From the May 23, 2011, Fredericksburg (Va) Star "Tour sheds light on rarely seen piece of battlefield."
Franklin's Crossing is a forgotten part of Fredericksburg Battlefield. On May 21st, 80 persons braved poison ivy, bug bites and slippery slopes. They might be the first people to visit it since veterans did so in the early 1900s.
This is where the Union Army crossed the Rappahannock River on four different campaigns and the site of pontoon bridges off State Routes 2 and 17 east of Fredericksburg. The bridge landings are between a lumber yard and Stafford County's Washington Square Wal-Mart on the north side. On the south side, Spottsylvania County, the landing is bordered by a sweage plant and the Sylvania Heights subdivision.
The crossing site is named for Union General William Buell Franklin, who graduated at the top of his West Point class of 1843, but who lost his job because of his failure to break through Stonewall Jackson's Confederate troops on the south side.
He crossed the Rappahannock here on December 12, 1862. It was swung into place, anchored and span planked between 7 and 11 AM while six Union soldiers were wounded. This one was in place before the now much more famous middle crossing bridge at the town of Fredericksburg was built, the first U.S. Army bridge ever to be built under enemy fire.
This same crossing was also used in late-April to early May 1863, June 1863 and again May 1865 after Lee surrendered as Union forces were heading for the Grand Review in Washington, D.C.
Lost But Found? --Old Secesh
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