Northern Virginia has a lot of historic parks and areas from the Civil War, Fredericksburg, Virginia, is no exception. Marye's Heights is around The Sunken Road (also called Court House Road) and was the location of two major battles.
StoneSentinels.com explains "Marye’s Heights is at Stop One of the Fredericksburg Battlefield Auto Tour. The heights are a ridge of hills -Taylor’s Hill, Stansbury Hill, Marye’s Hill, and Willis Hill – that parallel the river, rising some 40 to 50 feet above the plain. The result is a wall that when properly manned effectively sealed off any advance from Fredericksburg. A sunken road and a stone wall at the foot of Marye’s Hill and Willis Hill made the position almost impregnable, and a deathtrap to Union troops."
The website provides a useful map of the area.
Willis Hill, and the cemetery, are named after the Willis family, but who are they?
The National Park Service explains, "The historic ground of Willis Hill is among the contested soil on any of the Fredericksburg area battlefields. Many soldiers bled and died on this hill which together with Marye's Hill to the north formed what the soldiers called Marye's Heights.
Henry Willis: The Father of Fredericksburg
Col. Henry “Harry” Willis Sr.,
posted by Susan Minor Snoots on Findagrave
The Willis family established the town of Fredericksburg, Virginia. The area was also well known to George Washington, as his aunt, Mildred Washington Gregory married Henry Lewis. He owned the Willis Grounds, and together they had a son, Lewis. Who while two years older than George, was his constant companion.
Ironically, Willis Hill is the larger and more important of these two hills that could have been appropriately named Willis Heights. Willis Hill was first settled by Colonel Henry Willis. Willis, a member of the House of Burgesses, helped establish the city of Fredericksburg when the Colonial Act of 1728 appointed him a trustee of the city. Henry Willis is sometimes referred to as the Father of Fredericksburg.
His son, Lewis Willis (and also the son of George Washington's aunt) grew up on Willis Hill and often entertained Washington there. Lewis Willis shared Washington's politics and served as a lieutenant colonel of the 10th Virginia Regiment in the Revolutionary War.
The Willis house burned in 1825 under the ownership of Byrd C. Willis, who promptly sold the property and moved to Florida. John S. Wellford purchased the property, passing it to John W. Mitchell by 1856, who in turn, sold it to Douglas H. Gordon in 1860. By this time, the new house had expanded several times to suit growing families until "it seemed a group of continuous house" sprawled across the crest of Willis Hill. In addition to the growing living quarters, a private family cemetery also burgeoned on the heights.
Today, the cemetery contains thirty-five stones with the earliest dating from 1756. Sometimes, Civil War chroniclers referred to Willis Hill as Cemetery Hill."
Churchsps.org also has a family tree located here.
Timeline of Ownership
Using work from the following authors and historians, I attempted to put together a timeline of what appears to be the passing of ownership of the Willis lands. This information was gathered via writing from Noel G. Harrison, John Hennessy, Eric Mink, National Park Service, Beth Parnicza, Byrd Charles Willis, and Richard Henry Willis
1640 – Col. Francis Willis and his wife Jane migrated from England to York County, Virginia.
1642 – Col. Francis Willis possessed a land deed.1689 – Francis Willis leaves the land to his nephew, Francis Willis.
1718 – 1726 – Col. Henry ‘Harry’ Willis, a member of the House of Burgesses, helped form the city of Fredericksburg, Virginia.
1726 – Col. Henry ‘Harry’ Willis founded the Willis House. Harry married three times, one of his wives being Mildred Washington, the aunt of George Washington. Harry and Mildred had a son, Lewis, and it was common for George and Lewis to be seen on the grounds together.
1825 – The land was owned by Byrd C. Willis, who after the home burned down, sold it to John S. Wellford.1856 – John Wellford passes away and passes the land onto John W. Mitchell.
1860 – The house was sold to Douglas H. Gordon, who owned the territory through the Civil War.
1862 – As the city was evacuated Douglas, his wife Anne, and their three children left their homes to seek refuge elsewhere.
1868 – Douglas H. Gordon sold the United States twelve acres of Willis Hill for the creation of the National Cemetery.
1877 – Douglas Gordon sold the land to Helen B. Lane and her husband John Lane.1882 – Land moved to Colonel Charles Richardson
1897 – Property auctioned to pay for debt of repairs to it. Changed hands several times.
1948 – Owner W.C. Spratt moved the property to the Congregation of the Daughters of Wisdom, Inc. who held the property until passing it to the National Park Service. The cemetery itself is still privately owned by the descendants of Wellford, who work along with the National Park Service, allowing them access to the cemetery, while the NPS maintains the cemetery.
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