BGuthrie Photos: VA -- Fredericksburg Natl Battlefield -- Slaughter Pen Farm

VA -- Fredericksburg Natl Battlefield -- Slaughter Pen Farm:

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. FREDSP_111009_021.JPG: The Slaughter Pen Farm Where the Battle of Fredericksburg Was Decided -- Civil War Preservation Trust -- Civil War Preservation Trust The Slaughter Pen Farm Where the Battle of Fredericksburg Was Decided By Craig Swain, July 25, 2009 As hard as it is to believe, the beautiful and historic landscape you see before you was once on the verge of being bulldozed for an industrial park. It was here, on December 13, 1862, that Union forces nearly broke through Confederate lines and snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. More than 5,000 men in blue and gray fell as a result of the fighting on the Slaughter Pen Farm. Five Medals of Honor were awarded for valor on these fields. Despite its historic significance, in December 2005 this property was placed on the real estate market. Zoned for industrial development, it was advertised as "one of the best industrial sites in the Commonwealth of Virginia." With a $12 million price tag, its loss seemed a foregone conclusion. However thanks to the generosity of our 65,000 members, the Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT) was able to step up and purchase this hallowed ground. At the time of the acquisition, it was the most expensive private-sector battlefield preservation effort in American history. Such an ambitious preservation effort wouldn't have been possible without help. To save this property, CWPT collaborated with the National Park Service, the Commonwealth of Virginia, the Central Virginia Battlefeilds Trust, Tricord, Inc and SunTrust Banks, Inc. At a news conference on October 16, 2006, where he announced a $2 million federal grant for protection of the Slaughter Pen Farm, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne called CWPT's efforts here "a model for conservation partnerships throughout the nation." Without dedicated individuals and organizations, the Slaughter Pen Farm would have been lost to development. CWPT is grateful to the following for their help: Central Virginia Battlefields Trust Commonwealth of Virginia McGuireWoods, LLP National Park Service SunTrust Banks, Inc Tricord, Inc. Most of all, thank you to the thousands of individuals and organizations listed on the plaques before you who donated money to protect this historic battlefield.
2. FREDSP_111009_023.JPG: Central Virginia Battlefields Trust The Slaughter Pen Farm Roll Call of Honor
3. FREDSP_111009_024.JPG: Civil War Preservation Trust The Slaughter Pen Farm Roll Call of Honor
4. FREDSP_111009_030.JPG: Slaughter Pen Farm: Slaughter Pen Farm interpretive trail signs provided in part through the generosity of Mr. Bruce Guthrie 2009 Civil War Preservation Trust (Yep. That's me!)
5. FREDSP_111009_032.JPG: Civil War Preservation Trust Saving America's Hallowed Ground The Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT) is America's largest nonprofit organization devoted to saving our nation's endangered Civil War battlefields. During more than 20 years crusading for preservation, CWPT has rescued from sprawl and development more than 25,000 acres of hallowed ground in 19 states. Sadly, only one in five Civil War battlefields, so vital to our national heritage, is protected. Nearly 30 acres of contested ground are lost every day. If not for the concerted efforts of CWPT and its partners, the very land you stand on might be a strip mall, a housing development, or a highway interchange. Already, more than 20 percent of Civil War battlefields have been lost forever. Without well-funded, deliberate, and urgent action, future generations will be denied even more of these places where history happened and heroes walked. Join the fight to save America's remaining hallowed ground. To learn more about the Civil War Preservation Trust and how you can help protect battlefields just like this one, visit us on-line at www.civilwar.org or call toll free, (888) 606-1400.
6. FREDSP_111009_035.JPG: Slaughter Pen Farm Area Civil War Sites: The history of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County surrounds you. Here are just some of the other sites you can visit while you are in the area. For visitor information or to learn more about the Civil War around you, visit ...
