160th Anniversary of Battle of Fredericksburg

If you did not attend the National Park Service (NPS) to commemorate the 160^th Anniversary of the Battle of Fredericksburg, you really missed out. In my opinion, it was one of the best programs to date. Blessed with good weather, which always helps, the NPS staff conducted some new and innovative events this year.

Friday, December 9^th

7 pm – 8:30 pm, “I am certain this war will set us free”: Transforming a War for Reunion into a War for Freedom. This program was held at the Central Rappahannock Regional Library. It featured guest speaker Mali Lucas-Green, a descendent of freedom seekers who crossed the Rappahannock River near Culpeper. This program considered the context of the Fredericksburg campaign through the lens of emancipation. Freedom seekers across the South crossed into U.S. lines, forcing the question of emancipation, and in doing so, transformed the war itself.

You may be familiar with the National Park Service Passport stamps available at each park. This is the Virtual passport stamp for the 160th at Fredericksburg.

Saturday, December 10th

10 am – 10:45 am, “Bloody Work Must Ensue”: The Road to Fredericksburg.

The day began at Chatham Manor. The NPS staff explored the origins of the Fredericksburg Campaign and the choices that led to the battle. How did the Union high command determine to fight at Fredericksburg, and what obstacles hindered those plans? What actions did Confederate commanders take to plan and prepare for the upcoming winter campaign?

A chilly morning gathering to hear NPS staff explore the origins of the Fredericksburg Campaign and the choices that led to the battle.

2 pm – 3:30 pm, Thunder and Fire: Fredericksburg Artillery at Bernard’s Cabins.

Participants met at Bernard’s Cabins Trail along Lee Drive, Fredericksburg Battlefield. It involved a .9 mile walk that ended at Bernard’s Cabins clearing.

Can you imagine experiencing a battle in your own backyard? This program explored the history of one of the lesser-known aspects of the battle: an artillery duel featuring the Fredericksburg Artillery, a unit composed of area residents. This program contrasted the experience of Confederate forces fighting at home with the experience of enslaved people who witnessed the destruction of the forces that held them in bondage. This program included living history cannon fire.

Artillery reenactors firing two civil war era cannons. The one closest to you is a 6-pound Smooth Bore cannon provided by the Georgia based Buck and Ball Living History Association (an amalgamation of various groups). On this occasion, the unit portrays the Fredericksburg Artillery Battery with their regulation red artillery uniforms. The second gun, provided by Fredericksburg NPS, is a 12-Pound Napoleon gun/howitzer. The reenactors are from the same organization. This group of gunners, while also representing the Fredericksburg Artillery Battery, show us a more typical homespun look. This firing occurred every ten minutes for an hour.

A much larger group attended the artillery demonstration at Bernard’s Slave Cabin site. Following the demonstration, the group led by ranger staff, learned about the infantry fighting which occurred when units of BG John Gibbon’s division finally penetrated the woods beyond the railroad.

While both programs were underway, there was an additional program held at Chatham Manor.

9:30 am – 4:30 pm (both Saturday and Sunday), “Men Lie on the Floors as Close as they Can be Stowed”: Medical Care at Chatham There was a medical tent set up on the river side of Chatham. It examined medical care offered at Chatham in the immediate aftermath of the battle. The program was designed to help us learn about some of the soldiers who received treatment at Chatham after the Battle of Fredericksburg, and about those who offered that care. From famous people like Clara Barton and Walt Whitman, to the less known but equally important Mary Walker and J.F. Dyer. These caretakers remind us to “always look for the helpers.”

During the battle, the Lacy House, also known as Chatham Manor, was used as an expedient hospital by the Federal Army. The exhibit set up on the riverside of Chatham examined medical care offered at Chatham in the immediate aftermath of the battle.

Sunday, December 11th

10 am – 11 am, Fredericksburg’s Evolving War.

This program met on the river side of Chatham Manor. As the course of the Civil War evolved in the months leading up to December 1862, so did life in Fredericksburg. This program focused on the impact of the war on the Fredericksburg community, the bombardment and looting of the city, and what came next for civilians caught in the crossfire.

A group of hearty people gathered at Chatham to learn more about the battle’s impact on Fredericksburg. This program focused on the impact of the war on the Fredericksburg community, the bombardment and looting of the city, and what came next for civilians caught in the crossfire.

1 pm – 2:30 pm “A Continuous Stream of Fire at Every Point”: The 7th West Virginia’s Attack Against the Stone Wall.

