Fredericksburg in the Commonwealth of Virginia

If Walt Disney had built a town it would have probably looked like Fredericksburg. Sitting next to the Rappahannock River in the State of Virginia and hour south of Washington. The town's motto: America's most historic city.

Fredericksburg  City Hall and Court House

This town was the centre of the American Civil War. Outside the Visitors Centre there is a photograph, taken from the opposite bank of the river that shows the devastation from the Battle of Fredericksburg which was fought between December 11 and15 in 1862. 

The same church spires that characterise the place today are clearly visible in the faded picture. 

I had always thought that this conflict was much older than its two hundred year ago. The fighting ranged over the whole area including the industrial estate, home to the manufacturing plant where I was working during the week of my visit.

I salute the flag from my bedroom window #God Bless America 

Main Street Fredericksburg (actually Charlotte Street) is weather boarded, house to house. 

There is a parade of neatly groomed Georgian street lamps and a filigree of telegraph polls and phone lines. 

Bric-a-brac shops, bars and cafes and galleries, everyone wishes you a nice day.