7. FREDSP_111009_036.JPG: Battle of Fredericksburg Winter War on the Rappahannock In November 1862, Union Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside led his 115,000-man army southward toward Richmond, the Confederate capital. Delayed by tardy pontoon boats, Burnside was slow to cross the Rappahannock River, which allowed Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee time to block the Union advance with his 78,000 men near Fredericksburg. On December 13, Burnside launched a two-pronged attack, the first of which was made across these fields. Despite the prospect of success, Union troops ultimately suffered heavy casualties and retreated. Burnside's second attack against the Confederate left on Marye's Heights fared even worse - no Federal soldiers even reached the Confederate line. Two days later, Burnside retreated across the Rappahannock. Lee had inflicted a punishing 13,000 casualties on the Union army while only suffering 5,000 of his own. Lee followed up his victory with another at Chancellorsville that spring and embarked upon an invasion of the North soon after. "Considerable nerve is required to march steadily against such murderous fire as that at Fredericksburg." -- Pvt. Bates Alexander, 7th Pennsylvania Reserves, USA "It was a terribly grand scene - line after line of the foe were moved upon our brave troops, but they stood their ground manfully & finally broke the enemies lines. My heart swelled with joy & pride at the sight." -- Gen. Montgomery D. Corse, CSA
8. FREDSP_111009_039.JPG: Battle of Fredericksburg The Slaughter Pen On December 13, 1862, Union and Confederate troops clashed here, on muddy fields dubbed the "Slaughter Pen." Union Gen. William B. Franklin had 65,000 troops, but employed only two divisions, numbering 8,000 men, under Generals George G. Meade and John Gibbon, to capture Prospect Hill - the key to the Confederate right flank. Meade penetrated a gap in the Confederate line but did not receive reinforcements in time to exploit his gains. After two failed attempts, Gibbon's men reached and captured part of the Confederate line only to be driven back due to lack of support. The Confederate repulse deprived the Union of its only real chance of victory at Fredericksburg. The day's fierce combat around Prospect Hill and the Slaughter Pen resulted in more than 9,000 combined casualties. Here, on these fields, Union soldiers earned five Medals of Honor. "This one differed from most of the battlefields of the war. It was not in woods, ravines, underbrush or wilderness. Our army was all in the open country... and the movements could be viewed in all their martial beauty and military glory from any quarter of the field." -- Col. Thomas F. M'Coy, 107th Pennsylvania Infantry, USA "The advancing force was visibly staggered by our rapid and well-directed artillery but soon, recovering from the shock, the Federal troops continued to press forward." -- Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, CSA
9. FREDSP_111009_082.JPG: Slaughter Pen Farm The Walking Trail Welcome to the Civil War Preservation Trust's Slaughter Pen Farm Battlefield. Here starts a 1� mile walking tour. Wayside exhibits provide information and orientation along the way. Allow at least 90 minutes if you plan to walk the entire trail. Please stay on the marked trails throughout your visit, keep your pets on leashes and watch for ticks and other wildlife. There are no restrooms or drinking facilities along the trail. We hope you have a meaningful and enjoyable visit here at the Slaughter Pen Farm. For more information about this and other sites saved by CWPT, please visit www.civilwar.org. "Beyond the road was a plowed field, now trampled into mud, the winter stubble crushed into it by hoofs of straining horses and heavy wheels of cannon and the slogging feet of hundreds of men." -- Lt. Abner Small, 16th Maine Infantry, USA "We were posted on a chain of hills.... I could see fully half the whole Yankee army, reserves and all. It was a grand sight seeing them come in position this morning." -- "Ben," Pee Dee (South Carolina) Artillery, CSA
10. FREDSP_111009_105.JPG: Slaughter Pen Farm Into the Field You are standing near the center of the most successful Union attack at the Battle of Fredericksburg. Two Union divisions, Gen. George G. Meade's on your left and Gen. John Gibbon's on your right, advanced into this field and soon encountered the "Virginia ditch fence" visible on your right and left. The ditch fences, dug by farmers to divide their fields and to promote drainage, were much steeper, deeper, and wider during the battle. Union soldiers scrambled across this and other obstacles however they could. After Union troops crossed the ditch fences, converging Confederate artillery fire stopped them cold. The Federals laid down in the fields in front of you as Union cannons replied in kind. Both sides suffered heavy losses in men, horses, and equipment. When the fire was too hot for the men of one Confederate battery, its commander "wrapped his battle flag around him, walking up and down among his deserted guns" to shame his gunners back into position. "The trees around our guns were literally torn to pieces and the ground plowed up. I have been several times covered with dirt, and had it knocked in my eyes and mouth." -- "Ben," Pee Dee (South Carolina) Artillery, CSA "Being no breeze to carry away the smoke of our guns, the gunners on firing would quickly run to either flank to clear the great volume of smoke hanging in front of their muzzles that they might see where their shells were going." -- Pvt. Bates Alexander. 7th Pennsylvania Reserves, USA Just prior to the Union assault, 24-year-old Confederate Major John Pelham advanced one cannon a mile to your left and wrought havoc on the Union lines. Dangerously exposed and outgunned, Pelham disrupted the Union attack for nearly an hour and emerged unscathed. Of Pelham's actions, Gen. Robert E. Lee said, "It is glorious to see such courage in one so young." "We blew up one of their caissons," remembered one Union soldier, "causing a cheer to break forth from our lines. But soon thereafter they blew up one of ours." This 1863 image was taken on Marye's Heights, a few miles to the north.
