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Fredericksburg
Virginia
is one
of our
nation's
most
historic
cities.
It was
founded
in 1728
and
named
for
Crown
Prince
Frederick,
eldest
son of
King
George
II of
England.
George
Washington
and his
family
made
their
home in
Fredericksburg
during
the
early
years of
our
nation.
There
were
also
four
major
battles
of the
US Civil
War
fought
in and
around
Fredericksburg;
the
Battle
of
Fredericksburg,
Battle
of
Chancellorsville,
Battle
of
Spotsylvania
and
Battle
of The
Wilderness.
Over
110,000
Union
and
Confederate
soldiers
lost
their
lives in
those
four
battles.
One of
the
reasons
that
Fredericksburg
has had
such a
long and
interesting
history
is its
strategic
location
at the
falls of
the
Rappahannock
River.
To the
Indians,
the
falls
were
favorite
fishing
and
hunting
grounds.
To
Virginia's
early
settlers,
the fall
line was
the
colony's
first
frontier.
Just
below
the
falls of
the
Rappahannock
River,
the town
of
Fredericksburg
prospered
as a
frontier
river
port.
The
town's
importance
grew
with
increased
river
traffic.
In 1728,
it
became
an
official
inland
port.
Tobacco
trade
brought
prosperity.
Perhaps
it was
its
proximity
to
George
Washington's
boyhood
home or
maybe it
was its
safe
distance
from the
Colonial
government
in
Williamsburg,
but
Fredericksburg
contributed
heavily
to the
American
cause in
the
Revolutionary
War.
Munitions
were
manufactured
here;
five
generals
left
their
families
here to
fight;
and
Fredericksburg
fortunes
were
devoted
to the
fight.
Thomas
Jefferson
and
others
met in
1777 in
Fredericksburg
to draft
the
Virginia
Statute
of
Religious
Freedom
Today's
Fredericksburg
has
preserved
its
memories
well.
Its
large
downtown
historic
district
is
dotted
with
Colonial
structures
and
reminders
of the
people
who
lived
and
worked
here.
Its
Civil
War past
is
inescapable.
A major
National
Park
interprets
the
battles,
and the
city
still
shows
its
glories
and its
scars.
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