Summary:
In early December, 1862, Ambrose E. Burnside, commanding the Army of the Potomac, planned to
cross the Rappahannock River and attack Fredericksburg, Virginia. In this letter to General in
Chief Henry Halleck he outlines his plans, including a possible supporting advance on
Winchester and then Staunton.
Maj. Gen. H. W. HALLECK,
Gen.-in-Chief, Washington, D. C.
December 6, 1862
GEN.:
All the troops sent thus far to Liverpool Point will have crossed the river by to-night. One of the brigades was left on the railroad to relieve an old brigade of Gen. Reynolds' corps; the other two will join Gen. Sumner's. I propose now to make an attempt to cross the river with the main body of the force at the place designated to you when I was in Washington, leaving a column to make a feint at the upper crossing, and, if found advisable, to make an actual crossing.
We have nearly supplies enough to warrant us in beginning the move, and I hope by the time the snow is off the ground and the roads are settled that we will have an abundance of everything. The roads are now in a very bad condition, but if it should continue fair until Monday or Tuesday, I think we can attempt the crossing. Arrangements are nearly completed, and the troops are being placed in positions to render the approaches to the crossing as easy as possible. I propose to order Gen. Sigel to Wolf Run Shoals and its neighborhood, with outposts well in his front and on his right flank. I also propose to order all the available forces on the Upper Potomac to proceed to join Gen. Sigel, by the way of White Plains and New Baltimore, holding Warrenton, Rappahannock Station, and Kelly's Ford for the present, with a view to following us in case of success on our part. A portion of the forces on the Upper Potomac, which will consist of Kenly's, Kelley's and Milroy's, should, I think, occupy Winchester, with a view to moving down in the direction of Staunton, if it should be found advisable.
Should this correspond with your views, please indicate it by telegraph, and I will issue the necessary orders. It may become necessary in the course of the movement to change the places of crossing, in which case I will indicate to you by telegraph.
A. E. BURNSIDE,
Maj.-Gen., Cmdg. Army of the Potomac.
Bibliographic Information : Letter Reproduced from The War of The Rebellion: Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series 1, Volume 21, Serial No. 31, Pages 105, Broadfoot Publishing Company, Wilmington, NC, 1997.