11. FREDSP_111009_122.JPG: Slaughter Pen Farm Meade's Attack With artillery projectiles flying in every direction, Union Gen. George G. Meade galloped through the fields in front of you, encouraged his men, and looked for an opportunity to attack. When Union artillery blew up two Confederate ammunition chests, Meade took the initiative and ordered his men to charge. His division surged toward Prospect Hill in front of you, where Confederate forces waited. Meade's troops advanced directly into a 600-yard gap in the Confederate line left unmanned because the swampy ground was mistakenly deemed impassible. Union troops pushed through the swampy woods, wrecked two Confederate brigades, and expanded the size of the gap in the Southern line. Both sides became disorganized and scrambled to regroup. Meade needed reinforcements but none arrived in time. Out of ammunition and out of time, Meade's men found it impossible to hold on. "I felt sorry for those poor Yankee soldiers as they marched into the very jaws of death." -- Confederate Soldier "We were now well into the enemy's warm fire. ... The men inclined their heads somewhat as though moving against a driving rain." -- Pvt. Bates Alexander, 7th Pennsylvania Reserves, USA As his attack was faltering, Gen. George G. Meade called upon Gen. David Birney to bring up his division in support. When Birney failed to advance, the notoriously testy Meade rode to the rear and berated Birney in a tone that could "almost make the stones creep" underfoot. Birney hastily organized his division and pushed forward, but it was too little, too late. Confederate Gen. Maxcy Gregg had compiled an impressive record on numerous Civil War battlefields. Fredericksburg was his last. As Meade's men unleashed a devastating volley into Gregg's surprised South Carolina troops, Gregg received a bullet in the spine from which he died two days later.
12. FREDSP_111009_146.JPG: Slaughter Pen Farm Killing Range Before the battle, Confederate artillerists used a lone tree on this ridge as a mark to establish a "killing range," to punish any Federals who attacked. As Gen. George G. Meade's men surged past the unassuming tree, the Confederates trapped Union troops in a deadly crossfire. Gen. John Gibbon's division remained in the field behind you as Meade attacked. The 60-degree day thawed the ground and men wallowed in a sea of mud. Gibbon sent forward skirmishers, who exchanged fire with their Confederate counterparts. One of Gibbon's men found the wherewithal to write in his diary at this moment: "The different noises of shot & shell & bullet are very peculiar. Boys talking, & even joking together while the shells flew thickest. The crash & war of explosions in the woods is tremendous. Skirmishing becoming sharper, bullets flying thicker, - hot work ahead. Must put away my book - in danger of being hit." "Shells burst and flung down splatters of pain; here a man clapped a hand to his bleeding face and cursed, and there another squirmed deeper into the mud and cried, unnerved." -- Lt. Abner R. Small, 16th Maine Infantry, USA "Cannonading and skirmishing was still kept up, getting nearer and more vigourous and occasionally they would salute us with a bomb and sometimes with dangerous consequences." -- Pvt. M. Hill Fitzpatrick, 45th Georgia Infantry, CSA "A solitary fire-blackened chimney," like that shown in this photo, stood here - one of the few landmarks on this open battlefield. It was all that remained of the house of Robert Brooks, overseer for the nearby Mannsfield plantation. Before the battle, a Confederate detachment burned the house to prevent its use by Union sharpshooters. The wet, muddy field with the lone "Killing Range" tree may have resembled this 1862 scene. Meade's attack was well underway before Gibbon's assault commenced. This made it more difficult for the divisions to support each other and ultimately blunted the effectiveness of the attack.
