Battery L, 1st Artillery Regiment (Light) - George Breck Columns: Chapter 18: They Will Cross The Rappahannock Again And Again.” The Battle Of Chancellorsville, April 29, 1863 – May 8, 1863

Hooker was determined not to repeat Burnside’s mistake at Fredericksburg. He would not try to attack Lee head-on. Instead, he would use his two-to-one advantage in manpower to force Lee out into the open, on ground of Hooker’s choosing. To accomplish this, 40,000 Union soldiers, eventually reinforced to 72,000, would steal upstream, then cross the Rappahannock in Lee’s rear. Another 40,000 would demonstrate just below Fredericksburg as a diversion to hold Lee’s attention. The bulk of the Union cavalry, in the meantime, would already be deep in enemy territory, disrupting Lee’s communications and supplies. Lee would be forced to come out of his trenches and either fight or flee.

The cavalry and its artillery –10,000 strong – set off April 13, as Breck noted in his column two days later. However, a severe storm caused the Rappahannock to rise, and the cavalrymen were not able to ford the river until April 29. It would have been better if the cavalry had been permanently detained; Hooker would miss their “eyes and ears” in the critical days ahead. Nonetheless, the cloak of secrecy that kept Breck in the dark about what was happening also confounded the Confederates, at least initially. On April 29, Breck and his battery mates found themselves on the east bank of the Rappahannock below Fredericksburg – exactly where they had been the previous December – as soldiers of the I and VI Corps, part of Hooker’s diversion, established bridgeheads. (1)

In Battery, Three Miles Below and Opposite Fredericksburg, Virginia
April 29th, 1863
(Appeared Monday, May 4, 1863)

Dear Union: -- The quietness on the Rappahannock is again broken, by the cracking of musketry and the booming of cannon. The scenes of the 11th and 12th of December, 1862, are again being enacted, almost in the same identical place. Battery “L” is in position, in exactly the same locality which it occupied just before and after it crossed the Rappahannock at the first great battle of Fredericksburg. I say first great battle, for we are now on the eve of another, which will unquestionably exceed in greatness and severity the terrible battle of the 13th of December. Will it terminate as disastrously as that did? A very short time will decide – perhaps to-morrow. We were confident of victory then. We are now, notwithstanding we were defeated before. To be sure, we have a more realizing sense of the cost that it will require to win the now impending battle, but the troops who then fought with such brave hearts, such indomitable courage, will fight again as bravely and courageously as ever, and their confidence in Hooker, in his plans and combinations, inspires them with the belief that victory is certain to perch on the national banner in the approaching conquest.

Yesterday at 12 o’clock we bade adieu to our old camp near Waugh Point, which had been our abiding place for four months, and took up our line of march, to use a common phrase among soldiers, on the “war path” again. It was pleasant in the morning, though the air had a moisture to it that augured rain. Of course it will rain, was the remark of many, now we have been ordered to move. Sure enough, the sky was soon overcast with clouds and the rain began to fall very fast. The day assumed the same appearance that characterized the day on which the memorable mud march was begun, only it was not so cold. It was a query whether we would not have another just such a march, but though it rained all the afternoon it ceased raining come night, and though here and there were deep mud holes and miry ditches, and the roads were considerably heavy, we had but little difficulty in getting along. Two or three times a piece or a caisson got stuck in the mud, once very badly, and the same with other batteries. The rain and mist was favorable for the army, for it helped to conceal from the enemy any movement being made. The troops all felt first rate, or they acted as if they did. It was not winter with its cold rains, sharp winds, snow and slush, and that made a vast difference in the spirits of the men. They could lie down on the wet ground very cheerfully, for it was much more preferable to bivouacking in the open air of a winter’s night.

It was 4 o’clock this morning when we arrived on the grounds where our battery is planted. We could not see across the river, though but a short ways from it, owing to the heavy fog or mist. At present writing, however – 11 o’clock a.m. – the mist has all cleared away, and there is no mistaking the plains and heights of Fredericksburg. They stand out in bold relief, especially the latter, which stare us right in the face. The ground where we fought lies spread out before us, and behind them tower the wooded hills that Burnside’s army attempted to storm and take.

The scene is somewhat different from what it was last December. Then the heights were densely timbered and patches of snow covered the ground, but now the woods have been thinned out, many trees having been cut down, probably for rebel camps, and the earth, instead of being covered with a mantle of white, is clad in the verdure of spring. The slopes of the hills are dotted with the white tents of the rebels, and when I tell you that at a distance of about three miles to our right and front, the city of Fredericksburg, with its church spires and residences, may be witnessed; that in front and rear, and on the right and left of me, tens of thousands of troops, with all the “pomp and circumstance of glorious war” are either wending their way in long, black, dense columns to the opposite shore of the Rappahannock, or are lying down or massed on the green or ploughed earth on both sides of the river; that trains of army wagons, with their white covers, are stretched along the fields and over the hills; that two balloons are reconnoitering in the air; that the flags of the signal corps are waving; and then in addition to this, when I mention the singing of birds, the leafing of trees and the mildness of the day, you can imagine what a magnificent sight there is presented for the admiration and enjoyment of us soldiers. But its warlike aspect and features mar its enjoyment, for the thought that this grand and beautiful scene will very soon become one of bloody carnage and death; that multitudes of human beings will doubtless be sacrificed on the field of strife affects the heart with solemnity and sadness.

