Vista Clearing at Spotsylvania

More than a century after the nation’s destiny was contested in combat at Spotsylvania, the battlefield’s appearance had been changed by the spread of forest over former fields and pastures. In 1978, the National Park Service began a vista clearing program to restore the historic scene at crucial points on the battlefield. Guided by documented evidence and careful methods that preserved existing historical features, the project made it easier to understand the fighting and to see the terrain as participants did in 1864.

Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia · United States