FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINIA—A report by The Free Lance-Star states that archaeologists working ahead of the construction of a park near the Rappahannock River uncovered traces of a Civil War–era trench. All that remains of the trench is a brown stain containing pieces of oyster shells, porcelain, and other artifacts. “It could have been a rear line of fortifications behind the main line of defenses,” commented field director Joe Blondino. Eric Mink, cultural resources manager for the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, said that no maps of trenches in the area are known to have been made, but they were photographed from the opposite bank of the river. The excavation of the site has also unearthed the remains of a house where two mayors of Fredericksburg lived, its outbuildings, and a possible slave quarters; a vial of mercury tincture; buttons from Civil War uniforms, including some marked with the logo of the 14th Regiment, Connecticut Volunteer Infantry; and human bone fragments thought to be the remains of Union soldiers. Historical records indicate that the mayors’ house served as a hospital during the Battle of Fredericksburg in 1862. For more on archaeology relating to the Civil War, go to “Letter from Virginia: Free Before Emancipation.”
