The History of the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia

by S. J. Quinn

The Wilderness Campaign.

With the opening of the Spring of 1864, was inaugurated the most active and bloody campaign of the war in Virginia. This battle embraces those of Mine Run, the Wilderness, Todd’s Tavern, the Po, the Ny and those around Spotsylvania Courthouse, in which both armies, the Confederate, under General Robert E. Lee, and the Federal, under General Ulysses S. Grant, lost heavily. Many thousands of the wounded Federals were sent in ambulances and wagons to Fredericksburg, where hospitals were established, under the charge of United States surgeons. Every house in the town that was at all available was converted into a hospital. Residences, stores, churches and lodge rooms were all occupied by the wounded and the surgeons were kept busy day and night. As fast as the wounded could be moved they were sent north, and others were brought from the battle-fields. This was kept up from the time the battles commenced, on the 4th of May, until they closed, on the 20th of May, the first batch reaching town with their authorized attendants on the 9th of May.

On Sunday, the 8th, a small body of Federal troops, numbering about sixty, most of them slightly wounded, came into town. They were armed, and the citizens demanded their surrender as prisoners of war. This demand was acceded to and they were delivered over to the Confederate military authorities at the nearest post from which they were sent to Richmond. This action of the citizens was regarded by the Federal authorities as a violation of law, and the arrest of an equal number of citizens was ordered by the Federals, that they might be held as hostages until these Union soldiers were released and returned.

This order caused great consternation in town. No one could foretell the fate of those arrested and the worst for them was feared. Many of the male citizens sought hiding places, but quite a number made no effort to escape or elude the officers, as they did not consider they had done any wrong—certainly no intentional wrong—and they were willing to abide the consequences until an impartial investigation was made, when they believed they would be exonerated from any crime. In the execution of this order, sixty-two citizens were arrested and carried to Washington, ten of whom were there liberated and the remaining fifty-two were sent to Fort Delaware. Afterwards five other citizens were arrested and sent to the same prison.

The families of these citizens were almost frantic at being thus deprived of their protectors, while the town was overrun by Federal soldiers, many of them stragglers, without any one to restrain them, and others brought here from the Wilderness and other battle-fields, wounded and dying, their groans and shrieks filling the air. No one can imagine the distressing scenes enacted in town about this time who did not witness them, or form any conception of the terrible ordeal through which these helpless families passed save those who shared their privations and sufferings.

The town had been the scene of a bombardment unparalleled; two fearful battles had been fought here, with their accompanying destruction of property and consumption of food and family supplies; the town had been in possession of both armies at different times; therefore these families were destitute of food and the comforts of life, and now comes the order for the arrest and imprisonment of those whom God had given them to protect and provide for them. Notwithstanding the intense excitement of the people of the town, and the sufferings and entreaties of the bereaved ones, it was thought prudent to defer public action until further developments, in the hope that the prisoners would be released and allowed to return to their homes.

Having impatiently awaited the release of the prisoners, and their hopes not being realized, on the 31st of May a meeting of the Common Council was called, and upon assembling the Mayor informed the body that the object of the meeting was to take some steps for the relief of those citizens who had been arrested and who were then suffering in prison at Fort Delaware. A paper was submitted by Mr. Wm. A. Little, which was unanimously adopted, looking to their release. As the paper contains the views of the citizens of Fredericksburg, with reference to the arrest of the Federal soldiers, and also the names of the citizens arrested, it is here copied in full, as follows:

Fredericksburg, Va., May 31st, 1864.

To the Honorable James A. Seddon,
Secretary of War of the Confederate States,
Richmond, Virginia.

At a meeting of the Mayor and Common Council of Fredericksburg, Virginia, held this 31st of May, 1864, a committee of two citizens, to wit: Montgomery Slaughter and John F. Scott, were appointed to repair to Richmond and present to you the following statement and application.