News Release

October 2023 Repair to Fredericksburg National Cemetery Wall

NPS Photo

News Release Date: September 27, 2023

Contact: John Storke, 540-693-3200 x5010

FREDERICKSBURG, VA — In late October 2023, Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park will begin a project to repair, repoint, and/or rebuild portions of the brick masonry wall surrounding the Fredericksburg National Cemetery.

The existing boundary wall included in the current project totals approximately 1,015 feet long, an exposed surface area of approximately 8,840 square feet. The preservation work will include 45 mortared brick wall panels and associated plinths, cornices, copings, and piers. Some of these panels are built along steep slopes, and others serve as retaining walls. Repairs are expected to last approximately 120 days.

This project is phase 3 of a larger rehabilitation project. Phase 1 included full reconstruction of ten badly deteriorated wall panels, and phase 2 included repair, repointing, and reconstruction of piers and panels. The overall project is designed to preserve as much historic material as possible.

The Fredericksburg National Cemetery was established in 1866 and remained open for military burials until 1945. It holds the remains of 15,243 soldiers, sailors, and Marines, most of whom died during the Civil War. At least 85% of the graves are unidentified, resulting in over 12,770 unknowns.

www.nps.gov/frsp/learn/news

About the park. Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County Battlefields Memorial National Military Park includes the sites of four major battles spanning eighteen crucial months of the Civil War. The battles caused more than 100,000 casualties. The constant presence of armies left Fredericksburg and the surrounding landscape devastated and ended bondage for thousands of enslaved people in the region. Learn more at www.nps.gov/frsp, and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.