Military studies tend to neglect Civil War sites and events along that half of Marye’s Heights situated north of the Orange Plank Road (modern William St. or Rt. 3). During the first battle of Fredericksburg, in December 1862, some Confederate artillerists there directed oblique and enfilade fire against Federals operating south of the Plank Road. During the second battle, in May 1863, Confederate infantry and artillery along the same segment of Marye’s Heights blocked the northern flanking prong–Gibbon’s division–of an early morning advance ordered by Union General John Sedgwick.
For the main ridgeline hosting these and other events north of the plank road, “Marye’s Heights” is a common military designation. The most accurate civilian description, however, divides the Civil War-era ridge into three principal segments, beginning on the plank road and extending to the north: “Byram Hills,” the Smith estate; then “Snowden,” the Stansbury estate; and then “Fall Hill,” the Taylor estate, bounded on the east and north by the Rappahannock River.
What follows throws quick spotlights on the manor houses at Snowden and Fall Hill:
…using a fairly familiar Civil War stereograph–here’s a crop of one of its halves–attributed by the Library of Congress to Timothy O’Sullivan and, I’m guessing, taken sometime between the two battles:
In its background, as shown in the details below, I’ve identified Snowden and Fall Hill, probably for the first time in this particular stereograph. While the two manor houses remain blurry given the magnification currently available, their visual juxtaposition with familiar buildings down in the town emphasizes the commanding nature of the heights at the two properties, and how that elevation aided the Confederates’ artillery enfilade in 1862 and artillery-infantry defense in 1863: