Confederate Divisional Commander’s Choice
At the Battle of Fredericksburg the Army of the Northern
Virginia had built a significant defensive line along the Rappahannock River cutting
the most effective route south for the Army f the Potomac.
The newly appointed General Burnside was under extreme
pressure to take the war south and make the rebels pay in blood and pain for
their disloyalty.
John Henry Clayton, Divisional Commander, must decide where
his division will deploy – on one of the wings for the chance of maximum glory
or in the centre for a safer, less action packed experience.
The Left wing involves an all-out Northern assault by
multiple divisions who will be executing a river crossing by multiple pontoon
bridges, the river is uncrossable except by these bridges. The Rebel army will
have the benefit of prepared positions on the high ground, but the Union forces
will be protected in their river crossing by the town of Fredericksburg
its-self.
The Right wing is much more open, the high ground is lower
but the confederates will still be in prepared positions, except on the extreme
right, where these were not completed in time. Again the rebel forces will face
multiple assaults by Union divisions during the course of the day and
ammunition supply will again be important. Here the Union Pontoons are not
protected from view.
In the Centre there is similar terrain to the left &
right wings, the defended heights are further from the river than on the flanks
and there is more room for the Union forces to manoeuvre before any attack.
That said they have the fewest pontoon bridges in this sector, thus limiting re-enforcements,
maybe that is why historically the Federals did not press so hard in this area.
The ground has been chosen, your division will be deploying
in the centre of the battlefield, on the Union Right / Confederate left, will
be the main thrust of the battle, with the majority of troops and action, to
the Union Left / Confederate Right is a holding action by the Confederates
around Burnside Bridge to prevent Union forces form crossing.
The Confederates hold the Centre ground
The Confederates decide to hold the central ground, around Burnside Bridge and a series of crossing points, against then the Union forces
are probing t exploit these crossings but more importantly to in hold the
Rebels in position and inflict casualties.
As brigade commanders you must work with your divisional
commands to deploy a brigade into each of the Left, Centre, Right & reserve
zones to achieve your goals. Despite not being in the main conflict zone, your
actions can impact the outcome of the battle as a whole.
INTRODUCTION
It’s a dark
wet, cold and foggy morning as the Union Army of the Potomac wakes from its
poor night’s sleep, in the swampy ground on the banks of the Rappahannock River
in northern Virginia. Across the river on the high bluffs some 2-3 miles way the Confederate Army of Northern
Virginia, wakes from a much better night’s sleep, in dry scrapes and fire pits and
they begin to eat their meagre rations.
Major
General Ambrose Burnside has ordered a frontal attack on the heights, he has
not wavered from that order but has been slow to send the details of the
running order for the Corps & Divisions to his subordinates, so instead f
breakfast the Yankee soldiers are forming up ranks and marching into their
initial positions, grumbling about how useless their senior officers are.
Dawn breaks
and in the central section of the long battlefield, Brooks’ 1st
Division of VI Corps and Holt-Oglethorpe’ 3rd Division, XI have
crossed the river on pontoon bridges to take up their jump-off positions, some
1-2 miles from the enemy bluffs.in the centre of the whole darned
Fredericksburg battlefield.
To north and
south multiple Corp sized attacks are to go up the slopes to eth bluffs, in the
centre the orders are to sieze the centre with a twin division attack and prevent
transfer of men and materials between each flank of the Rebel army.
INITIAL DEPLOYMENTS
Looking from
North to south the Confederates are facing East, towards the Rappahannock
River, on their Left flank is Coltrane’s hard fighting Mississippi brigade, in
a single line of battle behind prepared positions – scrapes, fire pits and shallow
trenches. In the Rebel centre is Pickton’s Brigade, again in line of battle
with his men also behind similar prepared positions available to the
Mississippians to their left.
Furthest
south, on the Confederate right flank is taken by Heck’s Brigade under General Hugh
I.E. Green, who are in a T-BONE3 formation, awaiting the enemy onslaught on the
lowest and most open part of the bluffs, these men have prepared positions but with
it 2-3 miles to the river form here it was felt unlikely there would be much
enemy action at this point.
In reserve
is Clayton’s Legion, now down to two infantry Battalions, charged with
supporting their right ad front. In addition Col. Ripper’s Cavalry Brigade is
deployed in reserve, with same orders as Clayton’s legion, to support the right
and centre against breakthrough attacks, and to fight on foot if required.
