Battle of Fredericksburg • Tour the Battlefield • Monuments & Markers • Armies
The ‘Dead Horse Hill’ and “Jackson Holds Prospect Hill” wayside markers are at Stop Six of the Fredericksburg Battlefield Auto Tour. (see map below) The markers overlook the tracks of the former Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad, which was here at the time of the battle. But traffic stopped about 0.2 miles to the southeast at Hamilton Crossing as the tracks here were within range of Federal artillery.
The “Dead Horse Hill” (left) and “Jackson Holds Prospect Hill (right), with the railroad in the distance
Dead Horse Hill wayside marker
Text from the marker:
Dead Horse Hill
The crescent-shaped earthworks in front of you protected the 14 guns of Lieutenant Colonel Reuben Lindsey Walker’s artillery battalion, which held this position on December 13, 1862. Prior to the assault of Union infantry, artillery blanketed this hilltop with a savage fire. So many artillery horses perished in the bombardment that local residents nicknamed this ridge “Dead Horse Hill.”
During the bombardment, battery commander Captain Willie Pegram struggled to keep his men to their work. Several abandoned their guns and fled to the woods behind you. To inspire them, Pegram wrapped himself in a Confederate flag and walked calmly among the deserted cannon. “It was a time to test a man’s courage,” wrote one solider “…Pegram’s men soon returned.”
“The trees around our guns were literally torn to pieces and the ground plowed up. I have been several times covered with dirt, and had it knocked in my eyes and mouth.”
A Confederate artilleryman
From the upper right of the photo:
Your feet can do damage. Please help preserve the earthworks by not walking on them.
Jackson Holds Prospect Hill wayside marker
Text from the marker:
Jackson Holds Prospect Hill
You are standing on the right of the Confederate army, held by Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson’s corps on December 13, 1862. His 35,000 troops spread along a mile front – some in the woods, some in fields, some on ridgetops, some in swampy bottoms. In front lay the Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad. Some of Jackson’s troops used the railroad embankment as a ready-made earthwork.
As dawn broke on December 13, fog obscured the Union army maneuvering on the plain beyond the railroad, concealing the fact that Jackson would be the target of the first major Union attacks that day. When at midmorning the fog rose, a staff officer remarked gloomily on the strength of the Union army forming on the plain. Jackson responded tartly: “Major, my men have sometimes failed to take a position, but to defend one, never! I am glad the Yankees are coming.”
I could see fully half the whole Yankee army, reserves and all. It was a grand sight seeing them come in position this morning; but it seemed that the host would eat us up…
A Confederate artilleryman
From the caption to the background drawing:
Jackson’s men await battle along the railroad in front of you. While some of them used the railroad embankment for cover, others concealed themselves in Prospect Hill’s heavy woods, behind you.
Location of the markers
The markers are at the end of the footpath that climbs out of the north side of the parking area to the overlook. (38°14’53.9″N 77°26’07.5″W)