FREDERICKSBURG CHRONOLOGY
1862
November 14 Lincoln approves Burnside’s plans to attack Richmond via Fburg.
November 17 AOP occupies Falmouth: Sumner, commander of Right Grand Division, requests permission from Burnside send cav across Rappahanock: fearing floods, B denies request.
November 19 Burnside moves HQ to Falmouth. The first pontoons leave Washington. General Halleck does not inform his engineer officer to the importance of the pontoons to Burnside. Longstreet’s troops arrive, and begin to fortify their positions on the height above Fredricksburg.
November 20 General Lee arrives in Fredricksburg. Jackson on way from Winchester
November 26 Mtg with Lincoln at Aquia creek, Burnside presents plan, frontal atk
November 27 The pontoons arrive.
December 9 Burnside issues preliminary orders outlining how to seize Fredricksburg. Sumner’s Right Grand Division will cross into the city; General Franklin’s Left Grand Division will cross downstream; General Hooker’s Center Grand Division in reserve.
December 10 Burnside meets with Sumner and the commanders of the II, III, and IX corps, many of whom expect that crossing into Fredricksburg will lead heavy causalities.
December 11, pre-dawn-1400 Union engineers begin, during the pre-dawn hours, building two bridges at Fredricksburg, in heavy fog. After over an hour of work, the bridges are half way complete; Barksdale regiment resists Downstream, engineers complete two bridges; Franklin’s troops cross the river.
December 11, afternoon Engineers, from down stream, come up and help build the bridges at Fredricksburg. The 7th Michigan and later the 19th and 20th Massachusetts regiments ferry across, and take the town in house to house fighting.
December 12 Sumner’s troops march into the city and loot it. Meanwhile, Franklin’s troops bivouac on the plain to the south. By night fall, General A.P. Hill’s six brigades and Jackson’s divisions defend Prospect Hill on the Confederate right, and a few hours away there are divisions under Generals D.H. Hill and Jubal Early. The Confederate left, under the command of Longstreet, runs along a line of hills.
December 13, 0600 Burnside gives ambiguous orders to Franklin to launch a diversion on the Confederate right, and orders Sumner to attack Marye’s height on the left.
December 13, 0900-1300 The attack on the Confederate right began with General Meade’s division and General Gibbon’s division [playing a supporting role] advance to the southwest just above Prospect Hill. Slowed by Major Pelham’s light horse artillery that rake Meade’s left. Meade exploits a 600 yard gap in A.P. Hill’s line destroying three regiments under General Archer, General Lane’s brigade, and three regiments of General Gregg’s brigade. However, Franklin fails to reinforce Meade.
December 13, 1200 On the Confederate left, General French is given the task of beginning the assault to take Marye’s Heights, about 3/4 of mile from the town. French’s and Hancock’s division fail to take it..
December 13, 1330 On the Confederate right, Gregg’s brigade rallies; brigades from Early and other part of the Confederate right reinforce Gregg; under the cover of guns from Prospect Hill, the Confederates counter attack. Meade’s and Gibbon’s troops are routed.
December 13, 1400 On the Confederate right, a brigade from III Corps and Union artillery stop the rout.
December 13, 1400-1500 On the Confederate left, Howard’s division reinforces Hancock. Afterwards, General Sturgis’ division, in an attempt to rescue Howard and Hancock, falls victim to artillery fire.
December 13, 1530 On the Confederate right, Burnside orders Franklin to attack again; Franklin says he can not attack.
December 13, 1700-1800 General Humphry’s division [on the right of the Union line] and General Getty’s division [further to the left] assault Marye’s Heights. Humphrey’s division comes within 50 yards of the stonewall, but is repulsed. The day’s fighting costs the Union 12,653 casualties and the Confederates 5,309 casualties.
December 14 Burnside wants to lead a second attack on the Confederate positions, but his officers convince him otherwise. Skirmishing occurs during the day.
December 15 At night, the Army of the Potomac retreats across the Rappahannock.
CHANCELLORSVILLE CHRONOLOGY
1863
April 12 Lincoln receives a letter describing General Hooker’s plans to outflank General Lee’s army, on the left flank. Hooker would then use his cavalry to cut Lee’s communications with Richmond.
April 19 Lincoln, Secretary of War Stanton, General Halleck, and General Hooker meet at Aquia Creek to discuss the upcoming campaign.
April 27 II, V, IX, and XII corps move from Falmouth, heading west towards the fords upstream on the Rappahannock. He leaves General Sedgwick in command of the I and VI corps, about 40,000 men, at Fredricksburg, to try to deceive Lee. Hooker leaves General Sickles’ III corps to the north of Sedgewick as another decoy.
April 28 V, XI, XII[1] corps begin to cross the Rappahannock river at Kelly’s fords. To the east II corps cross at U.S. ford. Then XI and XII corps cross the Rapidan at Germanna ford and V corps cross at Ely’s Ford. The Confederates realize that there is a large flank attack is underway.