13. FREDSP_111009_148.JPG: The nearby airport
14. FREDSP_111009_149.JPG: The farmer apparently hit this doing an evening plowing
15. FREDSP_111009_152.JPG: Salughter Pen Farm Gibbon's Advance When Gen. George G. Meade's division surged unexpectedly forward through the fields on your left, Gen. John Gibbon's men scrambled to advance on Meade's right. Gibbon arranged his forces and ordered Gen. Nelson Taylor's brigade to attack the Confederates. Taylor's attack had little chance of success. "They were on a hill in the woods," observed one Union soldier, "and we were on a level plain below without any shelter." Still, Taylor's four regiments advanced over the prone skirmish line and made a go of it. One of the regiments, which had never seen combat, unleashed a volley that apparently frightened the shooters into retreat. Taylor helped to step the tide of retreat, but the rest of the brigade fared little better. As Taylor's men topped a rise in front of you, North Carolinians poured lead into them, and Gibbon's attack came to a standstill. Gibbon needed to commit more troops, and soon. "When the Yankees came within range of our rifles, we opened fire with appalling effect, as ample evidence showed after the bloody battle was over." -- Pvt. George W. Cochran, 37th North Carolina Infantry, CSA "We received orders from General Taylor to advance and engage the enemy, which was done, to within about 150 yards of the enemy's position; during which advance it was exposed to a most galling fire of small-arms." -- Capt. Christian Kuhn, 11th Pennsylvania Infantry, USA Fredericksburg was Gen. John Gibbon's first battle as a division commander and one in which he fought against three of his brothers in Gen. James H. Lane's North Carolina Brigade. Gibbon advanced on horseback with his troops and was wounded in the wrist during the fighting. Of Gibbon one soldier wrote, "I admired the handsomely dressed and mounted figure of our division commander, and his soldierly bearing." For Pvt. George Maynard, 13th Massachusetts Infantry, who retreated to the Bowling Green Road but realized that his comrade, Charles Armstrong, was missing. Under fire, Maynard returned to the firing line, found his wounded friend, and carried him back to Union lines. Maynard became one of five men at the Slaughter Pen to receive the Medal of Honor for valor that day. Gibbon began his attack with only one of his three brigades. The Confederates stopped it cold.
16. FREDSP_111009_167.JPG: Slaughter Pen Farm Second Assault With the failure of Gen. Nelson Taylor's advance, Gen. John Gibbon sent in Col. Peter Lyle's Brigade. Taylor shifted some of his remaining regiments to the right and joined in Lyle's assault. Together, Taylor and Lyle formed a six-regiment front and attacked toward the railroad. When the Federals reached the small rise in front of you, Gen. James H. Lane's North Carolinians again opened up a murderous fire, and the Union attack stopped to return fire. Soon Union troops were running out of ammunition. To support his floundering front, Gibbon called up his last reserve - Col. Adrian Root's brigade. "We went midst the bursting of shells and whistling of bullets; we could feel the wind caused by them, but the boys went on, loading and firing as they went." -- Pvt. S. Dean Canan, 136th Pennsylvania Infantry, USA "I have Not time to Give you the particulars of the fight as I wish but will Say that it was the hardest fight that I have ever been in." -- Pvt. William G. Morris, 37th North Carolina Infantry, CSA Advance the Colors: Three of the five Medals of Honor awarded on this field were given to men in Col. Peter Lyle's brigade, who risked life and limb to keep the flags raised and the chances for successful charge alive. It took two hands to carry a flag, so the bearer could not defend himself at the same time. To sling one's rifle, carry the flag, and make oneself a target while guiding the unit was an act of courage all soldiers admired. SERGEANT PHILIP PETTY, 136th Pennsylvania Infantry, "seized the flag as it fell from the hands of the color bearer in the hottest of the engagement." He then, "planted the flag staff in the ground on the front line and continued firing until" he retired under orders with his flag. PRIVATE MARTIN SCHUBERT, 26th New York Infantry, ignored a medical furlough and fought in the battle saying, "I though the Government needed me on the battlefield rather than at home." With several color bearers down, he picked up the flag and carried it ahead of the regiment until a bullet entered his side, a bullet that stayed there for years after the Civil War. PRIVATE JOSEPH KEENE saw the flag of the 26th New York Infantry laying on the ground. Like Martin Schubert, he hoisted the flag and advanced with the regiment. He bore the colors throughout the fight and got them safely off the field. The first Medals of Honor were awarded to the Civil War's Union "noncommissioned officers and privates as shall most distinguish themselves by their gallantry in action, and other soldier-like qualities, during the present insurrection."
