Chatham and the Civil War

The Civil War focused national attention on Chatham, which became known as the Lacy House after its wartime owner, J. Horace Lacy. Federal troops first occupied Fredericksburg in the spring of 1862, and their commander, Maj. Gen. Irvin McDowell, was the first of a series of Northern officers to establish headquarters at the Lacy House. Union artillerymen bombarded the city and its Confederate defenders from gun emplacements near Chatham, and Federal infantry crossed the Rappahannock on pontoon bridges below the house during the Battle of Fredericksburg. Hundreds of wounded soldiers received treatment from military surgeons and volunteer nurses inside the mansion, while many of the dead were buried on the grounds. After the battle, the Lacy House served as a refuge for pickets and a rest station where weary Federal troops received provisions. With the end of the war, Lacy returned to his home to find it in as shattered a condition as his hopes for Southern independence.

Fredericksburg, Virginia · United States