Fredericksburg

In the city of Fredericksburg and surrounding Spotsylvania County, Central Virginia, the Fredericksburg, and Spotsylvania National Battlefield Park is home to the battle sites of four important American Civil War battles: Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, the Wilderness, and Spotsylvania Court House.

One of the famous battles of the American Civil War, the Battle of Fredericksburg, is known as the most lopsided Union defeat of the war. It was one of the largest and deadliest battles of the entire war, with nearly 200,000 combatants involved.

None of the southern towns made famous by blood would become more famous than Fredericksburg. No population in any community in America would face calamity on a greater scale.

With the delay of General Burnside’s pontoon bridges, General Lee blocked the Federals from crossing and fortified the heights beyond the town (where artillerist E.P. Alexander claimed that “a chicken could not live on that field”).

On December 11, 1862, U.S. artillery bombarded Fredericksburg – it would be the first time the U.S. Army would purposely target a U.S. city in an active battle.

December 13, 1862, was to be the main day of the battle.

The opening shots were fired on the lower end of the battlefield, where the most decisive military main action occurred. A grand Federal assault was made against Stonewall Jackson at Prospect Hill. Though breakthroughs were made, delays, confusion, and lack of coordinated reinforcements stymied the only hope of Federal success.

On the upper portion of the battlefield, a diversion was made against Marye’s Heights so the Federals on the lower portion of the battlefield could succeed. Federal forces would send wave after wave of blue-coated soldiers, but they were met by devastating rifle and artillery fire from Confederates in a sunken road behind a stone wall and on the heights.

In the end, the maimed Army of the Potomac would manage to cross the river and immediately go into winter quarters. This was perhaps the lowest period of the war, known as the Valley Forge of the Army of the Potomac.

The grim arithmetic shows Lee suffered 5,000 casualties but inflicted more than twice that many losses on his opponent. Almost two-thirds of the 12,000 Federal casualties fell in front of the stone wall.

Continue exploring Civil War history in Virginia with more of our Virginia Battlefield Guides. 

Notable Places of Interest at Fredericksburg Battle Site

• The Fredericksburg Battlefield Visitor Center – Features three rooms covering before, during, and after the battle, including weapons, alongside other items from the Civil War era.
• Fredericksburg: Film – A high-quality film located at the visitor center gives an excellent insight into how the battle would have been experienced.
• Fredericksburg: Museum Shop – In the National Park gift shop, one will find Civil War books, collectibles, and clothing items.
• Innis House – One of the few surviving structures along Sunken Road. The walls are still riddled with bullet holes from the battle.
• Fredericksburg National Cemetery – The resting place for 15,000 soldiers from six surrounding area battlefields. It’s the largest cemetery containing unknown Civil War dead in the U.S.
• Chatham Manor – A plantation home constructed in the 1770s, it was used as a Union headquarters and hospital during the battle.
• Slaughter Pen Farm – The largest battlefield preservation acquisition in the U.S. on the lower portion of the battlefield, saved by the American Battlefield Trust.
• Angel of Marye’s Heights Monument – Bronze monument near the stone wall commemorating the humanity of Sergeant Richard Kirkland.