Probably the telegraph has already informed you of the successful crossing of the Rappahannock by a small portion of Hooker’s army – not more than two or three brigades as yet, I think, belonging to the 1st and 6th corps. The latter corps have thrown a pontoon bridge across the river on our right, where or near where Franklin’s grand division crossed under Burnside. They met with little resistance from the rebel pickets in the construction of the bridge, which was accomplished early this morning. Not so with the 1st corps on our left. The rifle pits of the rebels were vigorously used from daybreak against the pontoon builders, and not until the 6th Wisconsin and 24th Michigan regiments of Gen. Meridith’s brigade, 1st division, had made their way across the river in pontoon boats and charged up the steep banks on the rebel sharpshooters, driving them from their hiding places and dispersing them like sheep, did the engineers succeed in laying the bridge. A bold, daring and brilliant achievement was this, like that which took place in December at the laying of the bridge opposite Fredericksburg, in which Col. Fairchild’s regiment covered itself with such glory. Such an affair, executed against such difficulties, in the face of a raking fire from a regiment of unerring rifles, handled by men entirely concealed from view excepting when they arose to fire, who had ample opportunity to “draw a bead” on our brave men, is worthy of conspicuous notice, and entitles them to the highest praise and honor. The bridge is about half a mile below us, and we had a good view of the brilliant charge, which was performed at double-quick by filing down the banks of the Rappahannock amidst the volleys of the musketry and the firing of cannon. It was a magnificent sight. Battery L took part in the affair, firing a few rounds to shell the rebels out from their places of concealment.

There was some fast skedaddling by the “grey backs” when our troops reached the other side, they running back to their lines as rapidly as their legs could carry them, but nearly two hundred were taken prisoners, including a Lieut. Colonel and a Lieutenant. The prisoners are reported to have looked better, have been better clothed and possessing more intelligence than the generality of rebels who have been captured. The Lieutenant, a young and apparently very ingenuous man, imparted the encouraging information that the rebel army was stronger than ever in our front, in point of numbers and defences – the latter he stated being three times more impregnable. He said that Jackson was in command of all the forces, Lee having been assigned to some other command, or disposed of in some way. Perhaps he meant Lee was away temporarily. We always thought he was their greatest and ablest General.

Wednesday (April 29), p.m. – Everything is very quiet this afternoon. No picket firing and no cannonading of any importance. Occasionally a gun is discharged on our extreme left. The rebels have thrown about half a dozen shots across the river, but injuring nobody. They don’t seem disposed to open hostilities. Want us, no doubt, to come across with all our entire force, and then receive us as they did Burnside. Hooker appears to be in no particular haste to cross. I understood that three corps have gone up to Banks’ Ford, some twelve miles above our position or Falmouth, to cross the river, and are to come down what is called the telegraph road, and try and flank the rebels. (2) The 1st, 3d and 6th corps will cross in this vicinity and attempt to break the enemy’s lines. Gen. Hooker started off this morning to see how matters were progressing on the right of his army. I suppose no further moves will be made by the troops on the left, until something effective is accomplished by the right wing.

It is beginning to rain again. It has been really hot since noon. I leave this open till morning.

Thursday, a.m., April 30 -- It rained quite hard last night and cold drizzling rain has been falling most of the morning. If we hadn’t frequently experienced just such weather in the field, we should think we were having a terrible rough time, but it is an old story and we have no inclination to repeat it to our readers. Two old houses that were standing not far from us when we came here, have been torn down for fuel purposes. Yesterday an overcoat was very uncomfortable; to-day, the same article is hardly enough comfortable. Things look wet and dreary enough. The roads are shockingly bad. We are in the same position. I havn’t heard the report of a gun since yesterday. There are two divisions across the river – Gen. (James) Wadsworth’s (1st Division of I Corps) and Gen. (William Thomas) Brooks (1st Division of VI Corps). Their pickets are being united, and when a union is effected, the line in our front will extend two or three miles. Our pickets are advancing, unmolested, and occupy almost the same ground as they did in December. It will be very difficult to manoeuvre with artillery if we are ordered to the front.

Capt. Reynolds has just announced to the company the cheering intelligence that the three corps on the right have effected not only a crossing, but are on the left and in rear of the rebel army, and that no alternative is left the enemy but to evacuate the heights in our front or come out in the open field and fight us. If they do the latter, the victory is ours sure. We surmise, however, if they are cornered as above mentioned, they won’t be long in falling back on to Richmond.

This is the day set apart for national prayer and fasting. May God in his mercy accept the penitent offerings of the nation and answer the prayers of the people with the restoration of Peace and the Union. G.B.

I forgot to state that the company was paid up the 1st of March, on Monday last, and the boys were fortunate enough to express their money home before we broke camp. About $2,500 was sent.

 

So far, Hooker’s plan was working to perfection. On April 30, he joined soldiers of the three corps that had crossed upstream and were encamped at Chancellorsville. “Our enemy must either ingloriously fly, or come out from behind his defenses and give us battle on our own ground, where certain destruction awaits him,” Hooker announced in a famous address to his troops. Meanwhile, soldiers of the I and VI Corps, under command of Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick, remained at Fredericksburg, with Wadsworth’s and Brooks’ divisions firmly established on the Confederate side of the river. On May 1, Battery L crossed the river to join Wadsworth’s men.

