Comte de Paris, History of the Civil War in America. Vol. 3.
Henry Coppee , LL.D., Ed.

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[95] thrown over this canal, the platform of which only wanted a few planks, and so called Gibbon's attention to it. But the Confederates, who at daybreak were not prepared to defend this pass, had noticed the movements of the Federals. Early, withdrawing Hays' brigade from his extreme right, sent it to reinforce Barksdale at Marye's Hill; Wilcox's brigade, which since the 1st of May had been watching the approaches to Banks' Ford, was already on the way to Chancellorsville, when its chief, having been apprised of the passage of the Federals at Fredericksburg, hastened to occupy Taylor's Hill; finally, two pieces of the Washington artillery arrived in time to cover with projectiles the Federals, who were beginning to reconstruct the bridge. The Confederates, protected by their intrenchments, found it easy to stop that work without suffering much from the fire of the assailants, whose movement was thus interrupted. It was nine o'clock, and the Federals had not yet made a serious effort to take possession of the enemy's positions. This slowness of action was the more unaccountable that, since morning, they had distinctly heard the roaring of cannon, announcing to them that a great battle was being fought at Chancellorsville. The troops, massed in the streets of Fredericksburg waiting for orders, were burning with impatience.

At last, at the urgent solicitations of Warren, Sedgwick resolves to give the signal for a decisive and direct attack upon Marye's Hill. Two assaulting columns are formed by Newton, but much precious time is again lost in these preparations: it is near eleven o'clock when Colonel Spear on the right and Colonel Johns on the left advance, each at the head of two regiments¹ in serried ranks, against Cemetery Hill, north of the Plank Road. Colonel Burnham supports this movement with four regiments, which, being deployed south of this road, proceed in the direction of Marye's Hill. The long line of stone wall extends before them on both sides of the road. Barksdale has only two regiments and six pieces of cannon with which to defend it. Seeing the enemy debouch en masse and advance resolutely, he concludes