Prospect Hill Road Change (Part 3)

Ok, now it is time to take a deeper look at the military road located on the back side of Prospect Hill and how it was associated with Lieutenant Colonel Reuben L. Walker’s artillery battalion gun emplacements. Walker himself was considered a premier artillerist.

If you have ever visited Prospect Hill, you would assume that the park road, Lee Drive, is the original road dating from around the time of the Battle of Fredericksburg in 1862. You could imagine the Confederate batteries moving along the road from Hamilton’s Crossing, guiding their horse teams that were pulling the limbers and guns, the gun crews running alongside unhitching their guns and rolling them into place. Each  horse team with its limber would be neatly looped around facing the gun while the gun crew of five prepared to fire.

Edwin Forbes, a renowned artist sketched this dramatic depiction of a Horse Artillery team in motion during battle.  The gunners are seen running alongside. LTC Reuben L. Walker’s mounted artillery battalion would have walked into position on 12 December, the day prior to the battle.

However, looking over the 1931 United States Geological Survey (USGS) map of the battlefield, I was quickly dissuaded of Lee Drive being the original road. In fact, I made four visits to look for the original road. At first, I believed that I was looking for a trail. I even found what I believed to be the overused trail that had become severely eroded. This trail would need to have been a minimum of seven feet (2.1 meters) wide to accommodate a six-foot wide (1.8 meters) gun carriage. It was not until I realized I was thinking too small and should instead be looking for a road!

This United States Geological Survey map published in 1931 shows Fredericksburg and vicinity. I used a small portion of the map highlighting Prospect Hill (yellow circle) which is my area of study. On it you can see Mine Road running north to south along the spine of a ridge near the bottom, Confederate entrenchments in red, then the Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad (FR&P) and Hamilton’s Crossing, Prospect Hill, A system of landowner created farm roads depicted with (=====) lines, the open plain of Slaughter Pen Farm across which the Union army moved, then Highway 2/17 which at the time went by the name of Old Richmond Stage Road and/or Bowling Green Road, and finally the Rappahannock River in the upper right.

This map shows the terrain and roads prior to the creation of the National Park. Within the yellow circle, you can see that the road sidestepped the hill to the west to cross the terrain, avoiding the steep slope found on the south and east sides of Prospect Hill. This road originated with local landowners of the late 1700’s and early 1800’s as they developed the region. It was coopted by the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia when they occupied the area during and after the Battle of Fredericksburg in December 1862. This road led to Hamilton’s Crossing of Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad (FR&P) and to Mine Road and Captain Hamilton’s home.

When Congress established Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Park (FSNMP) in 1925, they placed it under the management of the War Department (click here). The park road they constructed, Lee Drive, followed the line of entrenchments and artillery gun positions. On the southern end of Prospect Hill, it was necessary to excavate a road cut to stay relatively close to the artillery gun emplacements and to gently slope the road downhill.

I can remember being able to drive on it all the way to Hamilton’s Crossing in the late 1970’s. The Park Service closed this off in the 1990’s causing motorists to turn around at NPS Stop #6.

This is a composite map, the base of which is a LiDAR image in grey with the USGS topographic map with brown elevation lines at 10-foot contour intervals on top. The road under investigation is highlighted in yellow.

Recently, the National Park Service (NPS) contracted a LiDAR (an acronym of “light detection and ranging”) image of Prospect Hill. This image is superimposed on the USGS topography on top of that image. I highlighted the original landowner created road in yellow. Notice how it skirts the hill to the west and joins the road to Hamilton’s Crossing on the right side of the image. When the new park road was constructed, they also obliterated the original road, possibly to keep visitors mistaking it for the new road, Lee Drive.

This is a LiDAR image of a portion of Prospect Hill.  LiDAR is an acronym for “light detection and ranging”, a technique that uses microwaves to detect features on the ground that the naked eye might not see. An enlargement is provided on the left. National Park boundaries are green. The RF&P railroad runs in between. Note the darker grey areas depicting changes in elevation. Artillery positions and trenches are in red. Road traces are in purple, and trails are in brown. The extension of Lee Drive, now a trail, runs north to south along the unused portion of the drive. Note the shadow of the road embankment just to the left of the trail. The purple oval shows where the severely eroded road ditch is.
In the enlarged view, the road trace is aligned with this eroded ditch. You can make out another road ditch parallel and below it. The roadway is in between.

I was curious to see if any of that roadway still existed. The LiDAR image indicated that a portion might remain. Removing the topo overlay, on the now clear image (right side) you can see the Walker’s gun emplacements in red along the crest of the hill, the park boundary in green, with the RF&P railroad running in between, roads are in purple and trails in brown. Generally, LiDAR simply provides a trace of a road rather than its full width. In the upper left, you can see where Lee Drive pulls into the ‘Stop #6’ parking area and then loops back on itself. The park service blocked access to the road continuation in the 1990’s. Its continuation is in brown, indicating that one can hike here. Look closely on the shoulder of the trail in shadow, and you can make out the excavated cut.

