Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 20.djvu/255

 The Federal and Confederate Armies.

249

Ill, p. 143); difference in favor of the Federals, 58,183. Burnside lost, killed, 1,384; wounded, 9,600; captured, 1,769; total, 12,653. Lee lost, killed, 458; wounded, 4,743; total, 4,201.
 * r 1 3th, had 58,500 present (See "Battles and Leaders" Vol.

Burnside has failed to capture Fredericksburg, and his head goes into the War Department's official waste basket, and " Fighting " Joe Hooker takes command of the Federal forces. His forces from May 1-3, 1863, were 130,000, with 404 pieces of artillery, while Lee's were 60,000, with 170 pieces of artillery. (See "Battles and Lead- crsr Vol. Ill, p. 233.)

General Hooker's abstract of returns for April 3Oth, when his advance on Lee began, was as follows: Present for duty, 157,990; present equipped, 133,708; artillery, 404 pieces.

General Couch, commander of the second corps, and second in command to Hooker, estimates Hooker's seven corps at 113,000, ready for duty, not counting 11,000 cavalry and reserve artillery, and 400 cannon," and his estimate of General Lee's army was 55,000 to 60,000, not including cavalry (^'Battles and Leaders" Vol. Ill,) and on page 161 of this volume he says Hooker's artillery " was equal to any in the world."

Hooker takes the greater part of his army, leaving Sedgwick 30,000 strong to threaten Fredericksburg, and marches up the north- ern bank of the Rappahannock and crosses his army to attack General Lee in the rear. His army has crossed successfully the Rappahannock, and he issues the following congratulatory address, being general order No. 47: " It is with heartfelt satisfaction that the commanding general announces to the army that the operations of the last three days have determined that our enemy must either ingloriously fly or come out from behind their defences and give us battle on our own ground, when certain destruction awaits him" (Italics ours.) On May ist, after the successful crossing of his troops, Hooker says, " I have Lee just where I want him. He must fight me on my own ground." At 2 P. M. of the same day he said, " Lee is in full retreat toward Gordonsville. I have sent out Sickles to capture his artillery."

This flank movement of Hooker made Lee remove the larger part of his army to the rear of Fredericksburg in order to confront the forces of Hooker. Lee had come out from his defences. Lee then occupied a position between the two great wings of Hooker's army, either of which was numerically able to crush him. It was a posi-