Chatham Plantation - William Fitzhugh Home in Fredericksburg, Virginia
This Georgian-style mansion sits on a bluff overlooking the Rappahannock River and is best known for the role it played during the Civil War. The home served as a Union headquarters at various times throughout the war, particularly during the Battle of Fredericksburg in December 1862. The history of this magnificent home, its outbuildings, gardens and surrounding landscape, offer a unique understanding and appreciation of Virginia heritage.
The original land encompassing the Chatham estate, some 1,288 acres, became one of the most well-known plantations in the Old Dominion. William Fitzhugh, a fourth generation American, purchased the land and was responsible for the construction of the large brick home, begun in 1768, completed by 1771, and named after William Pitt, the Earl of Chatham. In the years prior to the American Revolution, Fitzhugh developed the estate into a working plantation based on slave labor.
During the American Civil War, Chatham was referred to as the Lacy House. Its wartime owner J. Horace Lacy was a prominent businessman, civic leader and farmer. When war erupted in 1861, the lives of the Lacy family and their house were changed forever. Mrs. Lacy and their five children left Chatham to reside with various friends and relatives in other parts of Virginia away from anticipated battles, while J. Horace Lacy offered his services to the new Confederate army.
In the spring of 1862, the Union armies began the Peninsula Campaign, an effort to take the Confederate capital of Richmond. Part of the Union forces was sent to Fredericksburg to guard the path to Washington. During that period, Union General Irvin McDowell used Chatham as his headquarters, where he carefully protected the plantation’s resources. In early May President Abraham Lincoln and Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton visited this Union headquarters to confer with McDowell on strategy and inspect the now occupied town. As time went on and a parade of officers and men passed through Chatham’s halls, respect for the house and the property disappeared.
In the weeks prior to the Battle of Fredericksburg (December 11-13, 1862), Chatham once again became a Union headquarters. When Union troops crossed the Rappahannock, encountering Confederate troops in the town of Fredericksburg, General Ambrose E. Burnside, the army’s commander, noted Chatham’s unparalleled view of the town. Chatham’s location would thus make it a prime center from which to view the fighting and Union artillery positions.
On December 13, when Union attacks on Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s forces at Marye’s Heights failed, Union soldiers perished by the thousands. The wounded poured back across the icy Rappahannock to receive medical attention in tents and buildings. Chatham served as one of many hospitals where overworked surgeons and volunteers attended the endless stream of injured. Clara Barton, who later founded the American Red Cross, organized a routine for treatment of the wounded at Chatham. And Walt Whitman, who came to Chatham in search of his wounded brother, decided to remain to help those soldiers seriously injured during the battle.
During the spring of 1863, Chatham was used again briefly as a command post. The Union army unsuccessfully tried to break through Confederate defenses at Chancellorsville to the west of Fredericksburg. By the time the war ended in 1865, the town was a shambles and Chatham stood quiet and desolate as the armies moved north.
Lacy led his family back to their familiar home only to find it uninhabitable. Like many Southern plantation owners, Lacy lost his financial resources and his source of labor. It took years to refurbish the Chatham estate and regain productivity of the land. Continued financial difficulties convinced the Lacy’s to sell Chatham in 1872. They moved to another family farm known as Ellwood, 16 miles west of Fredericksburg. There they continued to live and farm into the early 20th century.
Industrialist John Lee Pratt became Chatham’s last private owner in 1931. Upon his death in 1975, Pratt’s will provided that Chatham be preserved for the enjoyment of this and future generations under the stewardship of the National Park Service. Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park began renovation of the buildings in 1976 and opened Chatham to the public on October 15, 1977. Today it contains exhibits about its history and the role Chatham played in the Civil War. Five of the ten rooms in the 12,000-square-foot mansion are open to the public.
