Beside The Stone Wall

It has been said that of all the towns impacted by the Civil War, none suffered more than Fredericksburg, Virginia, which changed hands ten times during the course of the war, was the scene of two major battles, and was pillaged and sacked without mercy. The once prosperous town was left desolate, and the once wealthy residents were reduced to poverty. Of all those who lived in Fredericksburg, none suffered more than the people of very modest means who lived on the edge of town along the Sunken Road. Their bullet-riddled homes were located right on the battleground of both the Battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. Of all those who lived along the Sunken Road, none suffered more than Lewis Wrenn, who was twice taken as a hostage by Federal troops, through no fault or action of his own. He was sent the first time to the infamous Old Capital Prison in Washington, D.C., and the next time to Fort Delaware Prison, the Andersonville of the North, without ever being charged with a cr