Fredericksburg Battlefield - Part 1

Today I visited the Fredericksburg Battlefield area of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, including the "Sunken Road" area not far from downtown Fredericksburg, Virginia.  The Battle of Fredericksburg took place on December 11th through 13th, 1862, thus being the earliest of the four battles whose fields I visited during this week.  Before I started walking on the "Sunken Road", I was diverted to Marye's Heights by this sign.  Even so, the road's wall, which has been reconstructed, is on the right in this photo.

Up on Marye's Heights, which is now the park's cemetery, is this monument to volunteer infantry from Pennsylvania.

Also on Marye's Heights is this monument to Union General Andrew Atkinson Humphreys, a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  His grandfather Joshua Humphreys designed the USS Constitution.

Surrounding the statue of General Humphreys are four structures that look like cannons pointing into the ground, arranged in a square pattern.  This is one of them.

After visiting Marye's Heights, I returned down to the "Sunken Road" and proceeded northward.  The building on the left is part of a private residence.

After I passed the north end of the reconstructed stone wall, I came upon this well, behind which is the site of a house owned by family named Stephens.  One of them, Martha Stephens, was known for aiding and comforting wounded soldiers.

Here's the site of the Stephens house from a different angle.

Just north of the Stephens house site is the Innes house, which is still standing.

North of the Innes house is this memorial to Confederate Sergeant Richard Rowland Kirkland, a South Carolina native who gave water to several dying Union soldiers during the battle.  He was later promoted to lieutenant.

North of the Kirkland memorial is the site of a house owned by a family named Ebert.

West of and uphill from the Ebert house is a mansion called Brompton, which is not open to the public.  It was built in 1838 by John Lawrence Marye and is now the residence of the president of the nearby University of Mary Washington.  (Whether Marye's Heights is named after J.L. Marye or some other member of his family, I don't know.)

This concludes my exploration of what I can call the urban portion of the Fredericksburg battlefield.