Part 40 (1/2)
The government was insistent that McClellan should push his advance against Richmond, but the favorable autumn wore away and the wet season arrived before a plan of campaign was formulated. This was to cross the Blue Ridge Mountains from Harper's Ferry, following the southeastern side of the range, leaving detachments to guard all the pa.s.ses, and thus threaten the Confederate communications in the Shenandoah Valley.
McCLELLAN SUPERSEDED BY BURNSIDE.
Accordingly, on the 25th of October, the Army of the Potomac once more faced toward the Confederate capital. In the course of a week, it held the whole region southwest of the Blue Ridge and was near the army of General Lee, who fell back, cautiously followed at a safe distance by the Union commander. On the night of November 7th, while McClellan was talking in his tent with Burnside, a messenger arrived from Was.h.i.+ngton with an official order, relieving McClellan of the command of the Army of the Potomac and appointing Burnside as his successor. McClellan promptly turned over the care of the army to him, and, as directed, proceeded to Trenton, N.J., to await further orders.
It may be added that General McClellan never served again in the army.
He resigned in 1864, and was nominated the same year for President of the United States, but received only 21 electoral votes. He was Democratic governor of New Jersey 1878-1881, and died at his home in Orange, N.J., October 29, 1885.
Burnside, although a fine corps commander, was not qualified to command the splendid body over which he was thus placed. He devoted a number of days to acquainting himself with his vastly enlarged duties. The six corps were united into three divisions of two corps each, Sumner commanding the right, Hooker the centre, and Franklin the left, while General Sigel had charge of a body of reserve.
After consulting with General Halleck, it was decided that the Army of the Potomac should make a rapid march down the Rappahannock, cross by pontoon-bridges at Fredericksburg, and then advance upon Richmond by way of Hanover Court-House.
Everything depended upon initiating the movement before it was discovered by the enemy, but the delays, which perhaps were unavoidable, revealed the truth to Lee. When Sumner's division reached a point opposite Fredericksburg they saw the Confederates on the other side awaiting them. Still the force was so meagre that Sumner wished to cross and crush it, but Burnside would not permit. The delay gave Lee time to bring up his whole army and make his position impregnable. He stationed a battery some miles below the town to prevent any Union gunboats coming up stream, while every ford was closely guarded.
Burnside faltered before the position that was like a mountain wall, but the North was clamorous for something to be done, and he decided to make the hopeless attack. One hundred and forty-seven cannon were posted, on the night of December 10th, so as to command the town and cover the crossing of the river. Unable to prevent this, Lee made his preparations to annihilate the Unionists after they had crossed.
UNION DISASTER AT FREDERICKSBURG.
In the face of a brisk fire, a force was sent over the river and occupied the town, while Franklin laid his bridges two miles below and crossed without trouble. When the cold, foggy morning of December 13th broke, the whole Army of the Potomac was on the southern sh.o.r.e and the Confederate army was on the heights behind Fredericksburg.
As the fog had cleared to some extent, General Franklin advanced against the Confederate right, but, misunderstanding Burnside's order, he made only a feint. Fighting was kept up throughout the day, and once General Meade forced a gap in the enemy's line, but he was not reinforced, and was driven back with severe loss.
The attack on the right having failed, Sumner threw himself against the left. This required the seizure of Marye's Hill, and was hopeless from the first. As the Union troops emerged from the town they were in fair range of an appalling fire that mowed down scores. Still they pressed on with a courage that could not be surpa.s.sed until one-half lay dead and dying, when the rest staggered backward out of the furnace-blast of death. The gallant Hanc.o.c.k gathered up the fragments of the shattered line, and, uniting them with his own men, numbering 5,000 in all, he led a charge, which in a brief while stretched 2,000 dead or wounded. Still the survivors held their ground and were joined by others, who fell so fast that it was soon evident that every man would be killed. Then grimly remarking, ”I guess we have had enough killed to satisfy Burnside,” Hanc.o.c.k ordered the brave fellows to fall back.
Burnside was frantic over the repeated failures. He was determined that the heights should be carried, and ordered Hooker, his only remaining general, to do it. Hooker went across with his three divisions, made a careful reconnoissance, and saw that to carry out the command meant the ma.s.sacre of all his troops. He returned to Burnside and begged him to recall his order. He refused, and Hooker attempted to obey, leading 4,000 of as brave men as ever shouldered a musket; but before they could reach the stone wall 1,700 lay helpless on the icy earth and the remainder fled.
Had not night been at hand, Burnside would have ordered another charge and sacrificed hundreds of more lives, but he concluded to let the men live until the next morning. Already 1,200 had been killed, almost 10,000 wounded, and several thousand were missing. The commanders gathered around Burnside and insisted that the army should be brought across the river before it was annihilated, but he refused. He was resolved on sacrificing several thousand more under the ghastly name of a ”charge.” At last, however, he became more reasonable and listened to his officers. Perhaps the shrieks of the wounded, who lay for two days and nights where they had fallen without help, produced some effect in awaking him to a sense of his horrible blundering and incompetency, for, when the bleak, dismal morning dawned, the intended ”charge” was not ordered. The Army of the Potomac had been wounded so well-nigh unto death that it could not stand another similar blow.
[Ill.u.s.tration: LATEST MODEL OF GATLING GUN.]
On the cold, rainy night of December 15th, the wretched forces tramped back over the river on the pontoon-bridges, having suffered the worst defeat in the army's whole history. It was in the power of Lee to destroy it utterly, but it slipped away from him, just as it had slipped away from McClellan after the battle of Antietam.
The Union losses at Fredericksburg were: Killed, 1,284; wounded, 9,600; missing, 1,769; total, 12,653. The Confederate losses were: Killed, 596; wounded, 4,068; captured and missing, 651. Total, 5,315.
SUMMARY OF THE YEAR'S OPERATIONS.
The eventful year had been one of terrible fighting. It had opened with the Union successes of Forts Henry and Donelson, followed by Pea Ridge, Pittsburg Landing, and Corinth in the West, the naval battle between the _Merrimac_ and _Monitor_, the capture of Roanoke Island and of New Orleans. Bragg's invasion of Kentucky was injurious to the Union cause, while, as we have seen, the campaign against Richmond had been a series of disastrous failures. Still, taken as a whole, the year showed a decisive step forward. The Union line had been advanced across the State of Tennessee, substantial progress had been made in opening the Mississippi, and the blockade was enforced with a rigidity that caused great distress in the Confederacy.
Both sides felt the terrific strain of the war. The Confederacy in April pa.s.sed a conscription act, which made all able-bodied males between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five years soldiers for the war. All such were taken from the control of the State of which they were residents and placed at the disposal of President Davis until the close of the war. This conscription act was soon made much more severe in its provisions.
THE CONFEDERATE PRIVATEERS.
One source of help to the Confederacy was her privateers, which wrought immense damage to northern s.h.i.+pping. England a.s.sisted in fitting them out. Despite the protests of Minister Adams, many of these were allowed to put to sea. One of the first was the _Oreto_, afterward known as the _Florida_. She succeeded in eluding the blockade at Mobile, through flying the British flag, delivered her valuable freight, received her armament, and came forth again in the latter part of December and began her wholesale destruction of American merchantmen.