The Army of the Potomac had fought gallantly; it had not lost a single
cannon, all its attacks being made by masses of infantry; it had
experienced neither disorder nor rout. But the defeat was complete,
and its effects were felt throughout the entire country as keenly as
in the ranks of the army. The little confidence that Burnside had been
able to inspire in his soldiers had vanished, and the respect which
everybody entertained for the noble character of the unfortunate
general could not supply its place.--_Comte de Paris, in "History of
the Civil War in America."_
The silent city of military graves at Fredericksburg is a memorial of one
of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. The battle of Antietam had been
regarded a victory by the Federals and a source of hope to the North,
after a wearisome period of inaction and defeats. General George B.
McClellan, in command of the Army of the Potomac, failed to follow up this
advantage and strike fast and hard while the Southern army was shattered
and weak. President Lincoln's impatience was brought to a climax;
McClellan was relieved and succeeded by General Ambrose E. Burnside, who
was looked upon with favor by the President, and who had twice declined
this proffered honor. It was on November 5, 1862, nearly two months after
Antietam, when this order was issued. The Army of the Potomac was in
splendid form and had made plans for a vigorous campaign. On the 9th
Burnside assumed command, and on the following day McClellan took leave of
his beloved troops.
Burnside at once changed the whole plan of campaign, and decided to move
on Fredericksburg, which lay between the Union and Confederate armies. He
organized his army into three grand divisions, under Generals Sumner,
Hooker, and Franklin, commanding the right, center, and left, and moved
his troops from Warrenton to Falmouth. A delay of some two weeks was due
to the failure of arrival of the pontoons. In a council of war held on the
night of December 10th the officers under Burnside expressed themselves
almost unanimously as opposed to the plan of battle, but Burnside
disregarded their views and determined to carry out his original plans
immediately. After some delay and desultory fighting for two days, the
crossing of the army was effected by the morning of December 13th. By this
time General Robert E. Lee, commanding the Confederates, had his army
concentrated and entrenched on the hills surrounding the town. In their
efforts to place their bridges the Federals were seriously hindered by the
firing of the Confederate sharpshooters--"hornets that were stinging the
Army of the Potomac into a frenzy." The Confederate fire continued until
silenced by a heavy bombardment of the city from the Federal guns, when
the crossing of the army into Fredericksburg was completed without further
interference.
The forces of Lee were in battle array about the town. Their line
stretched for five miles along the range of hills which spread in crescent
shape around the lowland where the city lay, surrounding it on all sides
save the east, where the river flowed. The strongest Confederate position
was on the slopes of the lowest hill of the range, Marye's Heights, which
rose in the rear of the town. Along the foot of this hill there was a
stone wall, about four feet in height, bounding the eastern side of the
Telegraph road, which at this point runs north and south, being depressed
a few feet below the surface of the stone wall, thus forming a breastwork
for the Confederate troops. Behind it a strong force was concealed, while
higher up, in several ranks, the main army was massed, stretching along
the line of hills. The right wing, consisting of thirty thousand troops on
an elevation near Hamilton's Crossing of the Fredericksburg and Potomac
Railroad, was commanded by "Stonewall" Jackson. The left, on Marye's
Heights and Marye's Hill, was commanded by the redoubtable Longstreet. The
Southern forces numbered about seventy-eight thousand.
Into the little city below and the adjoining valleys, the Federal troops
had been marching for two days. Franklin's Left Grand Division of forty
thousand was strengthened by two divisions from Hooker's Center Grand
Division, and was ordered to make the first attack on the Confederate
right under Jackson. Sumner's Right Grand Division, also reënforced from
Hooker's forces, was formed for assault against the Confederate's
strongest point at Marye's Hill.
All this magnificent and portentous battle formation had been effected
under cover of a dense fog, and when it lifted on that fateful Saturday
there was revealed a scene of truly military grandeur. Concealed by the
somber curtain of nature the Southern hosts had fixed their batteries and
entrenched themselves most advantageously upon the hills, and the Union
legions, massed in menacing strength below, now lay within easy
cannon-shot of their foe. The Union army totaled one hundred and thirteen
thousand men. After skirmishing and gathering of strength, it was at
length ready for the final spring and the death-grapple.
When the sun's rays broke through the fog during the forenoon of December
13th, Franklin's Grand Division was revealed in full strength in front of
the Confederate right, marching and countermarching in preparation for the
coming conflict. Officers in new, bright uniforms, thousands of bayonets
gleaming in the sunshine, champing steeds, rattling gun-carriages whisking
artillery into proper range of the foe, infantry, cavalry, batteries, with
officers and men, formed a scene of magnificent grandeur which excited the
admiration even of the Confederates. This maneuver has been called the
grandest military scene of the war.
