Shoespiration – Nine West Gilficco Strappy Sandals

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When I began my blog journey some years ago, our go-to destination for photo shoots was Richmond, VA.  Richmond is steeped in Civil War history and remnants of the Old South’s charm still feel warm and inviting.  Its allure has captured my heart and it’s the only city that draws me back time and time again.

As frequent visitors to the River City, our photo shoot locations are nearly exhausted.  Though Richmond will never cease being a photo shoot destination, we’ll go back for the sake of history and nostalgia, we wanted a fresh new location.  A place with character and history.  A place like Fredericksburg, VA. 

Fredericksburg, VA has always been on our route to Richmond, but we never paid any attention to it.  Aside from visiting the Stonewall Jackson Shrine (a Civil War must see!), Fredericksburg remained in our peripheral.  Little did we realize it was a hidden gem waiting to be discovered. 

Enlightenment occurred on the Fourth of July when Dad suggested we explore Fredericksburg for my latest photo shoot.  Our interest centered on the Battle of Fredericksburg which was in part the first urban combat since the Revolutionary War and resulted in a Confederate victory.  We headed to the Visitor Center at the battlefield just in time for a tour.

Our tour guide was an awkward intern from Gettysburg College.  He was nice, but slightly inarticulate.  As we walked the sunken road/stone wall which protected Confederate soldiers from their Union aggressors, our tour guide claimed our view of this battle would change when we got to one spot.  We were not sure what he meant by that, but we went along with his storytelling in anticipation of finding out.

He situated us in front of a white house. 

This is the Innis House. It was built in 1861 and sustained a lot of damage from the battle. Bullet holes are still visible inside the house.

According to this tour guide, the Union troops positioned in front of the Innis house could not advance because the house was obstructing their view.  The group of us looked at him and then each other uncertain if he was being serious or facetious.  An uncomfortable silence filled the air as he seemed very proud of this “revelation.”  That was until my dad raised his hand and asked what all of us were thinking: 

“Couldn’t the soldiers have moved to either side of the house to get an unobstructed view?”

I held back my laughter, but some in the group were not so disciplined.  A few snickers here and there before the tour guide quickly gave an unsatisfying response about the heat of battle and so much confusion.  In retrospect, he was the confused one as we continued the tour without ever knowing how our view of the battle was supposed to be changed.

Across from the white house is the stone wall/sunken road along Marye’s Heights. 

Here is a portion of the stone wall. Battle commenced at 11AM on December 13, 1862. Union General Ambrose Burnside intended this battle to be a diversionary attack as the real battle was supposed to happen south of town. However, poor communication muddled the Union strategy causing futile Union deaths.

Dad taking a much needed break at the stone wall. We were laughing about something. In the first wave of attack, the Union lined up 3 brigades. The first brigade courageously marched towards the stone wall and when they could go no further, would lie down. Then, the second brigade would begin their march until they could no more; then lie down. Then, the third brigade did the same, but to no avail as not one solider from that first wave of attack came within 100 yards of the stone wall. 

Dad on the sunken road that’s not so sunken anymore. It is located between the stone wall and Marye’s Heights. During battle it looked more like a ditch. The Confederate soldiers behind the stone wall were stacked 2 to 3 deep loading rifles and passing them forward to the men at the wall. This ensured continuous fire power and kept the Union intruders at bay.

Beyond the stone wall is Marye’s Heights. The NC Infantry and the Washington Artillery of New Orleans controlled this position. This gave the Confederate army two front lines that barraged the Union attackers with continuous fire. However, General Burnside did not give up after the unsuccessful first wave.  He ordered 6 more attacks. All attempts failed causing approximately 8,000 Union casualties!  And no Union solider got within 50 yards of the wall in those 6 charges.  It should be noted, Burnside knew he was losing and the last 3 attacks were suicide missions. He sacrificed these men to protect the rest of his army so that they could quickly retreat.

Confederate General Thomas Cobb commanded a portion of the stone wall.

There were about 1,000 casualties on the Confederate side, mostly to friendly fire. The NC Infantry on Marye’s Heights were not great aimers and unfortunately, many of their shots hit the men situated at the stone wall. General Thomas Cobb was one of the casualties of war.  He was hit by shrapnel in his left leg severing the femoral artery.  As he was carried off the field, he gave his men words of encouragement: “I am only wounded boys, hold your ground like brave men.” He died soon after.  General Robert E. Lee wrote to Cobb’s brother in part: “Of his merits…and above all his true Christian character, I need not speak to you who knew him so intimately and well…May God give consolation to his afflicted family and may the name and fame of that Christian statesman and soldier be cherished as a bright example and holy remembrance.”

We quickly parted ways after the less than stellar tour because we had a photo shoot to make happen.  The sunken road and stone wall seemed like the perfect spot for this heel/outfit combo because the colors of the backdrop complimented this look. 

The heels are Nine West Gilficco strappy sandals and still available here.  There is a lightly cushioned footbed that makes these sandals somewhat comfortable.  However, I can see myself needing sitting breaks to make these heels last all day.  😉   

The stiletto heels are approximately 4 inches making them high, but not too high.  😉  I paired them with a floral skirt and yellow top for a dressier look.    

Unfortunately, the oppressive heat and humidity on Independence Day really wreaked havoc on this shoot.  My hair was a mess and I was sooooo sweaty.  Gross!  Even my limited Photoshop skills could not save the majority of these pictures and Dad took hundreds of them that day.

Eventually, the rain arrived leaving the area a soupy mess.  We ended the less than ideal photo shoot with a walk through the historic district.  On our walk we located a historic slave auction block on the corner of William and Charles Streets. 

It was the “principal auction site in Pre-Civil War days for slaves and property.”  In June of this year, the Council voted 6-1 in favor of moving this piece of history to a museum, but it’s still there as of this post.    

In the coming months, I will be sharing more of Fredericksburg.  There is so much to see here and it is becoming one of our favorite destinations for history and photo shoots.  😊    

Hope y’all are having a great week! 

Style with a Smile!

XoXo,

Lizzy