history’s stories:winter 1862-1863

The winter of 1862-63 was the darkest for the Army of the Potomac during the entire war between the states. The devastating loss at Fredericksburg on December 13th, along with many of the units had been through Pope's Virginia campaign that was a rout, along with Antietam had left the army depressed and now in winter quarters along the cold and dismal Rappahannock river. With one more low point to be known as the "MUD MARCH", where the Army of the Potomac would leave their camps on January 20, 1863, only to become bogged down in the rain and mud, forcing them to return to their former camps for the rest of the winter. The Christmas of 1862 came less than two weeks after the battle of Fredericksburg. The local citizens returned only to find their homes destroyed with furniture and windows broken and any items of value stolen by the invading Union Army. A group of the Southern troops came into the town and helped the residents repair their homes. Letters written by Union soldiers said that the Southern troops had visited across the river and traded tobacco for coffee and other items. Union and Confederate soldiers decorated Christmas trees and played Santa Clause. It was after the ill-fated Mud March that the winter became extremely icy and cold with the temperatures hovering near zero. The troops North and South had built huts by digging into the earth and putting log sides with crude fireplaces for heat. It is written that there were no longer any large trees within Stafford County or any wooden fences since firewood was in such demand. One letter from a New Jersey soldier said that the entire Brigade had to move camp a mile from the old camp due to the lack of firewood. Moss Neck was a large plantation of the Corbin family and Stonewall Jackson chose that site as his winter quarters

history’s stories along with thousands of his troops. Today the remains of the hut sites are still visible. Some of the hut sites are ten feet in depth as the soldiers found that the depth would help them stay warm in the frigid environment. The extreme cold along with the ice and snow made it Winter 1862-1 1863 By Ralph “Tuffy” Hicks difficult to obtain supplies and provisions for both armies. Many of the Union supplies came from Washington and the Southern Army supply line was out of Richmond. Today that is a quick trip of approximately two hours at the most. In 1862 it would have been two days in mild weather, however, with the snow and ice and deep mud it could take a week or longer. The trains were running but the weather delayed their movement. Both sides experienced desertions especially the Union with over three hundred per day due to the recent defeats and the conditions in the Army. A large number of the officers and troops were disappointed with Ambrose Burnside replacing the popular General George McClellan. General Burnside did not last long as he was replaced on, by General Joseph Hooker on January 26, 1863. Interesting point was that General Burnside had proposed the dismissal of General Hooker, as being unfit to hold command because General Hooker was critical of Burnside. This order was never issued as Burnside was relieved of his command before his order was issued. Years after the Civil War was over soldiers in both armies would talk and write about the terrible winter of 1862-63 and how they had dug a "hole in the ground" to keep warm. Today we can still see those depressions in the woods where the Civil War Soldiers spent the winter of 1862-1863, 160 years ago. Dedicated to : Wayne Morris, John Hopkins, Jorrice, David Wright, & Linden White

Tuffy is Front Porch’s Resident Historian

most famous flank attack of the Civil War

By terry rensell

Major Robert F. Beckham (pictured) was given command of the Stuart Horse Artillery after the mortal wounding for Major John Pelham at Kelly's Ford in March of 1863.

On May 2, 1863, Lieutenant General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson took the Second Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia along the trails of Chancellorsville and through the wilderness of Spotsylvania County to come out of the right flank of the Union's Army of the Potomac. As the Confederate soldiers waited, hidden in the woods, the Union's XI Corps had no idea that they were there.

A little after 5:00 p.m., Jackson's commanders confirmed to him that they, and their men, were ready. He then gave his famous command, "You can go forward, then." Thus began the most famous flank attack of the Civil War, as the Second Corps charged into the open fields on the Army of the Potomac's right flank.

Two of the guns of the Stuart Horse Artillery, that Major Beckham now commanded, moved east along the Orange Turnpike, taking full advantage of the rolling terrain along the road, they used the rises of high ground to fire into the panicked Union soldiers. The tactics perfected by Pelham were used to profound effect by Beckman.

Just to the east of the intersection of the Orange Turnpike and the Orange Plank Road, Colonel Adolphus Buschbeck, a brigade commander in the 2nd Division of the Union XI Corps, was able to form a defensive line. Known as the "Buschbeck Line," he was able to delay Jackson's advance for a brief period of time. Beckman moved his guns into position on a small knoll, just west of the intersection, and resumed firing into the Union troops, causing Buschbeck to fall back, allowing the assault to continue.

It was here that "Stonewall" Jackson said, "Young Man, I congratulate you," to Major Beckham. The Central Virginia Battlefields Trust is currently in the process of preserving this piece of land forever. To learn more, please go to www.cvbt.org/beckham-tract.

Founded in 1996, the mission of Central Virginia Battlefields Trust is to preserve land associated with the four major campaigns: Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Wilderness and Spotsylvania. To date CVBT has preserved over 1,550 acres of historic battlefield.

Terry Rensell is the Executive Director of CVBT