Interview with Eric Powell on the 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Fredericksburg Commemoration and Events

Summary: Charles Cummings, editor of American Civil War Today, interviews Eric Powell. Eric is the chairman of the Battle of Fredericksburg Commemoration Committee, Inc. About the commemoration and events: The sesquicentennial commemoration of the Battle of Fredericksburg will take place December 7-15, 2012. The Battle of Fredericksburg Commemoration Committee (BFCC) has partnered with the City of Fredericksburg, the counties of Stafford and Spotsylvania, the National Park Service, the George Washington Foundation, and many other local historic organizations to put together a unique event that will teach about this significant time in the region’s history, as well as honor those brave men and women of 150 years ago. Reenactments and living history programs will take place during the weekend of December 8-9. Two major aspects of the battle will be recreated; the pontoon crossing and street fighting, and the assault on Marye’s Heights. . The BFCC is constructing two replica pontoons and the 189th Engineering Company of the Virginia National Guard will be placing a ribbon bridge across the river at the site of the middle crossing to recreate the opening of the battle, which will lead into a street battle. The Irish Brigade’s famous assault on Marye’s Heights will take place at Trench Hill, on the campus of the University of Mary Washington. Military camps will be open to the public in Stafford and Spotsylvania. The Union will camp at George Washington’s Ferry Farm and the Confederates will be at the Slaughter Pen Farm. Attractions include Thaddeus Lowe and his hot air balloon, period telegraph, several field hospitals, artillery demonstrations, and visits from living historians portraying the generals. The impact of the battle on civilians will also be told through a series of living history programs throughout the city. The National Park Service will be conducting a procession and culminating ceremony on Sunday, December 9 that will recreate the 100 rounds a minute of artillery fire, tell the story of the battle, and honor those who weathered the storm 150 years ago with a laying of carnations on the stone wall at Sunken Road. Descendent units of the Irish and Stonewall Brigades will be on hand, along with Irish Color Guard and several dignitaries. Throughout the week, the NPS will be conducting a series of tours and lectures in real-time with the events of December 11-15. More information and a complete schedule of events can be found at the following websites: www.fredericksburg150.org www.nps.gov/frsp www.visitfred.com About the Battle of Fredericksburg: General Ambrose E. Burnside took command of the Army of the Potomac after the Battle of Antietam in September of 1862.  His plan was to again attack Richmond, but this time he was going through Fredericksburg.  The Union army arrived in Stafford, Virginia on November 14, 1862, and found the bridges across the Rappahannock River destroyed.  Burnside wired to Washington to send pontoon bridges to allow the army to cross the river.  The delay in getting those pontoons allowed General Robert E. Lee to move his Army of Northern Virginia south of Fredericksburg and position himself on the heights overlooking the town. On December 11, 1862, Union engineers began constructing five bridges under fire from Confederate sharpshooters under the command of William Barksdale from Mississippi.  Federal artillery shelled the city in what some described as 100 rounds a minute.  However, the assault failed to drive out the Confederate infantrymen.  It was finally decided that men of the 7th Michigan and the 19th Massachusetts would row across the river in some of the pontoons to establish a bridgehead.  This would be the first amphibious assault under fire in US military history.  Some of the earliest urban combat in US military history occurred as Union soldiers clashed with Confederate troops in the streets of before orders were given for the Confederates to pull out.