Next morning the battery made an early start, and at night reached Brook Station, on the Fredericksburg & Aquia Creek Railroad. The weather was perfectly horrible, a cold drizzling rain prevailing all day long, made the march very disagreeable.
Our stay here was extended until the 7th of Dec. Twice during that time we received marching orders, but heavy snow storms necessitated their being countermanded; but on the 7th we started, but after marching four or five miles we reached a hill so steep and icy that the horses were unable to pull the carriages to the top, and we made camp upon the hill with our pieces and caissons strung along from the top to the bottom. The next day we managed to get over the hill, and continued on to Fredericksburg. On the 9th we moved to a position opposite the city, and made camp.
Gen. Burnside, upon assuming command of the army, with the consent of Gen. Halleck, abandoned Gen. McClellan's plan, which was, by a rapid march upon Gordonsville, to interpose between Gen. Lee's divided forces (he having sent Gen. Longstreet over the Blue Ridge to resist the Union advance upon the Confederate capital), and beat them in detail, and adopted a new plan of operations. The capture of Richmond, rather than the destruction of Gen. Lee's army, was to be his objective.
The Union army at this time was 120,000 strong. Some precious time was wasted in its reorganization. Instead of the old corps formation, it was now organized into three Grand Divisions, each consisting of two corps. Gen. Sumner was placed in command of the right, Gen. Franklin of the left, and Gen. Hooker of the centre, and a large reserve commanded by Gen. Sigel.
The plan as stated by Gen. Burnside was to concentrate the army at Warrenton, make a feint of crossing the Rappahannock, leading the enemy to believe that an attack was about to be made upon Gordonsville, and then move the whole army to Fredericksburg, and thence march rapidly upon Richmond; but here again some one blundered. To cross the Rappahannock, it would be necessary to construct pontoon bridges. Gen. Burnside supposed that the matter had been fully attended to, and that the pontoons would be on hand at the time of his arrival, Nov. 15th; instead of which it was the 25th of the month before they arrived, and the 10th of December before things were ready for throwing the bridges across the river.
In the mean time the enemy had discovered the plan, and on the 22d Gen. Burnside and his division commanders had the mortification of seeing the opposite heights covered with the enemy's batteries, and filled with his infantry. Gen. Lee's army, some 80,000 strong, had all been brought up, and it lay in a semicircle around Fredericksburg, each wing resting on the river—its right at Port Royal below the city, and its left a short distance above it.
On the 10th of December, everything being ready, Gen. Burnside gave orders that the bridges should be thrown across at an early hour the next morning; three were to be constructed immediately in front of Fredericksburg, and two a couple of miles below. The morning of the 11th was cold and raw, a dense fog prevailed, amid which the work commenced.
The heights upon the Falmouth side were close to the margin of the river, which at this point is about three hundred yards wide. Upon these heights there were placed in position one hundred and forty-seven guns. The bridges below the city were laid without much opposition; but in front of the city a galling fire, from behind stone walls and from windows, was opened upon the bridge builders, driving them back, and effectually preventing further work upon them.
About six o'clock another attempt was made, with the same result. Then Gen. Burnside ordered the guns mounted upon Safford Heights to open fire upon the city, and batter it down if necessary. More than a hundred guns responded immediately to the order, and a roar commenced which could be heard miles away, and that fairly shook the earth, lasting nearly three hours.
In the midst of this firing another attempt was made to lay the bridges; but, strange to say, there still were sharpshooters to oppose them, and they were obliged to fall back; then volunteers were called for to cross the river and drive the enemy out of their hiding places. Three regiments responded to the call, were quickly conveyed across, and in a brief space of time the sharpshooters were driven away, nearly a hundred of them being made prisoners, and the bridges laid.