The motto of the commonwealth of VA?????  Virginia is for lovers..................is that like Lovers Leap, CA??????

19th century[edit]

During the 19th century, Fredericksburg sought to maintain its sphere of trade but with limited success. It promoted the development of a canal on the Rappahannock and construction of a turnpike and plank road to bind the interior country to the market town. By 1837, a north-south railroad, which became the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad, linked the town to Richmond, the state capital. A much-needed railroad joining the town to the farming region to the west was not finished until after the Civil War.

Fredericksburg, Virginia, March 1863. View from across the Rappahannock River. To the right is the steeple of the Baptist Church and toward the center is the tower of St. George's Church.

During the Civil War, Fredericksburg gained strategic importance due to its location midway between Washington and Richmond, the opposing capitals of theUnion and the Confederacy. During the Battle of Fredericksburg, December 11–15, 1862, the town sustained significant damage from bombardment and looting by the Union forces. A Second Battle of Fredericksburg was fought in and around the town on May 3, 1863, in connection with the Chancellorsville campaign (April 27, 1863 – May 6, 1863). The battles of the Wilderness and Spotsylvania Court House were fought nearby in May 1864.

20th century[edit]

After the war, Fredericksburg recovered its former position as a center of local trade