— The Battle of Fredericksburg —

In 1862 the ground in front of you was an open plain stretching from here to the outskirts of Fredericksburg, one-half mile away. As Union troops left the town to attack Marye's Heights, they had to break ranks to cross a canal ditch, then knock down fences on an old fairground. For the last 300-400 yards of their advance toward the Sunken Road, they were virtually without cover.

Eighteen Union brigades - more than 30,000 men - successively swept across the field. For eight hours the killing continued. "Our men were slaughtered like sheep," recalled one Federal soldier. "The whole plain was covered with blankets, haversacks, wounded men and dead men.... We stood it as long as we could, and were ordered to fall back - when the whole brigade broke and run...."

Every face wore an expression of seriousness and dread....
Private Benjamin Borton, 24th New Jersey Infantry

Of the many attacks made by the Union army at Fredericksburg, none was more famous than that of the Irish Brigade. Wearing sprigs of boxwood in their caps to remind them of their heritage, some men of the brigade approached to within 50 yards of the wall before withering under the Confederate fire.

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Show me all markers in:  Fredericksburg, VA  |  22401  |  Virginia  |  United States of America

Field of Battle
The Confederate Line
Sunken Road Walking Trail
Confederate Artillery
The Willis Hill Buildings
Thomas R. R. Cobb
The Stephens House
Confederates on the Ridge
Stephens Family Cemetery
Innis House

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