The Battle

On December 13th, 1862, Federal forces suffered terrible casualties in several futile assaults against Confederate defenders on the heights behind the city of Fredericksburg. This tremendously one-sided victory renewed the southern force’s resolve while stopping the Union Army’s march toward the Confederate capital of Richmond. Although this engagement was tactically insignificant to either side during the Civil War, the actions of Sgt. Richard Kirkland on the morning after the massacre left a lasting legacy and gave birth to the story of "The Angel of Marye's Heights."