Sculpted by Gary Casteel
 
1863 Signed and Numbered Limited Edition Monument Replicas
 
On the western side of Fredericksburg, atop a hill once known as Telegraph Hill, Confederate General Robert E. Lee made his headquarters in anticipation of the battle of Fredericksburg. Initially, Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia were situated further south. As reports came in that the United States Army was amassing at Fredericksburg, and just waiting there, Lee moved his army into position outside of Fredericksburg.

When General Ambrose E. Burnside and the Army of the Potomac arrived at Chatham, Lee was unsure of the Federals' plan. Where would Burnside cross the Rappahannock: right there at town, further upstream, further downstream? Lee was not prepared to face the larger US Army of 120,000 men because he had divided his forces, sending General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson to the Shenandoah Valley and General James Longstreet to Culpeper.

From this hill, Lee was able to see both ends of his line: the north end above the stone wall and the south end on Prospect Hill. To his left, he could see Fredericksburg and Marye’s Heights. To his right was the broad plain in front of Prospect Hill and the right end of the Confederate line.
His vantage point gave him the opportunity to know how the battle was going and adapt if necessary. (nps.gov)
 
Lee spent much of December 13, 1862, here, watching the fighting with General James Longstreet. When Lee expressed concern about the safety of Longstreet’s men in the Sunken Road, his subordinate assured him that his men could repel the attackers, “Give me plenty of ammunition,” Longstreet boasted, and “I will kill them all before they reach my line.” Not a single Union soldier reached the Sunken Road that day. (Text from the marker.)
 
“It did me good to look upon General Lee and Longstreet during the progress of the battle and observe the complacent, cool and satisfied air yet intense interest which their countenances… manifested.”  Sergeant William B. Pettit, Fluvanna Artillery, Confederate staff officer
 
The grandeur of the struggle stirred Lee, and here he uttered one of his most famous quotes, "It is well that war is so terrible, or we would grow too fond of it."  
 
The monument is one of a series placed around Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County in 1903 by the Reverend James Powers Smith, who had been a lieutenant on the staff of Confederate Lieutenant General Thomas J. Jackson. The monuments were largely paid for by businessman Thomas F. Ryan.
 
The marker was dedicated on July 1, 1888, and is located on Reynolds Avenue, in the Fredericksburg-Spotyslvania Military Park, north of the Railroad Cut.