While the Army of the Potomac lay about Falmouth, awaiting orders to
move, Lee occupied the heights south of the Rappahannock, from Banks's
Ford above, to Port Royal (or Skenker's Neck) below Fredericksburg, a
line some fifteen miles in length as the crow flies. The crests of
the hills on which lay the Army of Northern Virginia were from
three-quarters of a mile to a mile and a half back from, and
substantially parallel to, the river. Rifle-pits commanded every
available crossing, which, being few and difficult, were easily guarded.
Continuous lines of infantry parapets, broken by battery epaulements
located for sweeping the wide approaches from the river, extended the
whole distance; while abattis strengthened every place which the nature
of the ground allowed an attacking column to pass.
The roads by which the various detachments of the army could
intercommunicate for concentration upon any given point were numerous
and well kept up, and were familiar to all commanding and staff
officers.
Lee's forces numbered about sixty thousand men, for duty, distributed
in the following organizations. As the brigades nearly equalled our
divisions in size, they are given by name.
{ Mahone's brigade. }
{ Posey's " }
{ Anderson's { Wilcox's " }
{ division. { Perry's " }
{ { Wright's " }
Part of Longstreet's { } 17,000
1st Corps { { Kershaw's " }
{ McLaws' { Semmes's " }
{ division. { Wofford's " }
{ Barksdale's " }
{ Heth's " }
{ Pender's " }
{ A. P. Hill's { Archer's " } 11,000
{ division. { McGowan's " }
{ { Lane's " }
{ { Thomas's " }
{
{ { Ramseur's " }
{ D. H. Hill's { Rodes's " }
{ division. { Dole's " } 9,000
{ { Iverson's " }
{ { Colquitt's " }
Jackson's 2d Corps. {
{ { Colston's " }
{ Trimble's { Jones's " } 6,000
{ division. { Nichols's " }
{ { Paxton's " }
{
{ { Gordon's " }
{ Early's { Hays's " } 7,400
{ division. { Smith's " }
{ { Hoke's " }
Stuart's Cavalry { Fitz Hugh Lee's brigade . . 1,800
division { W. H. F. Lee's ". . . 900
Artillery, 170 pieces. . . . . . . . 5,000
------
Total. . . . . . . . . 58,100
Hotchkiss and Allan state that there may have been three to five
thousand more men in line at the time of Hooker's attack.
As will be noticed from the table, only part of Longstreet's corps was
present. The main body had been sent, about Feb. 1, under command of its
chief, to operate in the region between Petersburg and Suffolk, where
our forces under Peck were making a demonstration. This detail reduced
Lee's army by nearly one-quarter.