June 11, 1863, The Charleston Mercury
In our last we mentioned that Hooker, on Friday morning, was transporting his pontoons down to the Rappahannock, at Deep Run, two miles below Fredericksburg, and making a demonstration, as if about to cross at that point. About four o’clock, p.m., under a tremendous fire of artillery, directed towards our supposed position at Hamilton’s Crossing, he threw over a column of five thousand men. Our pickets at Deep Run exchanged a few shots with the enemy and retired, except a company of forty, said to belong to a Florida regiment, who not obeying, with sufficient promptness, the order to fall back, were taken prisoners. Subsequent events have induced the belief that Hooker had labored under the delusion that we had removed our forces from the vicinity of Hamilton’s Crossing.
At early light the next morning (Saturday) the Yankees, with banners waving, advanced to take possession of Hamilton Crossing. When they had approached within a mile and a half of the railroad, two or three of our brigades started from the bushes, and with shouts and yells made a dash at them. The Yankees, without firing a gun, wheeled about and fled incontinently back to their entrenchments at Deep Run, making such remarkably good time, that our troops did not get within musket shot of them. We captured one fellow, who, it seems, was unable or unwilling to keep up with his countrymen in their flight. This man states that a deserter from our camp on last Wednesday night had informed Hooker that we had withdrawn all our forces from the neighborhood of Fredericksburg. There may be something in this story, but we think it much more probable that Hooker relies upon his balloons for his information rather than on the tales of deserters.
During the remainder of Saturday the enemy kept quiet behind their entrenchments and the high bluff at Deep Run. About one o’clock, p.m., a large body of troops, estimated at twenty thousand, showed themselves on the Stafford hills, opposite Deep Run, and seemed to threaten to cross, but up to nightfall they did not go down to the river. Yesterday morning only two regiments were visible on the hills and none at all on the south bank of the Rappahannock at Deep Run; but, owing to the nature of the ground at the latter place, it is impossible to tell without going to the brink of that bluff whether it is occupied or not. Our pickets extended to within a few hundred yards of the bluff yesterday.
Up to one o’clock yesterday evening, when the railroad train started for Richmond, no movement or demonstration not already mentioned by us had been made by the enemy. The opinion in the army is that this demonstration of Hooker’s was designed as a feint to interrupt, if possible, plans which he supposed General Lee was about to put into execution. No one believes for a moment that he entertained the design of again so soon trusting his columns upon the modern Aceldama.