Don't Let Your Historic Sites Disappear!

Redoubt #3 Monument Dedication

The FSCWS welcomed in the New Year in a big way on 7 January 2006 by unveiling an impressive granite monument to commemorate the destroyed Redoubt #3 and the soldiers who served at the site during the winter of 1862 - 1863. The monument is located in the SYG Associates subdivision off Brook Road, recently re-named Sentinel Ridge (to commemorate the area's history). The dedication was attended by nearly 100 people (says about 60 in the article, but we counted), including FSCWS Members, County Supervisors, Planning Commission Members, two historical societies and the National Park Service. The monument was donated by Mr. Jimmy Ghadban of SYG Associates Inc. and accepted for Stafford County by Mr. Robert Gibbons newly elected Chairman of the Stafford County Board of Supervisors.

Please see the link to the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star article and photos of the event taken by Matthew G. Schmidt on our website (fscws.org) or refer to the 9 January Free Lance-Star. Members also please note that while this monument and the 12^th Corps encampment preservation easement while very generous (and hopefully precedent setting) by Mr. Ghadban and SYG Associates Inc., simply would not have been possible without you. Your donations, the assistance of several members in mapping and verifying occupancy of the 12^th Corps site, the drafting of sign historical sign language, and even just memberships alone all contributed to our success.

As regards the donations many of you have made, I'd previously not felt comfortable in revealing the value of preservation received to date. However, since Mr. Ghadban revealed to the Star that they spent between 180-200 thousand dollars to date, you should know that your financial support has generated a return in excess of $450 for each dollar contributed. And, we still have about $300 to support our next report. Your contributions have gone to printing costs, associated with publication of the 12^th Corps site report, supplies to support that mapping, and about $30 on boxes to present the 12^th Corps campsite finds to SYG who in turn will present them to the County.

D.P. Newton and I both feel this first year has indeed been rewarding, but that said much remains to be done. Our project to identify (grid coordinates, land ownership, photos, etc.) remaining significant CW structures in Stafford is continuing. We are currently tracking over 20 significant fortifications, entrenchments, or battery/gun positions. If you know of any such fortification, we need those grid coordinates, photos, and information on land ownership now. That report once finalized will not be publicly available but provided to County Planners and others as necessary to hopefully link that data to the sites, and more importantly to property records in the County Court House. More on that to follow in the next update. We also are working now with another developer who is very interested in marking, and perhaps preserving part of another Civil War camp. The text of the Redoubt #3 Monument is attached for your information. Again thanks to all. Hope you all have a happy, safe and rewarding New Year.

Sincerely,

Glenn A. Trimmer

Text of Redoubt # 3 Monument:

Established on this spot in February of 1863, by New York troops of the 12^th Corps, 2^nd Division, Army of the Potomac, Redoubt #3 was manned by up to 100 soldiers and supported by 4 rifled artillery pieces. It guarded the approaches to the Union Supply Depot at nearby Aquia Landing and the 12^th Corps camps on the hills to the East during the winter of 1862 - 1863. Redoubt #3 was a square enclosure approximately 70' long and 12' high.

Erected by SYG Associates, Inc. 2005

Redoubt #3 Monument

Monument Photo by Matthew G. Schmidt

Updated: Sun 14 Jan, 2007