March 2010

REEL ART

The Angel of Marye's Heights - the Story of Richard Kirkland

His documentary film, The Angel of Marye's Heights, may be his most ambitious project yet.  Aubrecht, who helped write and co-produced the film, said, “It is the good stories, the ones that reflect life (not death), the ones founded on courage and mercy that demand our interest. This is the side of war that truly needs to be commemorated as it reminds us all what it means to be human.”

There is a good story here -- the story of Sergeant Richard Rowland Kirkland, otherwise known as "The Angel of Marye's Heights."  Described as “Perhaps the most compassionate and heroic character of the entire Civil War,” this Confederate soldier has become one of the most touching and inspirational people ever to come out of the Civil War.

By Winter 1862, Gen. Robert E. Lee's forces had claimed one of the biggest and most "one-sided" southern victories -- the Battle of Fredericksburg.  The most impenetrable of Confederate positions was a long stone wall at the base of sloping Marye's Heights.  An attack on this stronghold would be suicidal.  Union soldiers would first ford a canal ditch and cross a vast open field with little or no cover. They would dodge a massive artillery barrage, and unceasing rifle fire from advancing men. Those who escaped cannon fire would spin their legs on the slope to the Sunken Wall, behind which well-armed soldiers knelt to do battle.

In just one hour, more than 3,000 Union soldiers would die. After 15 charges, fighting would cease for the night as thousands of wounded lay helpless among thousands of dead. Kirkland, a combat veteran of Manassas and other battles, grabbed canteens and leaped over the wall to several rifle shots. Then silence… Realizing his intent, Union sharpshooters stood down as the sergeant went back and forth over the wall for an hour and a half until he had done all he could do.  In the end, Kirkland’s action stopped the entire war and spread a message of compassion.

The cast includes three strong local connections, in addition to Aubrecht: Megan Hicks, whose neighborhood was once battlefield, travels nationally and internationally, giving “lessons of history a human heartbeat.”  Her one-woman show, What Was So Civil About that War? recounts the battle of Kirkland's compassion. Her independently-produced recording was awarded a Parent's Choice medal as a finalist for the 2005 Audie Awards, audio book publishing’s highest honor.  Megan, a former columnist for Front Porch Magazine, maintains a studio at LibertyTown.

John Cummings moved to Spotsylvania in 1999 and has since authored numerous articles for local and national publications. John currently serves as Chairman of the Friends of F’burg Area Battlefields, Director of the Spotsylvania Battlefield Education Association, and is a former Chair of the Spotsylvania Courthouse Tourism & Special Events Commission. He served as a historical consultant for the Federal Hill Foundation.

Donald C. Pfanz, a staff historian at Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park, has written two books to date: Abraham Lincoln at City Point and Richard S. Ewell: A Soldier's Life. He has appeared in multiple Civil War documentaries for the History Channel.

Like Michael Aubrecht, we await the upcoming release of this film!