History Commons^™

The Architecture And Landscape Of Slavery In Fredericksburg, Virginia, Douglas W. Sanford

Northeast Historical Archaeology

The African Americans who endured institutional enslavement played a critical role in the history of Fredericksburg from its 18^th-century founding to its Civil War era turmoil. Only recently have historians, archaeologists, and architectural historians brought scholarly and more public attention to bear on the people who comprised over a third of the city’s population as well as its main labor force. Surprisingly little archaeological work on slave-related sites and structures has occurred. This research relies on a combination of architectural and documentary evidence to visualize slavery’s built environment in Fredericksburg as well as the demographic and cultural parameters …