Battle of Fredericksburg • Tour the Battlefield • Monuments & Markers • Facts • Armies
The Brompton wayside marker is at Stop One on the Fredericksburg battlefield Auto Tour. Brompton was originally known as Marye House. It was built in 1838 by John Lawrence Marye, who also gave his name to Marye’s Heights. It is now the residence of the President of the University of Mary Washington, and is not open to the public.
Text from the marker:
Brompton
“The pillars of the porch…were speckled with the marks of bullets. Shells and shot had made sad havoc with the walls and the woodwork inside. The windows were shivered, the partitions torn to pieces, and the doors perforated.”
Traveler John T. Trowbridge, September 1865
A home, a headquarters, and a hospital: each of these terms accurately describes “Brompton,” the large brick house one the hill above you. Built around 1824, the building was home to John L. Marye, a prominent lawyer and businessman. During the Battle of Fredericksburg, the 3rd South Carolina Infantry took position in front of Brompton, while Colonel James B. Walton of the Washington Artillery made the building his headquarters.
Seventeen months later, in May 1864, the house became a hospital for Union soldiers wounded in the Overland Campaign. “No available space was left unoccupied,” remembered a Union surgeon. “the poor fellows just arrived had not had their clothes off since they were wounded and were sleeping in blood and filth, and were swarming with vermin. They lay as close as they could be packed.” Today Brompton is owned by the University of Mary Washington.
Text from the caption to the background photo:
The scars of bullets pock the south facade of Brompton in this May 1864 image. The gabled roof visible today was added after the war.
Text from the notice on the upper right:
The house and grounds are not open to the public.
The gate to Brompton (Private residence – not open to the public)
Location of the marker
The marker is on the west side of the Sunken Road about 0.2 mile north of the Visitor Center. It is about 30 yards west of the Kirkland Monument.