Union Soldiers View

Union soldiers and officers looking upon Fredericksburg from this spot in 1862 saw many of the same landmarks visible today. The skyline of this peaceful river town, with a population of 4,500 in 1860, was dominated by the three steeples of City Hall and the Episcopal and Baptist Churches. The Rappahannock River, which served as a source of power, a transportation artery, and a military obstacle in the 19th century, flowed along its journey from the Blue Ridge Mountains to Chesapeake Bay. To the west of Fredericksburg lay the high ground known as Marye's Heights, where Robert E. Lee posted his gray-clad forces to meet the Union army on the battlefield Burnside had chosen. After reckless and unsuccessful assaults at the base of those heights on December 13, many hundreds of soldiers from both sides would never see this or any other earthly vista again.

Fredericksburg, Virginia · United States