Now look at the purple oval in the lower center, and then at the enlarged LiDAR image to the left. The road trace in purple runs right through a darker shadow area. This seemed to indicate where there was erosion. This is where I erroneously believed that I’d found a logging trail used to run the guns up on top of the hill.

Google Earth provides the same information when matched to the LiDAR image. The purple circle indicates where the severely eroded ditch is located. This aerial from 2007 shows that a large tree has fallen across the roadbed.

I next went to Google Earth looking for the same region of Prospect Hill. I discovered precisely the same thing. On the right aerial photo, dated December 31, 2007, at almost the same scale as the LiDAR image, is a shadow of the eroded ditch (see the purple oval). Lee Drive and Stop #6 are on the upper left. A spot elevation of 132 feet (40 meters) is in yellow. In the enlarged view, you can make out the eroded ditch plus a tree that has fallen across the roadbed. You can also make out a faint second roadside ditch parallel with the first eroded ditch. The roadbed is in between the two.

This enlarged LiDAR image shows the road trace (purple line) aligned with the severely eroded drainage ditch. LiDAR does not attempt to show the entire road width. The train in brown follows the disused extension of Lee Drive. The park boundary and the RF&P railroad are on the far-right side. This image depicts where photographs (A, B, C, and D) were taken.

I went to the field in January and February to check this out. Using the enlarged LiDAR image to note the photo locations, here are my results.

Photo ‘A’ shows the roadbed under investigation. The fallen tree lays across it from right to left. Orange cones and flags can be seen just beyond the log. Cones on the left along the severely eroded drainage ditch and orange flags on the left in this photo.

Approaching the area from the road leading to Hamilton’s Crossing, I found the log that had fallen across the roadbed, with the severely eroded drainage ditch beyond on the right. Just beyond the log, note the orange cones which I placed at 5-step intervals on the left side and the orange flags on the right of the roadbed to mark the road.

Photo ‘B’ is taken on the other side of the fallen tree. The severely eroded drainage ditch marked by orange cones is on the left side of the roadbed. Orange flags are on the right marking the other drainage ditch. Each is spaced at a 5-step interval. In the background beyond the fallen tree, you can see the abandoned road leading from Park Stop #6 to Hamilton’s Crossing, beyond which are the RF&P railroad tracks. At the time of the battle of Fredericksburg, there was only one track, today there are three. It was also lower. The width of the road is approximately 15-feet (4.5 meters) wide.

Crossing over the fallen log, I looked in the opposite direction. This time, the flags are on the right side. These mark a drainage ditch on the other side of the roadbed. The severely eroded drainage ditch marked by the orange cones is on the left side of this photo. The road is approximately 15 feet (4.5 meters) wide.

Photo ‘C’ looks up the road. The severely eroded drainage ditch is on the right side marked by orange cones with the other drainage marked with orange flags is on the left. I was interested in the nature of the roadbed. A yellow and green rake marks the location of where I raked back the surface leaves. These covered a deep layer of previous years’ leaves which were turning into soil. My clip board is on the right.

Turning 180 degrees around at this spot, you can make out the continuation of the roadbed. Cones are on the right and flags are on the left. I laid my yellow rake down in an area where I looked for the roadbed itself. All I found was evidence of years of fallen leaves that were turning into soil.

Photo ‘D’ looks further up the roadbed. There was a 30-degree rotation of the road alignment between Photos C and D that matches the topo map. The top of Prospect Hill is seen through the trees on the right side. The pacing between the cones is five steps. The distance from front to rear is approximately 60-feet (18 meters).

At the location of photo D, the roadbed pivots to the east about 30 degrees. When I walked beyond the last of the cones/flags going onto Park Stop #6, I found a slight ditch on the uphill side that indicated the continued alignment of the original road. This became indistinct as I reached that parking lot.

This is the same Google Earth 2997 aerial image. I placed the approximate alignment of the road along with the locations of photographs (A, B, C, and D). While I chose not to continue my use of cones beyond the last photo, I found indications of the uphill drainage ditch as I walked towards Park Stop #6 for about half of the remaining distance. Beyond that there was no trace.

I’ve overlayed the road alignment on top of the Google Earth aerial photo. You can see the confirmed and probable alignment of the road.

So, how is this connected to the Walker’s Confederate gun emplacements one might ask? For that, I turn to some of the participants to paint a picture.

Captain William Thomas Poague gives us the following account of his action in the early afternoon of December 13, 1862. Colonel J. Thompson Brown’s reserve artillery were stationed along Mine Run near Hamilton’s house during the morning of the battle. Jackson’s artillery chief, Colonel Stapleton Crutchfield, ordered Brown to send relief to Walker on Prospect Hill.

