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PRANG'S WAR PICTURES

"LAYING THE PONTONS AT FREDERICKSBURG"

December 11, 1862

It is the night of the 10th of December, 1862 on the banks of the famous Virginian river which flows silently near the birthplace of Washington. A thick fog has settled down upon the town of Fredericksburg and vicinity. Winter has come, and, under the axe of "Yank" and "Reb" alike, the forests have melted and the hillsides are almost bare of trees.

Could we brush away the mist for a moment, we would see innumerable huts, surrounded by canvas, with countless camp-fires to show where the hosts of Lee and Burnside, like wild beasts preparing to spring, confront each other. The Rappahannock, filled with broken ice, runs with a swift current between the armies, as if in mute protest at the strife which seems inevitable.

On the left bank al appears as usual -- an army sleeping; yet at midnight a Confederate spy may note signs of a move at the headquarters of the Engineers, and erelong, with a low rumble, the ponton trains pull out of their park, and in several strings move toward the river.

But the wagons cannot go to the water's edge, and the heavy bridge material is carried thither by willing hands and on brawny shoulders. There are six bridges to be laid: two at "the Rope Ferry," just above the centre of the town; one opposite the lower end; and three, side by side, about a mile below Fredericksburg. It is important to complete the work under cover of the darkness and of the fog. Can this be done?

On the opposite side the pickets are wide awake. For some days a movement of the Army of the Potomac has been expected. General Barksdale, commanding the brigade whose duty it is to guard the Confederate front, has two able subordinates in Lieutenant-Colonel Fizer, of the 17th, and Lieutenant-Colonel Luse, of the 18th Mississippi Infantry. To the first named he has confided the line from a point just above the town to one just below, where Luse's regiment continues the protection of the river front to the mouth of Deep Creek, a small stream emptying into the river a mile south of Fredericksburg.

The entire force thus guarding the river consists of the 8th Florida, 13th, 17th, 21st, and 18th Mississippi Regiments, in the order named from left to right -- later to be re-enforced by the 15th South Carolinians and 16th Georgians.

It is now two o'clock on the morning of the 11th. The fog seems to thicken, and the Southern videttes frequently pause and peer anxiously into the gloom, depending more upon ear than eye for the first sign of danger. One tall Mississippian gets down on all-fours until his cheek is near the earth; he has detected the rumble of wheels, and then a regular dropping sound, as when boards are laid one on top of each other; he calls the corporal of his reserve, and soon the bustle on the opposite shore becomes more distinct: is the enemy preparing to cross? Similar sounds are reported farther down the river.

The commander of the Confederate pickets reports his discovery to the division commander, and is admonished to be ready to oppose the crossing.

At 3 a.m. the first ponton is anchored on the left or Union bank of the stream, and work is pushed forward with alacrity on all the bridges at once. To four of these structure General Woodbury, of the Engineers, gives his personal attention; the workmen being under the immediate direction of Major Spaulding, 50th New York Infantry, at the upper three (or town) bridges, and Major Magruder, 15th New York Infantry, at two of the lower ones; Lieutenant Cross, U.S.A., having charge of the Sixth Bridge, which is laid rapidly and almost silently by the trained and disciplined battalion of regular "Sappers and Miners." The gallant 7th Michigan and 19th Massachusetts Infantry are deployed along the river bank as skirmishes to cover the pontoniers.

It is no child's play, this ponton-bridge building. To creep upon the enemy's position, breech-loader in hand, under cover of a fog, rapidly, silently, hoping to surprise him, or to meet him on somewhat equal terms, is one thing. It is another to construct a bridge laboriously toward the enemy, under cover of a cloud, which, while it conceals his position, does not muffle the sound of your mallet or of each plank as it drops into its place, and brings you closer to the other shore, where someone is waiting to welcome you to a hospitable grave. This was, doubtless, in the minds of some of the bridge-builders as they worked cautiously out into the stream.