April 29 Hooker’s forces continue crossing the fords. Union cavalry begin harassing Confederate communications. Lee orders General Anderson and General McLaws divisions to slow the Union advance around Chancellorsville. Anderson and Mclaws take up positions near the Zoan Church.
April 30 Hooker halts his troops around the Chancellor family house, where he later establishes his headquarters, at the crossroads of Ely’s Ford Road and the Orange Turnpike. Hooker arrives c. 1700. Meanwhile, Lee leaves General Early’s division, about 10,000 men, at Fredricksburg and sends General Jackson’s 2nd Corps, the bulk of his forces, to the Chancellorsville vicinity.
May 1, early morning Jackson’s troops arrive in the early morning [Lee arrives later in the day]. At 0800, Jackson meets with Anderson at the Zoan Church. Jackson wants to assault the Union forces. Sickles moves his corps to reinforce Hooker’s flank. Hooker orders a three pronged assault west towards Fredricksburg via the Orange Plank road. General Meade’s two divisions of V corps [along river road], General Syke’s division [along the Orange Turnpike], and General Slocum’s XII [along Ely’s Ford Road to the Orange Plank Road] advance toward Fredricksburg.[2]
May 1, 1130 Syke’s Division and Slocum’s corps collide with Anderson’s forces and fighting occurs.
May 1, 1400 Hooker suspends the advance and orders a retreat back to the crossroads. Hooker orders the army on to the defensive arranging his right flank around Cville.
May 2, early morning Jackson and Lee plan for an offensive. Jackson to take his 2nd corps, about 28,000 men, in a 12 mile flank attack via Catharine Furnace Road, to the Brock Road, to the Orange Turnpike and attack the Union’s right flank
May 2, entire day As Jackson’s 2nd corps is completing its flanking maneuver, Lee, with only 13,000 troops to Hooker 70,000, sends out large numbers of skirmishers to create the illusion of a larger force. Lee attempts many small attacks to deceive Hooker of his actual strength. The attacks are easily repulsed. Jackson’s column of troops extends for around 10 miles.
May 2, 0800 General Birney’s division, part of Sickles’ corps, alerts Sickles to Jackson’s flanking maneuver. Sickles alerts both Hooker and Howard to the developments. Hooker warns Howard that he is about to be attacked from his right flank; Howard only does minor adjustments to his battle line. Sickles asks Hooker to attack the column, but his request is denied; he may only ‘harass the enemy.' Hooker allows Sedgewick to attack Early’s troops.
May 2, 1700 Sickles destroys the 23rd Georgian regiment.
May 2, 1715-1915 Jackson’s troops mass between 1715-1800. Jackson gives the order to attack. Jackson overwhelms the poorly deployed Union defenders, and XI corps collapses around 1900. The assault is finally halted by XII corps artillery at 1915. II, V, and XII corps take up positions against Jackson’s forces. In addition, I corps under General Reynolds, who has traveled from Fredricksburg, begins to arrive.
May 2, 2100-2300 At 2100, Jackson scouts Union positions and is shot. Command of 2nd corps goes to General Stuart. At 2210, Sedgwick, now commanding 24,000 troops, receives an order from Hooker, to attack through Fredricksburg, and meet up with the rest of the army. At 2300 Sickles attacks, from Hazel Grove, to the right of the Union line and is repulsed.
May 3, 0530-0930 Stuart must capture Hazel Grove, in order to reunite the 2nd corps with the rest of Lee’s forces. Hooker orders Sickles to withdraw from Hazel Grove to Plank Road, to the northeast; Sickles complies. Stuart captures Hazel Grove and stations artillery there. South and southeast of Chancellorsville, McLaws and Anderson’s divisions attack Union positions, but are held off by Union counterattacks. Stuart also attacks with the support from his artillery at Hazel grove. Soon Hooker, who is stunned temporarily when a shell hits his headquarters, orders a retreat.
May 3, morning At Fredricksburg, Sedgewick attacks Marye’s Heights and the hills to the south, is turned back twice, then captures the heights. Sedgwick’s troops attack along the Plank Road direction Chancellorsville. Five Alabaman regts under General Wilcox delay Sedgwick’s troops by forcing them to attack various hills in their path.
May 3, 1730 Union troops try to seize Southern artillery at the church, but were turned back with heavy losses. Sedgwick’s advance is stopped.
May 4 Early retakes Marye’s heights and then with the help of McLaw’s division, who was ordered by Lee, on May 3, to reinforce Early. Next Early attacks Sedgwick, at around 1800, and seized parts of the Plank Road. McLaws stops Sedgwick at Salem Church again, but does not pursue Sedgewick. Sedgwick does not receive reinforcements from Hooker. In the Chancellorsville Campaign, the Union lost 17,287 men, about 13% of Hooker’s force; the Confederates lost 12,764 around 22% of Lee’s force.
May 5 Sedgwick retreats to Bank’s Ford and joins up with the rest of the army. Hooker begins his retreat back across the Rappahannock.
May 10 Jackson dies of complications from his injuries, that he received at Chancellorsville.