“…Colonel Brown was ordered to relieve Lindsay Walker’s Battalion which had been badly smashed up on what was afterwards known as Dead Horse Hill. My guns (two 20-pound Parrot rifles) were at the head of the column and with me was riding Dr. Hayslett. As we began the ascent of the hill there came tearing down through the woods towards us a horseman bareheaded with handkerchief around his forehead, a short pipe in his mouth and suddenly reining up, called out ‘where are you all going?’ and as I told him ‘to take the place of Walker’s Battalion’ he fairly shouted, ‘good for you; we need you! We’re knocked all to pieces! Isn’t this fun!’ As he turned his horse and galloped back, Hayslett broke out with one of his noted big laughs, ‘Well, that fellow must be crazy, don’t you think?’ I replied: ‘He’s all right, that’s Ham Chamberlayne.’” Lieutenant J. Hampden Chamberlayne was the aid to Walker.

This is the only account I’ve found describing how and by what road the Confederates artillery arrived on Prospect Hill.

Using the now familiar topographic map overlay on the grey colored LiDAR image, I show what were possible access routes in black dashed lines from the roadbed to individual artillery positions. I copied graphics from a period artillery manual that depicts civil war era artillery on the move or in firing position. Given the density of a mature white oak forest that covered most of the hill, knowing the exact routes is pure conjecture but dictionally correct. The positions of limber and caisson for the ‘in place’ cannon match my previous work.

On my map/LiDAR image I show how each artillery piece possibly approached their firing positions from the road. My display uses a graphic taken from a field artillery manual of the time. Most show a horse team pulling a limber and gun in the lead and followed another horse team pulling a limber and caisson. In a few I placed the gun in its emplacement with the horse teams and limber/caisson stationed behind in doctrinal distances. No one knows for sure how each team came from the road up through the mature trees. Possibly there were fewer access routes than I depict. Captain Poague describes the area along the road as ‘Dead Horse Hill’. Whether or not Walker’s gunners kept the teams doctrinally positioned or not, there were approximately 200 horses associated with Walker’s 14 guns on the hill in the morning. Additionally, those replacement batteries, like Poague’s, were under Union artillery fire later on the day of battle. ‘Dead Horse Hill’ was an apt term resulting from Union artillery barrages.

Lieutenant Colonel Reuben L. Walker’s artillery battalion arrived on Prospect Hill on 12 December 1862. There was no rush to get into position. Although the historic record accounts for 14-guns, only 13 can be found today. The number by battery or section comes from Jennings Cooper Wise book The Long Arm of Lee. NPS historian Frank O’Reilly in his two books about the Battle of Fredericksburg gives the feeling and color of the engagement at Prospect Hill.

Walker’s artillery battalion occupied Prospect Hill on 12 December when Jackson’s Corps took over the defense in this sector. Walker’s battalion was assigned to AP Hill’s division, which provided Jackson’s first line of defense. The location for the guns was selected by BG William N. Pendleton, Lee’s Chief of Artillery prior to the arrival of Jackson. Lines of fire were cleared for the guns. A white oak forest shielded Walker’s guns from observation by Union gunners. For more information (click here).

I wish to thank Frank O’Reilly for his interest in my work and our January 2022 initial field trip looking for the road.

My next blog will explore the 15^th New York Volunteer Regiment and the U.S. Engineer Battalion bridging operation at Franklin’s Crossing. This will complete my Engineers of the Rappahannock River series.

Sources:

Books:

O’Reilly, Francis Augustin, The Fredericksburg Campaign, Winter War on the Rappahannock, Baton Rouge, Louisiana State University Press, 2003. P 131-2.

————, The Fredericksburg Campaign, “Stonewall” Jackson at Fredericksburg, The Battle of Prospect Hill, December 13, 1862, Lynchburg, H.E. Howard, 1993. P 30.

Poague, William Thomas, Gunner with Stonewall, Reminiscences of William Thomas Poague, Jackson, Tenn.: McCowat-Mercer Press, Inc, 1957, P 54-58.

Wise, Jennings Cooper, Long Arm of Lee, Volume 1: Bull Run to Fredericksburg, Lincoln, and London, 1991, p. 377-8 and table p. 284-5.

The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, 128 vols. (Washington D.C., 1890-1901. Series 1. Volume 21, Serial No. 31. http://ehistory.osu.edu/books/official-records.

No. 305. Report of Colonel J. Thompson, Brown, First Virginia Artillery. December 19, 1862. Pp 639-640.

No. 309. Report of Lieut. Col. R.L. Walker, commanding Artillery. December 21, 1862. Pp 649-50.

Board of Artillery Officers, Instruction for Field Artillery, New York, Van Nostrand, 1864, Republished as The 1864 Field Artillery Tactics by Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, 2005. Plate 92, p 374 and plate 61, p 343.

Maps:

USGS Topo Map, Fredericksburg and Vicinity, showing Battlefields, surveyed 1931. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g3884f.cw0556000

Aerial Photo:

Google Earth Image 12/31/2007

Image:

LiDAR Fredericksburg Southwest, on file FRSP.

Horse drawn artillery by Edwin Forbes Horse drawn artillery (loc.gov) LC-DIG-ppmsca-20723

Internet:

Lidar  Lidar – Wikipedia, and What is Lidar data and where can I download it? | U.S. Geological Survey (usgs.gov)