Civil War Vortex - Fredericksburg, VA

Battles and more battles.  Fredericksburg is often called the Vortex of the Civil War because of the immense number of battles fought in and around the town.  I visualize little Pig Pen with whirling dirt surrounding his every move.  With Fredericksburg it was the swirl of battles with the Confederacy fighting off the Union.

The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11-15, 1862 with General Robert E. Lee leading the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army of the Potomac commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside.  It was a disastrous battle for the Union and in particular Burnside.  Over 172,000 soldiers fought this battle, 100,000 from the Union and 72,000 from the Confederacy.  Casualties totaled over 17,000 with the Confederacy causalities  less than 5,000 and the Union more than 12,000.  Maj. Gen. Burnside was removed from command over his failure to secure a victory.

Rocky Lane is the only surviving road built before the Revolutionary War.  It also survived the Civil War and was used to access the pontoon boats that crossed the Rappahannock River during the Civil War.

But the Battle of Fredericksburg was just one of four major battles within 20 miles of this town.   

Chancellorsville Battle, April 27-May 6, 1863 was a victory also for General Lee but he loses Stonewall Jackson on May 10, 1863.  

Wilderness Battle, May 5-6, 1864 was the first battle that Lee and Grant came head to head. 

Spotsylvania Battle, May 8-21, 1864, two weeks of dreadful fighting with a loss of 30,000.  

Total casualties for these four battles exceeded 100,000.  I can't tell one battle scene from the other and these are just four of many more in just this area. 

Below is the oldest house in Fredericksburg, built in 1740 by Charles Dick, Commissioner of the Gunnery in Fredericksburg during the Revolutionary War.  It recently sold for 1 million.

Above and to the right are the still existing buildings from the Civil War era.

The building below is the oldest retail building in Fredericksburg, built in 1749 by John Lewis, a leading planter and merchant.  

Another wonderful piece of preserved history is the Rising Sun Tavern.  This was originally built by Charles Washington, brother of George Washington, in 1760, as his residence.  In 1792 it became a tavern and wayside inn.  This was the site of George Washington's "great reception" after the great victory of the Battle of Yorktown, the last major battle of the American Revolution.

George Washington bought this home for his mother Mary Ball Washington in 1772.  She spent the last 17 years of her life living here.

Statue of Hugh Mercer, dedicated by George Washington to one of his best friends and fellow soldier. Hugh Mercer was a Scottish and originally fought with the British during the Seven Years War.  He was a soldier and a physician.  Later he became a Brigadier Gen. in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.  In 1760 he settled in Fredericksburg and opened a practice. He died in 1777 as a result of wounds received at the Battle of Princeton.

When Mary Washington died in 1789 a monument was built and dedicated to her on the site where she meditated and prayed for her son and country's safety during the war.  This is the only monument in the United States ever dedicated to a woman by women.

During the Battle of Fredericksburg in 1862 the original statue was seriously damaged.  The National Mary Washington Memorial Association was formed for donations to rebuild the monument.  It was finally completed in 1894 and dedicated by President Cleveland.

Another neat old building.

The Confederate Cemetery was dedicated in 1870.  Over 3.300 soldiers are buried in the cemetery and over 2,100 are unknown.



We walked around the town and as we neared our car we popped in a local antiques store and saw this very peculiar bench.  Never saw anything like it myself.

This is one of the few surviving buildings from the "big" battle.  It's along the river and was used  for storage of foods, supplies and equipment.

We saw a lot of things in Fredericksburg and I know we missed a lot of things.  We've just reserved our opportunity and reason to return another time.  Thanks for visiting and come again.