Near Fredericksburg in Spotsylvania County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Riverside Plantation: Mannsfield

The Battle of Fredericksburg

— Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park —

Riverside Plantation: Mannsfield Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Craig Swain, July 25, 2009

1. Riverside Plantation: Mannsfield Marker

Inscription. In 1862, the patterns of forest and field in this area reflected historic uses of local farmers. The woods around you were in fact a working part of the Mannsfield Plantation, owned by Arthur Bernard. They provided timber for construction, wood for fuel, and forage for roaming livestock. These woods were as much a part of local plantations as the farm fields themselves.

On larger plantations like Mannsfield, slaves often lived far removed from the "big house." One grouping of slave cabins for Mannsfield stood in a field just beyond these woods - about 400 yards in front of you. "Bernard's Cabins," as they were called, were an important landmark on December 12, 1862. Confederate artillery swarmed around the cabins. Union artillery promptly responded, ravaging the Confederate batteries and leaving the homes of Bernard's slaves a shambles, never to be rebuilt.

Follow the trail to the site of Bernard's slave cabins. Along the way you will follow a historic road trace and see Confederate earthworks and pre-war property ditches, likely built by slaves.

Erected 2009 by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Agriculture

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• Settlements & Settlers • War, US Civil. A significant historical month for this entry is December 1898.

Location. 38° 15.23′ N, 77° 27.6′ W. Marker is near Fredericksburg, Virginia, in Spotsylvania County. It is on Lee Drive, on the right when traveling west. Marker is located along Lee Drive in the Fredericksburg-Spotyslvania Military Park. The most convenient access is from Lansdowne Road. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 6 Lee Dr, Fredericksburg VA 22408, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Washington Metropolitan Area,

in Northern Virginia,

and in the Piedmont.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

and in the Mid-Atlantic.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Bernard's Cabin Trail (here, next to this marker); Bernard's Cabins (approx. half a mile away); Engines of Destruction (approx. half a mile away); Fredericksburg Campaign (approx. 0.6 miles away); Slaughter Pen Farm (approx. ¾ mile away); a different marker also named Slaughter Pen Farm (approx. 0.8 miles away); Death of a Southern Radical (approx. 0.9 miles away); Union Breakthrough (approx. 0.9 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Fredericksburg.

Another marker is no longer nearby. Death of Maxcy Gregg (was approx. 0.9 miles away but has been replaced with another marker now near it).

More about this marker. The background of the marker is a photo

Photographed by Bill Coughlin, April 18, 2023

2. Riverside Plantation: Mannsfield Marker

of slave cabins. No image remains of Bernard's slave cabins, but they likely looked much like these buildings, photographed not far from Fredericksburg after the war.

Waysides at Bernard's Cabins Trailhead image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Craig Swain, July 25, 2009

3. Waysides at Bernard's Cabins Trailhead

Confederate Trenches image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Craig Swain, May 25, 2008

4. Confederate Trenches

In front of the markers is a line of Confederate earthwork trenches built before the battle.

Ditches or Trenches image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Craig Swain, May 25, 2008

5. Ditches or Trenches

Further along the trail is this line in the ground. This may be a trench dating to the battle, or a ditch as mentioned on the marker.

Credits. This page was last revised on May 11, 2023. It was originally submitted on August 18, 2009, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia. This page has been viewed 3,296 times since then and 133 times this year. Last updated on January 6, 2023, by Bradley Owen of Morgantown, West Virginia. Photos: 1. submitted on August 18, 2009, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia. 2. submitted on May 10, 2023, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. 3, 4, 5. submitted on August 18, 2009, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.