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far away for him to direct.
Look well to the safety of your corps, and keep up communication with Gen. Benham at Banks Ford and Fredericksburg.
You can go to either place if you think it best to cross.
Banks Ford would bring you in supporting distance of the main body, and would be better than falling back to Fredericksburg.’
A little later
Hooker sent another message, urging
Sedgwick, if possible, to hold a position on the south bank, to which
Sedgwick replied:—
‘The enemy threatens me strongly on two fronts.
My position is bad for such attack.
It was assumed for attack, not for defence.
It is not improbable that the bridges at Banks Ford may be sacrificed.
Can you help me strongly if I am attacked?’
No answer to this inquiry appears, and
Sedgwick stood on the defensive, awaiting nightfall.
Meanwhile, early in the morning,
Early's division, with
Barksdale's brigade, had moved down upon Marye's Hill, which they found held by a picket force only, and easily occupied.
An advance was attempted into
Fredericksburg, but it was found with barricades across the streets held by one of
Gibbon's brigades, supported by two other brigades and a number of guns on the north bank.
Early then sent to communicate with
McLaws and endeavor to arrange a joint attack upon
Sedgwick, but received information that
Anderson's division was coming, and was himself sent for to meet
Lee.
Before leaving
Chancellorsville that morning,
Lee had examined
Hooker's lines with the view of assaulting at once, but their strength made it imprudent to do so while
Sedgwick was still south of the river.
So he next set out to dispose of
Sedgwick, that he might then concentrate his whole force to attack
Hooker.
Probably no man ever commanded an army and, at the same time, so entirely commanded himself, as
Lee. This morning was almost the only occasion on which I ever saw him out of humor.
It was when waiting the arrival of
Anderson, with his three brigades from the
River road, after being relieved by
Heth.
Anderson was in no way to blame for the delay, but he should have been relieved the afternoon before, which would have let him move during the night.
Some delay was inevitable, as
Sedgwick's peculiar rectangular formation was not readily understood.
It was about three
