Gallant pelham statue
Henry’s battery became troublesome during the movement of Doubleday’s division.Ĭolonel William F. By the time MG Abner Doubleday’s 1st Division crossed, the mist had sufficiently cleared to be seen by confederate observers on Prospect Hill and the adjoining ridgeline. This shielded most of the troops crossing over the pontoon bridges. They established a reserve position surrounding Bernard’s house.įrom early in the morning, a dense fog prevailed in the valley along the Rappahannock River. BG Abner Doubleday’s 1 st Division crossed last. Meade had a picket line established at Smithfield.
MG George Gordon Meade’s 3 rd Division linked with Gibbon’s left and refused his line to the Rappahannock River along the ‘Smithfield’ ravine. Gibbon’s 2 nd Division moved south and joined 6 th Corps left flank. Reynolds was ordered to secure the left flank. The 6th Corps moved across the pontoon bridges first, occupying the land on both sides of Deep Run. (This is labeled ‘Forbes’ on the original map). Thomas Platt called ‘Smithfield’ was a cluster of some 20 buildings that included slave quarters. The third property, the plantation of Dr. When Arthur strenuously objected to the gathering of Union officers in his garden, he was arrested and taken to Aquia Landing. To most soldiers, it was simply ‘Bernard’s House’. Arthur’s elegant stone mansion called ‘Mannsfield’ would become MG William B. It had been occupied by confederate defenders attempting unsuccessfully to attack the 15 th New York Engineers building the pontoon bridges. The latter’s home called ‘the Bend’ was adjacent to the pontoon bridge site. Coming from the north or the top of the map, Union troops proceeded to occupy land owned by Arthur Bernard and his brother Alfred. Using an extract of the 1867 Michler map we see the December 12 th final positions of Major General (MG) John Reynolds 1 st Corps and a limited portion of 6 th Corps. Other confederate batteries also reportedly fired on Union units of Franklin’s Left Grand Division. His task was to harass Union troops as they crossed the lower set of pontoon bridges which later became known as Franklin’s Crossing.
According to historian Jennings Cooper Wise, he “spied a tangled ravine just beyond a marshy stream.”ĭuring the day of 12 December, Pelham sent out Captain Henry’s 2 nd Horse Artillery Battery, which contained four guns: one 12-pound Napoleon, one 12-pound Blakely Rifle, and two 12-pound howitzers. Pelham was certain to have noticed that the morning fog was slow to burn off in low terrain found along water courses that drained the land across which any Union attack would have to move. While gathering his far-flung cavalry brigades, Stuart and Pelham scouted Union troop movements. Stuart’s cavalry division maintained a careful watch over the progress of Burnside’s troops south of Fredericksburg. MG Ambrose Burnside’s Army of the Potomac established three pontoon bridgeheads across the Rappahannock River at and below Fredericksburg. If not the first to employ such tactics, he certainly perfected the art of such action. John Pelham was a consummate practitioner of aggressive horse artillery employment. This audacious act completely disrupted the timetable of the entire Union attack against Lieutenant General (LG) Thomas ‘Stonewall’ Jackson’s 2nd Corps. We are therefore dependent upon reports and letters of other participants.Īt 10 o’clock on the morning of 13 December 1862, Stuart’s Horse Artillery, led by Major John Pelham, ambushed MG George Gordon Meade’s 3 rd Division as it prepared to assault. Henry, submitted reports on the Battle of Fredericksburg. Stuart nor Major John Pelham, and his two subordinate battery commanders, Captains James Breathed and Mathias W. As I pointed out in my previous blog (click here), neither Major General (MG) James E.B.