Trail to FreedomIn 1862, the Union Army occupied Fredericksburg, VA. Throughout the region, the enslaved saw the arrival of the Federal forces as an opportunity for freedom. By mid-September 1862, at least 10,000 freedom-seekers passed through the area, traveling thousands of miles by foot, wagon and rail, months prior to the Emancipation Proclamation on their way to Washington, DC and beyond. Trail to Freedom retraces the routes of these freedom-seekers.