CHAPTER VIII.
THE last great battle of 1862 was fought on the hills around Fredericksburg. There, seeing the design of the Federal commander, General Lee concentrated his army to await attack. General McClellan had been displaced by the Federal authorities on the 8th of November, and General Burnside appointed to succeed him as commander in the field. The new leader, yielding to public pressure for some success before the year closed, prepared to attack Lee in his chosen position. Burnside had organized his army into three grand divisions, under Sumner, Hooker and Franklin. The first weeks in December, these grand divisions were stretched along the northern bank of the Rappahannock, and were searching for ways to cross over for an attack. On the southern side of the river, Lee s army was posted on the hills and ridges just back of Fredericksburg. His line extended parallel to the river, and stretched from a point just across from Falmouth to Hamilton s crossing, a distance of about three miles. His left was under Longstreet, and his right under Jackson. R. H. Anderson s division formed the extreme left of Longstreet. His line reached from Taylor’s hill to the foot of Marye’s hill. There, in the famous sunken road behind a stone wall, Cobb s brigade of McLaws division was posted. On the left of Cobb and on the prolongation
