Fredericksburg is about 50 miles from Washington D.C., halfway between it and the Confederate Capitol of Richmond.
We visited the Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park. The military park encompasses four major Civil War battlefields: Battle of Fredericksburg, Battle of Chancellorsville, Battle of the Wilderness, and Battle of Spotsylvania Court House. It also preserves four historic buildings associated with them: Chatham Manor, Salem Church, Ellwood, and the house where Stonewall Jackson died.
Fredericksburg National Cemetery was created in July 1865 after reunification of the states, to honor the Federal soldiers who died in local battles or from disease. There are a total of 15,243 Civil War interments, of those, only 2,473 were identified.
Fredericksburg was a disastrous Union defeat. Burnside suffered 12,600 casualties in the battle, many of whom were brought back to Chatham (see later in this post) for care. For several days army surgeons operated tirelessly on hundreds of soldiers inside the house. Assisting them were volunteers, including poet Walt Whitman and Clara Barton, who later founded the American chapter of the International Red Cross.
This is part of a poem displayed in the cemetery:
The muffled drum's sad roll has beat
The soldier's last Tattoo;
No more on life's parade shall meet
That brave and fallen few.
On fame's eternal camping ground
Their silent tents to spread,
And glory guards, with solemn round
The bivouac of the dead.
Richard Kirkland, known as "The Angel of Marye's Heights", (August 1843 – September 20, 1863) was a Confederate soldier during the American Civil War, noted for his bravery and the story of his humanitarian actions during the Battle of Fredericksburg.
On December 13, 1862, Kirkland's unit had formed at the stone wall at the base of "Marye's Heights" near Fredericksburg, Virginia. In the action that followed, he and his unit inflicted heavy casualties on the Union attackers. On the night of December 13, walking wounded made their way to the field hospital while those who were disabled were forced to remain on the battlefield. The morning of December 14 revealed that over 8,000 Union soldiers had been shot in front of the stone wall at Marye's Heights. Many of those remaining on the battlefield were still alive, but suffering terribly from their wounds and a lack of water.
Soldiers from both sides were forced to listen to the painful cries of the wounded for hours, with neither side daring to venture out for fear of being shot by the enemy. At some point during the day, Kirkland allegedly approached Confederate Brig. Gen. Joseph B. Kershaw, also from Kershaw County, South Carolina, and informed him that he wished to help the wounded Union soldiers. By Kershaw's own account, at first he denied the request, but later he relented. However, when Kirkland asked if he could show a white handkerchief, General Kershaw stated he could not do that. Kirkland responded "All right, sir, I'll take my chances."
Kirkland gathered all the canteens he could carry, filled them with water, then ventured out onto the battlefield. He ventured back and forth several times, giving the wounded Union soldiers water, warm clothing, and blankets. Soldiers from both the Union and Confederate armies watched as he performed his task, but no one fired a shot. General Kershaw later stated that he observed Kirkland for more than an hour and a half.
At first, it was thought that the Union would open fire, which would result in the Confederacy returning fire, resulting in Kirkland being caught in a crossfire. However, within a very short time, it became obvious to both sides as to what Kirkland was doing, and according to Kershaw cries for water erupted all over the battlefield from wounded soldiers. Kirkland did not stop until he had helped every wounded soldier (Confederate and Federal) on the Confederate end of the battlefield. Sergeant Kirkland's actions remain a legend in Fredericksburg to this day.
The infamous stone wall.
We parked on green fields overlooking soccer fields.
In the early morning hours misty fog and sunrise pastels hung over the soccer fields.
Saturday morning Farmer's Market
What remains of the Slave auction block is on this corner.
Down the street is the home of Mary Ball Washington, bought for her by son, George.
She was born in 1705.
Unlike most widows in Virginia at the time, Mary Ball Washington never remarried. She managed the estate and plantation (outside of Fredericksburg) with the help of others until her eldest son came of age. She lived to see that son, George Washington, command the Continental Army to independence and be inaugurated as the first President of the United States in 1789.
I liked the story of the thirteen trees. I did drive that road down to the river.
The sundial tells the hour in Mary Washington's backyard.
Chatham, a Georgian mansion overlooking Fredericksburg, is part of Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park.
George Washington, had stopped at the house on two occasions in the 1780's (he grew up at what is now called Ferry Farm a few hundred yards south of Chatham).
President Abraham Lincoln journeyed to Fredericksburg to confer with General McDowell, meeting with the general and his staff at Chatham. His visit gives Chatham the distinction of being just one of three houses visited by both Lincoln and Washington (the other two are Mount Vernon and Berkeley Plantation).
How about those "freedom shriekers".
In the 1920's millionaires Daniel and Helen Devore undertook Chatham's restoration. They added several things including this iron gate with musical motif right out of the Gilded Age. Maybe they were friends of Jay Gatsby.
Random graves are found in unexpected places.
No comments:
Post a Comment