South side of the Rappahannock, four miles below Fredericksburg, Virginia
May 1, 1863
(Appeared Wednesday, May 6, 1863)

Dear Union – We have crossed the river you perceive from the caption of my letter. Yes, here we are, about one hundred and fifty yards from the Rappahannock, with our guns planted behind earth embrasures which are in the form of a semi-circle, and on our right and left are long lines of rifle pits in which our infantry are posted. On our immediate right is the 31st N.Y. or Brooklyn regiment. Another battery of 12 pounders, brass, or Napoleon guns, battery B, 4th U.S. Artillery, in command of Lieut. James Stewart, is in position on our right, massed as ours is behind earthworks, and which, by the way, is one of the finest batteries in the regular or volunteer service. It did magnificent execution at the battle of Antietam, repulsing two brigades of Mississippians and Texans, who charged on and tried to take the battery and break our lines. You can judge how hotly it was engaged, when I state that it lost 13 men killed, 30 wounded, including Captain Campbell, who then had command, and 26 horses killed and wounded. Had the men forsaken their posts, or the battery been captured, the fate of that battle might have been turned against us. Lieut. Stewart is a thorough soldier, an accomplished artillerist, who has grown right up in the service and has experienced all the rough and tumble of a soldier’s life. And then too, he is “hail fellow, well met,” and unlike some officers in the regular army, he doesn’t stand off from us volunteers and proclaim by word or conduct, “I am better than thou.” His battery is one of the three in Gen. Wadsworth’s division.

We remained in the position, mentioned in my last, until about three o’clock this morning, when we were ordered to cross the river and take the place of Capt. (Dunbar R.) Ransom’s (Battery C) 5th U.S. Artillery. By daybreak we had executed the orders. But one pontoon bridge is down, on the left of the army, the other having been taken up last night and sent to U.S. Ford, up the Rappahannock. But two divisions of the 1st and 6th corps are on this side of the river and our pickets extend 400 yards from its banks. The rebel pickets can be seen almost as plainly as our own, and their troops have been observed marching along the heights nearly all the morning, strengthening, apparently the left of their army.

The prospect all around us is truly magnificent. Several hundred acres of level and slightly undulating ground, forming one vast plain, lie to our right, left and front. The land is very rich, adapted to the growing of everything that can be raised in a tropical region. I suppose the country surrounding Fredericksburg is not to be surpassed for fertility in the State of Virginia. A farm in this vicinity is worth having. No soldier could object taking his “bounty land” in this neighborhood.

Between us and the heights is the Bowling Green road, just this side of which we took position at the first battle of Fredericksburg. The rebel pickets are posted along this road. On the north side of the river are thousands of our troops and a long line of batteries. The river, by the by, at this point is about the width of the Genesee. It has many bends and crooks. The banks are much higher on this side than the opposite.

The day is warm and beautiful – a real summer day. Fleecy clouds are floating in the air, the birds are caroling their sweetest notes, and, as I write, 12 o’clock, everything is very quiet. With the exception of a few musket or rifle shots, there has been no firing to-day. Every moment, however, hastens the approach of a collision between the two great armies now so closely confronting each other. The clash of arms may occur this afternoon. It probably depends a good deal on movements made by the army on the extreme right, unless the rebels on our front come out and give us battle. They may begin a sharp cannonading, as they did yesterday afternoon, with 20-pounder Parrotts, which occasioned a spirited reply from our batteries on the other side of the river. There was quite a heavy artillery duel from 5 o’clock till dark. Doubtless the enemy’s object was to induce us to open a general engagement. I understand there were several fatal casualties among our troops.

Last evening we heard the rebels cheering, or rather yelling, for they don’t cheer as our troops do. It is more after the manner of savages than civilized men. We also heard a rebel band discoursing some very fine music. What it was all about I cannot say. The arrival of reinforcements, very likely, or the receipt of some good war news, favorable to their cause.

General Orders No. 47 were read to our company this morning, announcing to the army from the Commanding General, the successful operations of the last three days as having determined “that the enemy must either ingloriously fly, or come out from his defences and fight us on our own ground, where certain destruction awaits him.” The corps on our right are said to have accomplished a series of brilliant achievements. Of course this is very inspiriting news to the army. May it prove but the beginning to a glorious end.

Two secesh prisoners have just come in from the rebel lines, having surrendered themselves to our pickets voluntarily. One is a New Yorker from Oneida county. Both look well and hearty – far from being pictures of starvation. They are clad in the simon pure “butternut.” One of them has two haversacks filled with ham or bacon and soft bread. “General Starvation,” reported as being in command of the Confederate army, is a sham General – all a myth, in our opinion. These prisoners remarked that they had got tired of fighting, and wanted to quit. They thought they would help our soldiers all they could, and so they brought their guns, well loaded, to give away. They assured us there would be a lot more who would follow their example to-night. All right. We rather receive that class of personages than those of dusky hue.

Friday, (May 1) p.m. – For the last hour there has been heavy cannonading on the right. All quiet in our front. G.B.

On May 1, Hooker pushed three columns of soldiers from Chancellorsville toward the rear of Lee’s lines at Fredericksburg. Far from fleeing, Lee was eager to fight. He divided his army, leaving 12,000 men under Maj. Gen. Jubal Early on the heights behind Fredericksburg to keep an eye on Sedgwick’s men, and sent the rest of his army west to confront Hooker. The heavy cannonading Breck heard that afternoon may have been from the collision of Union and Confederate columns west of Fredericksburg. A critical moment in the campaign had arrived. Hooker abruptly ordered his attacking columns to return to Chancellorsville and dig in. His rationale: If Lee wanted to hurl his outnumbered forces against the Union army, let him. This tactic might have worked except for two things. Hooker’s soldiers at Chancellorsville were in the middle of the Wilderness, an area of dense thickets and second-growth woods where superior numbers didn’t mean as much. Moreover, by going on the defensive, Hooker had relinquished the initiative to Lee…

In the Field near Chancellorsville,
Sunday morning, May 3, 1863
(Appeared Monday, May 11, 1863)

Dear Union: -- My last letter informed you of our being in position on the south side of the Rappahannock, three or four miles below Fredericksburg. This was the afternoon of May 1st. There was a little demonstration that evening, not of a fighting character, however, but of halloaing and shouting. It was begun by the rebel pickets for some unknown cause, and our troops thought they would respond by shouting in return, and very soon along the entire length of the line of the 1st and 6th corps there was a noise which completely drowned what one of our boys denominated the fever and agueish yell of the rebels. One regiment on the left would commence a kind of half cheer and halloa, and another would take it up, pass it along to the rest, and soon way up to the right, when it would be repeated back in the same manner. Secesh very shortly subsided, and introduced quite an illumination of camp fires, perhaps to make believe how strong they were in numbers, and how defiant.

