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Battle of Fredericksburg

"The Sacking of Fredericksburg"

Wed, 12/14/2011 - 11:31
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War So Terrible: A Popular History of the Battle of Fredericksburg, by Donald C.

Excerpt from War So Terrible: A Popular History of the Battle of Fredericksburg, by Donald C. Pfanz, (pp. 44-46)

Donald C. Pfanz is staff historian with Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. He is also the author of Abraham Lincoln at City Point and Richard S. Ewell: A Soldier’s Life.  This chapter is reprinted on CRRL's history site with his permission.

“The Sacking of Fredericksburg”

By the time the fighting ended on Dec. 11, Fredericksburg was desolate.  Fighting in the streets combined with a bombardment by more than 180 cannons had left the venerable old town shattered and ruins.  Those citizens who had not fled Fredericksburg had seen their homes riddled with bullets, shot and shell.

Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville: The Dare Mark Campaign

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By Daniel E. Sutherland

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Even the most massive battle is only part of a larger campaign. From the winter of 1862 through 1863, the Confederacy experienced major victories at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, showing up the Union's weaknesses in strategy and preparation. As to the title, a Confederate soldier referred to the Rappahannock River as "the Dare Mark" as it was a strategic point that must be controlled, and the campaign described here reflects that conflict.
This book is part of the Great Campaigns of the Civil War series.

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Welcome the Hour of Conflict: William Cowan McClellan and the 9th Alabama

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By edited by John C. Carter

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Some collections of Civil War letters are either too brief or have too many writers to get a significant sense of life on the march. These letters represent the full four years of camp, march, and battle with much of the time spent in Virginia. Appendices include a list of letters, the regiment’s casualties/enlistment totals, officers and infantry assignments, Private McClellan’s military record, the regimental roster, notes, and an index.

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Never Were Men So Brave: The Irish Brigade During the Civil War

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By Susan Provost Beller

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Discusses the conditions in Ireland that led many to come to America in the mid-1800s, the formation of the Union Army's Irish Brigade, and the experiences of these soldiers during the Civil War, including the Battle of Fredericksburg.

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Guide to the Battles of Chancellorsville & Fredericksburg

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By Jay Luvaas and Harold W. Nelson, editors

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Eyewitness accounts by battle participants make these guides an invaluable resource for travelers and nontravelers who want a greater understanding of five of the most devastating yet influential years in our nation's history. Explicit directions to points of interest and maps--illustrating the action and showing the detail of troop position, roads, rivers, elevations, and tree lines as they were 130 years ago--help bring the battles to life. In the field, these guides can be used to recreate each battle's setting and proportions, giving the reader a sense of the tension and fear each soldier must have felt as he faced his enemy.
From the publisher's description

This book is part of the U.S. Army War College Guides to Civil War Battles series.

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Helping with History

Wed, 04/01/2009 - 12:33
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Area museums and research centers are feeling the crunch of tight economic times, too. Volunteers are needed to share our area's history with visitors so that the past may be remembered by new generations.

Would you like to volunteer at an historic property or research facility? Read on for descriptions of places that need you to help them bring the past alive. The APVA Properties