People who visit Fredericksburg can be entranced with its sometimes quirky ways and people. This volume tells tales not oft repeated from the city's and its surroundings' past.
The African American community emerged from the ravages of war after more than 140 years of slavery. The community formalized the institutions they developed for survival during those years and charted a path for their growth. This volume pays homage to religion, work, service, education, and the human touch that brought families through undeniably difficult times.
Terry Miller is a writer and frequent visitor to Spotsylvania, and Roger Braxton is a native whose family can be traced to the early 1800s. Their combined curiosity about local history has produced a work of historical insight, humor, and reverence to an ancestral past. The photographs and accompanying stories come largely from private collections of Spotsylvania African Americans who gratefully shared their ancestors' heritage with the wider world. From the publisher's description.
Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County both witnessed the ravages of America's defining drama. This is the story of a town forced into exodus by the harsh hand of war and of the strength that helped its residents find rebirth from the ashes of destruction. This shared experience would bring people like John Henry Myer and Joseph Walker into a united community, despite diverse backgrounds and racial differences. Fredericksburg had enjoyed prosperity as a colonial-era tobacco port, but economic and agricultural changes diminished this importance.
By the 1850s, Fredericksburg had been eclipsed by Richmond to the south and Alexandria to the north. Shortly before the Civil War, a small industrial boom revitalized the town only to be cast asunder by the events of 1861-1865. Ten miles south is Spotsylvania Court House, the county seat. Here too, fate would deal a blow as warring armies raged over the pastoral setting, leaving destruction in their wake. From the publisher's description.
In this authoritative chronicle of the great 1864 Overland Campaign in Virginia, Noah Andre Trudeau vividly re-creates the brutal forty days that marked the beginning of the end of the Civil War. In riveting detail Trudeau traces the carnage from the initial battles in Virginia's Wilderness to the gruesome hand-to-hand combat at Spotsylvania's "Bloody Angle," to the ingenious trap laid by Lee at the North Anna River, to the killing ground of Cold Harbor.
Through fascinating eyewitness accounts, he relates the human stories behind this epic saga. Common soldiers struggle to find the words to describe the agony of their comrades, incredible tales of individual valor, their own mortality. Also recounting their experiences are the women who nursed these soldiers and black troops who were getting their first taste of battle. The raw vitality of battle sketches by Edwin Forbes and Alfred R. Waud complement the words of the participants. From the publisher's description
Rhea looks at the initial campaign between Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee between May 13 and 25, 1864--a phase that was critical in the clash between the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia. Rhea charts the generals' every step and misstep in their efforts to outfox each other.
Includes illustrations and maps.
In a landmark book, Ruth Fitzgerald reveals much of our region's African-American history, from the 18th century through the Civil Rights Era. Includes black and white photos as well as an index.
The author gives a history of the county's regions, featuring the events and personalities that contributed to Stafford's beginnings and antebellum period. Includes a timeline, bibliography, and index.
Stafford County was occupied territory for much of the Civil War whilst battles were fought in nearby areas. The war had a tremendous impact on the economy of the county and historic sites remain to help tell the tale.
Includes black and white illustrations, an index, and a roster of troops from Stafford County.
