Civil War Trails® has been working with communities since 1994 to share their stories and connect visitors with small towns and big stories across a network that now spans six states. Travelers look to Trails to put them in the footsteps of the generals, soldiers, citizens, and the enslaved who found themselves in the midst of this Civil War.

Civil War Trails began with a group of historians whose efforts linked together the sites of Robert E. Lee’s retreat from Petersburg to his surrender at Appomattox. Today the program guides visitors to more than 1,200 sites, over 700 of which we are proud to interpret to the public for the first time.

Each and every site on the Trail is generated at the grass roots level, where local interest begins our process. When communities approach Civil War Trails, we start our work by bringing in local historians and descendants. This community-driven approach allows us to tell history and share stories that oftentimes have not been heard before. This approach allows us to interpret—not commemorate or memorialize—the events, people, and places of the most pivotal time in our nation’s history.