Battle of Fredericksburg • Tour the Battlefield • Monuments & Markers • Armies
The Upper Landing site is along the Rappahannock River a few blocks north of the center of Fredericksburg. (see map and directions below) 
The site is across the river from Chatham Manor, which can be seen in a gap in the trees on the far side of the river between the monument and the marker.This was one of three sites where the Union Army laid pontoon bridges across the Rappahannock River before the battle. Barksdale’s Mississippi infantry contested the crossing, causing casualties among the engineers. The 7th Michigan Infantry volunteered to use the pontoons to make an assault crossing, pushing back Barksdale’s men and seizing a bridgehead that allowed the engineers to complete the bridge. A monument to the 7th Michigan Infantry Regiment and a historical marker are at the crossing site:
Fredericksburg Campaign – December 11
Text from the marker:
Fredericksburg Campaign
December 11, 1862. The peacetime bridges having been destroyed, engineers of Burnside’s Federal Army began laying pontoons across the Rappahannock. Here, overlooking the upper pontoon site, Confederates of Barksdale’s Mississippi Brigade, sheltered in houses and cellars along this street, stopped the work. Bombardment by Federal cannon failed to dislodge the sharpshooters. Finally, the 7th Michigan Regiment, followed by the 19th Massachusetts, crossed the river in boats to establish a bridgehead. The pontoon bridges were completed and the 20th Massachusetts secured the streets. Barksdale’s Mississippians fell back during the night. The next day thousands of Federals poured over two bridges here and others down river, in preparation for the attack against Lee’s main line.
United States Department of the interior National Park Service
Text from the tablet beneath the marker:
This historic site was donated to the United States in 1964 by Miss Mary B. Garnett and Dr. Thomas B. Payne and wife, Virginia Garnett Payne, in memory of Robert Mercer Taliaferro Hunter, distinguished statesman, and Robert Mercer Payne, son of Dr. and Mrs. Payne.
Monument to the 7th Michigan Infantry Regiment
The monument with the Rappahannock River in the background. Chatham Manor can be seen through the trees on the upper right.
Text from the monument:
7th Michigan Volunteer Infantry
“Dark rolled the Rappahannock’s flood,
Michigan, my Michigan;
The tide was crimsoned with thy blood,
Michigan, my Michigan;
Although for us the day was lost,
Yet it shall be our proudest boast,
At Fredericksburg our Seventh crossed,
Michigan, my Michigan.”
In December 1862, Union Gen. Ambrose Burnside ordered pontoon bridges to be thrown across the Rappahannock River. Col. Norman J. Hall, asked for volunteers to flush out Confederate riflemen by crossing the Rappahannock in pontoon boats. The 7th Michigan Volunteer Infantry responded to his call. The men of the Seventh poled and paddled their way across the river. Once ashore, they drove the Confederate riflemen from their concealments.
The battle of Fredericksburg occurred two days later on December 13, 1862.
Dedicated August 31, 2003 Sponsored by the 7th Michigan Volunteer Infantry, Co. B, Inc.
The monument in winter, similar to the crossing conditions.
Location of the Upper Landing Site and the 7th Michigan Infantry monument
The Upper Landing site is a few blocks north of the center of Fredericksburg at the corner of Sophia and Hawke Streets. It is not on the Auto Tour, but is a short side trip from the tour route.
While going from the Visitor Center to Stop 2, Chatham Manor, stay on Sophia Street instead of turning right on William Street to cross the river. Continue four blocks on Sophia. There is no parking area and Sophia has no parking on its northbound lane, so you will probably want to park on a side street. To resume the tour you will need to go one block west, as Sophia is one-way for part of the distance. Return to William Street and turn left (northeast). Once you are on the bridge you are back on the tour route.
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