sore need. How unjust were these charges will soon be shown.

And so the people murmured to relieve their overfull hearts, until the
calm and steady course of the general they had never doubted, quieted
them once more.

The outcry in the North resulted in the choice of General A. E.
Burnside to command the new invasion; and he was of course hailed as
the augur, who was surely this time to read the oracle. Watchful, calm,
and steadfast, the Confederate waited, through the months of
preparation, to meet the new advance--so disposing part of his force
about Winchester as to prevent the favorite Valley-road On-to-Richmond.
With a renewed, and splendidly appointed, army, Burnside moved in
November toward Fredericksburg; thinking that this time he had really
gotten between Lee and Richmond.

What was his disgust to find, when he reached the Rappahannock, that
the Confederate army was not all at Winchester, but was before him to
dispute his crossing. After some unavailing manoeuvers for position,
the Federals sat down on the heights of Stafford, opposite
Fredericksburg; made works at their leisure; and spread a perfect city
of tents and booths over a line of some five miles. Outnumbered as he
was, General Lee could do nothing but watch and wait for the crossing
that must come, sooner or later; and meantime he chose his line of
battle.

Just back of Fredericksburg, stretching some two miles southward, is a
semi-circular plain bordered by a range of hills. These stretch from
Hamilton's crossing beyond Mayre's Hill on the left; and are covered
with dense oak growth and a straggling fringe of pines. On these hills,
Lee massed his artillery, to sweep the whole plain where the enemy must
form, after his crossing; and arranged his line of battle with A. P.
Hill holding the right and Longstreet the left. On the night of
December 10th, Stafford Heights opened a furious bombardment of the
town, tearing great gaps through the thickest populated quarters.

Into the bitter winter night tender women and young children were
driven, shivering with fright and cold, half clad; seeking safety from
the screaming shells that chased them everywhere. Under this
bombardment, the pioneers commenced their pontoons at three points. The
storm of grape and canister was too great to contest the landing, which
was effected next day.

As the heavy fog that had obscured the sun cleared away, the regular
lines of the Federals advanced to the attack, rak