In a blog dated October 2, 2019, [Click here] I talked of returning to the withdrawal of the Army of the Potomac following the disastrous Battle of Fredericksburg. Well, here we are!
Following the day of battle December 13th, a quiet came over the battlefield. Each side settled into a relative status quo. On December 14, on Major General (MG) William F. Franklin’s front, there was considerable skirmishing at scattered points, but few casualties. Also, informally, stretcher bearers wandered the fields, rescuing the wounded and bringing them to medical staff. A member of VI Corps’ 5th Maine observed ambulances moving across the river all day long. December 15 was much the same.
The night of 15-16 December 1862 was cold and dark. A strong wind was blowing from west to east, and it was raining! This was the night that MG Ambrose Burnside chose to withdraw the Union army following the failed assault on December 13th.
But this was not a pre-ordained decision on Burnside’s part. On the morning of Sunday, December 14, 1862, Burnside was determined to personally lead a renewed attack using his old XI Corps. He demurred, after being vigorously counseled against attacking by his senior commanders. He went into the city searching for a resolution while talking with unit commanders. Later, he sent an aide to Washington to talk with MG Henry Halleck, his Commander-in-Chief. On Monday the 15th, Burnside was still undecided. Late in the afternoon, following dinner with MG Franklin and the other two Grand Division commanders, Burnside announced his decision to withdraw the Army of the Potomac across the Rappahannock.
In the meantime, Confederates were bolstering their defenses, digging trenches, and felling trees. Some, from General Robert E. Lee on down, were convinced that Burnside would renew his assaults. Late on the 15th, there was a short formal truce between Franklin and Lieutenant General (LG) Thomas “Stonewall” J. Jackson. In the late afternoon stretcher parties searched for the wounded. Burial parties from both sides ranged across the slaughter pen until sunset. The Union wounded were evacuated across the river.
As the night approached between 5 and 6 PM, pickets from both sides informally agreed “…that during the night there should be no firing unless an attempt was made to advance on one side or the other.” Apparently, this occurred all along the line of contact. In safer bivouac areas Union soldiers made campfires using old ammunition boxes and other burnable debris. The wind drove the fires hotter and larger. Confederates continued their work enhancing defenses on Prospect Hill and the adjoining ridge.
Franklin reported “…On Monday, the 15th, no change took place until about 6 p.m. I was at that time at [Burnside’s] general headquarters, and was directed to recross my command during the night. The orders were at once telegraphed to General Smith, who was directed to make the preliminary arrangements, commencing the movement on the left.” He continued, “…Upon my return to my headquarters, about 7 p.m., I found that the movement was just commencing.”
MG William F. Smith of VI Corps alerted Brigadier General (BG) George Stoneman’s III Corps and MG John Reynolds’ I Corps, as well as his own division commanders. Reynolds picks up the narrative. “On the night of the 15th, the order for the withdrawal of the troops to the left flank of the river was received about 7 o’clock, and the movement commenced from the left. The night was extremely favorable for the operation…”
Reynolds set about organizing his Corps’ movement. Secrecy was paramount. The troops were instructed to insure nothing in their equipment made noises. Canteens and cups were secured. All was made ready to move with five minutes’ notice. Commands were whispered. Per the guidance, units furthest from the bridges moved first, passing through succeeding units who provided security.
First to move would be the artillery. The most exposed battery was that of Lieutenant (LT) James Stewart’s B/4th US, 6–12-pound Napoleons near the junction of Bowling Green Road and Hamilton’s Crossing Road. These guns were within 500 feet (150 meters) of Confederate pickets. The guns were limbered as silently as possible. The unit historian said they “were hauled off, still double shotted with double canister and primed ready for action in case” they were attacked while moving. Other artillery also moved.
BG Abner Doubleday’s First Division was the first infantry to move. These units were three miles (4.8 Km) from the pontoon bridges. Doubleday picks up the action. “About 8 o’clock we received orders to recross the river. General Reynolds himself took charge of the removal of the artillery, and I issued the necessary orders to the infantry… The wind was in our favor, deadening the sound of the artillery wheels, and thus preventing the enemy from being cognizant of our movements. It seems the pickets had made an agreement which each other not to fire during the night, and this also favored us. These pickets and their supports were necessarily left out all night”.
Private Frederick Rangers of the 22nd New York wrote to his wife afterward characterizing the move as “still as death, Division followed Division across the plain and over the pontoons.” Many of the men did not know the movement that night was indeed a withdrawal across the river. Some simply called it a ‘Skedaddle’. Doubleday’s division was over the river by midnight.
Next came Stoneman’s III Corps.
BG David B. Birney’s First Division was alerted around 10 PM. His brigades were lined up along Bowling Green Road also known as the Old Richmond Stage Road. Two brigades were in the roadbed and the third forming a second line behind to the east. Like I Corps, the artillery moved first, departing around 10 PM. The brigades followed the road or the fields adjacent, passing through BG Daniel E. Sickles Second Division which was stationed further north along Bowling Green Road.
