The Wyandot pioneer. (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1853-1868, 1862-12-26
IMPORTANT REPORT FROM GENERAL
BURNSIDE, 4
He Assumes the Entire Respon-
sibility of the fredericksburg
Affair

TO H. ". Haleck, Gea.-ia. Chief, Wash
ington::
General, have the honor to offer the
following reasons for moving the Army oI
the Potomac across the Pappahannock
sooner than was anticipated by the Pres
ident, the Secretary OF War, or yourself,
and for crossing at a point different from
The one indicated to you at our last meet.
ing at the Presidents. During my prep
araLions for crossing at the place had
first selected, l discovered that the enc
emy had thrown large portion Of his
force down the river and elsewhere, thus
weakening his defense in front; and ]
also discovered that he did not anticipa
the crossing of our whole force at Fred
ercksburg, and | hoped, by rapidly
throwing the whole command over at
that place to separate, by a vigorous at.
tack, the forces ofthe enemy on the river
below from the forces behind and on the
crest in the rear Of the town, in which
case we could fight him with great advan-
tage in our favor. 70 do this we had 10
gain hight on the extreme right of the
crest, which hight commanded the new
road lately made by the enemy for pur-
poses of more rapid communication along
his lines; which point gained, his posi-
tons along the right crest would have
been scarcely tensbe, and he could have
been driven from them easily, by an at
tack on his front in connection with a
movement on the rear of the crest.
"How near we came to accomplishing
our object future reports will show, but
for the fault and unexpected and unavod-
able delay in building the bridge, which
gave the enemy twenty.lour hours more
to concentrate his forces in his strong
position, we would almost certainly have
succeeded, in which case the battle would
have been in my opinion far more deci,
sive than if we had crossed at the places
first selected.
Gas it was, we came very near success.
Failing in accomplishing the main object,
we remained in order OF battle two days
long enough to decide that the enemy
would not come out of his strongholds to
fight lis with his infantry; after which we
crossed to this side of the river unmoles.
ed-without loss Of men or property. As
the day broke, our long lines of troops were
seen marching to their different positions
as if going on parade. Not the least de-
moralization or disorganization existed
To the brave officers and soldiers who
accomplished the feat Of recrossng the
river in the face of the enemy, | owe
everything. For the failure in the attack
| am responsible, as the extreme gallan-
try, courage and endurance shown by
them was never exceedsd and would have
carried the points had it been possible.
To the families and friends of the dead |
can only offer my heartfelt sympathies,
but for the wounded | can offer my earn
est prayers for their comfort and final
recovery.
"The fact that l decided to move from
Warrenton on to this line rather against
the opinion Of the President, Secretary of
War, and yourself, and that you left the
whole movement in nay hands, without
giving me orders, makes me responsible
| will visit you very soon and give you
more definite information; and finally
will send you my detailed report, in
which special acknowledgment will be
made Of the services of the different
grand divisions, division corps. my gen
eral in staff, and the departments of the
Army of the Potomac, to whom | am so
much indebted for their support and
hearty cooperation. ... .-..
II will add here that The movement
was made earlier than you expected, and
after the President, Secretary, and your
self requested me not to be in haste, for
the reason that we were supplied much
sooner by the different staff departments
than was anticipated when | saw you.
=. "Our killed amounts to eleven hun
dred and iifty-two, our wounded to about
nine thousand, and our prisoners to about
seven hundred, which last have been
paroled and exchanged for about the
same number taken by us. The woun-
ded men were all removed to this side
of the river, and are being well cared for,
and tho dead were all buried under flag
of truce. The surgeons report a much
larger proportion Of slight wounds than
usual; 1889 only being treated in hospi-
tails. l am glad to represent the army al
the present time to be in good condition
Thanking Government for that entire
support and confdene which l have al
ways received from them, remain
General, very respectfully, your .obedient
servant,
A. E. BURNSIDE,
/ Major General Commanding.