Sculpted by Gary Casteel
 
1863 Signed and Numbered Limited Edition Monument Replicas
 
On December 13, 1862, as Union troops deployed on the plain south of Fredericksburg, Major John Pelham, commanding General J.E.B. Stuart’s artillery and reduced to one cannon, executed a stunning flank attack on advancing Union troops during the Battle of Fredericksburg.  The 24-year-old Pelham, who had already proven himself on more than half a dozen battlefields in Maryland and Virginia, halted Union troops for almost two hours by employing the flying artillery tactics that he had perfected. 
 
Pelham had a good reputation among his subordinates and superiors, but it was his actions at the Battle of Fredericksburg that boosted him to celebrity status.  As chief of J.E.B. Stuart's artillery, Pelham in command of only two guns, went in front of the Confederate line at Prospect Hill.  Using the cover of fog and low country, Pelham positioned his guns on the left flank of the US Army of the Potomac.  At 10am he opened fire on the line and continued firing into Federal ranks for an hour.  One of the guns was quickly taken out of service, leaving Pelham and his men with just one gun.  He skillfully maneuvered this gun to avoid returning fire from Federal artillery, and successfully delayed the Federal infantry attack on Prospect Hill. Confederates looking down at the action from the heights watched in awe and praised the efforts of the young artilleryman.  General Robert E. Lee called him, “the gallant Pelham” and the moniker stuck. (Taken from nps.gov) 
 
Observing from a nearby hilltop, General Robert E. Lee exclaimed, “It is glorious to see such courage in one so young!”  The Alabamian was fatally wounded three months later at Kelly’s Ford on the upper Rappahannock River.
 
The marker was dedicated in 1903, and is located on the corner of Tidewater Trail and Benchmark Drive.