Caught in the Crossfire: Civilians at Fredericksburg

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Caught in the Crossfire: Civilians at Fredericksburg

In December 1862, the city of Fredericksburg found itself in the crossfire of the armies of Lee and Burnside.  For several months that summer, residents were forced to deal with the indignities and inconveniences of living in an occupied city.  Now the Union army was back once more and this time General Robert E. Lee and his army were in place to contest their presence.  With armies on either side of it, Fredericksburg braced itself for the storm.

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"Yankee Candy Would Choke Me": Fredericksburg Occupied!!

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"Yankee Candy Would Choke Me": Fredericksburg Occupied!!

On April 18, 1862 it was the Union army that came into Fredericksburg.  That Good Friday morning the Confederates left town, burning the bridges over the Rappahannock River, making way for the Federals to arrive that afternoon.  Mayor Montgomery Slaughter and a delegation from the town surrendered Fredericksburg on April 19 under the agreement that local citizens and private property would not be harmed.  Union soldiers under General Irvin McDowell built bridges, crossed on May 2, and settled on the outskirts of town for a four month stay.

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