My family and I made our way from Richmond up to Fredericksburg National Battlefield after visiting the Museum and White House. This was going to be my very first visit to a Civil War battlefield. After making our way to the Visitor Center, I realized that we were at the very center of the action on Marye's Heights in front of us. Thousands of Union soldiers were killed and wounded at that spot, and a distinct heaviness settled over me, standing in a place of so much death.
After a few moments of trying to wrap my head around this, we went into the Visitor Center, got maps, and looked around the museum. We decided to go on a walking tour of Marye's Heights, then drive to other spots around the battlefield. On December 11-13, 1862, Union forces built pontoon bridges to cross the Rappahannock river into Fredericksburg and attack the Confederates. Due to delays with the bridges, these were built under fire and Union forces had to fight house to house before taking the town.
The focal points of the attack took place on Prospect Hill, where Federal troops achieved a temporary breakthrough, and at Marye's Heights, where the heart of Lee's defenses were entrenched behind the stone wall in a sunken road. Thousands of Union troops were cut down on the open fields across from the river beneath Marye's Heights. They suffered over 12,000 casualties with the Confederates suffering less than half of that. It was the most one-sided victory of the war for the South.
Something I noticed immediately when we began exploring Marye's Heights was that modern houses and buildings were built almost right up to the wall. They were built on the same ground where thousands of soldiers died, between the stone wall and the river. This became difficult for me to comprehend how this part of the battlefield could not be preserved but instead overtaken by development. I imagined looking out over Marye's Heights to see these fields but couldn't do this in reality.
Next up in my series, we will be taking a more detailed look at places around the Fredericksburg Battlefield, including Marye's Heights, Chatham House, and Prospect Hill.
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Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Fredericksburg Reflections
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6 comments:
I went to Shiloh when I was in college. I happened to visit the battle field at the same time of year as the battle happened. It was late in the afternoon and very overcast. I felt like I had been transported back to that first day of the battle.
Shiloh also has a number of mass graves. I couldn't get over that there were mass graves on a battlefield still today.
Andy,
I bet that was an experience you'll never forget. To visit a battlefield in the same time of year has to be quite an experience.
I haven't seen Shiloh yet but it's on my list of battlefields to visit. That's incredible that there are still mass graves there!
Shiloh is pretty interesting. Of all of the battle fields I have visited, I think Shiloh is the least "commercialized". Unless they have changed it since I was there, it will be very different from Fredericksburg.
On the other end of the scale is Vicksburg. That's my wife's favorite battlefield of all of the ones I have drug her to. However, Vicksburg is neat in that all of the development of the battlefield itself really adds to the experience. For example, there is a driving tour on a nicely paved road through the battlefield. You can buy a cd in the visitors center that takes you to specific points. I really believe you haven't seen Vicksburg unless you do the driving tour.
Andy,
Sounds like you've visited a lot of battlefields! What has been your favorite one? I haven't seen very many because I live so far away, but Shiloh and Vicksburg are both ones I'd like to see. I visited Antietam on my trip also and that was a lot less "commercialized." It felt more like how it was during the war.
Speaking of driving tours, my family and I got the CD and did the driving tour of Fredericksburg. I found that the CD gave a lot more information about the battle than you would normally get and took you to more places. The only drawback is that those tours take a lot of time!
Shiloh and Vicksburg both rank very high on my list. For a real change of pace though, the Confederate Submarine Hunley is on display in Charleston now. It is housed in a small warehouse / research area. It can only be visited on certain days because they are still studying it. There is still alot about the Hunely, and it's last battle we don't know about. If you are planning a special trip, Charleston would be a great destination. I was really moved being at the Hunley. If you go to Charleston, there is also the city (many, many Civil War and Revolutionary war sites) and Fort Sumnter.
Andy,
Charleston sounds like a great place to go as well with all its history. I'd love to see the Hunley, especially since it was found just recently. I'd also like to see the Mariner's Museum in Virginia and the Monitor Center. There are so many places I want to see!
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