Marye's Heights

georgian

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Feb 20, 2005
Hey yall. I really need any info yall could spare on Marye's Heights. Any info comcerning books, etc. would be greatly appreciated!! God Bless
 
Being a big western theater fan, i havent read a lot on Fredricksburg, except for general battle books, though i did find Alexander's "Fighting For The Confederacy" a very interesting insight to some of the events of Marye's Heights.
The continual fire from the confederate line and union snipers after the close of major action, through the night and the next morning really give u the feel that the AoNV and the AotP didn't quite have the same respect and admiration for one another like the armies in the west had (not including trans-mississippi obviously).

Just a quick off the topic question, whats the easiest way to say "western theater" that doesnt include the trans-mississippi theater, without having to type western theater not include the trans-mississippi theater? LOL can anyone help me
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Also check out Battles & Leaders (sorry but I forgot which volume) and it has a lot of material on the Union assault on Marye's Height. Longstreet's view is given there as well as his own memoirs. Also don't overlook Alexander's Miltiary Memoirs of a Confederate which also gives good info on that battle.

I've got about ten pages of text or so that I'll include in my book about that battle. I want it out this year.

BTW, Uncle Joe Johnston lamented that if he was there, the Union would not have attacked and that Robert Lee had all the luck.
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An interesting essay in the book "with my face to the enemy" (which is filled with essays varying from the informative to the pointless) is that by Joseph Alexander named "Defending Marye's Heights". It filled me in on an important aspect of nature of the sunken road at marye's heights, that being that the sunken road was not only a cut in the slopes, but the stone wall was not visible from the union side as the earth from the cut had been place on the oppisite side making the ground of the slope continue to the top of the stone wall, this was what made it so sterdy against artillery fire. It must have been gastly to have been a union soldier moving so close to the unknown land mark only to have a great pack of rebels rise up from what appeared to be the ground and fire into your lines with the feeling of heat on your face from their muskets.
Well this was an interesting discovery for me and I hope it is for someone else, while most of you are probably say "yes James and...?"
 
wt jimbos - Good question and very confusing as the Corn-feds were always changing the boundries of their departments. For simple minded folks like myself, I prefer the Confederate Army of Tennessee. Just knowing the stomping grounds of Bragg's battled B******s tells you they weren't trans-Mississippi.

Concerning Maryre's Heights, also read William Owen's history of the Washington Artillery. Poor Corporal Ruggles (the MoC has his picture). Longstreet has some good views in his memoirs too (From Manassas to Appomattox).
 
This is the text from a Power Point presentation of a lecture I did on Maryre's Heights.

Hope this helps.


Assault of Marye’s Heights December 13, 1862
Instructor: TSgt Fred S. Powers

References
Lesson plan for lecture given at Keesler AFB, MS on May 1 2004.
www.historychannel.com
www.ehistory.com
www.nps.gov

Union Commander
Major General Ambrose Burnside

Army of the Potomac

120,000 men

Confederate Commander
General Robert E. Lee

Army of Northern Virginia

78,000 men

An Ambitious Plan
The plan was to force a way through the Confederate lines and open a line of advance through to the Confederate Capital of Richmond.
This required crossing the Rappahannock River, however, the pontoon boats that were needed to cross were delayed, causing a delay of several weeks

December 12, 1862
Once the pontoon boats arrived the decision was made to cross at Fredericksburg itself. The bridges were constructed despite constant sniping by General William Barksdale’s Mississippi troops.
General Burnside pushed the attack anyway, since he was always unwilling to change the plan once committed.

To Marye’s Heights
Marye’s heights sits to the west of the town. To assault the heights, Union troops had to cross a canal, then move up a slope, all the while under fire from the artillery units commanded by E. Porter Alexander, Lee’s chief of artillery, who boasted “A chicken would not be able to live on that field.”

12:00 p.m. December 13, 1862
The lead unit for the attack was Major General Edwin Sumner’s Right Grand Division, composed of the Second and Ninth Corps. Each corps had been split into smaller divisions and then into brigades.

