Back to the First Battle of Fredericksburg

So, the Union army under Burnside has massed on the north side of the Rappahannock River (sans pontoon boats for the bridge), and Lee is massing what troops he has on the south side.  Lee tells all 6,000 residents of Fredericksburg to evacuate immediately (not realizing he has 17 days before the bridge attempt) and to evacuate essentially with just the shirts on their backs.

The Confederates confiscate all animals for military use meaning the people of Fredericksburg must walk out.  Women can be seen carrying a Bible and toothbrush in one hand and a chicken and bag of flour in the other.  Children have maybe only their favorite toy.  It's mid-December, folks, and there's snow on the ground.  How far can these people go on foot in the snow?  How long will they be gone?  What will they come back to?

There are SO many books on the military battles of the Civil War (and all wars!), but how many are written on the trials people get caught up in during war?  Hmmm.  Guess my favorite one that comes to mind is the movie,  "Shenandoah" with Jimmy Stewart.  I know, "Gone With the Wind."  I suppose similar stories abound in Europe after World Wars I and II, but I don't know of them.  And I'm finding the Fredericksburg exodus almost a footnote - nothing about what they did for 2-3 weeks for shelter.  Food had to have been a REAL problem because Lee's army ate everything in its path on their way TO Fredericksburg.

When the families left, the armies moved into the town and made like urban warfare - house to house, alley to alley.  Both sides looted as they moved (just a souvenir here and there), but they also tossed furniture and pianos and artwork out into the streets and set them afire.  (Why?) 

You can see the town behind the Union army now.  That's pretty much fine with Lee.  He's drawn the Union into his trap.  (It's a shame the Sunken Road wasn't next to the river and the town way back.)  So for a couple of days the battle rages, but eventually Burnside's men (what's left of them) are pushed back across the river, and the people are allowed back into town.

It has been completely trashed, torched, bombed out and torn down - courtesy of BOTH armies.  The folks left with nothing and came back to even less.  War may be noble, but it ain't pretty. 

At least the Stone Warehouse is still standing.  It was almost 100 years old when the Civil War came a callin', and here we are 150 years past that, and it's still here.  Remarkable.  (Ever think about that word?  Means "worthy of being, or likely to be, noticed especially as being uncommon or extraordinary."  There's another word to think on:  extraordinary.  Extra-ordinary)  Yup, the Stone Warehouse is remarkably extraordinary!