Mud March (American Civil War)

Coordinates: 38°21′35″N 77°31′09″W / 38.3596°N 77.5191°W / 38.3596; -77.5191 The Mud March was an abortive attempt at a winter offensive in January 1863 by Union Army Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside in the American Civil War.

Following his defeat in the disastrous Battle of Fredericksburg in December 1862, Burnside was desperate to restore his reputation and the morale of his Army of the Potomac. He planned a surprise crossing of the Rappahannock River south of Fredericksburg, Virginia, on January 1, 1863, to flank Robert E. Lee. At the same time, Union cavalry would cross the Rappahannock at Kelly's Ford, 20 miles (30 km) north, and strike south into Lee's rear, destroying his supply lines. ^[1]

President Abraham Lincoln learned of this plan from some disaffected officers on Burnside's staff and put a stop to it, assessing it as too risky. So Burnside revived his plan but reversed the original sequence. Instead of crossing the Rappahannock south of Fredericksburg, he initially planned to move upstream and cross at U.S. Ford, due north of the Chancellorsville crossroads.^[1]

The offensive began with a westward move on January 20, 1863, in unseasonably mild weather.

Burnside, with a head start, altered his plan to aim at Banks' Ford, a closer, quicker crossing. At dawn of January 21, engineers would push five bridges across; after that, two grand divisions would be over the river in four hours. Meanwhile, another grand division would distract the Rebels by repeating the December crossing at Fredericksburg.^[2]

During the night of the 20th, the rain began, and by the morning of the 21st, the earth was soaked and the river banks had the appearance of a quagmire. Already, fifteen pontoons were on the river, nearly spanning it, and five more were amply sufficient. Burnside began at once to bring up his artillery, which had the effect of making a perfect mortar bed. For a considerable area around the ford all day the men worked in the rain but to little purpose. Quite a number of cannon were advanced near the ford, but the 22nd only added to the storm, and the artillery, caissons and even wagons were swamped in the mud.

The storm had delayed Burnside's movements, giving Lee ample time to line the other shore with his army, though there was no attempt to interfere with his crossing except from the sharpshooters, who peppered away on all occasions. No doubt Lee was hoping Burnside would effect a crossing; with a swollen river in his rear, it would have been a sorry predicament for the Union Army indeed, but Burnside finally became resigned to his fate and gave the order for the army to retire to its quarters, and thus ended the famous mud march.^[3]

The Mud March was Burnside's final attempt to command the Army of the Potomac.^[1] Lincoln replaced him with Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker on January 26, 1863.^[4]

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c} Boatner, p. 573.
2. ^ Furgurson, Ernest B (1992). Chancellorsville 1863: The Souls of the Brave. NY, NY: Vintage Books. pp. 16. ISBN 0-679-72831-7. 
3. ^ Stine, James H. (1892). History of the Army of the Potomac. Phila., PA: J. B. Rodgers Printing Co.. pp. 297. ISBN ASIN: B004IN3KF2. 
4. ^ Boatner, p. 409.

References

• Boatner, Mark Mayo, III. The Civil War Dictionary. New York: McKay, 1988. ISBN 0-8129-1726-X. First published 1959 by McKay.

Further reading

• Catton, Bruce. Glory Road. Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Company, 1952. ISBN 0-385-04167-5.