Yet with all this brave show, we have seen that Burnside's subordinate
officers were unanimous in their belief in the rashness of the
undertaking. Enthusiasm was sadly lacking. The English military writer,
Colonel Henderson, has explained why this was so:
And yet that vast array, so formidable of aspect, lacked that moral
force without which physical power, even in its most terrible form, is
but an idle show. Not only were the strength of the Confederate
position, the want of energy of preliminary movements, the insecurity
of their own situation, but too apparent to the intelligence of the
regimental officers and men, but they mistrusted their commander.
Northern writers have recorded that the Army of the Potomac never went
down to battle with less alacrity than on this day at Fredericksburg.
The first advance began at 8:30 in the morning, while the fog was still
dense, upon Jackson's right. Reynolds ordered Meade with a division,
supported by two other divisions under Doubleday and Gibbon, to attack
Jackson at his weakest point, the extreme right of the Confederate lines,
and endeavor to seize one of the opposing heights. The advance was made in
three lines of battle, which were guarded in front and on each flank by
artillery which swept the field in front as the army advanced. The
Confederates were placed to have an enfilading sweep from both flanks
along the entire front line of march. When Reynolds' divisions had
approached within range, Jackson's small arms on the left poured in a
deadly fire, mowing down the brave men in the Union lines in swaths,
leaving broad gaps where men had stood.
This fire was repeated again and again, as the Federals pressed on, only
to be repulsed. Once only was the Confederate line broken, when Meade
carried the crest, capturing flags and prisoners. The ground lost by the
Confederates was soon recovered, and the Federals were forced to retire.
Some of the charges made by the Federals during this engagement were
heroic in the extreme, only equaled by the opposition met from the foe.
In one advance, knapsacks were unslung and bayonets fixed; a brigade
marched across a plowed field, and passed through broken lines of other
brigades, which were retiring to the rear in confusion from the leaden
storm.
The fire became incessant and destructive; many fell, killed or wounded;
the front line slackened its pace, and without orders commenced firing. A
halt seemed imminent, and a halt in the face of the terrific fire to which
the men were exposed meant death; but, urged on by regimental commanders
in person, the charge was renewed, when with a shout they leaped the
ditches, charged across the railroad, and upon the foe, killing many with
the bayonet and capturing several hundred prisoners. But this was only a
temporary gain. In every instance the Federals were shattered and driven
back. Men were lying dead in heaps, the wounded and dying were groaning in
agony. Soldiers were fleeing; officers were galloping to and fro urging
their lines forward, and begging their superior officers for assistance
and reënforcement.
A dispatch to Burnside from Franklin, dated 2:45, was as follows: "My left
has been very badly handled; what hope is there of getting reënforcements
across the river?" Another dispatch, dated 3:45, read: "Our troops have
gained no ground in the last half hour."
In their retreat the fire was almost as destructive as during the assault.
Most of the wounded were brought from the field after this engagement, but
the dead were left where they fell. It was during this engagement that
General George D. Bayard was mortally wounded by a shot which had severed
the sword belt of Captain Gibson, leaving him uninjured. The knapsack of a
soldier who was in a stooping posture was struck by a ball, and a deck of
cards was sent flying twenty feet in the air. Those witnessing the
ludicrous scene called to him, "Oh, deal me a hand!" thus indicating the
spirit of levity among soldiers even amid such surroundings. Another
soldier sitting on the ground suddenly leaped high above the heads of his
comrades as a shell struck the spot, scooping a wheelbarrowful of earth,
but the man was untouched.
Entirely independent of the action in which the Left Grand Division under
Franklin was engaged against the right wing of the Confederate line,
Sumner's Right Grand Division was engaged in a terrific assault upon the
works on Marye's Heights, the stronghold of the Confederate forces. Their
position was almost impregnable, consisting of earthworks, wood, and stone
barricades running along the sunken road near the foot of Marye's Hill.
The Federals were not aware of the sunken road, nor of the force of
twenty-five hundred under General Cobb concealed behind the stone wall,
this wall not being new work as a part of the entrenchments, but of
earlier construction. When the advance up the road was made they were
harassed by shot and shell and rifle-balls at every step, but the men came
dashing into line undismayed by the terrific fire which poured down upon
them.
The Irish Brigade, the second of Hancock's division, under General
Meagher, made a wonderful charge. When they returned from the assault but
two hundred and fifty out of twelve hundred men reported under arms from
the field, and all these were needed to care for their wounded comrades.
The One Hundred and Sixteenth Pennsylvania regiment was new on the field
of battle, but did fearless and heroic service. The approach was
completely commanded by the Confederate guns. Repeatedly the advance was
repulsed by well-directed fire from the batteries.
Once again Sumner's gallant men charged across a railroad cut, running
down one side and up the other, and still again attempted to escape in the
same manner, but each time they were forced to retire precipitately by a
murderous fire from the Confederate batteries. Not only was the
Confederate fire disastrous upon the approach and the successive repulses
by the foe, but it also inflicted great damage upon the masses of the
Federal army in front of Marye's Hill. The Confederates' effective and
successful work on Marye's Hill in this battle was not alone due to the
natural strength of their position, but also to the skill and generalship
of the leaders, and to the gallantry, courage, and well-directed aim of
their cannoneers and infantry.