Five o'clock in the morning has come. The fog has lifted slightly; the Rapahannock sweeps sullenly under the new obstructions to its free passage; the bridges loom out upon the sight of the waiting sentinels on the right bank; the pontoniers work more slowly, despite the encouraging words of their officers, albeit the work is two thirds accomplished.

Suddenly from the heights directly opposite the line of bridges comes the loud report of two cannon. It is the signal to the Army of Northern Virginia that their old enemy, the Army of the Potomac, is about to make a morning call, and must have a warm reception. Immediately from the Confederate picket line there dart flashes of flame and the sharp reports of small arms; men are seen to drop here and there on the bridges, and a rush is made for the Union side and cover. Captain Perkins, a gallant officer of the 50th New York, and two other officers and a number of men are wounded. And now the right centre division of General Hunt's corps of artillery pours upon the assailants shot and shell, until every living thing on the other side seeks shelter from the iron storm which threatens to destroy the historic town and leave "not one stone upon another." But as suddenly as it commenced, the storm subsides.

What next? The bridges must be laid. Time is precious. An army is waiting!

The lower bridges are not molested until 8:15 a.m., when a volley from Luse's command wounds five men and temporarily suspends operations; but the Confederates, at this point being without much shelter, are speedily dispersed by the Union artillery, and these bridges are completed soon after nine o'clock.

In the mean while General Woodbury has been arranging for another effort to complete the town bridges. At 10 a.m. he leads eighty volunteers from the 8th Connecticut Infantry to the upper bridge, and with one half of the detachment as a support, the other half essays to work. These fare no better than their predecessors. A volley from the Mississippians disperses them. Woodbury is in despair. As he afterward reported, I was greatly mortified in the morning to find that the pontoniers under my command would not continue at work until actually shot down. The officers and some of the men showed a willingness to do so, but the majority seemed to think their task a hopeless one. The General adds, Perhaps I was unreasonable!

As the result of several conferences between Generals Hunt and Woodbury, and Colonel Hall, commanding the advanced brigade of the Army of the Potomac, it was arranged that the 7th Michigan and 19th Massachusetts shall cross the river in boats, and, in the face of the enemy, occupy the ground at the water's edge, while the bridge-builders push forward their work.

The defense of the town is in able and gallant hands. The low buildings of honest old-time masonry, and the cellars of other houses, and the loopholed block-house near the railroad bridge, are filled with sharpshooters and their reserves.

At 3 p.m., Lieutenant-Colonel Baxter, with seventy-five men of the 7th Michigan, enter six pontons and push gallantly across under a sharp fire, and not without loss; one man is killed, and the detachment commander and several men are wounded.* As the boats touch the bank, the party dash forward upon the first street, carry the position, and capture thirty-one prisoners, with a loss of one officer and one man killed and several wounded. The remainder of the regiment has by this time crossed, together with the 19th Massachusetts, which is placed on the right of the brigade line.

*This is the operation shown in the picture.

Immediately after this operation, or in connection with it, one hundred men from the 89th New York Volunteers, under Captain Hazley, cross in the same way at the lower town bridge, and capture sixty-four prisoners, including three small companies of the 8th Florida.

Thus the Army of the Potomac has secured a footing upon the Confederate side, but the bridges are not completed until some time after, and the safety of Colonel Hall's advance guard has been jeopardized. Indeed, the operations at Fredericksburg , from beginning to end, on the Union part, were marked by vacillation and absence of ordinary forethought, and were only redeemed by the grand spectacle of American heroism and endurance exhibited by the troops.

It is not necessary here to attempt a description of the operations which followed the construction of the bridges; how the two great masses of armed men, discarding on the one side the simplest rules of the art of war, and on the other availing themselves of the abundant natural and artificial aids at hand, battled brutally for the mastery; until, bruised and bleeding, but defiant still, the one retired to bind up its wounds and gather strength for anther and triumphant encounter; the other encouraged to prolong the strife with a devotion and daring worth of the best cause. As a grand illustration of American valor, the battle of Fredericksburg will rank with the great historic combats of mankind.