Audio
Chatham Audio Walking Tour, #4, Musical Staircase
Transcript
Below you, facing the town of Fredericksburg, are Chatham’s riverfront terraces. Today, visitors from around the world come here to learn about Chatham’s history and enjoy this picturesque view. While the view is peaceful now, it was once a scene of labor and war. At this stop, learn about the outbreak of the Civil War at Chatham. Consider how the war impacted both the Lacy family and the people they enslaved.
Chatham’s terraces are ornamented with staircases, brick walls, statues, and a gravel driveway from the 1920s. This staircase’s iron railing features musical notes to the song “Home, Sweet Home .” The terraces themselves predate the 1920s additions by more than one hundred years. During William Fitzhugh’s ownership of Chatham, enslaved laborers built a terraced yard here along the riverfront. After their completion, enslaved people cultivated a garden on the terraces, which consisted of ornamental trees, fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers. Some of these ornamental trees are still present today.
The terraces below you served as a display of opulence, achieved through the brutality of slavery. When the Civil War began in 1861, the status quo at Chatham Plantation changed in an instant. This space eventually became a launching point for enslaved people seeking their freedom and a burial ground for hundreds of soldiers fighting for change. In a matter of four years, both the physical and social landscape at Chatham changed forever.
At the war’s beginning, Horace Lacy enlisted in the Confederate Army, serving as an aide to a Confederate general . Shortly after her husband’s departure, Betty Lacy packed up her belongings and children. For the remainder of the war, Betty moved between family homes. The Lacys moved a portion of the enslaved population with them, and left Chatham and the remaining enslaved people under the care of an overseer. With the Lacys absent, the remaining enslaved people at Chatham waited for an opportunity to seek their freedom. That opportunity came in 1862 when the U.S. Army arrived in Fredericksburg.
In April 1862, roughly 30,000 U.S. soldiers, commanded by General Irvin McDowell, moved into Fredericksburg. While in Fredericksburg, General McDowell used Chatham as his headquarters. From here, he directed his soldiers and met with important leaders such as President Abraham Lincoln, who dined here with McDowell in May 1862. When General McDowell set up his headquarters at Chatham, many enslaved people in and around the town of Fredericksburg realized that the Rappahannock River was their only barrier to freedom. Roughly 10,000 enslaved people fled to U.S. lines during the summer occupation of Fredericksburg.
Think about the obstacles that enslaved people faced once they left Fredericksburg. In 1862, wartime emancipation did not equate to the permanent abolition of slavery, nor access to citizenship and civil rights. For the thousands of enslaved people that left Fredericksburg in 1862, many spent the rest of the war in refugee camps, waiting to see whether the war’s end would make their newly gained freedom permanent. In September, the United States took a major step to transform the war from a fight for reunion into a fight for freedom. President Lincoln released a preliminary version of the Emancipation Proclamation, which announced that all enslaved people living in Confederate-controlled areas would be declared “forever free” on January 1, 1863. As you walk to the next stop of the tour, think about the impact that this news would have on the country. If 10,000 enslaved people sought their freedom after the arrival of the U.S. Army, how many more would do the same after learning about Lincoln’s plans for New Years Day? In early September, the U.S. Army left Fredericksburg, destroying the bridges over the river as they departed. The town’s remaining civilian population, both enslaved and free, awaited what was to come.
The next stop on the tour is the lower terrace. Continue straight down the two sets of staircases in front of you. Stop beside the pontoon bridge display.
Description
Due to its proximity to major transportation networks, Fredericksburg became a major center of action during the Civil War. At this stop, learn about how Chatham’s inhabitants responded to the outbreak of war. What happened when the U.S. Army arrived in Fredericksburg?
Credit
NPS
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