Along the base of Marye's Heights sat a small, unremarkable home. Unlike present day Fredericksburg, the fields beneath the Confederate artillery batteries on the heights held only a few structures which would stand between the waves of advancing Federals and the impregnable impenetrable Confederate line at the hill's base. Subject to the hailstorm of countless deadly minie balls, a glance inside reveals some of the remaining bullet holes in the home caught in the tumultuous crossfire. The realization that the soft lead balls could cause this damage to dried hard wood provides insight into what they could do to unprotected flesh. The men continuously charging the Confederate stronghold which ran along the Telegraph Road on which sat the Innis House, knew all too well the results of bullet meeting bone. And still they did their duty. Still, they moved forward.

The National Park Service has recently completed work designed to restore the area around the Innis House including the structure itself. Visitors can now peer inside and capture a small glimpse of the ravages of war. Some of the damage done 140 years ago still scars the wall of this modest old home. Click on the thumbnail for a close up of bullet holes inside the Innis House.