Fredericksburg, Virginia -
Mysterious Confederate Pyramid

23 feet tall and built of granite stones. It's visible in the distance from a parking lot at the end of Lee Drive, where there's a plaque that reads:

"Usually thought of as a Union monument, the large pyramid in front of you was in fact erected by the Confederate Memorial Literary Society. In 1897, the society contacted Virginia railroad executives asking them to erect markers at historically significant sites along their lines. The president of the Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad embraced the proposal, but rather than simply erecting a sign, he constructed a stone pyramid modeled after the memorial to the unknown Confederate dead buried in Richmond's Hollywood Cemetery."

"The Monument here marks the point where General George G. Meade's Union division penetrated the boggy gap in 'Stonewall' Jackson's lines on December 13, 1862. Over the years it has become known as the Meade Pyramid. The monument is not accessible."

Well, it's accessible if you walk across a big field and then cross the train tracks, but the tracks are heavily used, so crossing them isn't recommended. [Dean Jeffrey, 09/04/2010]

There is a Civil War memorial near Fredericksburg, VA that is a twenty foot high stone pyramid. It was built in the 1890's by a railroad company to commemorate the Confederate victory there in 1862. It is right next to the auto-train tracks. It's far away from where the National Park Service wants you to look at it, across a ditch and the railroad tracks. It might be possible to get closer to it, but I have never tried. I think Amtrak has a fence up and the pyramid is either on Amtrak or private land. [Willie Zaza, 06/14/2001]

[RA: It's known officially as Meade's Pyramid. It stands 23 feet tall, is built of granite, and was erected in 1898 by the Confederate Memorial Literary Society, who originally just wanted a sign. The railroad vetoed that idea, so the Society built a pyramid.]