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Fredericksburg Battlefield |
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This is only a very brief coverage of a small part of the
battlefield, much more to come! |
| The Innis house, from the Fredericksburg Battlefield. This house
stood about one mile outside the city at the time, at the foot of Marye
Heights. You can see a rebuilt section of the famous stone wall
past the house. This picture has been taken from what would have
been the neighbor's back yard.
The neighbor owned Innis house, which in a pre war survey was
occupied by a number of young adult women, no men, and all with
different last names. It was conveniently located outside of town,
along the main road to Richmond.
The neighbor, Martha Stephens, was known to everyone as Granny, a
heavy set woman in an ever present apron and a pipe between her
teeth. She ran a saloon out of her own home next door, and was
remembered by locals as a woman who was "uneducated," and
"too free in what she said and did, and how she did it."
She owned seven pieces of property, and seems to have been a notable
female figure in the area. |
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| This is an interior wall of the Innis house, let untouched after the
battle, showing the bullets and shell marks of combat. This wall
stood at 90 degrees to the line of fire; the walls parallel to the
line of fire were too full of bullet holes and had to be replaced by
Granny after the war, but this one she left untouched as a reminder.
Granny remained in her house during the battle, bringing water from
her well to Confederate soldiers, as well as other aid, and became a
local hero.
The shell that exploded and killed Brigadier General Cobb, commander
of the troops in this area, passed directly through her house before
exploding and mortally wounding him in the sunken lane behind. |
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| This is a current view of the Innis house, from within the sunken road
and the stone wall. This section of the stone wall is the original
stone wall from the battle. It served as a retaining wall, holding
the dirt on the left from falling into the sunken lane, and making a
ready built breastworks for the Confederate troops. |
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| A picture of the Innis house shortly after the battle |
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| Another view of the stone wall and sunken lane, 100 yards farther down
the road from the Innis house, right after the 2nd battle of
Fredericksburg. |
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