Calvin Coolidge (Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Battlefields)
Inscription:
Dedicated October 19, 1928
by
Calvin Coolidge
President of
the United States
To commemorate
the beginning of work on the
Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania
National Battlefields Memorial,
authorized by act of Congress
approved February 14, 1927,
and embracing the Battlefields
of
Fredericksburg Spotsylvania
The Wilderness Chancellorsville
Salem Church.
On these fields more then one hundred thousand
men fell in battle
Erected by the National Battlefield
Park Association
of
Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania.
Research:
The Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park, which was commemorated by President Calvin Coolidge in February of 1927, aims as a whole to tell
a complex set of stories on a constantly changing landscape. The daily lives of people. The hopes and devastation wrought by war, followed by decades of restoration and remembrance…The story of creating a national park.(1)
As a whole, the park aims to tell the story of the people, places, and stories that surround the military park; covering famous figures such as Clara Barton, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, These stories include the stories of the soldiers, civilians, politicians, and slaves that inhabited the area surrounding the city of Fredericksburg. These groups of people include historical celebrities such as Clara Barton, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Ellen Mitchell.
Clara Barton has a separate blog post on this site but is well known for her establishment of the American Red Cross. Her lifesaving abilities at the Battle of Fredericksburg carried on to other places in the United States.
George Washington, though associated with his home in Northern Virginia, spent most of his boyhood at Ferry Farm on the Rappahannock River. He often returned to Fredericksburg, VA to visit his family and friends, such as his mother who lived in the heart of Fredericksburg. Often times he was known to confer with his friend William Fitzhugh who lived across the river from Fredericksburg at Chatham.(2)
Ellen Mitchell was one of the earliest freed slaves in Fredericksburg after she gained her freedom in 1859. Her light skin and ability to read assisted in her moving north to D.C. and New York in order to buy her freedom.(4)
Thomas Jefferson had a familial connection to Fitzhugh owner of Chatham, and it was often speculated whether Jefferson actually stayed at Chatham. However, a letter dated August 7, 1790, and September 5, 1790, that place Jefferson staying at Chatham. His name has been added to the extensive amount of people who have stayed at Chatham, including George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Walt Whitman, Clara Barton, and other Civil War generals.(3)
The establishment of the Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Battlefield allows for the preservation of more than just the stories of those who fought at the Battle of Fredericksburg. The funding and preservation of the Battlefields allows for wider stories to be told about the women, freed Blacks, slaves, soldiers, and others who lived in Fredericksburg. The establishment of this national park allowed for various different interpretations of Fredericksburg be told as a whole, rather than focusing strictly on the Civil War history of this mini-city.
Featured Image:
Lakelyn Wiley, “Battlefield Visitor Center in Fredericksburg, VA,” 2018.
(1) “History and Culture,” Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park, NPS, last updated December 28, 2015, accessed April 2, 2018. https://www.nps.gov/frsp/learn/historyculture/index.htm
(2) “George Washington at Chatham,” Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park, NPS. Last updated July 24, 2015, accessed April 2, 2018. https://www.nps.gov/frsp/learn/historyculture/gwchat.htm
(3) “Thomas Jefferson,” Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park, NPS. Last updated July 19, 2015, accessed 2 April 2018. https://www.nps.gov/frsp/learn/historyculture/jeff.htm
(4) Maureen Lavelle, “Ellen Mitchell,” Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park, NPS. Last updated July 16, 2016, accessed 2 April 2018. https://www.nps.gov/frsp/learn/historyculture/ellen-mitchell.htm