Military History in Virginia

Discover 16 places to experience unusual military history in Virginia.

Great Falls, Virginia

Great Falls Nike Fire Control Site W-83

This former Cold War missile control site played an important role in the creation of GPS.

Herndon, Virginia

Great Falls Nike Missile Launch Site W-83

An out-of-place Air Force radar dome is all that denotes this park as a former missile launch site.

Warrenton, Virginia

Cold War Museum

This museum sits on the site of a decommissioned military communications base.

Fairfax, Virginia

Fairfax Nike Missile Site

A lone historical marker off the highway and scattered debris are all that remain of this Cold War-era missile site.

Petersburg, Virginia

The Crater

An innovative attempt to break a siege in the American Civil War still scars the earth today.

Manassas, Virginia

Ben Lomond Historic Site

Hear, smell, see, taste, and touch history at this immersive Civil War hospital.

Hopewell, Virginia

Grant's Headquarters at City Point

For nearly a year, General Ulysses S. Grant was based here during the American Civil War.

Front Royal, Virginia

Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute

This sprawling farm was once a Cold War-era hideaway for the nation's top diplomats.

Fort Belvoir, Virginia

Army Museum Support Center

The U.S. Army's giant warehouse of war art includes Hitler’s watercolors and Norman Rockwell oil paintings.

Arlington, Virginia

Joseph Marthon Memorial Mainmast

The naval commander’s proudest moment in battle is memorialized in this unique tomb at Arlington Cemetery.

Natural Bridge, Virginia

Dinosaur Kingdom II

An alternate history park where the Union Army loses the war... to dinosaurs.

Danville, Virginia

AAF Tank Museum

This sprawling museum holds one man's giant collection of real tanks.

Alexandria, Virginia

P.O. Box 1142 Memorial

This simple stone memorial remembers a secret, Geneva Convention-defying interrogation base from WWII.

Locust Grove, Virginia

Grave of Stonewall Jackson's Arm

The resting place of a Civil War celebrity's amputated limb.

Fredericksburg, Virginia

Monument to the Angel of Marye's Heights

The Kirkland Monument remembers a selfless Civil War hero who braved the battlefield to give water to his dying enemies.

Alexandria, Virginia

Torpedo Factory Art Center

A former major munitions plant that has been converted into a sprawling art space.