This program began at Hurkamp Park, in town at the intersection of Prince Edward and George Streets. It followed the 7th West Virginia Infantry (U.S.), one of the first to attack the Confederate defenses at Marye’s Heights. As a pro-Union regiment raised in the South, the 7th West Virginia presents a glimpse into those Southerners who remained loyal to the Union, and how their stories can reveal a lot about the individuals who fought at the Battle of Fredericksburg.

One of the most innovative elements of this year’s event was its focus on the 7th West Virginia Infantry Regiment. All tour participants received a card related to one individual of this unit (note white cards in hands). The program began at Hurkamp Park on the western side of Fredericksburg. The 7th WV reenactors were a crew with no primary affiliation.

The tour followed George and Hanover Streets and stopped in a parking lot adjacent to what, at the time, was a drainage canal that ran behind the city. This canal functioned as a moat, 15 feet wide and 5 feet deep, filled with 3 feet of water (4.6 meters X 1.5 meters and 0.9 meters). This ditch ran along the grass edge in the photo.

These are three of the cards given to members of the audience while in Hurkamp Park. The NPS staff researched the sixty-one individuals who were initially listed as missing following the battle. This list was published in the West Virginia newspaper the Wheeling Daily Intelligencer on Dec. 19, 1862. At the end of the presentation, held close to the Sunken Road, we found out that there were only seven fatalities out of the 299 soldiers in the assault. By looking into pension records from the war and other data, NPS were able to disclose what happened to each individual; killed or wounded in subsequent battles, survived the war, etc.

3 pm – 4:30 pm, “To Care for Him Who Shall Have Borne the Battle”: Stories from the Fredericksburg National Cemetery.

This program started at the side entrance to the National Cemetery atop Marye’s Heights.

The Civil War caused human loss and physical destruction, the likes of which the United States had never before encountered. This devastation in turn produced fundamental changes in the individual lives of soldiers’ families and the way the federal government operated. This program examined the stories of some of the soldiers killed in the battle and how their families navigated wartime loss. It also explored how the country made meaning out of the devastation of war. To finish the commemoration of the 160th anniversary of the Battle of Fredericksburg, this program examined the stories of some of the soldiers killed during the battle and how their families navigated the difficult realities that war produced.

The National Cemetery marker is located upon the entry posts of the Fredericksburg National Cemetery.

The tour of the cemetery began at the side entrance to the National Cemetery on Marye’s Heights. The cemetery grounds contain the remains of soldiers who were killed or died of wounds or disease from Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Wilderness and Spotsylvania battlefields. The bodies came from a radius of 30 miles, as far away as North Anna battlefield. It also includes graves from the Spanish American War and World Wars 1 and 2. The cemetery is now closed to any further burials. The program explored what happened to relatives through information found in the pension records.

Tuesday, December 13th on December 13,

Unlike past remembrances, the NPS also included events on the actual day of the battle exploring the battle and its aftermath.

10 am – 11:30 am, Sunken Road and Marye’s Heights Special Walking Tour. We met at the Battle Painting behind Fredericksburg Battlefield Visitor Center

12 noon – 1:30 pm “Every Inch was Contested”: The Fight at Prospect Hill. We met near the parking lot at Fredericksburg Battlefield Tour Stop # 6 (Prospect Hill).

On Tuesday, the program on Prospect Hill gave insight into both confederate defenders as well as the Pennsylvania Reserves who assaulted the hill. The tour included a walk to the Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad across from the Meade pyramid. At the time of the battle, the railroad had only one set of tracks rather than the current three sets. It was also considerably lower.

2 pm – 3:30 pm The Aftermath of Fredericksburg: A Special Sunken Road Walking Tour. We met at the Battle Painting behind Fredericksburg Battlefield Visitor Center.

The final tour focused on what happened to the area of Fredericksburg during the war. The town functioned as a troop gathering location and as a supply center for the Confederacy early in the war. Union troops occupied the town in April 1862, fought two battles December 1862 and May 1863, and occupied the town during the Wilderness and Spotsylvania battles in May-June 1864. The 1860 census showed a population of 5,200 before the war, of whom more than 1,500 were enslaved and four hundred were free blacks. After the war, the population dwindled dramatically and did not recover its population until the mid-1900’s.

Source:

FRSP News Release, 9 November 2022. http://www.nps.gov/frsp/learn/news

My next blog will look at the road changes on Prospect Hill.