May 7, 1863, The New York Herald
Our couriers from Hooker’s army bring the details of movements on the Rappahannock down to Monday night as relates to the main army, and to Tuesday morning at two o’clock in relation to the detachment under General Sedgwick.
The news from General Sedgwick’s detachment is less encouraging at first glance, but the result of his movement was a success. It would appear that, after the struggle of Sunday, General Lee detached a large body of his main army to go down and meet General Sedgwick. It is also known that General Longstreet was rapidly getting into his rear at that time. Early Monday morning large masses of rebels appeared on the heights to the east of Fredericksburg, which had been partially evacuated by our forces in order to strengthen Sedgwick’s column. Those remaining made but a brief resistance and relinquished the position to the enemy, having first removed all their guns.
Some fighting occurred above Fredericksburg, the particulars of which have not been received; but it is supposed to have been an effort to hold the rebels from moving up to reinforce the body engaged against Sedgwick. In this, however, we were unsuccessful. It is generally understood that their force was Longstreet’s column, just arrived from Suffolk. They interposed no objections to our holding the possession of the city of Fredericksburg, which we still retain.
On Monday General Sedgwick was hotly engaged throughout the entire day, the enemy pressing him at all points and cutting him up badly. His men were obliged to give way before the overwhelming masses of the enemy constantly, and his discomfiture seemed certain when the gallant Vermont Brigade made a noble charge, repulsing the rebels in fine style and securing the safety of that portion of the army.
The slaughter of the enemy in this action, which occurred in close proximity to Banks’ ford, is without parallel in the history of warfare, considering the number of men engaged. Whole brigades of the rebels were wiped out; but their force was so many times greater than that at the command of General Sedgwick that it was impossible that he could hold his position, and he therefore concluded to extricate himself by recrossing the river.
This hazardous expedient was attempted and successfully carried out between midnight and two o’clock on Tuesday morning. The enemy held positions with their artillery raking our bridges over which Sedgwick was obliged to move his men, necessarily creating some confusion in our ranks as the columns moved over, and causing considerable loss of life.
They also pressed hotly upon his rear and harassed him incessantly. But he succeeded in getting his force over as above stated in wonderfully good order, and marched immediately in the direction of the United States ford, to join the main army under Hooker.
On Monday morning at daybreak the rebels obtained a position on the hills on the south bank of the Rappahannock, scarcely two miles below the United States ford, and commenced a vigorous shelling of our trains lying posted on the north side of the river close to the ford. Several men were injured by these shells and one or two killed.
Some of the shells entered a hospital on the bank of the river, killing several of the patients. One poor fellow was just reading a letter from home when a shell exploded close by him, tearing off the entire upper portion of his head, killing him instantly. A panic was imminent among our teamsters, and would have been general and disastrous but for the stoppage of hostilities by the enemy.