| Virginia (Stafford County), Chatham Heights — J-60 — Chatham |
| | Here is Chatham, built about 1750 by William Fitzhugh. Here Robert E. Lee came to court his wife. In the battle of Fredericksburg, December 13, 1862, the house was occupied by General Sumner. It was General Hooker’s headquarters for a time, 1863. — Map (db m1670) |
| Virginia (Stafford County), Chatham Heights — 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 sping of 1862 and their commander, Maj. Gen. Irvin McDowell, was the first of a series of Northern officers to establish his 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 . . . — Map (db m4718) |
| Virginia (Stafford County), Chatham Heights — Chatham |
| | This expansive estate and its impressive Georgian dwelling have dominated Stafford Heights overlooking Fredericksburg for over two centuries. William Fitzhugh, a wealthy landowner from Virginia's Northern Neck, completed construction of his new residence in 1771 and named it in honor of William Pitt, the Earl of Chatham. Fitzhugh and subsequent ante-bellum owners of Chatham managed a large plantation employing as many as one hundred slaves. After the war, Chatham's land was gradually sold until . . . — Map (db m4719) |
| Virginia (Stafford County), Chatham Heights — Lincoln's Review |
| | During the Civil War Chatham saw soldiers of both Northern and Southern armies come and go. The presence of Union troops this far south often attracted the attention of officials in Washington and this vicinity witnessed three reviews between 1862 and 1863. In these fields on May 23, 1862, President Lincoln inspected the command of General Irvin McDowell which had recently arrived here. The scene depicted in this woodcut was a gala review of the cavalry of the Army of the Potomac which occurred . . . — Map (db m4717) |
| Virginia (Stafford County), Chatham Heights — A “Picture of Desolation” |
| | “ Tis a perfect picture of desolation, and a sad illustration of the ravages of war.”
—Newspaper correspondent, 1863
Union soldiers loll around Chatham in this February 1863 photograph. The scene here was not always so peaceful. Two months earlier, during the Battle of Fredericksburg, soldiers and wagons crowded the grounds; generals issued orders from the porch; surgeons converted the building’s interior into a field hospital. More than one hundred and . . . — Map (db m4655) |
| Virginia (Stafford County), Chatham Heights — Union Soldiers View |
| | Union soldiers and officers gazing upon Fredericksburg from this spot in 1862 saw many of the same landmarks visible today. The skyline of this peaceful river town, population 4,500 in 1860, is still 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, flows from right to left along its journey from the Blue Ridge Mountains to Chesapeake . . . — Map (db m4721) |
| Virginia (Stafford County), Chatham Heights — Fredericksburg Campaign |
| | Ambrose E. Burnside's Union army had found existing bridges destroyed, and now R. E. Lee's Confederates awaited attack on high ground beyond Fredericksburg. On December 11, 1862, the Union engineers shivered in the early morning as they broke a skim of ice and began laying pontoons across the Rappahannock here. A hail of death from advanced Confederate riflemen drove and kept the workmen ashore. In awesome retaliation, massed cannon on the heights behind the harassed engineers thundered . . . — Map (db m4723) |
| Virginia (Stafford County), Chatham Heights — A Bloody Crossing |
| | Church bells in Fredericksburg tolled 3 a.m. on December 11, 1862, as Union engineers wrestled pontoon boats toward the river's edge in front of you. They intended to use the boats to construct two of the six floating bridges that the Army of the Potomac would need to cross the Rappahannock. For two hours the engineers toiled in darkness, trying to complete the spans before Confederate sharpshooters on the opposite bank spotted them.
At 5 a.m. Confederate musket fire burst from cellars and . . . — Map (db m4725) |
| Virginia (Stafford County), Chatham Heights — Pontoon Bridges |
| | At Fredericksburg, the Union army crosseed the Rappahannock River by means of temporary, floating bridges built upon pontoons. In front of you is a reconstructed section of such a bridge, built to eighty percent of its original size. More than 30,000 Union soldiers crossed the two bridges that spanned the river below you.
Under ideal conditions skilled engineers could construct a bridge in a couple of hours. First, they would row or pole pontoon boats into the river. Then they would . . . — Map (db m4724) |
| Virginia (Stafford County), Chatham Heights — Between Battles |
| | As the spring of 1863 brought green to the countryside and fish up the river, the legions of civil strife faced each other cheerfully across the Rappahannock. After the slaughter of Fredericksburg, the embattled brothers held off death for the time. No cannon roared. No picket fired. Instead, fishing parties on either bank shouted caustic jokes, and rival bands sent plaintive melodies back and forth. During favorable winds, the doughboys traded souvenirs by means of toy sailboats improvised . . . — Map (db m4726) |
Subscribe
— Privacy Policy
— Terms of Use
— About Us
— Contact Us
HMdb.org