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Park to restore avenue
August 17, 2004 1:08 am
Lane is prime battlefield site Harry Tillman's final drive down Sunken Road reminded him of a childhood fantasy.
"My brother and I always tried to imagine what [the area] would have been like in 1862," said Tillman, 44, who grew up near the Civil War site in Fredericksburg.
They won't have to imagine for much longer.
Located below Marye's Heights, Sunken Road was the focal point of a failed Union attack on Dec. 13, 1862.
Confederate forces, though outnumbered nearly 2 to 1, used the rutted road and the stone wall that runs along it as a protective shield to fight off the assault and send Union troops into retreat. Thousands of soldiers were slain or wounded by rebel riflemen as they approached the wall.
Yesterday, Tillman, with his mother May Jane in the passenger seat, drove along the historic road at 15 mph in his silver Ford Taurus. Then, the barricades went up.
Sunken Road was closed permanently from Lafayette Boulevard to Hanover Street as part of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park's effort to restore the road to its Civil War appearance.
"I remember, as a kid, this was a two-way street," said Tillman, whose family has lived at the corner of Sunken Road and Hanover Street for 45 years. "It was so poorly maintained. It needs to be preserved."
When he was younger, Tillman said the road was littered with bottles and broken glass. It also was lined with more houses, which the National Park Service has bought and removed over the years.
Workers will transform the asphalt road surface and adjacent landscape to look as it did during the Battle of Fredericksburg.
Park Superintendent Russ Smith and Fredericksburg Mayor Tom Tomzak had the first crack at excavating the 18-foot-wide road during the ground-breaking ceremony yesterday morning.
Armed with gold shovels, the pair delved into a crumbled patch of the road and pitched a shovelful of dirt and asphalt to the side, marking the start of the project nearly 30 years in the making.
"It's a great day for the park, and a great day for the city," Smith said.
The project also calls for interpretive walking paths, markers for Civil War-period house sites and the reconstruction of missing pieces of the stone wall.
The restoration will occur in two phases. Phase one includes work on the wall and walking paths. The second phase involves work on the road itself.
Park officials estimate that the entire project will be finished by the beginning of tourist season in the spring.
In addition, the brick wall surrounding the National Cemetery on Marye's Heights will be repaired.
"It's just a matter of trying to replace mortar and brick that's wearing out because of deterioration over time," Smith said.
Rehabilitation of the graveyard's extensive brick wall began in June, but is moving slower than expected because of "rough spots" where renovations have been done in the past, Smith said.
Officials don't know when work on the cemetery wall will be finished, but Smith said money might be a deciding factor.
"The project has a lot of different elements and other pieces cost a little more than we thought they would," he said. "We've had to tighten up a little bit."
August 17, 2004 1:08 am
"My brother and I always tried to imagine what [the area] would have been like in 1862," said Tillman, 44, who grew up near the Civil War site in Fredericksburg.
They won't have to imagine for much longer.
Located below Marye's Heights, Sunken Road was the focal point of a failed Union attack on Dec. 13, 1862.
Confederate forces, though outnumbered nearly 2 to 1, used the rutted road and the stone wall that runs along it as a protective shield to fight off the assault and send Union troops into retreat. Thousands of soldiers were slain or wounded by rebel riflemen as they approached the wall.
Yesterday, Tillman, with his mother May Jane in the passenger seat, drove along the historic road at 15 mph in his silver Ford Taurus. Then, the barricades went up.
Sunken Road was closed permanently from Lafayette Boulevard to Hanover Street as part of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park's effort to restore the road to its Civil War appearance.
"I remember, as a kid, this was a two-way street," said Tillman, whose family has lived at the corner of Sunken Road and Hanover Street for 45 years. "It was so poorly maintained. It needs to be preserved."
When he was younger, Tillman said the road was littered with bottles and broken glass. It also was lined with more houses, which the National Park Service has bought and removed over the years.
Workers will transform the asphalt road surface and adjacent landscape to look as it did during the Battle of Fredericksburg.
Park Superintendent Russ Smith and Fredericksburg Mayor Tom Tomzak had the first crack at excavating the 18-foot-wide road during the ground-breaking ceremony yesterday morning.
Armed with gold shovels, the pair delved into a crumbled patch of the road and pitched a shovelful of dirt and asphalt to the side, marking the start of the project nearly 30 years in the making.
"It's a great day for the park, and a great day for the city," Smith said.
The project also calls for interpretive walking paths, markers for Civil War-period house sites and the reconstruction of missing pieces of the stone wall.
The restoration will occur in two phases. Phase one includes work on the wall and walking paths. The second phase involves work on the road itself.
Park officials estimate that the entire project will be finished by the beginning of tourist season in the spring.
In addition, the brick wall surrounding the National Cemetery on Marye's Heights will be repaired.
"It's just a matter of trying to replace mortar and brick that's wearing out because of deterioration over time," Smith said.
Rehabilitation of the graveyard's extensive brick wall began in June, but is moving slower than expected because of "rough spots" where renovations have been done in the past, Smith said.
Officials don't know when work on the cemetery wall will be finished, but Smith said money might be a deciding factor.
"The project has a lot of different elements and other pieces cost a little more than we thought they would," he said. "We've had to tighten up a little bit."
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