Innis House - Fredericksburg VA
N 38° 17.742 W 077° 28.098
18S E 284147 N 4241506
A small frame home was caught in the line of fire during the Battle of Fredericksburg and bears the scars 150 years later.
Waymark Code: WMC46R
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 07/23/2011
Views: 7
A small clapboard house, built around 1861, in Fredericksburg, Virginia was caught in the crossfire when Union attackers stormed the Confederate defenses at
Marye's Heights in December 1862. It was the home of John Innis, one of Martha Stephens' common-law husbands. Martha, who
lived next door, owned the property.
The Innis (or Ennis) House remained standing, but its exterior and interior were extensively scarred by bullets and shrapnel. Some of the boards were replaced after the war, but holes made by minie balls are still visible on the right side of the house. One of the interior walls was not repaired and is riddled with bullet holes.
The Innis House was occupied until the 1970s when the NPS bought it and restored it to its 1862 appearance.
The Innis House sits along Sunken Road on the Fredericksburg battlefield which served as a natural barrier with its stone wall for the Confederate troops defending Marye's Heights against the attacking Union army. The wall that runs to the left of the house is original. The stone wall that runs to the right has been reconstructed.
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