The name Dead Horse Hill was applied to the terrain of Prospect Hill by the Confederate artillerymen who fought there. Lieutenant Colonel Reuban Walker’s Artillery Battalion, with 14 guns, was placed on Prospect Hill. During the several Union bombardments against Walker’s guns, a considerable number of the artillery projectiles overshot Walker’s entrenched artillery pieces, exploding amongst the horses. The slaughter was foreseeable, but not preventable ..read more

Writing about an attack that aborted as soon as it began is an interesting challenge. The case in point is Lieutenant General (LG) Thomas J. (Stonewall) Jackson’s counterattack following the Union assault against Prospect Hill below Fredericksburg. Jackson was never one to pass up a chance to fight. So, what happened at Fredericksburg in the late afternoon of December 13, 1862? What did he attempt and why did he call it off ..read more

Early in the morning of 11 December 1862, alert Union sentries know ‘today is the day’. The pontoon trains are moving. It is time to gather the Army of the Potomac’s far-flung camps. Today, they will cross the Rappahannock River to come face to face with General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. Word spreads! Soon, artillery and infantry will follow. The tension is palpable ..read more

I’m taking a slight detour from my initial investigation of the Changing Roads on Prospect Hill. In my last blog, I described the creation of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. While doing the research, I discovered the existence of maps made by the Commission used in the park’s creation, two of which are included in this blog. On these maps, I found the Military Road which was included in the Union assault directive. My interest was piqued, so I decided to investigate further ..read more

The Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park (FSNMP), as it is now known, was a long time in coming. ..In 1924, Congress established a commission to inspect the battlefields around Fredericksburg and report on the feasibility of marking and preserving them. The commission was made up of a Union veteran, a Confederate veteran, and a commissioned officer of the Corps of Engineers. The Report on the Inspection of Battlefields in and around Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania Court House, Virginia, submitted on 1 December 1925, provided the outline of which locations should be included ..read more

If you did not attend the National Park Service (NPS) to commemorate the 160th Anniversary of the Battle of Fredericksburg, you really missed out. In my opinion, it was one of the best programs to date. Blessed with good weather, which always helps, the NPS staff conducted some new and innovative events this year ..read more