Bricks from the wall surrounding the Confederate Cemetery were removed by city employees after the wall fell. Some of the bricks date to the Civil War's Battle of Fredericksburg in 1862. ram View More Images from this story Visit the Photo Place

Cemetery wall falls in city

Confederate Cemetery wall collapses

By ELIZABETH PEZZULLO

Date published: 10/25/2003

By ELIZABETH PEZZULLO Association vows to rebuild

It's been over a month since Hurricane Isabel pounded the area, but its effects linger.

About 6 a.m. yesterday, an 85-foot section of the Fredericksburg Confederate Cemetery's brick wall collapsed.

Nearby residents reported hearing the wall, which fronts Washington Avenue, crumble.

Workers with the city's Public Works and Parks and Recreation departments closed off the section of sidewalk where the wall fell. They spent most of the day gathering up the historic bricks and moving them to a safe place.

Many of the bricks used to build the wall came from downtown homes battered by Union troops during the 1862 Battle of Fredericksburg.

"It looks awful," said Barbara Crookshanks, president of the Ladies Memorial Association, which owns and maintains the cemetery. "But these things happen."

During last month's hurricane, a large tree leaned onto the wall, knocking loose some bricks. The tree was later removed.

Crookshanks said wind and rain from Isabel also weakened the wall.

"I don't know what we're going to do at this point, but one way or another it will be replaced," she said.

The memorial association bought the land for the cemetery in 1867.

Four significant Civil War battles, resulting in thousands of Confederate dead, were fought in the Fredericksburg area between 1862 and 1864.

Today, 3,353 Southern soldiers are buried in the cemetery.

To reach ELIZABETH PEZZULLO: 540/374-5422 epezzullo@freelancestar.com

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Date published: 10/25/2003