The
Yankees’s had two divisions in line of attack, facing West, with General
William Brooks’ division in the lead. This consisted of three brigades, each in
DOUBLE LINE of attack formation supported by their consolidated artillery in
their reserve position to support the lines as they went in. The north most
brigade, on the Union right, is Torbett’s famous 1st New Jersey Brigade,
including the 23rd New Jersey ‘Yahoos’, to their left is
General Cake’s New York division which included the likes of the ‘1st
New York Regulars’ and ‘Upton’s Rifles’.
Southern
most on the Union front line is Russell’s New York Brigade, again in DOUBLE
LINE formation and sporting a number of notable regiments such as the ‘The
Montezuma Regt’, ‘1st California Regt’ and ‘Gosline’s Zouaves’ amongst
it’s ranks.
Behind
Brooks’ Division is lined-out Holt-Oglethorpe’s division, ordered to support
Brook’s attack to seize the central Bluffs and hold against enemy counter-attack.
To the North is deployed Starbuck’s New York brigade, in a T-Bone2 formation.
Starbuck has made no secret of his view that an attack against such a prepared
position is folly, yet here he is standing with his men. South of Starbuck in
the centre is Col. John Holt-Ogglethorpe’s brigade of Vermont boys, again in a
T-BONE2 formation and a desire to engage the enemy.
On the
extreme south of the Union line is De Krakre’s Iowa brigade, hard fighting
veterans of Antietam, in a T-BONE3 formation and with orders to closely follow
Russell’s brigade of Brooks division as they step out towards the enemy.
In reserve
is Bank’s Massachusetts’s division in Column of attack formation who will
aggressively support De Krackre’s brigade a it engages with the enemy on the extreme
end of the bluffs by the river.
06:00 – 07:00 AM
Union guns signalled the commencement of hostilities in this area of the battlefield as Brook’s divisional artillery started to bombard the bluffs ahead of them, the fire was not effective in terms of casualties caused but did keep rebel heads down until they got used the constant sound of incoming artillery fire.
Rebel guns opened up in return and only sporadic his were made as the Union troops still up to two miles away began to close nearer.
07:00 – 08:00 AM
As the lead Union brigades closed the distance to the enemy lines, the Confederates were able to direct more effective artillery fire in their direction, more than doubling the effectiveness of their fire in this second hour.
08:00 – 09:00 AM
By now the Union units were starting to come into small arms range and the rebels opened up along their line form their prepared positions. Casualties began to be much more noticeable to the federals as they firing continued, Torbett’s brigade took 3, Cake’s took 4 and Russell’s division took 5 casualties in one hour.
The Union soldiers were able to return fie but it was hard to hit the rebels behind their prepared position high up on the crest of the Bluffs, they had to get closer to engage them on a more even footing.
09:00 – 10:00 AM
The 32nd New York & 95th Pnnslyvania regiments from Russell’s brigade fell back , to be replaced by the 18th & 31st New York Regiments, whist the 16th New York from Cake’s brigade fell back, to be replaced by the 121st New York ‘Uptons Regulars’ in the line of battle. The retiring men just seemed to disappeared into hollows in the ground to gain cover or skedaddled back to the banks of the Rappahannock for safety.
Brook’s Division braced its-self then rose as one, to surge forwards and charge up the steep bluffs to reach the top and their near hidden enemy, the impact was terrible the rebels were able to shoot almost at will and hit brave northerners as they struggled up towards them.
The division took sixteen casualties across their front, particularly badly hit were the 18th New York, who lost many of their commanders to accurate firing form the Georgia Sharpshooters deployed along this front.
Very few casualties were inflicted on the rebels in return.
10:00 – 11:00 AM
The results of the first attempt to charge the summit of the bluffs seemed to subdue the battlefield, both sides took stock, artillery fire continued and only Russell’s brigade in the south is smashed, with no units remaining to be seen on the field.
Nevertheless to the north the tough New Jerseymen pressed forwards, their weight of numbers and an inexplicable cooling down of the Mississippian firing allowed them to progress further forwards.
Across the division 5 more regiments were in retreat, Brooks called on Holt-Oglethorpe’s division to provide badly needed support to help press the attack.
