O.R.-- SERIES I--VOLUME XXI [S# 31]
DECEMBER 11-15, 1862.--Battle of Fredericksburg, Va.
No. 264.--Reports of General Robert E. Lee, C.S. Army, commanding Army of Northern Virginia.(*)
HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA,
April 10, 1863.
GENERAL: I have the honor to submit herewith my report of the operations of this army from the time that it moved from Culpeper CourtHouse, in November, 1862, and including the battle of Fredericksburg. This report is sent in prior to reports of some of the preceding operations in consequence of the subordinate reports of this period having been first received. I have not yet received all the reports of the division and corps commanders for the intervening period, but hope soon to be able to furnish to the Department complete records of our operations during the last campaign.
I have the honor to be, with great respect, your obedient servant,
R. E. LEE,
General.
General S. COOPER,
Adjutant and Inspector General, Richmond, Va.
FREDERICKSBURG.
On November 15, [1862,] it was known that the enemy was in motion toward the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, and one regiment of infantry, with a battery of light artillery, was sent to re-enforce the garrison at Fredericksburg.
[excerpt]
About 11 a.m., having massed his troops under cover of the houses of Fredericksburg, he moved forward in strong columns to seize Marye's and Willis' Hills. General Ransom advanced Cooke's brigade to the top of the hill, and placed his own, with the exception of the Twenty-fourth North Carolina, a short distance in the rear. All the batteries on the Stafford Heights directed their fire upon the positions occupied by our artillery, with a view to silence it and cover the movement of the infantry. Without replying to this furious cannonade, our batteries poured a rapid and destructive fire into the dense lines of the enemy as they advanced to the attack, frequently breaking their ranks and forcing them to retreat to the shelter of the houses. Six times did the enemy, notwithstanding the havoc caused by our batteries, press on with great determination to within 100 yards of the foot of the hill, but here encountering the deadly fir e of our infantry, his columns were broken and fled in confusion to the town.
In the third assault, the brave and lamented Brig. Gen. Thomas R. R. Cobb fell, at the head of his gallant troops, and, almost at the same moment, Brigadier-General Cooke was borne from the field severely wounded. Fearing that Cobb's brigade might exhaust its ammunition, General Longstreet had directed General Kershaw to take two regiments to its support. Arriving after the fall of General Cobb, he assumed command, his troops taking position on the crest and at the foot of the hill, to which point General Ransom also advanced three other regiments. The Washington Artillery, which had sustained the heavy fire of artillery and infantry with unshaken steadiness and contributed much to the repulse of the enemy, having exhausted its ammunition, was relieved about 4 p.m. by Colonel Alexander's battalion. The latter occupied the position during the rest of the engagement, and, by its well-directed fire, rendered great assistance in repelling the assaults made in the afternoon, the last of which occurred shortly before dark. This effort met the fate of those that preceded it, and, when night closed in, the shattered masses of the enemy had disappeared in the town, leaving the field covered with dead and wounded. Anderson's division supported the batteries on Longstreet's left, and, though not engaged, was exposed throughout the day to a hot artillery fire, which it sustained with steady courage.
[excerpt]
The extent of our casualties will appear from the accompanying report of the medical director. We have again to deplore the loss of valuable lives. In Brigadier-Generals Gregg and Cobb, the Confederacy has lost two of its noblest citizens and the army two of its bravest and most distinguished officers. The country consents to the sacrifice of such men as these, and the gallant soldiers who fell with them, only to secure the inestimable blessing they died to obtain.
[end of extensive report]
I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
R. E. LEE,
General.
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O.R.-- SERIES I--VOLUME XXI [S# 31]
DECEMBER 11-15, 1862.--Battle of Fredericksburg, Va.
No. 271.--Report of Maj. Gen. Lafayette McLaws, C. S. Army, commanding McLaws division.
HEADQUARTERS DIVISION,
Camp near Fredericksburg, Va., December 30, 1863.
My division occupied the front of defense from Hazel Run along the ridge of hills to the right and through the point of woods extending into Mr. Alfred Bernard's field, one brigade being in reserve.
