Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1863-02-20

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Special Correspondence offse london Times
HEADQUARrFRs or GENERAL LEE.3
hhsR EBhnEUCKsBueG
Deeembei - 1903
Ihess who are unaequsiBfed with he delays
! which Invariably attend the movements Of very
/ large srmies, especially when an attack upon i
I strong and elaborately chosen position Of the
enemy is elHteup sted. couid5ntlY looked fer
the moraeut us collision between the Cpnfede-
rate and the Federal armie this morHiHg q day
break bur anticipated by more xpe
rienced heads the day wore away vithou de-
4 veloping $ FeieFal onslaught upon the Southern
I lnes. The preceding night was employed
busily in thi lowing dense masses Of Northern
troops across The p0nt0cns g. Fredericksburg ana
! Deep Run, and nne or two other bridges thrown
j across st other points. So numerous were these
! bridges alleged % BE that busy Tumor hardly
less Imaginative ard suggestive smong the Con
J federahis than. among thair opponents, essima-
/ ted them vari0uslY at from fifteen to thirty. ]
believe that IN reality hey did not exceed three
/ or four But as tha bright and Watm sun broke
cheerfullF rom the heavens aud dispelled the
thick mist which for many hours brooded over
/ the plein aud intercepted the view OF objects
distant not more than three OF four hundred
yards, tbecame more and more obvious, even
to the least experienced eye what a magnifi-
cent position vas occupied by she Confederate
army, end hOw wisely and sagaciously the
ground had bean chosen by Cen. Lee i must
have been moment Of proDd qualification to
Gem Lee, and those captains Rho under him
have gained ever increasing distinction, when
sheY realized beyond al question that the enc
my was about TO force an attack under crcum-
stances which would have insured defeat had
the onslaught been made by the brayest discip-
lined troops Of Europe. and which Te3ueed the
cha 17rhaarfrr,a7 7oo1afvr ssortr, io1
troops of Gen. Burnside to an absolute certainty
As the observer stood on the range Of hills
which impend over Fredericksburg on the South,
and glanced his eye down upon the town, and,
right and left, along the low swelling ridges
which extend from the river on his left and
forming tbs arc Of ser1i-cifele, strike the river
sgain about six miles below on bis right, he
might have challenged the most deeply read
student Of military history 70 prOiucs any pre-
eeient in which bsttle has ever been delivered
under circumstances more uBfsyorsbie to the
assailing psrty, or upon ground from which any
great master Of the art Of war would more natu.
rally have recoiled. had the Initiative remained
within his own option
POSITION or THE REBEL ARMY.
The Rappahannoek, in It's course from west
to east is skirtsd, just st The point where Fred
eTicksburg stands on its southern bank, bv low
crests of hills, which on The northern bank run
parallel and close to the river and on the south
ern bank tread backward from the stream. and
leave g semi-cirenlar plain six miles in length
snd two or three in depth, inclosed within their
circumference before they again approach the
river in the neigbborho0d Of Massaponax creak I
Immediately above the town. and on the LEFT of
the Confederate position, the bluffs are bold and
bare of trees but as the bills in their eastward
course recsde from tie TiyeT they become lower /
and are densely wooded while low spurs, cover
ed with copsewood. run down at right angles to
tbs range Of bills into ihe plain, behind aud be-
tween which spurs, the center and right Of the I
Confederate army vas posted, stretching for a
distance Of six miles from the extreme left aud +
ending IN the Massap3nax creek, which Joins /
the Rappahsnnock some five miles sbelow Fred z
ericksburg. il viii be apparent TO the reade
that the left of the Confederate army-a por-
ton Of it stationed not more than four hundred .
yards from FredericksbuFg-oe much /
stronger position than the center and right
There was not sufficient room for the Fed raj
troops destined for the attack Of the nearest Con
federsie batteries to daploy snd FORM exespt
under deadly Confederate fire, whereas
the Federal troops who attacked the Con-
fedsrste center ard right had large plain
on which to deploY aud bad much farer dis I
much IS theY advanced against lower bills ard /
had the long spurs Of pEa 10 assist them as
points ofatack, caculatei ta protect aud servo
rs points d'aypm r. fhe Fed raj troops # they
could once have succeeded in csTying and
holding them Bat even in is wessest peints
e position; and it is 20 wonder that everY
Sou;herner, from the commander in-chief down 4
TO the youngest drummer boy, understood and
appreciated fhe strength of the ground, aud con
tempisted the coming shock Of haitie wish
serene eoIflenee and c0mposune il descTib- /
ing ths ground Hpon which the battle subss
quenty took plaee-I shonld rot omit ta ada
that fhe railroad track from FTedeI zsbuTg %
Richmond runs diag0naily through be sami-
ct cular plain described above. and crosses the
Cnfederate line Of battle three and hslf miles
from Fredericksburg st s point called Hsmil 4
toms crossing. This point was strongly beld
By q part Of the Confederate right end t is
manifest tbst against this point nnd allng The
railroad track i Hguid have been Wiss if the
weight Of Che Federal attack had been directed
II VIII be understood in conclusion, that the
nights Of the northern or Stafford side Of the
Rsppshannoca. which, for miles touch and i'm
pend over -bs stream, we're surmountsd by 3
long line Of heavy Federal riied cannon
Similarly. along The whole Confederate line
Of battle, nearly three hundred pieces of ar
hllerv were in position or in reserve. There
Is no recorded battle of history in which any
thing ike SO many pieces OF artillery took part
Cot course IN this assertion 90 not include
siepes) and tie reader VIII ct once realize how
inadequate langusge is 70 describe the thunder
Of SO vast a nuaber OF cannon, or the deadly
peting hail Of such 81 aggregate Of .hs pgeee-
iilee which modern ingenuity has succeeded IN
devising.
THE GENERALsIE C0aiMAND AND DIVISIONS OF
NHER TROOPS.
Itremoins briefly 70 notice the disposition Of
troops albng the ConfsdeFets lines u may be
MENTIONED summsnly that the Contederates are
divided into large c0rPs d'araes and taat on
this occasion Gen. LougsIeefs corps was on
The left, aud Gsa SsonewaH Jackson on The
right But, the hottest work OF The bastie
fell upon particular divisions and bTgades, 1t
should be further STAYED (al.hough the position
Of each brigade cannot. sor want of fins. be
given), that the Confsdsrats divisions, starting
from tie left Of the line snd proceeding toward
she right were posted as follows: On the ex-
fTeme left, the division Of Cen Anderson next
to if the division IF 6ea Rsasom next to it
thst Of Gen. McClawsi next TO it that Of Gen
prkeft and next 10 b Ia division of Cn,for,l