GRAPHIC Fredericksburg Burials

JPK Huson 1863

Brev. Brig. Gen'l
Joined
Feb 14, 2012
Location
Central Pennsylvania
I'm certain everyone has seen at least one of these. Took me awhile to ascertain there was more than one, then that there was more than two. I ' think ' there may be 5 although I only have 4 at the moment. They're from Fredericksburg, post-battle. Men burying the dead, one incredibly touching photo and the reason I'm posting these at all, a man reading over a burial. The moment between our world and consigning this poor soldier to the next.

fredericksbg burying funrl.jpg

fredericksbg dead.jpg



fredericksburg dead.jpg


Rats, only 3- I know here's another one. The reading over these men just gets to me.
 
I think this might have been after the Second battle of Fredericksburg in May, 1863. Look at the trees and clothing.

I was going to say this too. Probably the same photographer of this picture.




Expired Image Removed





The 2nd Battle of Fredericksburg was at the same time as Chancellorsville. This time the Federals overran the stone wall that was being defended by Barksdale's Mississippians.
 
Yes. There are a few other graphic photos of the wall I couldn't bring myself to post- only posted these because the men were being solemnly buried, someone was reading over them and the whole scene was painstakingly respectful. It seems clear even the men doing the work are quiet and maybe uncomfortable, the whole thing too close to home.
 
I think this is one? Been back and forth on it- but the background, with a fence running from pickett ( wonder what they called it before 1863? ) to board and evenly spaced, young poplars makes me feel it is. Somewhere must be a copy of much better quality.

fredericksburg6a.jpg
 
Those photos could also have been taken in the spring of 1864. Fredericksburg was a hospital clearinghouse for the Overland Campaign. Do you think the reader is a chaplain or a surgeon? He carries himself in a manner that suggests familiarity with being in front of people. The haversack and books suggest he wasn't just digging. He's not in uniform as a chaplain, although they frequently were out of uniform.
 
Those photos could also have been taken in the spring of 1864. Fredericksburg was a hospital clearinghouse for the Overland Campaign. Do you think the reader is a chaplain or a surgeon? He carries himself in a manner that suggests familiarity with being in front of people. The haversack and books suggest he wasn't just digging. He's not in uniform as a chaplain, although they frequently were out of uniform.


Thank you! Oh goodness- I'd assumed a chaplain, good to know they were frequently out of uniform. Were there traveling ministers, or deacons perhaps who moved with troops, or maybe a local man of some capacity. I'm not familiar with who was permitted to read over burials- or maybe anyone just did, when no ordained person was available.

Gosh, must be an awful lot of graves in and around Fredericksburg then. You wonder if all were reinterred post-war, or are there still some graves which may have been forgotten? That would have been an awfully long time for hospitals to have been there, would have been an awful lot of men who died in those hospitals in that time.
 
There was supposed to be a chaplain with each regiment, although about half did not have one after the winter of 62-63. Chaplains were assigned to hospitals as well. Certainly funerals would be compatible with their duties. I've never seen a reference to local clergy performing those services for Federal troops; the denominations were as divided as the nation, and just as distrustful. He looks like someone used to travel: overcoat, book bag, etc.
 
Fredericksburg has two cemeteries for the Civil War dead, the national cemetery which has the Union dead from that campaign as well as many of those who died in the Overland Campaign who would die from mortal wounds and had been sent to Fredericksburg hospitals. This cemetery is located on a beautiful bluff overlooking Marye's Heights. I highly recommend a visit and walk through at sunset. The other cemetery, the one for Confederates, suitably distanced from the Union cemetery, is closer to the town center and actually was one of the town's cemeteries before the war. Many of the graves there are those of civilians. I recommend a visit in the early morning right after sunrise. There is nothing that brings home the reality of that war like a walk through one of its cemeteries nor is there better way of honoring their memory than reading their names aloud, where there are names, and commending their souls to the eternal peace they now have.
 
