My name is Jack Cunningham, and I am a 3rd-year undergraduate student studying history at the University of Virginia. I had the honor of spending this past summer as a Nau Civil War Center intern at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. During my time as a representative of the Nau Center and UVA, I gained invaluable experience in historical research, public speaking, and engaging with the public, among many other things.
As a lifelong resident of Fredericksburg, Virginia, I had the privilege of growing up and visiting all the major battlefields in my area throughout my childhood. So, when I learned of the opportunity to intern at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park through the Nau Center, I immediately applied for it, and I was fortunate enough to be offered the position.
The park consists of four main battlefields: Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania, Chancellorsville, and the Wilderness. I spent most of my days working at the Fredericksburg Battlefield Visitor Center, Chatham Manor, and the General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson Death Site. I generally worked at these sites with a fellow intern and a park ranger. I spent a large portion of my day assisting visitors, providing tours, and answering questions related to the battlefields. Some of my most memorable conversations took place with visitors who had little prior knowledge of the Civil War and wanted to learn more about it. When not interacting with visitors, I generally focused on historical research for projects at the park. Being in the presence of so many knowledgeable park rangers, all of whom are historians themselves, greatly aided my research endeavors.
The park staff tasked the interns with creating and presenting 45-minute tours. Each of us focused on the topics we felt were important and the stories we wanted to share. I spent countless hours preparing my tour, including doing significant research on some of the individual experiences of the soldiers who fought these battles. The tour I created and presented at the Fredericksburg battlefield focused on Sergeant Richard Kirkland, who was noted for carrying medical supplies and water to wounded Union soldiers at Fredericksburg (the story remains somewhat controversial, and its veracity is disputed). I wanted to share this story and others like it with visitors to provide a sense of what the average soldier experienced during that battle. I also wanted to highlight the abject horror of war. Additionally, I focused on civilian life in Fredericksburg before, during, and after the battle, employing letters to emphasize how destructive and costly this battle was. These tours quickly became my favorite part of working at the park, and I looked forward to them each day. I took enormous pride in sharing the history of the parks and our nation’s battlefields.
On my final day at the Fredericksburg battlefield, I had the distinct honor of giving the final tour of the day to a group of thirteen that included my father, a fellow history enthusiast. It was a full-circle moment. My father and I had toured countless battlefields together, including Fredericksburg, and now, instead of listening to a ranger present, I was the one presenting to him and a dozen other guests.
During my internship, I am proud to say I represented UVA, the Nau Center, and the National Park Service as well as possible, and I made some friends in the process. This past summer was one I will surely remember fondly for many years. I look forward to continuing to contribute to the preservation of our battlefields and working with the Nau Center and the National Park Service in the future.