fredericksburg & chancellorsville, va student copy mr. sparks
TRANSCRIPT
Fredericksburg & Chancellorsville, VA
Student Copy
Mr. Sparks
Ft. Sumter April 12, 1861
Phases
• Part I: Fredericksburg, VA– December 11-13, 1862
• Part II: Chancellorsville, VA– May 1-3, 1863
FredericksburgDecember 11-13, 1862
Virginia
Fredericksburg was the site of a battle in December 1862. Union General Ambrose
Burnside led a march on Richmond, but was delayed for more than two weeks because of
late-arriving supplies. General Lee positioned his army, deploying snipers to
pick off Federal troops. Confederate artillery decimated Union forces in their attempts to
capture Marye’s Heights. Many Union soldiers were left in the open after crossing military pontoon bridges, and they became easy prey for Confederate troops. Burnside
had no choice but to retreat with the remnants of his army.
Fredericksburg
Richmond
D.C.
Fredericksburg, VA
December 11-13, 1862
Lincoln’s Command Problems
• After Antietam, McClellan kept the army in western Maryland until Oct 1862– Lincoln could not find a
general that would aggressively fight the war
– He’d already been through McDowell, McClellan, Pope, and McClellan again
– On Nov 7, he relieved McClellan and replaced him with Ambrose Burnside
FredericksburgDecember 11-13, 1862
• In spite of his early success on the North Carolina coast, Burnside was very modest and did not think he was up for the job
• He tried to decline the responsibility, but Lincoln insisted
The term “Sideburns” comes from Ambrose Burnside.
FredericksburgDecember 11-13, 1862
• Within a week of assuming command, Burnside launched a new “On to Richmond” campaign:
• The plan was to slide past Lee’s right flank and cross the Rappahannock River at Fredericksburg, about fifty miles north of Richmond.
• Burnside would have to cross the Rappahannock quickly before the Confederates could oppose him in force.
• In order to cross the river Burnside would need to build a pontoon bridge but the necessary materials did not arrive until December.-slows plans.
• By then Lee had plenty of time to concentrate in and around the town.
• This development made Burnside’s plan obsolete but he continued with it anyway.-Major mistake, Lee is setup and dialed in.
• On Dec 11 the Federals began crossing the river…
FredericksburgDecember 11-13, 1862
Fredericksburg, VA
• Defending the town itself was CSA Brigadier General William Barksdale and 1,600 Mississippians.
• Burnside unleashed a huge artillery bombardment to try to protect his engineers’ efforts to build bridges.
• Barksdale’s men took shelter in basements, emerged virtually unharmed, and continued to harass the engineers.
William Barksdale
FredericksburgDecember 11-13, 1862
• Eventually Burnside realized artillery alone wouldn’t do the job and launched a makeshift amphibious assault.
• Barksdale continued to harass the infantry and made an orderly street by street withdrawal, falling back to the Confederate position at Marye’s Heights.
The Mississippians taught the Federals “the lesson which artillerists must learn anew in each generation– that a bombardment which will destroy buildings will not necessarily keep brave defenders from fighting on amid the wreckage.” (Bruce Catton)
FredericksburgDecember 11-13, 1862
• Lee did not contest the town, instead basing his defense on the nearly impregnable positions on Marye’s Heights just west of Fredericksburg.
• One of Longstreet’s artillerists commented, “A chicken could not live on that field when we open fire on it.”
Marye’s Heights
FredericksburgDecember 11-13, 1862
Union lines across from town
Mayre’s Heights behind town
Fredericksburg, Va.
Fredericksburg• Lee had some 20,000 men
under Longstreet on Marye's Heights behind a stone wall at the crest of the ridge.
• To guard against a Federal crossing downstream, south of the city, Lee had the rest of his men to the south under Jackson along hills in another excellent defensive position.
• On Dec 13, Burnside made six major assaults against Marye’s Heights– All failed.
Sunken Road at Marye’s Heights-Confederate Defensive Position
Angel of Marye’s Heights
Confederate Soldier, Richard Rowland Kirkland is known as the Angel of Marye’s Heights. After suffering heavy causalities on the assault, Union forces
retreated, leaving nearly 8,000 dead and wounded on the hill. Confederate soldier Kirkland risked his life the next day to provide aide and water to Union
soldiers.
Fredericksburg
• In the end…
• The Federals lost over 12,500 men (120,000)
• The Confederates about 5,500 (78,000)
Total Casualties: 18,000The Stonewall at Fredericksburg
Lee summarized, “It is well that war is so terrible, or we should grow too fond of it.”
• After Fredericksburg, Burnside desperately tried to flank Lee with a surprise crossing of the Rappahannock south of Fredericksburg by his main army and a cavalry raid crossing at Kelly’s Ford and striking Lee’s supply lines.
• Burnsides’ subordinates had lost confidence in him and they notified Lincoln of the plan.
• Lincoln put a halt to it as being too risky.
Joseph Hooker was among those whose criticism of Burnside bordered on insubordination
FredericksburgDecember 11-13, 1862
• Burnside revised the plan to move upstream and cross at Banks’ Ford.
