Upper and Lower Pontoon Sites related markers Use the “First >>” button above to see these markers in sequence.| Virginia, Fredericksburg — 7th Michigan Volunteer Infantry | | | “Dark rolled the Rappahannock’s flood,
Michigan, my Michigan;
The tide was crimsoned with thy blood,
Michigan, my Michigan;
Although for us the day was lost,
Yet it shall be our proudest boast,
At Fredericksburg our Seventh crossed,
Michigan, my Michigan.”
In December 1862, Union Gen. Ambrose Burnside ordered pontoon bridges to be thrown across the Rappahannock River.
Col. Norman J. Hall, asked for . . . — Map (db m5374) | | Virginia, Fredericksburg — Fredericksburg Campaign | | | December 11, 1862. The peacetime bridges having been destroyed, engineers of Burnside’s Federal Army began laying pontoons across the Rappahannock. Here, overlooking the upper pontoon site, Confederates of Barksdale’s Mississippi Brigade, sheltered in houses and cellars along this street, stopped the work. Bombardment by Federal cannon failed to dislodge the sharpshooters. Finally, the 7th Michigan Regiment, followed by the 19th Massachusetts, crossed the river in boats to establish a . . . — Map (db m5377) | | Virginia, Fredericksburg — Pontoon Bridge Site | | | Federals crossed here on
Pontoon Bridge,
Dec 12-13, 1862 — Map (db m5378) | | Virginia, Fredericksburg — Irish Brigade | | | 2nd Brigade, 1st Div., II Corps
Army of the Potomac
While posted here in the early morning of Dec. 13, 1862, the men of the Irish Brigade placed sprigs of boxwood in their caps in honor of their Irish heritage. Later in the day, they took part in the futile assaults against confederate positions on Marye's Heights. After the battle, the Union dead closest to the Confederate positions wore sprigs of boxwood in their caps.
Killed Wounded Missing
69th NY . . . — Map (db m5097) | | Virginia, Fredericksburg — Fredericksburg City Dock — Bridges and Biscuits | | | Why was Fredericksburg important to the Union war effort? The answer lies in logistics. The Union army, numbering more than 100,000 troops, required tons of food, clothing and other supplies to operate, Wagon trains could supply the army for short distances, but they were cumbersome and difficult to protect. Longer supply lines required either water or rail transportation. Fredericksburg, with its railroad and close proximity to the Potomac River, provided the Union Army with an ideal base for . . . — Map (db m1131) | | Virginia, Fredericksburg — Fredericksburg City Dock — Union Artillery on Stafford Heights | | | Directly ahead of you, across the river, stood George Washington’s boyhood home, Ferry Farm. According to legend, the future president cut down his father’s cherry tree there and threw a coin across the river. The property took its name from a ferry that operated at that time.
In 1862, Union artillery crowned the bluffs once occupied by the Washington farm. When Confederate troops resisted the Union army’s efforts to cross the river on December 11, Burnside turned nearly 150 guns – . . . — Map (db m1133) | | Virginia, Fredericksburg — Fredericksburg City Dock — Contesting the Crossing | | | Confederate troops under the command of Gen. William Barksdale were awake and alert hereon the morning of December 11,1862, waiting anxiously for the sun to rise. On the river, unseen in the inky blackness but clearly audible in the night’s stillness, Union engineers were constructing a pontoon bridge that would enable Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside’s Army of the Potomac to cross the Rappahannock River and seize Fredericksburg. Barksdale’s task was to delay the Union crossing long enough for the rest . . . — Map (db m1132) | | Virginia, Fredericksburg — Rocky Lane | | | Rocky Lane leading to Washington Ferry. Center pontoon bridge was located near foot of lane (Battle of Fredericksburg) December 11 - 16, 1862. — Map (db m1130) |
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