Six times the heroic Union troops dashed against the invulnerable
position, each time to be repulsed with terrific loss. General Couch, who
had command of the Second Corps, viewing the scene of battle from the
steeple of the court-house with General Howard, says: "The whole plain was
covered with men, prostrate and dropping, the live men running here and
there, and in front closing upon each other, and the wounded coming back.
I had never before seen fighting like that, nothing approaching it in
terrible uproar and destruction."
General Howard reports that Couch exclaimed: "Oh, great God! see how our
men, our poor fellows, are falling!" At half-past one Couch signaled
Burnside: "I am losing. Send two rifle batteries."
The point and method of attack made by Sumner was anticipated by the
Confederates, careful preparation having been made to meet it. The fire
from the Confederate batteries harassed the Union lines, and as they
advanced steadily, heroically, without hurrah or battle-cry, the ranks
were cut to pieces by canister and shell and musket-balls. Heavy artillery
fire was poured into the Union ranks from front, right, and left with
frightful results. Quickly filling up the decimated ranks they approached
the stone wall masking the death-trap where General Cobb lay with a strong
force awaiting the approach. Torrents of lead poured into the bodies of
the defenseless men, slaying, crushing, destroying the proud army of a few
hours before. As though in pity, a cloud of smoke momentarily shut out the
wretched scene but brought no balm to the helpless victims of this awful
carnage. The ground was so thickly strewn with dead bodies as seriously to
impede the movements of a renewed attack. These repeated assaults in such
good order caused some apprehension on the part of General Lee, who said
to Longstreet after the third attack, "General, they are massing very
heavily and will break your line, I am afraid." But the great general's
fears proved groundless.
General Cobb was borne from the field mortally wounded, and Kershaw took
his place in the desperate struggle. The storm of shot and shell which met
the assaults was terrific. Men fell almost in battalions; the dead and
wounded lay in heaps. Late in the day the dead bodies, which had become
frozen from the extreme cold, were stood up in front of the soldiers as a
protection against the awful fire to shield the living, and at night were
set up as dummy sentinels.
The steadiness of the Union troops, and the silent, determined heroism of
the rank and file in these repeated, but hopeless, assaults upon the
Confederate works, were marvelous, and amazed even their officers. The
real greatness in a battle is the fearless courage, the brave and heroic
conduct, of the men under withering fire. It was the enlisted men who were
the glory of the army. It was they, the rank and file, who stood in the
front, closed the gaps, and were mowed down in swaths like grass by cannon
and musket-balls.
After the sixth disastrous attempt to carry the works of the Confederate
left it was night; the Federal army was repulsed and had retired; hope was
abandoned, and it was seen that the day was lost to the Union side. Then
the shattered Army of the Potomac sought to gather the stragglers and care
for the wounded. Fredericksburg, the beautiful Virginia town, was a
pitiable scene in contrast to its appearance a few days before. Ancestral
homes were turned into barracks and hospitals. The charming drives and
stately groves, the wonted pleasure grounds of Colonial dames and Southern
cavaliers, were not filled with grand carriages and gay parties, but with
war horses, soldiers, and military accouterments. Aside from desultory
firing by squads and skirmishers at intervals there was no renewal of the
conflict.
The bloody carnage was over, the plan of Burnside had ended in failure,
and thousands of patriotic and brave men, blindly obedient to their
country's command, were the toll exacted from the Union army. Burnside,
wild with anguish at what he had done, walking the floor of his tent,
exclaimed, "Oh, those men--those men over there," pointing to the
battlefield, "I am thinking of them all the time." In his report of the
battle to Washington, Burnside gave reasons for the issue, and in a manly
way took the responsibility upon himself, and most highly commended his
officers and men. He said, "For the failure in the attack I am
responsible, as the extreme gallantry, courage, and endurance shown by
them [officers and men] were never excelled."
President Lincoln's verdict in regard to this battle is adverse to the
almost unanimous opinion of the historians. In his reply, December 22d, to
General Burnside's report of the battle, he says, "Although you were not
successful, the attempt was not an error, nor the failure other than an
accident." Burnside, at his own request, was relieved of the command of
the Army of the Potomac, however, on January 25, 1863, and was succeeded
by General Hooker. The Union loss in killed, wounded, and missing was
12,653, and the Confederates lost 5,377.
After the battle the wounded lay on the field in their agony exposed to
the freezing cold for forty-eight hours before arrangements were effected
to care for them. Many were burned to death by the long, dead grass
becoming ignited by cannon fire. The scene witnessed by the army of those
screaming, agonizing, dying comrades was dreadful and heart-rending.
Burnside's plan had been to renew the battle, but the overwhelming opinion
of the other officers prevailed. The order was withdrawn and the defeated
Union army slipped away under the cover of darkness on December 15th, and
encamped in safety across the river. The battle of Fredericksburg had
passed into history.
[Illustration: THE SECOND LEADER AGAINST RICHMOND