There was another demonstration in addition to the above, which we thought was to assume the form of an attack, by our taking the Bowling Green road, as it had been intimated that something of the kind was going to be done. We were ordered to be in readiness to move, and Generals (John F.) Reynolds and (James) Wadsworth with their staffs made their appearance on the field, rode along the lines, and then assembled together, apparently for consultation. But no advance was made. It was a feint merely, to draw the attention of the enemy, and prevent him, as events proved the following day, from reinforcing his left wing. We passed a quiet night, and a mild and beautiful night it was, as “light as day.”

That same night, on May 1, Hooker ordered Wadsworth’s division to prepare to cross back over the Rappahannock and, with the rest of I Corps, join the Union forces at Chancellorsville. Lee sat on a log with “Stonewall” Jackson and formulated one of the most audacious battle plans in history. The next morning, Breck and his battery mates would experience some of their most harrowing combat of the war, and it would be little more than a footnote in the bigger picture that was unfolding.

At four the next morning we were up and ready for action. It had been determined to fall back on the other side of the river, the object of the 1st division in crossing being simply to hold as great a force of the rebel army as possible on the heights in front of us, and thus weaken his left wing, where the main part of the federal army was operating.

At 8 o’clock we were just on the point of recrossing, when two rebel batteries of ten and twenty-pounders opened a terrific fire upon us at a distance of about 2,000 yards. The cannoneers sprang immediately to their posts, and in a few minutes we were actively engaged in returning shot for shot. We could not discern the rebel batteries on account of woods intervening between us and them, and the only way we could get a range was from the smoke of the guns. Their position was on the slope of the heights, well massed, and they had a range on us as perfect as if the distance had been reduced to feet and inches. We had received scarcely half a dozen shots before whiz came a shell, and bursting, a fragment of it hit Sergeant Winfield S. Chase of Palmyra in his left wrist, making not a very serious wound but obliging him to go to the rear. Then crash came a ball, right in the midst of one of the limber teams, and down fell two horses, shot dead. Thicker and hotter the iron missiles came, plowing up the earth all about the battery, lodging in the earthworks in front of us, striking under the limbers, breaking an axletree and disabling a wheel, wounding horses, creating a panic among them, so that several times some of the teams came very near running away and dashing down the bank into the river – and would have done so had it not been for the fortitude of the drivers – and then there came a solid shot, with all the terrible velocity that gun powder could impel it, charged with death, for it struck the legs of one of our gallant boys, Charles Carpenter of Palmyra – who was once taken prisoner to Richmond – severing the right one above the knee almost from his body, making an awful flesh wound, and breaking the other. It struck the earth and threw the gravel and dirt so badly into the face of John Gragan, one of the right section drivers, that it wounded him severely, blinding him, but not permanently, I think. It broke the legs of two horses, and then ricocheted to the opposite bank of the river. Poor Charley Carpenter! A brave and good soldier and full of fortitude. He was carried to the hospital where he had an amputation performed on the leg so nearly severed, and the doctors thought he would recover. But it was not so ordered by Him who ordains life and death. He died about an hour after the operation had been performed, adding another to the long list of martyrs for our country. (3) The work of destruction in our company does not cease with him, for soon there bursts a shell which shatters the right arm of Charles Husted, a detailed man from the 141st N.Y. regiment. He is taken to the rear and his arm is amputated below the elbow. He remarked that just as soon as his arm become healed, he should return to the battery. He wished to fight long enough to see the Union restored. Another shot is sent into our midst which hits Wm. Turley in his right ankle, causing quite a severe wound, but not so as to lose his foot. The same shell wounds a horse. Sergeant Amos Gibbs is wounded in the shoulder by the fragment of a shell while he is trying to stop a frightened team, that is, attempting to run away. Had it struck quarter or half an inch lower, he would have lost an arm. Wm. Quinlan is wounded slightly in the side. David Stewart receives a wound in the scalp, but after it is dressed remains with his team. Corporal Geo. Tillotson is slightly wounded. William Guype is scarred in the face.

There are many close and narrow calls, among them that of William E. Jones, who just barely escapes with his head, a shell coming so closely as to scratch his neck and the concussion being so great as to take off his cap. He feels to see if he is not really decapitated, and then rushes up with the ammunition he has to insert into the right gun of the left section to pay back the compliment he has just received from one of the rebel gunners. The artillery duel continues for an hour and a half, and never were we under a more severe fire, but the men stand nobly to their posts, the gunners take careful and deliberate aim, our shot and shell begin to tell with effect, for the rebel batteries fire more slowly and soon they cease to fire altogether. We have silenced them. We keep firing and then move off, one piece at a time, firing retiring and covering the infantry, until we are across the river. And thus ends the eighth fight in which it has been the lot of Battery L to participate.

No other battery on the south of the Rappahannock was engaged but ours. While firing, Gen. Reynolds came on the ground and was overheard to make the remark, “if that Battery continues to stand such a fire, as it is receiving, it will stand anywhere.” We mention the compliment, modestly as possible, for we think it is worth telling the friends of Reynolds’ Battery. Gen. R., whose headquarters commanded a fine view for witnessing the effects of our firing, said that we did excellent execution. Our pickets have informed us that two of the enemy’s caissons were blown up and two guns dismounted.

