Rebellion Record: a Diary of American Events: Documents and Narratives, Volume 8.
Frank Moore, Ed.

General Burnside did not commence his movement from Warrenton till the fifteenth, and then, instead of crossing the Rappahannock by the fords, as he was expected to do, he marched his whole army down on the north bank of the river, his advance reaching Falmouth on the twentieth. Lee's army, in the mean time, moved down the south side of the river, but had not occupied Fredericksburgh on the twenty-first. The river was at this time fordable a few miles above the town, and General Sumner asked permission to cross and occupy the heights, but it was refused, and no attempt was made to effect the passage till the eleventh of December, by which time Lee's army had been concentrated and strongly entrenched. This passage, however, was effected without serious opposition, with the right wing and centre, under Sumner and Hooker, at Fredericksburgh, and the left wing, under Franklin, on the bridges established some miles below. It was intended that Franklin's grand division, consisting of the corps of Reynolds and Smith, should attack the enemy's right, and turn his position on the heights in the rear of Fredericksburgh, while Sumner and Hooker attacked him in front. But by some alleged misunderstanding of orders, Franklin's operations were limited to a mere reconnoissance, and the direct attacks of Sumner and Hooker were unsupported. The contest on the right wing, during the thirteenth, was continued till half-past 5 P. M., when our men were forced to fall back, after suffering terrible losses.

Both armies remained in position till the night of the sixteenth of October, when General Burnside withdrew his forces to the north side of the Rappahannock. General Burnside has been frequently requested to make an official report of these operations, but has furnished no information beyond that contained in his brief telegrams, sent from the battle-field, in one of which he uses the following language: “The fact that I decided to move from Warrenton to this line, rather against the opinion of the President, the Secretary of War, and yourself, and that you have left the whole movement in my hands, without giving me orders, makes me the more responsible.”

The loss of the rebels in this battle is not known. As they were sheltered by their fortifications, it was probably less than our, which, as officially reported, was one thousand one hundred and thirty-eight killed, nine hundred and fifteen wounded, and two thousand six hundred and seventy-eight missing. Most of the missing and many of the slightly wounded soon rejoined the regiments and reported for duty.

It was alleged at the time that the loss of this battle resulted from the neglect to order forward the pontoon train from Washington. This order was transmitted for Warrenton to Brigadier-General Woodbury, then in Washington, on the twelfth of November, and was promptly acted on by him. General Burnside had supposed that the pontoon train was then in Washington or Alexandria, while it was still on the Potomac, at Berlin and Harper's Ferry, General Burnside's order to send it to Washington not having been received by the officer left in charge there. General Burnside had only allowed time for transporting pontoons from Alexandria, when they had to be first transported to that place from Berlin. Delay was therefore entirely unavoidable, and, on investigation of the matter by General Burnside, General Woodbury was exonerated from all blame.

General Hooker relieved General Burnside from his command on the twenty-fifth of January, but no advance movement was attempted till near the end of April, when a large cavalry force, under General Stoneman, was sent across the upper Rappahannock, toward Richmond, to destroy the enemy's communications, while General Hooker, with his main army, crossed the Rappahannock and the Rapidan above their junction, and took position at Chancellorsville, at the same time General Sedgwick crossed near Fredericksburgh, and stormed and carried the heights.

A severe battle took place on the second and third of May, and on the fifth our army was again withdrawn to the north side of the river. For want of official data, I am unable to give any detailed accounts of these operations or of our losses.

It is also proper to remark in this place, that from the time he was placed in the command of the army of the Potomac till he reached Fairfax Station, on the sixteenth of June, a few days before he was relieved from the command, General Hooker reported directly to the President, and received instructions directly from him.

I received no official information of his plans or of their execution.

In the early part of June, Lee's army moved up the south bank of the Rappahannock, occupied the gaps of the Blue Ridge, and threatened the valley of the Shenandoah. General Hooker. followed on at interior lines, by Warrenton Junction, Thoroughfare Gap, and Leesburgh. But the operations of both armies were so masked by the intervening mountains, that neither could obtain positive information of the force and movements of the other. Winchester and Martinsburgh were at this time occupied by us simply as outposts. Neither place was susceptible of a good defence. Directions were therefore given, on the eleventh June, to withdraw their garrisons to Harper's Ferry, but these orders were not obeyed, and on the thirteenth Winchester was attacked, and its armament and a part of the garrison captured. Lee now crossed the Potomac near Williamsport, and directed his march upon Harrisburgh. General Hooker followed on his right flank, covering Washington and Baltimore. On reaching Frederick, Md., on the twenty-eighth June, he was, at his own request, relieved from the command, and Major-General Meade appointed in his place. During these movements, cavalry skirmishes took place at