Sickles units reported their alert notification was closer to 9 or 9:30 PM. Most reported movement between 10:30 and 11 PM. All III Corps units crossed the pontoons sometime around midnight. Engineer accounts suggest III Corps was not fully extracted until 2 AM.
MG Smith’s VI Corps waited until the other two Corps of MG Franklin’s left Grand Division completed their movements. BG Calvin E. Pratt managed all movement that approached and then crossed the pontoon bridges, a task not easily executed silently on a rainy windblown night. Smith had one third of Franklin’s Left Grand Division still to cross the river. First came BG Albion Howe’s Division and most of the artillery.
Engineers at the Bridge site.
Major James A. Magruder, commanding the 15th NY Engineers, who oversaw two pontoon bridges at Franklin’s crossing, reported,
“…I left the camp [3.5 miles or 5.6 Km distant] with Companies E and K… Companies H, A, F, and G were on duty at the bridges. At the time of my arrival troops were crossing the three bridges.”
“At 3 a.m., the 16th instant, I ordered Companies E and K to commence dismantling the first bridge, [furthest upstream] which was done in about an hour; and as troops were still crossing the two remaining bridges, they were not disturbed until after daylight.”
After BG Albion P. Howe’s Second Division passed over the river, BG) William Brooks’ First Division and BG John Newton’s Third Division thinned out leaving the rear guard of two brigades belonging to Colonel Alfred T.A. Torbert and BG Charles Devens to form a ‘tete-d-pont’ to cover the retreat. Devens brigade, having been the first to cross and secure the bridgehead on 11 December, requested the honor of being the last to recross the river.
In the meantime. The engineers continued to dismantle the pontoon bridges.
Magruder continues, “Immediately upon the passage of all the troops which were to cross at this point; the work of dismantling the middle bridge was commenced by Companies E and K, Companies H, A, G, and F assisting in loading cheeses, balks, &c. … “
Pickets Finally Moved.
Those units out on picket duty that night were NOT told that the Army of the Potomac was withdrawing across the river. Not even their individual commanders. This was out of an abundance of caution that someone might alert the Confederates that the army was leaving. Even when they were finally moved, they were told that they were simply going to a new position.
BG Doubleday reported, “Lieutenant-Colonel Williams, of the Nineteenth Indiana, was on picket duty with his regiment on the extreme left, nearly 3 miles from the crossing. His command was the last to cross the river, and was closely pursued by the enemy’s cavalry and sharpshooters. A portion of his men were compelled to pass in boats, the pontoon bridges having been cut away. I cannot too highly praise the coolness and good order which marked the retreat of this regiment, and in all probability saved it from destruction.”
Other units on picket duty had similar experiences.
BG Smith praised his exposed units. “General Devens’ and Colonel Torbert’s brigades formed the line to cover the troops, and the pickets were ordered in only after the line was nearly formed. By 4 a. m. the troops were all across, and everything ready for the bridges to be taken up”.
BG Devens, in charge of the rear guard, reported, “At about 4 o’clock it was reported that the pickets, which had consisted of two regiments from each of the divisions of Brigadier-Generals Brooks, Newton, Sickles, Birney, and Doubleday, were in, and, after waiting a short time for any stragglers who might have lost their way, I gave the order for the front line to retreat; the second line immediately followed it. The Tenth Massachusetts was the last regiment to cross, followed by the bridge guard, under Captain Read, of the Second Rhode Island, and the bridges were at once taken up. Boats were kept on the other side of the river until after daybreak, to take off any stragglers, but, as reported to me, only a very small number appeared, so carefully and thoroughly had the retreat been conducted”.
LT Charles E. Cross of the US Regular Engineer Battalion reported, “…On the night of the 15th, I received an order … to dismantle the [last] bridge as soon as General Franklin’s command had crossed. His rear guard passed over at 4.30 a.m. on the 16th. Immediately after I began dismantling the bridge. This was accomplished by 5.30 a.m. “
Major Magruder explained how the pontoon bridges and equipment was taken from the river and transported to safety. “Soon after daylight, Companies A, G, and H were relieved by Companies B, C, and I. The boats were unloaded, drawn out upon the bottom land, loaded on the wagons, and, as fast as teams could be procured, drawn away. The work of getting the boats and material in a safe place drawn away. The work of getting the boats and material in a safe place was continued until about 2 p.m. [on the 16th] without interruption from the enemy, when, the batteries which had been placed on the hill above to protect us having been withdrawn, we were fired upon by a party of the enemy stationed in the houses and barns opposite. Our men and a detachment of the Seventy-seventh New York (who were on the ground) returned the fire. My men continued the work until 3 p.m., when all the property having been moved to a place of safety, we returned to camp. “
Artillery LT John Simpson of battery A/1PA, reported, “we recrossed the river, and, by Captain Ransom’s directions, I took my former position on the riverbank, to protect the removal of the pontoon bridges.”
