“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 . . . — — Map (db m5374) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m5377) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m195802) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m215531) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m1133) HM
Confederate troops under the command of Gen. William Barksdale were awake and alert here on 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 . . . — — Map (db m215532) HM
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) HM
