By the end of November, Lee was certain Burnside would cross the Rappahannock and launch his assault through Fredericksburg and over the plains just below the city. On the evening of November 29, 1862, General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson arrived at Lee’s headquarters, which were established at Hamilton’s Crossing near Fredericksburg. Jackson, accompanied by a single aide, had been summoned by Lee to help plot a defense against the impending Northern attack.

Amid the silently falling snow of a severe winter storm, Lee and Jackson studied maps of the area and developed a defensive strategy to meet Burnside’s advance. Their decision made, Jackson left to prepare for the battle to come. Two weeks later, Burnside would send his army against the Confederates in a powerful assault. Wave after wave of courageous Northern troops would try mightily - and fail - to capture the heavily fortified Southern position.

The strategy plotted in the snow would again thwart the Northern advance on Richmond, destroy the ambitions of another Federal commander and earn Jackson and Lee even greater reputations for invincibility.