• He began on Jan 23, 1863 and heavy rains produced a two-day “Mud March” that stymied the offensive.
• Amid more complaints from his subordinates, Burnside returned to camp near Fredericksburg.
• He will be replaced by Joseph Hooker.
“The Mud March” by Mort Kunstler
FredericksburgDecember 11-13, 1862
End of Fredericksburg
On to Chancellorsville…•Part I: Fredericksburg, VA
– December 11-13, 1862
•Part II: Chancellorsville, VA– May 1-3, 1863
Robert E. Lee
Joseph Hooker
134,00060,000AKA- Fightin’ Joe Hooker
ChancellorsvilleMay 1-3, 1863
Lincoln’s Thoughts on Hooker• Hooker replaced Burnside after Fredericksburg• “You are ambitious, which, within reasonable bounds,
does good rather than harm; but I think that during General Burnside’s command of the Army you have taken counsel with your ambition, and thwarted him as much as you could, in which you did a great wrong to the country…. I have heard, in such way as to believe it, of your recently saying that both the Army and the Government needed a Dictator. Of course it was not this, but in spite of it, that I have given you command. Only those generals who gain success can set up dictators. What I now ask of you is military success, and I will risk the dictatorship…”– Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln needs SOMEONE to WIN!!!
Hooker planned to envelop (surround) Lee by splitting his army into two sections.
Comes around the back of Lee’s Army
134,000
60,000
Plan of attack for Chancellorsville is in SOLID Blue.
Lee discovered Hooker’s plan, concluded Hooker’s divided army presented an opportunity, and planned his own envelopment.
ChancellorsvilleMay 1-3, 1863
LeeJackson
Stuart
• As Lee began to attack, Hooker lost his nerve and ordered a withdrawal/retreat.
• Hooker’s generals couldn’t believe it
– “Nobody but a crazy man would give such an order when we have victory in sight! I shall go and see General Hooker myself, and if I find out that you have spoken falsely, you shall be shot on my return.”
• General Henry Slocum to the messenger who delivered him Hooker’s order
Joseph Hooker
ChancellorsvilleMay 1-3, 1863
• In the Civil War, the cavalry served an important intelligence-gathering function, acting as the commanders “eyes and ears”
• Especially at the beginning of the war, the Confederacy enjoyed a marked advantage in cavalry– Jeb Stuart in particular provided valuable and timely
reconnaissance for Lee – Stuart had a great knack for interpreting what he saw
on his rides and providing Lee with a perceptive intelligence summation
– The Federal Army had no counterpart equivalent to Stuart, and Federal commanders had great difficulty in determining the location and strength of Confederate forces
ChancellorsvilleMay 1-3, 1863
• Hooker had ill-advisedly dispatched his cavalry on a raid against Lee’s communications– Hooker therefore had no good
intelligence about Lee
• On the other hand, Stuart had brought Lee information that Hooker’s flank was “in the air”
Confederate Gen. Jeb Stuart
ChancellorsvilleMay 1-3, 1863
• Jackson crashed into the exposed Federal right flank – “…. every sort of
organization that lay in the path of the mad current of panic stricken men, had to give way and be broken into fragments.”
• Major General Oliver Howard, commander XI Corps
ChancellorsvilleMay 1-3, 1863
Nature provided clues of the upcoming attack…every fox and rabbit in the area came fleeing toward the Union army.
• Brilliant Confederate victory– But at the cost of Jackson who was
mistakenly shot by his own men while on reconnaissance.
He was hit three times, and his Left Arm had to be amputated.
– Jackson “has lost his left arm; but I have lost my right arm.”
• Lee on learning of Jackson’s wound.Stonewall Jackson died of pneumonia on
May 10, 1863. Many historians feel that Gettysburg would have turned out differently if Jackson had survived.
ChancellorsvilleMay 1-3, 1863
Arm of Stonewall Jackson
General Lee and his “Right Arm”
LeeJackson
• “For once I lost confidence in Hooker, and that is all there was to it.”– Hooker explaining his performance at
Chancellorsville.
…. but, if superior leadership won Chancellorsville for the Confederates, the loss of Jackson would present profound
future leadership challenges for Lee.
ChancellorsvilleMay 1-3, 1863
Prayers for a Lost Friend
Days prior to Chancellorsville
Side Note: While in Chancellorsville, Jackson and other top officers stayed as welcomed guests in plantation homes. While at the this planation house, the young girl picture below, enjoyed playing with Jackson and it was report that he would play back with her and carry her on his shoulders. When the Union advanced toward C-ville, Jackson came back to the plantation house to warn the family that a battle would most likely form near them, and they should retreat to safety. Its at this point that Jackson learns that the young girl died of dysentery. Jackson’s anger connected the Union presence with the girls death, and he take his vengeance out on the Union army. The Union paid deeply for her loss.-Also, it must have been a cold winter, Jackson's aide ended up marring one of the daughters of the house.
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Vicksburg, Mississippi