We had ten men killed, and several slightly wounded, as already reported, and lost twelve horses, killed and wounded. The earthworks were a great protection to us, and probably saved many lives and much destruction, for they arrested the fragments of many shells which bursted in our front. (4)

We were told, when we went into park, that we should be allowed a rest of several hours, but two hours after unharnessing and getting our battery in order, orders came to hitch up again and proceed forthwith to join the right wing of the army. It was hot and the men were very much fatigued in consequence of their morning’s or forenoon’s hard and warm work, but orders must of course be obeyed, and so at 4 p.m. we took up our line of march to join the right wing of the army. We moved up the river, passing Fredericksburg City, which seemed forsaken and desolate enough, for we did’nt see but one person in it, and the houses all looked deserted, and arrived at U.S. Ford at midnight. We had performed a forced march of twelve miles, the latter part of which was thro’ a densely wooded, marshy country and over corduroy roads. Very fortunate that the mud has dried up, though in places, it was very bad. A severe rain storm would put a stop to military operations for a short time. This is a terrible country to manoeuvre an army in.

While Breck and the rest of Wadsworth’s division trudged upstream, Hooker’s soldiers waited in their lines at Chancellorsville for Lee to attack. The Confederates certainly gave every sign of wanting to do so, making demonstrations all along the line, causing a lot of noise and commotion. Little did Hooker’s men know it was all an elaborate ruse. Lee’s cavalry had discovered that the far right end of Hooker’s line, held by XI Corps, was dangling in mid air. Lee divided his army yet again, sending Jackson with 33,000 men to attack that exposed right flank. But it would be several hours before Jackson could get his men into position. In the meantime, Lee had only 15,000 men to bluff Hooker’s 72,000.

Finally, just as the soldiers of XI Corps were beginning to prepare their dinners, Jackson’s men came screaming out of the woods at them. Panicked Union soldiers turned and fled eastward toward the Chancellorsville clearing; the entire XI Corps collapsed. Fortunately for the Union army, Jackson wasn’t able to launch his attack until late in the day. As darkness gathered, his own columns fell into disarray and the Confederate attack began to lose its momentum. Jackson rode forward to try to restore order and was mortally wounded by his own men. Battery L was not directly involved in this fighting. After arriving in the Chancellorsville area, it was placed in reserve.

Long before we arrived at the end of our march we heard heavy cannonading in the direction we were moving, and it appears that there was a terrible battle last night, which resulted in our forces being driven back four or five miles, I have been told. The 11th corps was attacked under a surprise – owing to there not being skirmishers thrown out – the troops became somewhat panic stricken, and for a season matters looked very ticklish. Wagons, ambulances and soldiers became mixed up, but the rout was stopped, and order being brought out of confusion, the enemy’s advance was checked – not, however, until he had taken fifteen guns and there had been a great slaughter and many prisoners taken. Some of the batteries were left by their infantry supports, and had to surrender, their horses being shot down.

After crossing the pontoon bridge, we were informed that we could have a rest of two hours, when we must be ready to go to the front. At 2 a.m. we lay down on the ground to refresh ourselves with a little sleep, but at four we were up, and shortly after moved forward, where we went into park with all the batteries in our corps, two or three miles from the front. Here we are now, and as I write a bloody and terrific battle is in progress.

On the morning of May 3, Jackson’s men, now commanded by Jeb Stuart, were still separated from Lee by a Union salient protruding around the Chancellorsville clearing. Wave after wave of Confederate infantry crashed against the Union position. Hooker made a critical mistake by evacuating Hazel Grove, giving the Confederates one of the few clearings where they could bring their artillery to bear on the Union troops. Hooker himself was momentarily knocked unconscious when a shell struck the pillar he leaning against at the Chancellor house. He refused to relinquish command, but seemed dazed and listless. While the fighting raged, Breck and his battery mates waited in reserve…

The cannon are belching forth the work of death, the musketry’s sharp and constant rattle is heard, and war is being portrayed, not on canvass by the pencil of an artist, but in the field with all the destructive implements of modern warfare, and by men who in the most solemn reality are killing one another and doing deeds of bloodshed and carnage. Our forces seem to be driven, for wagons and batteries are falling back to the rear. We are not far from a large brick house which is being used as a hospital, and the wounded are being brought in – sad illustrations of the “glory” of war.

There came some rebel prisoners, and what a dingy, dirty, scrawny, seedy, forlorn looking appearance they present, with their old slouched hats, (and) worn out clothes of a variety of color – gray and butternut predominating – and of costume. All sorts of men, boys, young men and old men, of dark brown complexion, almost black some of them, and their haggard looks with sunken eyes. Here comes another batch of secesh of the same sort as above, and there comes a small regiment of them, with commissioned and non-commissioned officers. Our troops must be whipping the enemy. Prisoners keep coming in faster and faster. We have seen not far from a thousand, one a major, and we have been informed that a rebel general has been captured. The rebel major is a splendid looking man, the type of a true Southerner, and some of the men with him are of a better looking class than those described.

The battle goes on. It has been raging since daybreak, and it is now nearly 10 a.m. We are expecting every moment to be ordered to the front. There comes the order. I must stop writing for a while.

