Ravaged Town

Ravaged Town. Fredericksburg: Timeless.. , The once beautiful city of Fredericksburg is almost in ruins. There [is] hardly a house that is not torn to pieces by shell and shot from cannon and a great many burnt to ashes." , , William R. Montgomery, Phillips' Legion Infantry., Fredericksburg had enjoyed more than a century of comfortable prosperity by 1860. Although its economic heyday was past, the town's elegant houses, numerous churches, and shady, tree-lined streets bespoke lingering wealth and refinement. The Civil War shattered the town's stately tranquility. On December 11, 1862, some 150 Union cannon fired on Fredericksburg, toppling walls and setting fire to buildings. Confederate artillery added to the destruction, targeting Union soldiers who occupied, then looted, the doomed town. Terrified citizens fled Fredericksburg, taking whatever they could carry. When they returned, their lives, like the town itself, were in shambles. It would take decades to rebuild., [Captions:] , A Fredericksburg family returns to its battered home after the battle. (Image courtesy of the National Park Service.), This 1864 view of Fredericksburg shows damaged buildings on George Street, one block to your left. (Image courtesy of the National Park Service.)