It is easy to criticise General Burnside's plan of battle. It is plain, however, that, if our soldiers had carried Marye's Heights, Burnside could not have occupied them, as they are commanded by still higher ground in their rear. But it should be remembered that General Burnside designed that the weight of his assault, December 13th, should fall upon General Lee's right, and his mistake seems to have been that his force at that point was not greatly increased, and placed under the command of an officer from whom he could expect the most hearty support.
About dark on the 15th we were again in line. The One Hundredth Pennsylvania and the Second Michigan, old and tried regiments, were ordered out, while the Forty-fifth Pennsylvania and the Thirty-sixth Massachusetts remained under arms awaiting orders. To secure strict silence, the men were not to speak, and to avoid coughing as much as possible. This, together with the ominous injunction of Colonel Leasure to his old regiment, as they joined him: "Now do your duty, Roundheads," was interpreted as meaning serious work near at hand. About ten o'clock in the evening the rest of our brigade moved up into the city quietly, where, to our surprise, we found the place was nearly deserted, there being in the streets, at this point, only one regiment, the Eighty-ninth New York, and that had just been withdrawn from the picket-line. Several batteries were near the river, limbered up and all ready to move. The Thirty-sixth relieved the Eighty-ninth New York, and waited for the One Hundredth Pennsylvania, which was on the extreme front of the picket-line. So we were among the last troops to leave the city. We crossed unharmed, and returned to our old camp, back of the Phillips House, on the morning of December 16, sharing, with the rest of the army, the disappointment that was felt on account of the repulse and the serious losses sustained by many of our regiments, yet feeling that, while the fruitless task that was assigned to others had not fallen to our lot, we had done all that was required of us as faithful soldiers.
On the 17th general inspection was ordered. The Thirty-sixth mustered about six hundred and fifty guns. Of the remaining three hundred and fifty of our comrades who left Massachusetts with us, quite a large number were detailed on special duty, many were on the sick-list, and ten had died.
As soon as the men had arranged their quarters, and with as much comfort as they were able, the usual round of camp and picket duty was resumed. The pickets of both armies had hitherto been very friendly, and they now became more friendly than ever, often exchanging courtesies, and chatting freely on matters pertaining to the war. Many of the soldiers received boxes from home, and there were a few Massachusetts visitors at our camp.
January 16th orders were received to be ready to move the next day, at an early hour, with three days' rations, and sixty rounds of ammunition. It was also announced that General Sedgwick had been assigned to the command of the Ninth Corps. The following day was clear and cold, but there were no orders to move. Nor were any received on the 18th, and we had a quiet Sunday. On Monday, too, all was quiet on the Rappahannock. At noon on Tuesday, January 20, however, orders came for us to be in readiness to move early the next morning. It was now evident that another movement was to be made across the river. General Hooker's and General Franklin's grand divisions of the army were already in motion in our rear. At dress parade that night, an order from General Burnside was read by Colonel Bowman to the regiment, informing us that the Army of the Potomac was about to meet the enemy once more, and calling upon officers and men to coöperate with him in securing a victory. When the order had been read, three cheers were given for our commanding general. Just at night a cold, north-east storm set in, the wind increased to a gale, and the rain fell in torrents. Late in the evening orders came for the Thirty-sixth to be ready to move at three o'clock the next morning, January 21st. At that time the men were in line, and remained standing four hours in the drenching rain, with the mud ankle-deep. At about ten o'clock the regiment was ordered on picket. The storm continued through the day. Tuesday, January 22d, it was still raining, and the mud deeper than ever. Hooker and Franklin were literally "stuck in the mud." Artillery caissons, guns, ambulances, and army wagons were immovable. To go forward was impossible; and finally, from sheer necessity, all hope of further advance was abandoned.
Thus again was Burnside compelled to witness the defeat of his plans. Never did the Army of the Potomac suffer more severely, and never was experience more demoralizing than during these three days of constant exposure to wet and cold, in midwinter, without shelter of any kind. Weary and disheartened, the men of Franklin's grand division struggled back to camp, singly or in squads. Many had thrown away everything but haversack and canteen, and curses on everything and everybody filled the air. It is said that the army in Flanders swore terribly. So did the demoralized soldiers of the Army of the Potomac as they struggled back to their old camp.
In the meantime the rebels appeared on the opposite bank of the river, greatly elated at the discomfiture of our army, and amused themselves by offering to come over and extricate our men from the mud, to aid them in crossing, and to show them around on the other side.
A few days of sun, rations, and rest, however, brought about a better state of feeling among our men; and the Army of the Potomac settled back into its old quarters, and resumed the usual routine of duty.
Now there followed another change in commanders. General Burnside had become convinced not only that he did not have the coöperation of a large number of his subordinate officers of high rank, but that some of them were doing all in their power to thwart his plans. He accordingly prepared an order dismissing from the service Generals Hooker, Brooks, Cochrane and Newton, and relieving from their commands, Generals Franklin, W. F. Smith, Sturgis, Ferrero, and Col. Taylor. Proceeding to Washington, he asked the President to approve of this order or to accept his resignation. The President referred the order to his military advisers, who declined to recommend its approval. Accordingly, unwilling to accept his resignation, the President relieved General Burnside of the command of the Army of the Potomac, and not long after assigned him to the command of the Department of the Ohio. General Hooker was made General Burnside's successor, and the change was announced to the army January 26th.