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7th Louisiana Volunteer Infantry, Hays
Brigade, C.S.A. Rappahannock Station November 7, 1863  |
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7th Louisiana Volunteer Infantry, Hays
Brigade, C.S.A. Rappahannock Station November 7, 1863 |
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The bridgehead was an integral part of Lee's strategy to defend the Rappahannock River line. As he later explained, by holding the bridgehead he could "threaten any flank movement the enemy might make above or below, and thus compel him to divide his forces, when it was hoped that an opportunity would be presented to concentrate on one or the other part." The Union Army of the Potomac's commander, Major General George G. Meade, divided his forces just as Lee expected. He ordered Major General John Sedgwick to attack the Confederate position at Rappahannock Station while Major General William French forced a crossing five miles downstream at Kelly's Ford. Once both Sedgwick and French were safely across the river, the re- united army would proceed to Brandy Station. The operation went according to plan. Shortly after noon on November 7th, French drove back Confederate defenders at Kelly's Ford and crossed the river. As he did so, Sedgwick advanced toward Rappahannock Station. Lee learned of these developments sometime after noon and immediately put his troops in motion to meet the enemy. His plan was to resist Sedgwick with a small force at Rappahannock Station while attacking French at Kelly's Ford with the larger part of his army. The success of the plan depended on his ability to maintain the Rappahannock Station bridgehead until French was defeated. Sedgwick first engaged the Confederates at 3 p.m. when Major General Albion Howe's division, Sixth Corps, drove in Rebel skirmishers and seized a range of high ground three-quarters of a mile from the river. Howe placed Union batteries on these hills that pounded the enemy earthworks with a "rapid and vigorous fire. Confederate guns across the river returned the fire, but with little effect. Major General Jubal Early's division occupied the bridge, Hays's Louisiana brigade and Captain Charles A. Green's four-gun Louisiana Guard Artillery in the works and at 4:30 p.m. reinforced them with three North Carolina regiments led by Colonel Archibald Godwin. The addition of Godwin's troops increased the number of Confederate defenders at the bridgehead to nearly 2000. Sedgwick continued shelling the Confederates throughout the late afternoon, but otherwise he showed no disposition to attack. As the day drew to a close, Lee became convinced that the movement against the bridgehead was merely a feint to cover French's crossing farther down- stream. He was mistaken. At dusk the shelling stopped, and Sedgwick's infantry rushed suddenly upon the works. Colonel Peter Ellmaker's brigade advanced adjacent to the railroad, preceded by skirmishers of the 6th Maine Volunteers. No Union regiment gained more laurels that day nor suffered higher casualties. At the command "Forward, double-quick," it surged over the Confederate works and engaged Hays's men in hand-to-hand combat. Without assistance, the 6th Maine breached the Confederate line and planted its flags on the parapet of the easternmost redoubt. Moments later the 5th Wisconsin swarmed over the walls of the western redoubt, likewise wresting it from Confederate control. On the right, Union forces achieved comparable success. Just minutes after Ellmaker's brigade penetrated Hays's line, Colonel Emery Upton's brigade overran Godwin's position. Upton reform- ed his lines inside the Confederate works and sent a portion of the 121st New York to seize the pontoon bridge, while the rest of his command wheeled right to attack the confused Confederate horde now massed at the lower end of the bridgehead. Confederate resistance dissolved as hundreds of
soldiers threw down their arms and surrendered. Others sought to gain the opposite shore
by swimming the icy river or by running the For the North the battle had been "a
complete and glorious victory," an engagement "as short as it was
decisive," reflecting "infinite credit upon all concerned." Major General
Horatio Wright noted that it was the first instance in which Union troops had carried a
strong entrenched Confederate position in the first assault. But perhaps the highest
praise came from Harry Hays, who claimed to have been attacked by no less than 20,000 to
25,000 Union soldiers--a figure ten times the actual The battle had been as humiliating for the South
as it had been glorious for the North. Two of the Confederacy's finest brigades, sheltered
behind entrenchments and well supported by artillery, had been routed and captured by an
enemy force of equal size. Colonel Walter Taylor of Lee's staff called it "the
saddest chapter in the history of this army," the result of "miserable,
miserable management." An enlisted soldier put it more plainly. I don't know much
about it," he said, "but it Lee would later call on subordinates to submit reports on the battle in an effort to determine what had gone wrong, but on the night of November 7th more pressing matters demanded his attention. Loss of the bridgehead destroyed his plan for an offensive and left his army dangerously extended on a now indefensible front. Meade, acting quickly, might pin Lee's army against the Rapidan River just as Lee had tried to pin John Pope's army against the Rappahannock River one year earlier. Lee immediately canceled his plane for an attack on French and within hours had his army marching south. As the weary gray troops trudged through the
dark night, some may have reflected upon the army's recent failures. Not since the great
Jackson had fallen at Chancellorsville had the Confederate infantry scored a victory. Were
Lee's generals still capable of leading the army? Could the Confederates win without
Jackson? Stop 1 - Confederate Artillery.
Directly across the highway as you stand at the intersection of Rt. 15/29 Bypass and Rt.
15/29 Business is a hill on which stood the guns of Captain Archibald Graham's Rockbridge
Artillery. General Robert E. Lee observed the fire of Union batteries from this hill on
the afternoon of November 7th. Stop 2 - The Bridges. Just upstream from the modern span, near the bend in the river, stood the pontoon bridge linking Rays's and Godwin's brigades to the rest of the Confederate army. A quarter mile below the modern bridge is a modern railroad trestle. Just upstream from the trestle stand the stone abutments of the Civil War railroad bridge. This bridge was destroyed early in the war and was not standing at the time of the battle. Walk back toward Remington . When you reach the first street on your right (Rt. 1202), turn around and face the river. Note: This road enters Rt. 15/29 at a sharp angle and is difficult to see.) Stop 3 - Railroad Embankment. You are
now facing in the direction of the Union attack. Colonel Peter Ellmaker advanced at dusk
with his left flank on the railroad embankment, still visible less than 0.25 mile to your
left. In front of Ellmaker stood two Confederate redoubts. The enclosed, Stop 4 - Confederate Redoubt. In the
front yard of the last house on the left side of this street is a small shelf of
earth--the remains of the enclosed redoubt or perhaps an adjacent trench. This
fortification protected two guns of the Louisiana Guard Artillery. As you look back down
the street, the battery's other two guns stood in a large, open redoubt approximately 200
yards to your left, where the white farmhouse now crowns the hill. The 6th Maine
Volunteers broke the line of the Stop 5 - Upton's Assault. As you stand
at this intersection and face the highway, Upton's brigade charged from your right-front
towards the Confederate works located 0.3 mile to your left-rear. Unfortunately, no traces
of the works remain. |
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