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) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m4718) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m4719) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m4717) HM
“ 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 . . . — — Map (db m4655) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m4721) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m4723) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m172352) HM
At Fredericksburg, the Union army crossed 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 . . . — — Map (db m4724) HM
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. . . . — — Map (db m4726) HM
