On December 11, 1862, after a weeklong delay in receiving needed pontoon bridges to cross the Rappahannock River, Union Major General Ambrose E. Burnside ordered engineers to lay bridges to Fredericksburg. Intensive Confederate rifle fire delayed the attempt. Aided by Union artillery fire, Federal infantry finally reached the city’s shoreline using the pontoons to traverse the river. On Dec. 12, the remainder of the Union Army of the Potomac followed.
Burnside ordered a series of attacks across a long open field against the Confederates on Dec. 13. The gray-clad soldiers were firmly entrenched in a sunken road, protected by a stonewall. Above them towered Marye’s Heights, fortified with Confederate artillery.
The assaults resulted in massive Union casualties. This, however, was part of Burnside’s plan to pin General James Longstreet
The Civil War drastically effected the Central Virginia area, as illustrated by these refugees returning home after a battle. in place while Union Major General William B. Franklin’s left grand division of over 50,000 men assaulted Lee’s southern right flank held by General Thomas J. Jackson. This action took place on ground well known to us today as the Slaughter Pen. Both sides suffered heavy losses with no gain for either.
This December 1862 battle was just the opening salvo of what was yet to come for the region. The following year the armies returned to fight at Chancellorsville and spawn what is known as the second battle of Fredericksburg. The warring parties returned yet again in 1864 with Generals Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee facing off and beginning what became known as the Overland Campaign.
The armies moved on from the Wilderness to Spotsylvania Court House. Over 100,000 casualties, killed, wounded, and captured, occurred in the short 18-month period. Fredericksburg was looted and destroyed, area farms were stripped of livestock and fencing burned in campfires. Families were displaced; many never returned. The area’s population was approximately 15,000 prior to the Civil War rearing its ugly head in the Rappahannock region. It was not until the 1940’s that many would call the area home.
For the same reason the armies fought here, at the midpoint between Washington and Richmond, the area today has become popular and growing rapidly. For the past 26 years I have lived in Spotsylvania County, growth along the eastern corridor of Route 3 has been frantic. When my wife and I moved here, there were roughly three traffic lights from the exit off route I-95 to the Orange Plank Road, modern day Route 621, in Spotsylvania. Now, I cannot count them all. What was once a fifteen-minute drive is now more than double that on a light traffic day. Strip malls, restaurants, housing developments, and big box stores have taken over the area and continue to threaten many important properties that should add to the stories of our history and of those who fought and died here. The western side of Route 3 is now under assault. CVBT is working diligently on stitching together Jackson’s Flank attack, one small property at a time.
January 2021 will begin Central Virginia Battlefields Trust’s 25th year of preserving the important Civil War battlefields of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Wilderness, and Spotsylvania Court House. We have saved over 1,350 acres to date that would have otherwise been lost forever.
Through the early years, we accomplished this with virtually no paid staff. We then required one part-time Director. As the battlefield property inventory grew, so did the legal, tax, and compliance requirements, not to mention taking care of our Partners (members). A full-time Executive Director joined the team. Most recently, we have added one more: an Assistant to the Executive Director. That makes our entire, and current, paid staff two (2), yes, I said only two, in 25 years. The entire working Board of Directors, and I, the President, are volunteers. We all have specific talents and make use of those abilities to move CVBT forward. In this way, we may proudly state that this low overhead allows us to concentrate donations on saving the battlefields. We do not wish to become a larger organization; we simply strive to be as effective as possible and find new ways to do so.
In October, I was pleased to announce we satisfied the mortgage on our Myer’s Hill property, 73 acres on the Spotsylvania Court House Battlefield, months before our goal. This was a $450,000 purchase, no small amount for us. Our Partners stepped up, and we were awarded grants from the American Battlefield Protection Program and the Virginia Battlefields Preservation Fund. This was especially gratifying as it was accomplished in the face of diminished donations, caused by both the COVID-19 epidemic and the change in the tax code this year.
Of course, we are also currently working on several other parcels that are in different stages of negotiation. I have said it before, these acquisitions and negotiations are never simple or quick, they require patience and determination to result in a win/ win for all parties involved.
On April 16-18, 2021, CVBT will host our annual conference and celebrate our 25th anniversary. We will recall all those who have helped us grow to be the successful organization we enjoy today. Former American Battlefield Trust president, Jim Lighthizer, has called CVBT “One of the most effective regional battlefield trusts in the country.” Who am I to disagree?
We have had a busy year. Our Executive Director, Terry, and his assistant, Sarah, have done a great job developing online programs to fill the gap created by cancelled tours and meetings due to the pandemic. One program, “At Ease,” has developed such a following we may continue it for some time to come. Visit our website and sign up for this series and our 2021 conference. www.cvbt.org
There are many stories yet to be told and battlefield acreage needing preservation. Saving our history, not erasing or rewriting it, will serve this nation. Our past, however unpleasant it may be at times, should be studied and understood, only then may we learn from it. Walking on a Civil War battlefield allows us to see, in our minds eye, what took place in that moment of history.
Our work at CVBT is far from completed and we look forward to our 25th year preserving our nation’s history. I hope you will join us.
Tom Van Winkle is the President of the Central Virginia Battlefields Trust and author of several articles regarding the Civil War. He is also a historical film maker and has produced several productions including a popular local cable TV series “History Scene™”