“Next morning [16 December] we discovered the enemy advancing in line of skirmishers, and as some of them ran to a building in a group, I dropped a couple of spherical case among them, which killed 4, and drove the balance, with their cavalry, back. I afterward, by General Meade’s orders, opened on a battery by the hospital [likely, Mannsfield, Franklin’s former HQ], and prevented it from being planted. The bridges were all safely removed, and, by your orders, I retired to camp, reporting back to Captain Ransom.”
Confederate reports of Burnside’s withdrawal are muted. General Lee, “on the morning of the 16th, it was discovered that he [Burnside] had availed himself of the darkness of night, and the prevalence of a violent storm of wind and rain, to recross the river.”
MG Daniel H. Hill who had been itching for a fight could only report, “At daylight our pickets were thrown forward and the enemy found to be gone. Burnside had changed his base.” He added, somewhat defensively, “We captured 292 of the Yankee pickets and stragglers, and gathered up between 3,000 and 4,000 excellent rifles and muskets.” According to historian Frank O’Reilly, one portion of these were members of the 114th PA Zouave band, who had taken shelter in the Smithfield ravine following an afternoon concert at III Corps headquarters. They slept through the movement of 60,000 men. Then again, so did the Confederates!
So ended Burnside’s dismal effort to come to grips with General Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia. Withdrawal of an army in the face of the enemy is one of the most difficult maneuvers any army can undertake. To his credit, Burnside executed his withdrawal successfully, and some would call it masterful. But the failure of his attack with its lopsided losses would ensure Burnside’s removal from command.
Sources:
Books and Civil War Collections.
Brinknell, George W., Rev, History of the Fifth regiment Maine volunteers, comprising brief descriptions of its marches, engagements, and general services from the date of its muster in, June 24, 1861, to the time of its muster out, July 27, 1864. Portland, H. L. Davis, 1871, pp 177-9. History of the Fifth regiment Maine volunteers, comprising brief descriptions of its marches, engagements, and general services from the date of its muster in, June 24, 1861, to the time of its muster out, July 27, 1864 : Bicknell, George W., Rev : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archi ve
Buell, Augustus, The Cannoneer, Recollections of Service in the Army of the Potomac, The National Tribune, Washington, D.C., 1890, p 47. “The cannoneer.” Recollections of service in the Army of the Potomac : Buell, Augustus : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
Dunn, Craig L., IRON MEN, IRON WILL: The Nineteenth Indiana Regiment of the Iron Brigade, Indianapolis, Guild Press, 1995.
Gottfried, Bradley M., The Maps of Fredericksburg; An Atlas of the Fredericksburg Campaign, Including Cavalry Operations, September 18, 1862 – January 22, 1863.El Dorado Hills, CA, Savas Baetie, 2018, p 240.
Lewis Leigh Collection, Frederick E. Rangers Letter.
Nolan, Alan T., The Iron Brigade, A military History, New York, Macmillan, 1961, p 186.
O’Reilly, Francis Augustin, The Fredericksburg Campaign; Winter War on the Rappahannock, Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge, LA, p 440-448.
___________, “Stonewall” Jackson at Fredericksburg, The Battle of Prospect Hill. Lynchburg, VA: H.E. Howard, 1993, p 186.
White, S. Wyman, The Civil War Diary of Wyman S. White, First Sergeant of Company “F” of the 2nd United States Sharpshooter Regiment (New Hampshire Men) in the Army of the Potomac 1861-1865. FRSP. Undated.
Woodbury, Augustus, The Second Rhode Island regiment: a narrative of military operations in which the regiment was engaged from the beginning to the end of the war for the Union, Providence, Valpey, Angell, and company, 1975, pp 133-4. The Second Rhode Island regiment: a narrative of military operations in which the regiment was engaged from the beginning to the end of the war for the union : Woodbury, Augustus, 1825-1895 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
Woodward, Evan M., Our Campaigns, Our Campaigns: or, The marches, bivouacs, battles, incidents of camp life and history of our regiment during its three years term of service, Philadelphia, J.E. Potter, 1865, p 246. Our Campaigns: or, The marches, bivouacs, battles, incidents of camp life and history of our regiment during its three years term of service : Woodward, E. M. (Evan Morrison) cn : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
The War of the Rebellion: A Completion of Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, 128 vols. (Washington, D.C.1890-1910).