First to the Colors
The first group into the attack was the Third Division, under Union Brig Gen William French, with the brigades of Brig Gen Nathan Kimball, Colonel Oliver Palmer, and Colonel John Andrews

A nasty surprise
As the first formation marched across the field they were met with fire from about 2000 troops under the command of Confederate Brig Gen Thomas Cobb, who had formed behind a stone wall running along the Telegraph Road.



Firestorm
As the Union troops approached the summit, the Confederates began to place their best shooters on the firing line, while the others loaded rifles. This resulted in a constant amount of fire that the began to decimate the blue clad formations within 15 minutes. They got no closer than 125 yards.

What were they facing?
Minie bullets, such as these, which can go through six inches of pine boards and smash cinder blocks at 100 yards.
Imagine what it did to the human body.

Also coming at them
Artillery shells, such as this Parrott projectile and this round shell, filled with powder and fused to explode above or within a formation.

Second Try
Soon, the First Division, under Union Brig Gen Winfield Hancock, with the brigades of Col Samuel Zook, Brig Gen Thomas Meagher and Brig Gen. John Caldwell made their move.

Irish Brigade
Brig Gen Thomas Meagher, Commanding
Consisted of 28th MA,
63rd, 69th, 88th NY, and the 116th PA.
All were Irish immigrants.

Irish vs. Irish
Facing them was the 24th Georgia Regiment. They were made up of Irish immigrants, same as the Irish Brigade.
Despite pleas to turn back, Lt Col St Clair Mulholland pushed his Union Irish troops to attack. The Confederate Irish wept as that successfully repulsed the attack. The Irish Brigade only got within 25 yards of the wall.

Another Failure
Hancock was forced to pull back with a loss of 42% of his division. (about 2100 men)
This was the highest loss of any division during the entire war.
Third formation up the hill
The next corps in the attack was led by Union Brig Gen Oliver Howard, this did not succeed either.
This effort cost an additional 877 men.
By this time the slopes below the heights were covered with the dead and dying.

Change of Command at the top
The Confederates were reinforced by Confederate Gen Joseph Kershaw’s brigade, who then had to take command when Cobb was mortally wounded.

Another Corps to the Attack
IX Corps, under Union Gen Samuel Sturgis, was order to make the assault, trying a flanking maneuver to dislodge the Confederates. This too came to no avail.
Burnside ordered a halt to the attacks in order to assess the plan.

2:30 p.m.
Several more tries was made in the afternoon, this time under the command of Union Gen, Joseph Hooker, again to no effect. This was followed by Union Gen Andrew Humphrey’s division.

Final Failure
Finally, Burnside ordered his troops back across the river, but only after surviving and wounded troops spent the night trapped on the slope

Why did it fail?
In all there were seven assaults against Marye’s Heights

All of the attacks failed because the Confederates were just too entrenched.

Results of the assault
Killed; Union:7000, Confederate: 1200
The Irish Brigade lost nearly 50% of their effectives.
Burnside would lose his command to Hooker.


What Happened to the Commanders?
Burnside would be reassigned as Commander of the Department of the Ohio, soon regaining a corps command with the Army of the Potomac until the disastrous Battle of the Crater (Petersburg, VA) in 1864. He resigned and went into politics, becoming first, Governor of Rhode Island, and then a Senator. He died in 1881
Lee remained in command until his surrender in 1865. He became president of Washington College (now Washington and Lee College). He died in 1870

Most notable quote.


It is well that war is so terrible, lest we should grow too fond of it.

--- Gen. Robert E. Lee
 
Georgian -

Frank O'Reilly recently wrote a full treatment book on Fredericksburg. I suspect it will be the standard for some time to come. He also authored a series of maps for the battle. With the book and the maps, you'll have all you need.
 
Thank you very much good people. I've been obliged to order both of O'Reilly's books on Fredericksburg, which is scheduled for study sometime around 2009.
Ole
 
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