At tremendous cost, the Confederates managed by late morning to collapse the Union salient. Lee and Stuart were reunited. Hooker remained on the defensive, holding a V shaped position with the point now just north of Chancellorsville clearing, and the two angles extending back toward the Rappahannock and Rapidan rivers. Sedgwick, still commanding VI Corps back at Fredericksburg, finally stirred out of his bridgehead and attacked Early. The heights that had been so impregnable in December finally fell; Early’s men were stretched too thin. Sedgwick then moved toward Chancellorsville. Here was the opportunity Hooker had anticipated, with Lee caught between two wings of the Union army. Hooker, unfortunately, was “like a rabbit mesmerized by the gray fox,” James McPherson has written, “frozen into immobility.” (5) Lee calmly dispatched a division to reinforce one of his brigades at Salem Church, where Sedgwick attacked and was stopped in his tracks. Breck, in the meantime, had time to reflect on the morning’s fighting around the Chancellorsville clearing, and ponder what might lie ahead….

4 o’clock p.m. – We moved forward about a mile, when we were ordered to turn back, our guns being considered of too long range for the work required. All the smooth bore 12-pounder pieces in our corps were ordered to the front. The field of battle is in dense woods, containing a great deal of underbrush, so thick in some places that it is difficult to crawl through. There are high hills and deep hollows, and here and there are a few rods of open ground. The position of our army is in the form of a letter V, the point of intersection being towards the enemy. Our right rests on or near the Rapidan, and our left on the Rappahannock. It was our right wing that was driven in, which rested, I think, on the Culpepper road. The firing ceased about noon and at present everything is quiet. The slaughter was terrible this morning, much greater on the rebel side than ours, they suffering severely in trying to take our guns, upon which they charged several times, and were met with a storm of canister, which mowed them down like grass before the sickle. Some of our batteries were handled roughly, one losing forty men, another sixteen, another all its commissioned officers, killed and wounded, and many privates. A few cannon were lost. The fighting was very close, almost a hand to hand encounter.

Our forces have breastworks thrown up and are constantly throwing up more. I think the use of the spade and shovel in this respect has been taught us by the rebel army to a great extent.

We appear to have become the defensive, instead of the attacking, aggressive army. I am told Gen. Hooker will be able to hold his position, and the report is that the corps in command of Gen. Sedgwick has taken Fredericksburg heights, turning the enemy’s guns against him and capturing two or three Napoleon batteries. Gen. S., it is said, is on his way to join the rest of his army, and the rebels are said to be in a precarious position. May events prove so.

The day is very warm. Troops are pouring in by regiments and divisions. To-morrow will doubtless witness another great battle, unless the rebel army makes a retreat. A strenuous effort is being made to cut off his communications from Richmond. A large force of cavalry has just come in from the vicinity of Culpepper and the Rapidan. They destroyed several bridges and tore up three or four miles of railroad leading to Gordonsville. Gordonsville is very strongly fortified.

“Unless the army rebel army makes a retreat.” If only Breck realized the true situation. With Hooker frozen at Chancellorsville, Lee could now turn on Sedgwick, who had pulled his men into a horseshoe-shaped salient – a miniature version of Hooker’s position – covering Banks’ Ford. Leaving 21,000 men to keep an eye on Hooker, Lee sent three divisions to attack Sedgwick on May 4. Thanks to Hooker’s passivity, Breck and his battery enjoyed a quiet day…

May 4th, Noon. – We were not disturbed last night, but early this morning the rebels commenced a fierce cannonading on our left, which lasted for about half an hour. They attempted to destroy the pontoon bridges at U.S. Ford, but failed. Since then everything has been quiet.

We were favored with a call this forenoon from Capt. George Forsyth, whose regiment (8th Illinois Cavalry) lies not far from us. He has been actively engaged for the past week or two scouting the country. Since the organization of the cavalry as a distinct corps, under the command of the very able General Stoneman, this branch of the service has been greatly improved in point of efficiency. The cavalry are not subject to be detached by every General, in small squads, for this and that purpose as orderlies, etc. but are kept together as much as possible, and work in concert and in large bodies. We saw Capt. Cramer yesterday, whose regiment was engaged Saturday – It suffered some, but not severely. (6) The whole army is concentrating here, and report says that (Gen. Samuel) Heintzleman is on his way with 40,000 troops to join the army of the Potomac.

Lee’s attack against Sedgwick the evening of May 4 was badly coordinated, with several Confederate brigades not even getting into action. Nonetheless, Sedgwick, receiving no clear direction from Hooker, retreated across the Rappahannock that night. As May 5th dawned, only Hooker’s men remained south of the river, holding their position north of Chancellorsville clearing.

May 5th. – My letter remains unmailed. I will try and get it off to-day, though there seems to be no facilities for conveying letters. I have not seen a paper for a week.

The sun is pouring down a steady heat. Our battery is now in position at the front, almost on the extreme right. We were ordered here yesterday afternoon. We are surrounded with woods. There is about an acre of clear ground in our front. Rifle pits are thrown up three lines deep, posted with infantry, behind which our pieces are planted with slight earthworks constructed for protection against sharpshooters and musket balls. It is thought the enemy will attempt to charge upon our forces here and turn our right flank. A bad place to fight on account of the thick woods. The rebels will have a hot time of it if they assail us. Batteries are planted in every available spot. There was a charge made on our left yesterday afternoon, and another this morning, but the enemy was repulsed. There has been a good deal of picket firing and musketry all the forenoon. What Hooker’s particular programme is I do not know. It was whispered or hinted to me this morning that we were going to fall back on the other side of the river, but I can hardly believe this. The rebels confront us in very strong numbers I understand. The woods are filled with their dead. It seems to me as if we ought to hold our present position, but my knowledge of how matters stand along the line of our army, the strength of the enemy, etc. is exceedingly limited. I am loath to believe for a moment that we are not going to be successful, to win a great, brilliant and decisive victory. It will be discouraging enough after the terrible slaughter of the last four or fives days to be obliged to retreat, or have it said we have won nothing but a series of drawn battles. But time will decide. G.B.