[excerpt]
On the 13th, skirmishing commenced at early dawn, the enemy shelling in that direction until about 11 o'clock, when the advance of the enemy drove in our pickets, and his columns approached the left of the line by the Telegraph road and deployed to our right? planting their stands of colors along our front. Before their deployment was completed, our fire had so thinned their ranks that the survivors retreated, leaving their colors planted in their first position. Soon another column, heavier than the first, advanced to the colors, but were driven back with great slaughter. They were met on retiring by re-enforcements and advanced again, but were again repulsed with increased loss. About I p.m., General Kershaw was directed to send two regiments from his brigade to the support of General Cobb, who reported that he was getting short of ammunition. The Sixteenth Georgia Regiment was sent forward at the same time. Not long after this, General Kershaw was directed to take his whole brigade. Just as his command was moving, he was ordered to hasten forward in person and assume command of the position under Marye's Hill, as General Cobb had been wounded and disabled. The South Carolina regiments were posted--the Second and Eighth, Colonel [J. D.] Kennedy and Captain [E. T.] Stackhouse commanding, in the road doubling on Phillips' Legion, Colonel [B. F.] Cook, and the Twenty-fourth Georgia, Colonel McMillan, and the Third and Seventh South Carolina, Colonel [James D.] Nance and Lieutenant-Colonel [El-bert] Bland, on the hill to the left of Marye's house. The Seventh was afterward moved (on a call from the Fifteenth North Carolina Regiment for re-enforcements) to the right and front of Marye's house, the three left companies being on the left of the house, the Fifteenth South Carolina, Colonel De Saussure, in reserve at the cemetery. The Third Battalion, Lieutenant-Colonel Rice, was posted at Howison's Mill, to resist any attack that might have been made up Hazel Run. The Eighth and Seventh Regiments arrived in time to assist in repelling a heavy assault made on the left at 2.45 p.m. The Third and Seventh Regiments suffered severely while getting into position, especially the former. Colonel Nance, Lieutenant-Colonel [W. D.] Rutherford, Major [Robert C.] Maffett, Captains [R. P.] Todd, [John C.] Summer, and [W. W.] Hance were shot down in succession, Cap,in Summer killed, the others more or less dangerously wounded, leaving the regiment under the command of Capt. John K. G. Nance, assisted by Lieutenant [A. E.] Doby, aide-de-camp to General Kershaw. Colonel Nance, although badly wounded, declined being removed at the time, and continued to encourage and direct his men, and after he was removed back to Marye's house ordered that his regiment take a new position, where the men would be less exposed, and sent directions to have them resupplied with ammunition.
[excerpt]
The country and the army have to mourn the loss of Brig. Gen. Thomas R. R. Cobb, who fell while in position with his brigade, and was borne from the field while his men were repulsing the first assaults of the enemy. He had but lately been promoted to a brigadier, and his devotion to his duties, his aptitude for the profession of arms, and his control over his men I have never seen surpassed. Our country has lost a pure and able defender of her rights both in the council and the field.
My aide-de-camp, Capt. H. L. P. King, was killed on Marye's Hill, pierced with five balls, while conveying an order to Brigadier-General Cobb. He was a brave and accomplished officer and gentleman, and had already distinguished himself during the operations in front of Fredericksburg, as he had done in all the other engagements when on duty.
[excerpt]
Colonel McMillan, of the Twenty-fourth Georgia, who succeeded to the command of the brigade when General Cobb was disabled during the first assaults of the enemy on Marye's Hill, behaved with distinguished gallantry and coolness.
General Barksdale commanded his fine brigade as it should have been commanded, and added new laurels to those gained on every other previous battle-field.
I call attention to the conduct of General Kershaw, who, after the fall of General Cobb, commanded the troops about Marye's Hill, composed of his own brigade and that of General Cobb. He possesses military talents of a high order, and unites with them that self-possession and daring gallantry which endears him to his command, and imposes confidence which but increases as the danger grows more imminent.
[excerpt]
The loss in killed, wounded, and missing in my command was as follows:
Casualties.
