First Day at Chancellorsville

First Day at Chancellorsville (HM1FRJ)

Location: Fredericksburg, VA 22407
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Country: United States of America
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N 38° 18.066', W 77° 36.781'

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Inscription

Absalom McGee House



They tore up five of our sheets and about 12 dresses and undergarments into strips for bandage. — Harriet McGee



Union Surgeon John Shaw Billings moved his field hospital to the relative safety of Absalom McGee's house, which stood on this rise. McGee's family took shelter in the cellar as Union wounded filled the rest of the house. The medical team tore down McGee's stair rail to better reach the upper rooms, and removed his doors and used them as operating tables.



Before and after the Battle of Chancellorsville, Absalom McGee's Unionist stance was a burden for his family. He regularly hid in the woods and stealthily slipped into his house at night, but Absalom was still imprisoned by Southerners on three occasions. According to his wife, Frances, "The rebels first took Mr. McGee in the night when I had just given birth to a child. They threatened to kill my husband at the time they took him which so excited me that I came very near dying and my child died in consequence."



(captions)

(lower left) Surgeon John Shaw Billings managed the Federal field hospitals here. After the war he assembled the library that would become the National Library of Medicine. Courtesy National Library of Medicine

(right) Zouave soldiers were photographed staging an ambulance drill in Virginia. The scene at Absalom McGee's house on May 1 was not nearly so calm and orderly. — Courtesy Library of Congress
Details
HM NumberHM1FRJ
Series This marker is part of the Virginia Civil War Trails series
Tags
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Placed ByVirginia Civil War Trails, Civil War Trust
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Sunday, September 14th, 2014 at 11:38pm PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)18S E 271506 N 4242454
Decimal Degrees38.30110000, -77.61301667
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 38° 18.066', W 77° 36.781'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds38° 18' 3.96" N, 77° 36' 46.86" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)540
Which side of the road?Marker is on the right when traveling West
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 6371-6385 Plank Rd, Fredericksburg VA 22407, US
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