On May 6, Hooker retreated across the river with the rest of the army. His grand strategy had come to naught.

In camp near White Oak Church, Virginia
May 8, 1863
(Appeared Thursday, May 14, 1863)

Dear Union: -- The army of the Potomac, “the finest army on the planet,” so pronounced by its Commanding General, has again been repulsed, whipped, defeated. Whereas, one week ago, it occupied a position on the south side of the Rappahannock, menacing the enemy in front of, below and above Fredericksburg with “certain destruction” if he “came out from behind his defences” and offered battle, or intimidating him so badly as to cause him to take an “ignominious flight,” it, “the finest army,” etc., is now on the north side of the Rappahannock, occupying, to a great extent, the same grounds where its many thousands quartered for four months previous to their passage across the river, its “brilliant achievements” having been turned into sad defeats, and instead of the enemy’s flying, flying itself, not “ignominiously,” however, by any means, but masterly and orderly, we can truthfully say. It is not for your correspondent to discuss the probable or inevitable causes which led to the repulse of Hooker’s army and its consequent withdrawal from the other side of the Rappahannock. That would be out of his latitude, as a soldier, in a letter for public perusal. The fact has been plainly stated, which is not mentioned as an item of news, for, doubtless, it has been promulgated all over the North ere this, or has the “censorship of the press” been so strict and rigid as to have prevented a full and correct promulgation of the real facts in the case? If the people of the North have been told that the army of the Potomac crossed the Rappahannock simply to make a reconnoissance on a grand and gigantic scale, and having accomplished all that was purposed, withdrew safely to this of the river with a loss, to be sure, of ten thousand human lives killed and wounded, why the story is a delusion, that’s all. Or if they have been informed that crossing the river was a mere feint, an act of strategy to blindfold the enemy while another movement was in contemplation, and that the army voluntarily abandoned its “own ground,” of which possession had been obtained at considerable loss of life and bloodshed, why the information is founded on fiction and will not stand the test of truth. The soldiers who compose the Army of the Potomac know better than all that, and they are not to be deceived by false statements. They are willing to accept facts as they really are and not all varnished or whitewashed over. This last defeat is not a source of encouragement to them, neither is it of discouragement. They will cross the Rappahannock again and again and storm the heights of Fredericksburg as often as they are bidden to, and if repeatedly defeated, they wish to have it so understood, and if anybody is to blame they want the blame to be laid at the right door; if the rebels really defeat them, they have no objections to being told of it. One thing, yes, two things, they imperatively demand of the “powers that be,” namely, good generalship and plenty of reinforcements, and then, like Jeff. Davis or Secesh, they “want to be left alone.”

At the close of my last communication, written when our battery was in position on the right of the army and in front of the enemy near Chancellorsville, I remarked it had been intimated to me that the whole army was to fall back across the river. I was very much disinclined to give the report any credence, and remarked I should not believe it until positive orders came to retreat.

There had been a kind of ominous stillness, however, all day and the day previous, and then the report came that General Sedgwick, in command of the Sixth Corps, on his way down, or rather up the river to join the rest of the army, had been attacked by the enemy in large force and compelled to recross the river at Bank’s Ford, went to indicate, in spite of General Hooker’s congratulatory address to the army and the confident assurance he gave of our having the rebels at our own disposal, that something not exactly favorable was brewing. Scarcely had my letter left my possession before Captain Reynolds was ordered to go back and reconnoiter the road through the woods, as a tremendous shower had suddenly sprung up, deluging the earth with water, making creeks of rivulets, rivers of creeks, and for a while it seemed as if the army of the Potomac would all be drowned, if not driven by the enemy out of the wooded heights west of Fredericksburg. The heavy shower, instead of passing away, followed by a clear sky, settled into a cold, heavy rain storm that lasted all the night and all the next day and night. Of course there was another installment of Virginia mud, deep and formidable as there had been any time during the spring.

It was about dusk when we limbered up our guns and began to fall back to the river. We had received instructions to return to our old camp near Waugh Point. You can judge of our astonishment. Another defeat; the battle of the 13th of December repeated we mentally exclaimed. The boys were not a little bewildered at the shape affairs were taking, not knowing positively what the real programme was. One offered to bet quite a sum we were not going to retreat.

On reaching the river we came to a halt, for the three pontoon bridges were out of order, in consequence of the rising of the Rappahannock two or three feet. They must be repaired and it would require some time to accomplish this, two bridges must be made out of three. The engineer, or whoever had charge of the bridges, would not assume that responsibility of performing the business without orders from Gen. Hooker, or some other general in high authority, but Gen. H. if I have been correctly informed, was at some unknown point on the north side of the river, and all telegraphic communication between the two sides had been destroyed. Whatever there was to be done must be done quickly.

Gen. Hunt, Chief of Artillery of the Army, took the matter in hand and ordered one bridge to be taken up, in order to repair the other two. It was a delicate responsibility to assume, for the reconstruction of the bridges might consume so much time as to prevent the entire army from crossing that night, and if the enemy became aware of what was going on and should come out and offer battle with the army half separated, the results might be very direful. But to delay the retreat might be attended with equally direful consequences.. After waiting two or three hours in a cold drenching rain, the bridge was ready to cross. The night was dark and in full sympathy with the movement being made. Before crossing, Capt. Reynolds had been ordered on reaching the other side of the river to go take position on the high banks of the Rappahannock, about ten miles above United States Ford, and help cover the retreat. Two batteries were ordered to a position below the Ford. It was a circumstance of no little distinction, the fact of Battery “L” being ordered to help cover the retreat of the army. We had a very steep hill to ascend, and the roads were very bad, but we got along without much difficulty, arriving about midnight at the place to which we had been assigned. Here we planted our pieces, built camp fires, put up our paulins, and bivouacked on the ground.

