The Washington times., 1903-11-23
BIG BATTLEFIELD DARK
DOWN IN OLD VIRGINIA
Congress 10 Consider Plan 10 Preserve Historic Region
About Fredericksburg.

Civil war veterans throughout the ma
ton viii be interested in a bill in
troduced in the Senate by Mr. Proctor
Of Vermont to establish a national bat
tlefield memorial park on the site Of
the battle of fredericksburg and other
conflicts I'm that immediate vicinity. It
is planned to appropriate s100.o0O to en-
able the s 5etary of War to obtain
the necessaE-S- land by condemnation and
purchase, to secure the making of the
desired maps ard surveys. and to pay
the expenses OF commission to have
charge of the proposed park.
The plan of a national battlefield park
originated in the desire for preserving
end suitably marking for historical and
professional military study the famous
battlehelds in Spottsylvania county, Va,
known as Fredericksburg, Salem Church.
Charlottesville, the Wilderness, ard
Spottsylvania Court House, all of them
within a radius of eight miles. Upon
the ceding Of Jurisdiction to the United
States by the State of Virginia over the
lands and public highways in that area
and the certihcation of the Attorney
General of the United States that the
title TO the lands is perfect. the follow
ing historic highways in the State Of
Virginia are to become part of the park
and be under the laws of the National
Government instead of Virginia.
Some Famous Battlefelds.
The telegraph road from the National
Cemetery gate along the line of the old
stone wall TO the Sunken Road and the
Sunken Road to the intersection of
Hanover Street and the Old Pike Road;
thence the old Pike Road to it's inter
section with the Plank Road. about one
mile west of Fredericksburg.
The Fredericksburg and Bowling
Green Road from Fredericksburg to op.
nearest point to the field fought over by
General Franklin and Gen. Stonewah
jackson on December 13 1862.
The Plank Road from its junction
with the old Pike Road, about one mile
west of Fredericksburg, running through
the battlefields of Salem Church, Chan
cellorsville. and the wilderness to Park,
er's store, near where Generals Wads-
worth and jenkins were killed and Gen,
eral Lon gstreet was wounded.
Brock Road from the old Turnpike
Road running along the line of the I'm
ion breas>works; thence to Todd's Tav-
err now known as Finchville). on by
the Sedgwick monument, near the
Bloody Angle, through the battlefelds
of the Wilderness. TOdd's Tavern, anc
Spottsylvania Court House. TO Spottsyl-
vania Court House.
The Fredericksburg and Spottsylvania
Court House Road. running by the bat
tseheId on Fan Hill and the Union
breastworks near Spottsylvania Court
House, from Fredericksburg TO Spottsyl-
vania Court House.
All these roads and highways shah
after ne passage of the BILL remain
open as free public highways, and ali
public roads and rights Of way now ex
listing through the grounds of the park
are 10 be continued
To Commemorate Brave Deeds.
Occurrences of vital Importance in the
great struggle of forty years ago viii
be perpetuated by making this land into
a national park. One section to be ac-
quired embraces Marye's Heights, the
Sunken Road the line OF the stone wall,
and the ground over which those gal
liant charges were made, assaulting the
stone wall. by the Union forces under
General Burnside on December Is, 1852
and over which General Sedgwick's
forces charged in assaultlng the same
position held by General Barksdale. on
May 3. 1863 in the city of F'redericks-
burg. The plot consists of twenty-eight
acres.
Other parcels OF land to be occupied
include the point OF woods through
which General Meade's division of Cen
eral F'ranklin's corps charged breaking
through General HIPS line, and where
General Jackson. of the Union army.
and Gen. Maxey Gregg. Of the Con
federate army, We're killed. There are
Isl acres in this section, all in SpottsyI-
vania county.
The place where the battle Of Salem
Church was fought on May g.
1865, by the forces of General Sedgwick
on the Union side and those Of General
McLaws and General Early on the Con-