the scene. "Oh the horror of that day!" she writes. "There were piles of legs and arms outside of the sitting room window and rows and rows of dead bodies
"If anybody thinks that a battle is an orderly attack of rows of men, I can tell them differently, for I have been thereThe woods around the house were a sheet of fire; the air was filled with shot and shell; horses were running, rearing, and screaming; the men, a mass of confusion, moaning, cursing, and praying."
With the house in flames, Confederate forces converge on the Chancellorsville clearing from three directions as the retreating Federals stream northward up Elys Ford Road.
One observer later writes that when Gen. Robert E. Lee rides into the clearing, Confederate troops "rent the air with their cheers and pushed forward more rapidly, waving their hats on high and calling his name."
1869--The property is purchased by John H. Walzl, who by 1872 has completed construction of a smaller house incorporating the ruins of the original inn.
Late 1900s--The property changes hands on three occasions before the end of the century. Numerous reunions are held on the site by Civil War veterans. Gen. Hooker makes a return visit in October 1876.
May 4, 1910--The second Chancellorsville house is purchased by A.J. Rowley from the William Wyeth family. The property consists of 844 acres, and the price is $8,500.
Nov. 14, 1927--Fire destroys the house for a second time, leaving just a shell of brick walls.
1947--A high wind topples most of the remaining walls.
1966--Ralph England buys the property from the Rowley heirs and clears the remaining ruins.
1973--The property is acquired by the National Park Service. Today, it is part of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park.
--Lee Woolf