We awoke in the morning and found our troops filing down the plain from the woods, colors flying, and crossing the bridges. They had not been disturbed during the night, but, after daybreak, the rebels seemed to have discovered that our forces were falling back, for they fired a few shots on the left, to which there was a vigorous reply from our cannon below the ford. Further than this there was no demonstration made to my knowledge. The retreat had been accomplished without loss of life or confusion. The enemy had been kept in the dark about the affair, or he may have been retreating himself, which is not impossible. By six or seven o’clock Wednesday morning (May 6) the last column of troops wended its way towards the river, and shortly after the bridges were taken up, and by the afternoon they had been transported to the top of the hill. After the bridges had been removed a few stragglers apparently could be seen on the opposite side of the river. Whether they managed to get across, or fell into the hands of the rebels, I do not know. They doubtless had a realizing sense of the affects of straggling and deeply sighed for the “land of Canaan” on this side of the Rappahannock. Some rebel sharpshooters made their appearance before our troops all got across, but I am not aware that they did any damage. The batteries on our left fired occasional shots into the woods so recently occupied by our army, shelling the enemy if he were there.

Thus ended the second battle of Fredericksburg, and the battles of Chancellorsville. If there is any consolation to be derived from the fact that the rebel army suffered much more severely than our own, perhaps two-fold, our defeated troops and the disappointed people of the North will probably make use of it. There is no doubt but that the rebels’ loss will greatly exceed our own. In their repeated charges on our artillery, right in the face of breastworks, and in their frequent repulse with canister, the guns sometimes being double-shotted, they must have suffered terribly. They fought like demons, regardless of life or consequences. A whole brigade would make a charge, but before the terrific fire of our batteries it was impossible to stand, and the greybacks would fall like autumnal leaves before the blast of the hurricane.

Lee’s army suffered nearly 13,000 casualties, or about 22 percent of those present, compared to 17,278 Union casualties, or about 13 percent of Hooker’s army. (7) Of all the Confederate losses, one stood out. The death of Stonewall Jackson deprived Lee of his trusted right arm. Chancellorsville is considered Lee’s masterpiece. And from a tactical standpoint it surely was. But it was a misleading victory, convincing Lee that his soldiers were invincible. This would lead to disaster just two months later, when he sent them charging toward Cemetery Ridge at Gettysburg.

Our artillery suffered severely also, as remarked in my last, more than ever before, some batteries losing fifty percent. The great efficiency of this branch of the service was never more fully demonstrated. Had there been a failure here, or a lack of fortitude and bravery on the part of artillerists, our army would not have escaped as it did.

The use of the spade and pick-axe in the construction of rifle pits and entrenchments, contributed not a little to the execution and salvation of the army. These implements are not to be despised by the bravest and most daring of generals.

Gen. Sedgwick’s corps is said to have fought splendidly. The charge up Fredericksburg Heights, led by the gallant Thirty-third N. York regiment, under command of Col. (Robert F.) Taylor, was a magnificent exhibition of heroism and bravery. It was not done, however, without much bloodshed and a great sacrifice of life, and as the sequel proved, the crossing of the 6th corps where it did, unsupported by other forces, resulted disastrously in the end. We suppose there is more work for the War Committee to perform. (8)

Battery L remained in a position above U.S. Ford till yesterday morning, when at an early hour we took up our line of retreat for our old camp, but on the march were ordered to stop at White Oak Church, about five miles from Waugh Point, where we are now encamped with all the batteries belonging to the 1st corps. Our march to Hartwood Church was through a large mortar bed of mud and mire, actually worse than we plodded through under Burnside. To illustrate – the ears and one side of the head of a horse were discovered by some of the boys, peering above the surface of the mud, and thinking that the poor animal might still be in possession of the breath of life, they procured a pole and began prying up the ignobly buried representative of Bucephalus. A resurrection was finally effected, and the horse stood up and walked on terra firma, grateful as a brute could be, no doubt, to the benefactors who had rescued him from the almost bottomless depths of the “sacred soil.” Such are the perils incident to marching over Virginia roads when a heavy rain storm breaks up their foundations. The poor steed above mentioned had sunken into a slough of mud and was abandoned to die in a muddy grave by his pitiless owner or driver.

We passed through Falmouth and by Fredericksburg on our return, the former place the most forsaken and woe begone looking spot that imagination can picture. War has done its worst in that town.

A march of fifteen miles brought us to our present locality, pretty well used up after marching and fighting ten consecutive days. We had gone through considerable of a siege, like all the rest of the army, and a little rest was hailed with pleasure.

I surmise we shall not remain inactive very long, but offensive operations will probably be resumed in a short time, as soon as the army is gotten in shape again. Many batteries have but half the required number of horses, and are in need of large supplies of ordnance stores. The federal army lost twelve cannon in all, and captured eight, but it lost an immense amount of other ordnance.

The rebels have sent over a vote of thanks for three days rations which our forces left on the south side of the Rappahannock.

President Lincoln and Gen. Halleck were down here last night.

The army is in very good spirits considering its experiences since the 28th of April. G.B.

Transcribed And Donated By Bob MarcotteTranscribed And Donated By Bob Marcotte
​​​​​​​Robert E. Marcotte
Rochester, N.Y.
February 2005