17. FREDSP_111009_174.JPG: Slaughter Pen Farm Hand-to-Hand Combat at the Railroad Just before 2 p.m., Gen. John Gibbon ordered Col. Adrian Root's men to cross the railroad in front of you and enter the woods beyond. With flags in front and bayonets fixed, Root's and remnants from Taylor's and Lyle's brigades advanced through a hail of iron and lead. Soldiers went "down like wheat before the reaper." In the edge of the woods, the Union troops and Gen. James H. Lane's North Carolinians fought with clubbed muskets, bayonets,swords, and pistols. "With a shout and a run, the brigade leaped the ditches, charged across the railway, and occupied the wood beyond, driving the enemy from their position, [and] killing a number with bayonet." -- Col. Adrian Root, USA "We was laying in a rale road cut and when the Yankees come upon us we all lef the cut. ... We dug a long grave and buried all that was killed out of our company, side and side." -- Pvt. J.T. Carpenter, 28th North Carolina Infantry, CSA Outnumbered and out of ammunition, the Confederates fell back with Union troops in close pursuit - dead and wounded soldiers trampled in the process. But just like Gen. George G. Meade, to his left, Gibbon's penetration of the Confederate line was in vain. His troops were disorganized, low on ammunition, and without support. The Confederates had ample reserves that soon arrived in force and pushed the reluctant Union troops back across the railroad. Railroads were logistical necessities for large armies, and Gen. Burnside hoped the railroad, the Richmond, Fredericksburg, & Potomac (R.F.& P.), could serve as a direct supply route to Richmond. This image shows the damaged R.F. & P. bridge over the North Anna River in 1864. Gibbon's combined assault achieved some measure of success, but the unsupported Union troops were eventually pushed back.
18. FREDSP_111009_226.JPG: Slaughter Pen Farm Retreat and Counterattack "For my part the more I think of that battle, the more annoyed I am that such a great chance should have failed me." -- Gen. George G. Meade, USA "Our cannon flamed and roared, and the roar of musketry was terrific. The foe halts, wavers, and flies. We, double charging our guns, pour the canister among them." -- "Ben," Pee Dee (S.C.) Artillery, CSA Forced back but not ready to give up, Gen. John Gibbon's soldiers launched three counterattacks, but each was repulsed. Hopelessness set in. "It was with real pain that I gave the order for the brigade to fall back," reported brigade commander Col. Adrian Root. "The officers and men received it with surprise and grief." Audacious Georgians pursued the Union soldiers into this field but ran headlong into late-arriving Union reinforcements under Gen. David Birney. The Georgians were driven back with substantial losses. Other Confederate counterattacks failed as well. The fighting south of Fredericksburg left more than 5,000 Union and 4,000 Confederate soldiers dead, wounded, or missing. With its failure here, the Union lost its best chance for victory at Fredericksburg. The Union army fell back across the Rappahannock River and camped for more than four months before a new commander, Gen. Joseph Hooker, dared to cross the river again. Col. Charles Collis of the 114th Pennsylvania Infantry led his regiment into battle and stemmed the Confederate counterthrust. When his regiment wavered, Collis galloped to the front, seized a regimental flag, and rallied his troops. For these deeds, he was awarded the Medal of Honor. Collis later commissioned artist Carl Rochling to depict the charge. After the war, veterans of the Union First Corps gathered on Prospect Hill just above the R.F & P. Railroad tracks. Doubtless, many recalled their charge up the slope pictured here. Confederate counterattacks across this open, muddy field fared no better than Union assaults. The Federals had more than 50,000 troops in the vicinity standing by to repel any Confederate thrust.
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