Fredericksburg has two cemeteries for the Civil War dead, the national cemetery which has the Union dead from that campaign as well as many of those who died in the Overland Campaign who would die from mortal wounds and had been sent to Fredericksburg hospitals. This cemetery is located on a beautiful bluff overlooking Marye's Heights. I highly recommend a visit and walk through at sunset. The other cemetery, the one for Confederates, suitably distanced from the Union cemetery, is closer to the town center and actually was one of the town's cemeteries before the war. Many of the graves there are those of civilians. I recommend a visit in the early morning right after sunrise. There is nothing that brings home the reality of that war like a walk through one of its cemeteries nor is there better way of honoring their memory than reading their names aloud, where there are names, and commending their souls to the eternal peace they now have.
The Fredericksburg cemetery is indeed beautifully situated, but as I recall quite steep in parts.
 
You can avoid the steep climb if you approach the cemetery from the northern side. The land slopes off to the south but the cemetery is on a ridge or bluff that is pretty much the same elevation as the northern approach.
 
You can avoid the steep climb if you approach the cemetery from the northern side. The land slopes off to the south but the cemetery is on a ridge or bluff that is pretty much the same elevation as the northern approach.
Doesn't the road that takes you up to Marye's Heights and to the walking trails also take you to the cemetery?
 
I was going to say this too. Probably the same photographer of this picture.




Expired Image Removed





The 2nd Battle of Fredericksburg was at the same time as Chancellorsville. This time the Federals overran the stone wall that was being defended by Barksdale's Mississippians.
When I purchase, then frame CW photos, I only get a few of the dead, and leave them in an album--I get too sad if they're on the wall I tried one). This is a "good" shot...
 
Taken from the book by William Frassanito; Grant and Lee-The Virginia Campaigns of 1864-1865. These three pictures are from a group of 7 images taken at the same location. They were taken in Fredericksburg on either May 19 or 20th 1864. These men were casualties from the the Battles of the Wilderness and Spotslvania. The fact that they were evacuated to Fredericksburg means that they were wounded and died from the wounds in the days following the battles. That would explain why they are not wearing shoes. These men were in hospitals and probably had most of their soiled uniforms removed during their time there.

Of further interest in the middle image posted by Ms. JPK Huson is the man wearing the straw hat and duster (the same man reading over the deceased), looking down at a particular grave. The original glass negative which was examined by William Frassanito at the Library of Congress for his book was clear enough to read the name on the grave this man seems to be looking at.

From Frassanito's book page 93;

"The inscription on the headboard reads Lester Baum...A...121st" After a lengthy search into the casualty lists of all units numbered 121, it has been determined that the inscription refers to Sgt. Lester Baum, Company A, 121st New York Volunteer Infantry. According to his military records , as well as the pension file of his widow, Elizabeth A Baum, Sergeant Baum was born in Danube, New York , a small upstate farming community in Herkimer County about 1838. In 1859 Lester and Elizabeth were married , and on April 23, 1863 nine months after Lester enlisted in the 121st New York, their first and only child, a daughter named Ella, was born. Baum's 1862 enlistment records described him as 24 years old, a farmer, five feet eight inches tall, with blue eyes and brown hair with a light complexion.

On May 10, 1864, during the fierce fighting at Spotsylvania, Sergeant Baum received a gunshot wound to the chest, the bullet passing through his lungs. He was subsequently transported by ambulance to Fredericksburg where he died of his wound."
 
Last edited:
I think this is one? Been back and forth on it- but the background, with a fence running from pickett ( wonder what they called it before 1863? ) to board and evenly spaced, young poplars makes me feel it is. Somewhere must be a copy of much better quality.

View attachment 62873

This view is from another series of photographs showing Union soldiers burying dead Confederates on the Alsop Farm after the Battle of Harris's Farm fought on May 19, 1864.

https://npsfrsp.wordpress.com/2011/03/11/revisiting-the-confederate-dead-at-the-widow-alsops-farm/
 
Doesn't the road that takes you up to Marye's Heights and to the walking trails also take you to the cemetery?
Yes. The road to Maryes heights from the visitor center is a gentle grade, Follow it to where the "sunken (Telegraph Rd.) ends, turn left and walk up a gentle slope to the top of the hill and make another left and in a few hundred yards you will be in the cemetery proper. Even I, with a bum knee, can do this.
 
Back
Top