Kershaw's brigade 39 333 1 373
Barksdale's brigade 29 151 62 242
Cobb's brigade 32 198 4 234
Semmes' brigade .... 4 .... 4
Total 100 686 67 853
I inclose reports of the several brigade commanders with those of their respective regimental and battalion commanders, excepting General Barksdale, who, receiving leave of absence, went away without rendering his report; those of his regimental commanders are, however, inclosed.
Very respectfully,
L. McLAWS,
Major-General.
Maj. G. MOXLEY SORREL,
Assistant Adjutant-General.
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O.R.-- SERIES I--VOLUME XXI [S# 31]
DECEMBER 11-15, 1862.--Battle of Fredericksburg, Va.
No. 274.--Report of Brig. Gen. Joseph B. Kershaw, C. S. Army, commanding Kershaw's brigade.
HEADQUARTERS KERSHAW'S BRIGADE,
Near Fredericksburg, Va., December 26, 1862.
MAJOR: I have the honor to submit a report of the operations of my command during the recent engagement.
[excerpt]
About 1 o'clock of that day I was directed to send two regiments into the city to the support of General Cobb, then engaged with part of his brigade at the foot of Marye's Hill, and having called for re-enforcements. I sent forward at once Col. John D. Kennedy with his own (Second) regiment and the Eighth Regiment South Carolina Volunteers, Capt. E. T. Stackhouse commanding. Within a few minutes after, I was directed to take my entire command to the same point and assume command there. I had just moved when I was informed that General Cobb was wounded, and was directed by Major-General McLaws to hasten forward in person immediately and take command. Leaving my staff to conduct the troops, I proceeded as rapidly as possible to the scene of action, reaching the position at Stevens' house at the moment that Colonel Kennedy arrived with the Second and Eighth Regiments, and just in time to meet a fresh assault of the enemy. The position was excellent. Marye's Hill, covered with our batteries-then occupied by the Washington Artillery, Colonel [J. B.] Walton commanding--falls off abruptly toward Fredericksburg to a stone wall, which forms a terrace on the side of the hill and the outer margin of the Telegraph road, which winds along the foot of the hill. The road is about some 25 feet wide, and is faced by a stone wall about 4 feet high on the city side. The road having been cut out of the side of the hill, in many places this last wall is not visible above the surface of the ground. The ground falls off rapidly to almost a level surface which extends about 150 yards, then, with another abrupt fall of a few feet, to another plain which extends some 200 yards, and then falls off abruptly into a wide ravine, which extends along the whole front of the city and discharges into Hazel Run. I found, on my arrival, that Cobb's brigade, Colonel McMillan commanding, occupied our entire front, and my troops could only get into position by doubling on them. This was accordingly done, and the formation along most of the line during the engagement was consequently four deep. As an evidence of the coolness of the command, I may mention here that, notwithstanding that their fire was the most rapid and continuous I have ever witnessed, not a man was injured by the fire of his comrades.
[excerpt]
Our chief loss after getting into position in the road was from the fire of sharpshooters, who occupied some buildings on my left flank in the early part of the engagement, and were only silenced by Captain [W.] Wallace, of the Second Regiment, directing a continuous fire of one company upon the buildings.
General Cobb, I learn, was killed by a shot from that quarter. The regiments on the hill suffered most, as they were less perfectly covered. During the engagement Colonel McMillan was re-enforced by the arrival of the Sixteenth Georgia Regiment, and a brigade of General Ransom's command was also engaged, but as they did not report to me, I am unable to give any particulars in regard to them. That night we materially strengthened the position, and I more perfectly organized and arranged my command, fully expecting the attack to be renewed next day. I sent the Third Regiment in reserve, in consideration of their heavy loss.
[excerpt]
I append herewith a recapitulation of the losses sustained by my brigade.(*)
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
J. B. KERSHAW,
Brigadier-General, Commanding.
Maj. JAMES M. GOGGIN,
Assistant Adjutant-General.
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NOTE: "I learn"= not a eye-witness to the event but was given information.
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