The Campaign of Chancellorsville

by Theodore Ayrault Dodge

It is doubtful whether by daylight, and without any considerable opposition, Sedgwick could have marched the fifteen miles to Chancellorsville in the few hours allotted him. Nor is it claimed by Hooker that it was possible for Sedgwick to obey the order of ten P.M. literally; for it was issued under the supposition that Sedgwick was still on the north bank of the river. But Hooker does allege that Sedgwick took no pains to keep him informed of what he was doing; whence his incorrect assumption. To recross the river for the purpose of again crossing at Fredericksburg would have been a lame interpretation of the speedy execution of the order urged upon Sedgwick. He accordingly shifted his command, and, in a very short time after receiving the despatch, began to move by the flank on the Bowling-Green road towards Fredericksburg, Newton's division in the advance, Howe following, while Brooks still held the bridge-head.

It was a very foggy night; which circumstance, added to the fact that Sedgwick was, in common with all our generals, only imperfectly familiar with the lay of the land, and that the enemy, active and well-informed, enveloped him with a curtain of light troops, to harass his movement in whatever direction, materially contributed to the delay which ensued.

And Sedgwick appears to have encountered Early's pickets, and to have done some skirmishing with the head of his column, immediately after passing west of Franklin's Crossing, which, moreover, gave rise to some picket-firing all along the line, as far as Deep Run, where Bartlett confronted the enemy. As the outskirts of the town were entered, four regiments of Wheaton's and Shaler's brigades were sent forward against the rifle-pits of the enemy, and a gallant assault was made by them. But it was repulsed, with some loss, by the Confederates, who, as on Dec. 13, patiently lay behind the stone wall and rifle-pits, and reserved their fire until our column was within twenty yards. Then the regiments behind the stone wall, followed by the guns and infantry on the heights, opened a fire equally sudden and heavy, and drove our columns back upon the main body. The assault had been resolute, as the casualties testify, "one regiment alone losing sixty-four men in as many seconds" (Wheaton); but the darkness, and uncertainty of our officers with regard to the position, made its failure almost a foregone conclusion. This was about daylight. "The force displayed by the enemy was sufficient to show that the intrenchments could not be carried except at great cost." (Sedgwick.)

The officer by whom the order to Sedgwick had been sent, Capt. Raderitzchin, had not been regularly appointed in orders, but was merely a volunteer aide-de-camp on Gen. Hooker's staff.

Shortly after he had been despatched, Gen. Warren requested leave himself to carry a duplicate of the order to Sedgwick, (Capt. Raderitzchin being "a rather inexperienced, headlong young man,") for Warren feared the "bad effect such an impossible order would have on Gen. Sedgwick and his commanders, when delivered by him." And, knowing Warren to be more familiar with the country than any other available officer, Hooker detached him on this duty, with instructions again to impress upon Sedgwick the urgent nature of the orders. Warren, with an aide, left headquarters about midnight, and reached Sedgwick before dawn.

As daylight approached, Warren thought he could see that only two field-pieces were on Marye's heights, and that no infantry was holding the rifle-pits to our right of it. But the stone-wall breastworks were held in sufficient force, as was demonstrated by the repulse of the early assault of Shaler and Wheaton.

And Warren was somewhat in error. Barksdale, who occupied Fredericksburg, had been closely scanning these movements of Sedgwick's. He had some fourteen hundred men under his command. Six field-pieces were placed near the Marye house. Several full batteries were on Lee's hill, and near Howison's. And, so soon as Fredericksburg was occupied by our forces, Early sent Hays to re-enforce Barksdale; one regiment of his brigade remaining on Barksdale's right, and the balance proceeding to Stansbury's.

For, at daylight on Sunday, Early had received word from Barksdale, whose lines at Fredericksburg were nearly two miles in length, that the Union forces had thrown a bridge across the river opposite the Lacy house; and immediately despatched his most available brigade to sustain him.

Early's line, however, was thin. Our own was quite two and a half miles in length, with some twenty-two thousand men; and Early's eighty-five hundred overlapped both our flanks. But his position sufficiently counterbalanced this inequality. Moreover his artillery was well protected, while the Union batteries were quite without cover, and in Gibbon's attempted advance, his guns suffered considerable damage.

Brooks's division was still on the left of the Federal line, near the bridge-heads. Howe occupied the centre, opposite the forces on the heights, to our left of Hazel Run. Newton held the right as far as the Telegraph road in Fredericksburg.