Second Battle of Rappahannock Station: Difference between revisions

Sedgwick first engaged the Confederates at 3 p.m. when Maj. Gen. [[Albion P. Howe]]'s division of the [[VI Corps (ACW)|VI Corps]] drove in Confederate skirmishers and seized a range of high ground three-quarters of a mile from the river. Howe placed Union batteries on these hills that pounded the enemy earthworks with a "rapid and vigorous" fire. Confederate guns across the river returned the fire, but with little effect.<ref name=NPSbrochure/>

 

 

Sedgwick continued shelling the Confederates throughout the late afternoon, but otherwise he showed no disposition to attack. As the day drew to a close, Lee became convinced that the movement against the bridgehead was merely a feint to cover French's crossing farther downstream. He was mistaken. At dusk the shelling stopped, and Sedgwick's infantry rushed suddenly upon the works. Col. Peter Ellmaker's brigade advanced adjacent to the railroad, preceded by skirmishers of the [[6th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment|6th Maine Infantry]]. No Union regiment gained more laurels that day nor suffered higher casualties. At the command "Forward, double-quick!" they surged over the Confederate works and engaged Hays's men in hand-to-hand combat. Without assistance, the 6th Maine breached the Confederate line and planted its flags on the parapet of the easternmost redoubt. Moments later the 5th Wisconsin swarmed over the walls of the western redoubt, likewise wresting it from Confederate control.<ref name=NPSbrochure/>

[[Category:Battles of the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War|Rappahannock Station II]]

[[Category:Union victories of the American Civil War|Rappahannock Station II]]

[[Category:Culpeper County in the American Civil War]]

[[Category:Conflicts in 1863]]