Fredericksburg sites

[Jamieva]

The view of Chatham looking at the river and Fredericksburg. Coming here is vital to understand the topography of why Lee did not counter attack

 

[Jamieva]

So it hit 1 pm and a gentleman unlocked the door so that I could come inside. It was Frank O'Reilly!

 

[Jamieva]

After Chatham I retraced my path back through town so I could start the NPS tour down Lee drive. There are 4 pull of sites on Lee Drive. Honestly I would say in hindsight you can skip Howison Hill if you want, I didn't find much of value there. Again just my opinion.

First up is Telegraph (now Lee's) Hill. And oh boy what a hill it is to get up.

 

[Jamieva]

After you cross a 2 lane road, there is a small pull off on the left. I decided to pass on this walking trail based on the warning about possible conditions, and it was wet and muddy due to the time of year

 

[Jamieva]

Union Breakthrough site

 

[Jamieva]

Meade Pyramid. There is no marked trail but you can see a clearly tramped down trail from the parking area to the pyramid. WARNING. This requires you to cross 3 railroad tracks to get to it. Included on this track is the amtrak which moves at a high rate of speed which i have proof of. The Meade Pyramid looks like to me it might just fall in on itself at some point but I am not an engineer.

 

[Jamieva]

This is the Amtrak. I was walking from Prospect Hill towards Hamilton's Crossing. This is about 5 minutes after i had crossed those tracks at the Meade pyramid. The Meade pyramid is not far from Prospect Hill. So if you decide to cross those tracks just do it in a quick manner to get to the other side.

 

[Jamieva]

Last stop is Prospect Hill

 

[Jamieva]

This picture gives you an idea of proximity. This is the view from Prospect Hill towards the Meade pyramid. The break in the trees to the left is where you pass through to cross the railroad tracks

 

[Jamieva]

At the end of the parking area for Prospect Hill is this sign for Hamilton's Crossing. There is a nice wide path to Hamilton's Crossing it is about a 5 minute walk each way. Honestly, not much to see there.

 

[Jamieva]

Last stop was the Slaughter Pen Farm. You have to backtrack on Lee Drive, take a couple of right turns and drive down the road a bit and you are there. Once you look at the maps you can orient yourself quickly to where you just were at Prospect Hill.

At this point in the day it was about 3 pm. The forecast high of 76 was more like 83 or 84 at that point. Full sun. There is zero shade on this tract and the walking tour is fully in the sun. So be prepared if you venture here on a sunny or hot day. At least its basically flat. The backside of the property is bordered by the same railroad which is right in front of the tree line in the distance.

 

[lupaglupa]

Great pictures - it feels like we are there with you! Thanks so much for posting these.

 

[Jamieva]

There are 7 markers on the walking trail. It is nearly 2 miles. See those 2 yellow dots in the top right corner? I never made it to them. My back was screaming to stop and I was very concerned I would not make it back from those 2 markers to my car as they are at the farthest point from the parking lot. Did I mention it was hot?

 

[Jamieva]

See, told you the train tracks were back there too. So to the amtrak in the previous video would have been going from left to right (heading north), this train is going south.

 

[stu613]

The Kirkland monument and the Marye House

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Great shot!! I will have to copy this angle next time i am there!

 

[Jamieva]

Great shot!! I will have to copy this angle next time i am there!

Totally lucked into it I was taking a pic of the Kirkland monument and noticed it out of the corner of my eye so I slid a little morefo the right and got that.

 

[Reconstructed Rebel]

Thank you so much for posting these.

 

[bdtex]

Witness stones from the original wall that was here at the time of the battle. This section is the only one with the originals, the rest is a recreation.

Never been to Fredericksburg and didn't know that only part of the wall is original. Almost wish I didn't know it now.

 

[JPChurch]

your camera takes great pictures!!!

 

[major bill]

I will be attending a three day military history convention there next month. I expect I will see some of these same sites. Perhaps I should take my camera? I have not looked at who out tour guide will be for our bus trip to the battlefield.