Meanwhile further to the south the Union attacks near Prospect Hill had stalled, caught up by intense Confederate artillery shelling, the me had simply gone to ground. Even the famous Iron Brigade could not shift the determined rebel gunners.
11:00 – 12:00 AM
In the north the brave New Jerseymen reach the summit of the bluffs and engage in hand to hand fighting with the defending Mississippi rebels. The 3rd and the 15th New jersey give as good as they get, albeit that they are now down on numbers against the rebels, the 4th New Jersey stumble into the 3rd Mississippi who inflict 4 casualties without return, breaking their spirit and dragging their sister regiments back in a general retreat.
In the centre the remaining regiments in Case’s brigade flee and all of a sudden Brooks’ division is gone, leaving an eerie silence over the battlefield.
12:00 – 13:00 PM
As the silence settles and the musket smoke disperses, up steps Holt-Oglethorpe’s division, the Rebels are shocked to see this new threat so close to their positions, in particular their old adversaries – De Krackre’s Iowan brigade, leading the way, a full half mile hear of the rest of the division.
Confederates of Coltrane’s and Pickton’s brigades take time to reload and grab a drink of water and tend to their wounded but Heck’s Brigade is forced to fight on, firing at the on-cominig westerners, however, with little effect.
To the south Union assaults had reached Confederate lines and viscous hand to hand fighting ensued, after re-enforcements were rushed into place the Confederatds pushed back the Union attack.
13:00 – 14:00 PM
De Kreker’s and Haye’s brigades are locked into a somewhat unequal firefight as the rest of the division catches up on the attacking Iowans, who were making use of what little cover was available and moving forward in ‘Indian Rushes’ to avoid massed casualties.
Casualties on the advancing Iowans were remarkably low, maybe aided by the fact that the 25th Virginia were forced to leave the line as casualties and disorganisation seemed to catch-up on them, as they retired the 26th stepped up to replace them on the line.
Elsewhere on the Union right, Starbuck bravely lead his New Yorker’s forward into a withering fire form the opposing Mississippians, who inflicted 4 casualties for 2 in return. In the centre, Col. Holt Oglethorpe’s brigade took 3 casualties whist inflicting one in return.
The brigade pressed onwards and upwards, following the Iowan’s ‘Indian Rush’ tactics, grabbing cover wherever they could
14:00 – 15:00 PM
With the time now at 2pm, the balance of the battle was being reached, the rebels continued to poor fire into Hold-Oglethorpe’s division, consistently causing more casualties that received in return fire but without the intensity of the morning.
The Confederates were beginning to tire, men o the line were questioning the need to continue their murderous fire at an enemy that should have given up hours ago. Individual acts of heroism are witnessed as individual soldiers hurdle the low stone walls and take water, food and comfort to their stricken enemies. Pickton, continued to handle his men effectively.
The 26th Virginia, no sooner than having entered the line of battle, lost its nerve in front of the enemy and retired as the 7th Iowans surged forwards in another real estate grab to get nearer to the Confederate lines. At the other end of the lines the 2nd Mississippi folds due to the number of casualties it has taken.
The battle is in the balance and it is touch and go who will come out winners, both Holt-Oglethorpe and Clayton order their reserves into action.
By mid-afternoon, Burnside had failed on both flanks to make progress against the Confederates. Rather than reconsidering his approach in the face of heavy casualties, he stubbornly decided to continue on the same path. He sent orders to Franklin to renew the assault on the left and ordered his Center Grand Division, commanded by Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker, to cross the Rappahannock into Fredericksburg and continue the attack on Marye's Heights.
15:00 – 16:00 PM
De Krackere’s brigade pushes forwards and reaches the Confederate works, such as they are in this part of the battlefield and a hand to hand scrap ensues. The brave 7th Iowa engage with the hastily arrived 1st Alabama battalion, from Clayton’s Legion, to the immediate left the 10th Iowa engaged the Georgia Sharpshooters and the 24th Virginia whilst even further to the left the 5th Iowa clambered into the empty scraps left by the retiring 20th Virginia to be engaged by the 56th Georgia who were coming up to relieve the position.
The worst of the hand to hand fighting was in the centre, where the 24th Virginia inflicted 4 casualties for just one in return, however, in the ebb and flow of the fighting the Georgia Sharpshooter positions were overrun and the unit ceased to function an further.
