Lee's Command Post
This hill served as General Robert E. Lee's command post during the Battle of Fredericksburg. Before the fighting started, Confederate pioneers cut down trees on the front slope of the hill, giving the Confederate leader a better view of the battlefield than is possible today. To his left, he could see Fredericksburg and Marye's Heights. To his right was the broad plain in front of Prospect Hill and the right end of the Confederate line.
Lee spent much of December 13, 1862, here, watching the fighting with General James Longstreet. When Lee expressed concern about the safety of Longstreet's men in the Sunken Road, his subordinate assured him that his men could repel the attackers, "Give me plenty of ammunition," Longstreet boasted, and "I will kill them all before they reach my line." Not a single Union soldier reached the Sunken Road that day.
It did me good to look upon General Lee and Longstreet during the progress of the battle and observe the complacent, cool and satisfied air yet intense interest which their countenances...manifested."
Sergeant William B. Pettit, Fluvanna Artillery, Confederate staff officer
Marker can be reached from Lee Drive, on the right when traveling south.
Courtesy hmdb.org