OR Vol 21, Serial 31, Number 3. Report of Major General Ambrose E. Burnside, U.S. Army, Commanding Army of the Potomac. https://ehistory.osu.edu/books/official-records/031/0065
OR Vol 21, Serial 31, Number 16. Report of Lieutenant Charles E. Cross, U. S. Corps Engineers, Commanding Engineer Battalion. https://ehistory.osu.edu/books/official-records/031/0169
OR Vol 21, Serial 31, Number 19. Report of Major James A. Magruder, Fifteenth New York Engineer. https://ehistory.osu.edu/books/official-records/031/0173.
OR Vol 21, Serial 31, Number 207. Report of Major General William B. Franklin, U.S. Army, Commanding Left Grand Division. https://ehistory.osu.edu/books/official-records/031/0451
OR Vol 21, Serial 31, Numbers 215. Report of Col. James Gavin, Seventh Indiana Infantry, Second Brigade. P 472. War of the Rebellion: Serial 031 Page 0472 OPERATIONS IN N.VA.,W.VA.,MD., AND PA. Chapter XXXIII. | eHISTORY (osu.edu)
OR Vol 21, Serial 31, Numbers 220. Report of Colonel Lysander Cutler, Sixth Wisconsin Infantry, commanding Fourth Brigade. War of the Rebellion: Serial 031 Page 0478 OPERATIONS IN N.VA.,W.VA.,MD., AND PA. Chapter XXXIII. | eHISTORY (osu.edu)
OR Vol 21, Serial 31, Numbers 223. Report of Captain George F. Leppien, Fifth Maine Battery, Acting Chief of Division Artillery. War of the Rebellion: Serial 031 Page 0483 Chapter XXXIII. BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG,VA. | eHISTORY (osu.edu)
OR Vol 21, Serial 31, Numbers 244. Report of Lieutenant John G. Simpson, Battery A, First Pennsylvania Light Artillery. War of the Rebellion: Serial 031 Page 0514 OPERATIONS IN N. VA.,W. VA.,MD.,AND PA. Chapter XXXIII. | eHISTORY (osu.edu)
OR Vol 21, Serial 31, Numbers 252. Report of Major General William F. Smith, U. S. Army, commanding Sixth Army Corps. War of the Rebellion: Serial 031 Page 0523 Chapter XXXIII. BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG, VA. | eHISTORY (osu.edu)
OR Vol 21, Serial 31, Numbers 253. Report of Captain Romeyn B. Ayres, Fifth U. S. Artillery, Chief of Artillery. War of the Rebellion: Serial 031 Page 0525 Chapter XXXIII. BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG, VA. | eHISTORY (osu.edu)
OR Vol 21, Serial 31, Numbers 255. Report of Colonel A. T. A. Torbert, First New Jersey Infantry, commanding First Brigade. War of the Rebellion: Serial 031 Page 0528 OPERATIONS IN N. VA.,W. VA.,MD.,AND PA. Chapter XXXIII. | eHISTORY (osu.edu)
OR Vol 21, Serial 31, Numbers 257. Report of Brigadier General Calvin E. Pratt, U. S. Army, commanding First Brigade. War of the Rebellion: Serial 031 Page 0532 OPERATIONS IN N. VA.,W. VA.,MD.,AND PA. Chapter XXXIII. | eHISTORY (osu.edu)
OR Vol 21, Serial 31, Numbers 259. Report of Brigadier General Thomas H. Neill, U. S. Army, commanding Third Brigade. War of the Rebellion: Serial 031 Page 0534 OPERATIONS IN N. VA.,W. VA.,MD.,AND PA. Chapter XXXIII. | eHISTORY (osu.edu)
OR Vol 21, Serial 31, Numbers 261. Report of Brigadier General Charles Devens, jr., U. S. Army, commanding Second Brigade. War of the Rebellion: Serial 031 Page 0537 Chapter XXXIII. BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG, VA. | eHISTORY (osu.edu)
OR Vol 21, Serial 31, Numbers 264. Reports of General Robert E. Lee, C. S. Army, commanding Army of Northern Virginia. page 555. War of the Rebellion: Serial 031 Page 0555 Chapter XXXIII. BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG, VA. | eHISTORY (osu.edu)
OR Vol 21, Serial 31, Numbers No. 303. Report of Lieutenant General Thomas J. Jackson, C. S. Army, commanding Second Army Corps. Page 634. War of the Rebellion: Serial 031 Page 0634 OPERATIONS IN N.VA.,W.VA.,MD.,AND PA. Chapter XXXIII. | eHISTORY (osu.edu)
OR Vol 21, Serial 31, Number No. 307. Report of Major General Daniel H. Hill, C. S. Army, commanding D. H. Hill’s division. page 644. War of the Rebellion: Serial 031 Page 0644 OPERATIONS IN N.VA.,W.VA.,MD.,AND PA. Chapter XXXIII. | eHISTORY (osu.edu)
Misc:
Light data: https://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/RS_OneDay
Maps:
Mapping the Battle of Fredericksburg – The Unwritten Record (archives.gov)
Mercer Square 
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