On the Confederate left flank the heavy fighting had taken its toll on the Mississippians, where the 1st & 2nd Regiments stepped away form the line, leaving just the 3rd Mississippi on the line, untouched by any casualties to date. In the centre Pickton’s brigade fired effectively at Col. Holt-Oglethrope’s men, as their lead regiments retired and inflicted 3 casualties for only one in return.
In the Union rear, Bank’s Brigade had formed a column of attack and was marching in support of De Krackere’s men, their movement had been clearly seen by Clayton, from the heights on the bluffs and he had ordered his Cavalry Brigade to support his right, he now told his cavalrymen to fight dismounted in the trenches If required.
16:00 – 17:00 PM
Starbuck’s and Coltrane’s brigades had fought themselves to a standstill, each took cover as their artillery exchanged ineffective fire.
In the Union centre Col. Holt-Oglethorpe’s brigade effectively ceased to exist on the field as the final regiment melted away under continuous fire form Pickton’s brigade. It was here that young Col. Holt-Oglethorpe lost his life, as he was helping man his artillery pieces, a bullet form one of the Tennesseans, passed through his lower jaw – he fell to the ground, face down into his dislodged kepi. It was here that he drowned in his own blood, like many dozens of his countrymen that fateful day.
On the Confederate right the hand to hand fight continues, with Bank’s brigade now in immediate support of the Iowans, honours seemed to be even at this stage.
By 4 p.m., in the north, General Hooker had returned from his meeting with Burnside, having failed to convince the commanding general to abandon the attacks, so they continued, albeit for show only as Hooker and Sumner to both agreed to ignore their commanding officer’s orders.
17:00 – 18:00 PM
In the centre the Union commander deployed his cavalry assets to prevent any possible Union advance in that area, it seemed unlikely as the Confederates had stayed in place all day, the mounted men remained out of effective musket range but let everyone know they were there.
On the Union left, De Kreckere’s brigade had had enough, the 5th & 7th pulled away from the fighting to dissolve into the approaching dusk, as they did so Bank’s brigade stepped up in their attack column, marching steadily forwards. This left just the 3rd Iowa waiting for Bank’s expected assault to materialise, they fought on to help provide cover for the approaching columns
The Iowans, took more casualties….
18:00 – 19:00 PM
As might be expected the final Iowan regiment withdrew, a few Iowan’s crouching in hollows for cover shouted ‘Give’m hell 55th’ as they passed by, from the rear of the column General Nathaniel Banks shouted ‘For Massachusetts, Freedom and Glory!’ and had his drummers sound the charge…
… and they did, lead by the 63rd Massachusetts, they surged forwards to within yards of the Confederate positions when the dismounted 1st Alabama & 5th Georgia cavalry battalions let rip with their shotguns and six-shooters at close range. The groan was audible as the 55th staggered and fell.
To the far Confederate left shooting sprung back into life and then fell silent again.
19:00 – 20:00 PM
As darkness fell the Assault column reached the Confederate lines, all hell broke out as men struggled in the dark, in the darkness the fighting was in pockets and largely ineffective, though the dismounted cavalry men had an advantage with better close combat weapons, the Union infantrymen’s massed presence meant a lot of ground was given.
20:00 PM
In the end, in the darkness it was the more experienced men that held out, northern loses became too much and although Confederate units also broke in the fighting, all that were left at the end of eth day were rebels on top of the bluffs.
Burnside’s gamble had failed, and his men had paid the price. The Confederates won the day.
AFTERMATH
Both armies stayed in place around Fredericksburg for several months, it was not until the 1863 campaign season that movement was to begin again.
Burnside was incandescent with rag that his plan had not been properly executed by what he considered to be an inept office corps, his greatest criticism falling on Generals Hooker, Sumner and Franklin, whom he personally blamed for the rest of his life.
Lincoln was shocked but left Burnside in place, in January 1863, Burnside launched a second offensive against Lee, but it bogged down in winter rains before anything was accomplished and has derisively been called the ‘Mud March’. In its wake, he asked that several openly insubordinate officers be relieved of duty and court-martialed.
Meanwhile in the South the Fredericksburg victory added to the myth that was growing around General Robert E. Lee and his commanders Longstreet & Jackson, it seemed they could do no wrong.
The only problem was the longed for international recognition of their new country did not come, although it had not been lost. They would need to continue the fight and take it to the north in the next year to gain that success.
