history’s stories
Gov. Robert Brooke History in Our Backyard By Sarah Kay Bierle Willis Hill:Preservation Story One of the legendary quotes from the Battle of Fredericksburg which was fought on December 11-13, 1862, is related to the description of Confederate's artillery crossfire from Marye's Heights. Reportedly, Colonel Edward Porter Alexander remarked to other Confederate officers, "A chicken could not live on that field." Later, after the war, Alexander doubted if he had said the attributed quote, but his artillery position became one of the hallmarks of the battle.
Robert Brooke from Fredericksburg was elected as the 10th Governor of Virginia in 1794. The Brooke family was incredibly involved in the forming of the new nation especially the state of Virginia and the local areas especially Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania. Robert was the second son born to Richard and Anna Taliaferro Brooke in 1751 at Smithfield, which is the location of the Fredericksburg Country Club. Robert along with his twin brothers Lawrence and Francis were in the Revolutionary war. After the War, Lawrence was a physician and his brother a judge. Robert along with Bushrod Washington would begin their careers in Fredericksburg and the local counties practicing law. Bushrod Washington later would go on to become a Supreme Court Justice In 1791 the voters in Spotsylvania County elected Robert as a Delegate to the Virginia House of Delegates. In 1794 Robert Brooke replaced Governor Light Horse Harry Lee
who resigned to command troops in the Whiskey Rebellion. Governor Brooke while in office built a home in Fredericksburg called "Federal Hill", 504 Hanover Street in 1795. One interesting fact about Brooke is that the County of Brooke was named after him in 1796. When West Virginia was created as a state in 1863, Brooke County became a part of West Virginia.
Brooke a member of Fredericksburg Masonic Lodge #4 became Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Virginia in November 1795, an honor that he considered one of his greatest accomplishments. He was succeeded by another Fredericksburg Masonic Lodge #4 member Benjamin Day in 1797. Robert Brooke died in Fredericksburg while still Virginia Attorney General on February 27, 1800, at the age of 49. His home "Federal Hill" is a private residence today that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Robert Brooke the tenth Governor of Virginia, Virginia Attorney General and Former Grand Master of Virginia Masons is buried in the Fredericksburg Masonic Cemetery. Fredericksburg has been the home of many important people in the history of the United States.
Tuffy is Front Porch’s Resident Historian August 2021
Poised on a series of hills often referred to generally as Marye's Heights, Alexander created a series of protective earthworks and rolled batteries of Confederate cannon into position in the weeks leading up to the battle. General Robert E. Lee chided him for placing the guns too close to the brow of the hills, but time eventually proved that Alexander had observed the ground correctly. Though he later admitted he did not expect serious attacks toward Marye's Heights, Alexander watched the skirmishing and
In 1796, Robert was elected to replace attorney-general James Innes. Bushrod Washington who was also a Fredericksburg resident had also sought the position, he and Brooke continued to remain friends for many years.
DEDICATED TO: Barbara Snyder, Earnest Taylor, and Brad Bowie
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Willis Hill
By Ralph “Tuffy” Hicks
Front porch fredericksburg
Edward Porter Alexander placed cannons on Marye's Heights during the Battle of Fredericksburg. bombardment of the town of Fredericksburg, followed by Union infantry charges toward the high ground and his cannons. Alexander later remembered the scene by eleven in the morning of December 13: "Evidently more than half of Burnside's whole army was preparing to assault us, & the assault too was not going to be where I had imagined it would be-up along the river bank-but it was going to come right out from the town, & strike where we were strongest…. From that moment I felt the elation of a certain & easy victory." With cannon on the high ground and infantry firing from the protection of
Cannons on Willis Hill (Marye's Heights) the sunken road and stone wall, the Confederates repulsed 15 separate attacks toward Marye's Heights. For Union soldiers, that high ground still loomed uncaptured at the end of the day while fallen in blue carpeted the open fields. About four and half months later, Union troops would set foot on Marye's Heights-briefly capturing it during the Second Battle of Fredericksburg in May 1863. But in December 1862, Alexander's artillery and the defending infantry held the high ground position. In 1996, recognizing the importance of Willis Hill which is part of the high ground of Marye's Heights overlooking the Sunken Road, a group of local Fredericksburg citizens formed Central Virginia Battlefields Trust and assisted with the purchase of that site for preservation. The 9.5 acres were just the first of nearly 1,400 that Central Virginia Battlefields Trust has preserved in the last 25 years, creating historic greenspace and saving places where history happened. Today, Willis Hill is part of Fredericksburg National Park and a walking trail leads to historic interpretation signs at the top of the high ground. This October Central Virginia Battlefields Trust will host a conference and anniversary celebration, including a special tour at Willis Hill and Marye's Heights to explore the more in-depth history and share the story of battlefield preservation. For more information about this event, please visit: www.cvbt.org/cvbtannual-conference Sarah Kay Bierle serves on staff at Central Virginia Battlefields Trust. When not at work preserving historical sites, she is often exploring archives or hiking. www.cvbt.org CVBT seeks to preserve battlefield land to protect the memory, meaning, sacrifices, and stories of the Civil War soldiers who fought and fell here. visit: www.cvbt.org
