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is a county in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2000 census, the population was 90,395. The Census Bureau predicted it to be 120,031 in 2008, a 32.8% increase since 2000, making it the 84th fastest growing in the nation during this time period. Its county seat is Spotsylvania Courthouse. The independent city of Fredericksburg is located in the northeast corner of the county but is politically separate.
This county is a part of the Washington Metropolitan Area because of its vast numbers of commuters that travel north on Interstate 95 or the Virginia Railway Express (VRE) for work.
Spotsylvania County was established in 1721 from Essex, King and Queen, and King William counties. The county was named in Latin for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia Alexander Spotswood.
Many battles were fought in this county during the Civil War, including the Chancellorsville, the Wilderness, Fredericksburg, and Spotsylvania Court House.
Stonewall Jackson was shot and mortally wounded in Spotsylvania County during the Battle of Chancellorsville. A group of Confederate soldiers from North Carolina were in the woods when they heard the footsteps of General Jackson's party returning from a reconnaissance of Union lines. They mistook him for a Federal patrol and shot him in the arm. His arm was amputated, but he was unable to recover and died a few days later from pneumonia at nearby Guinea Station, where Confederate wounded were being gathered for evacuation to hospitals further south away from enemy lines.