oncentrate his forces.

On the morning of the 11th of December, we marched to a point about two
miles below Fredericksburgh. The whole army was in motion. The ground
had become hardened by frost, and a light coating of snow lay upon it.
The wheels no longer sunk in the mire; but artillery rolled easily over
the frozen ground.

The Right grand division, Sumner's, had already taken its position
immediately in front and above the city of Fredericksburgh; the Center,
Hooker's, and the Left division, Franklin's, now took position below the
town.

As we descended from the heights of Stafford, into the valley of the
Rappahannock, dense clouds of fog obscured the view of the opposite
bank, and it was only at noon that we could distinguish objects on the
farther side of the river. Engineers were hard at work laying pontoon
bridges, being submitted to a brisk musketry fire from the rebel
skirmishers, who at times charged upon them, killing and wounding
several of the workmen, and greatly hindering the work. A few volleys
from our batteries, which were brought forward presently, put these
troublesome parties to flight, and the work went on. Still, during all
the day, the enemy strove with artillery and infantry to prevent the
laying of the bridge, but to no avail.

On the right, where the veteran Sumner commanded, the task of throwing
the bridges across, was far more difficult than at the lower crossing.
In the storehouses and dwellings along the banks of the river, swarms of
rebel soldiers were concealed; and these, by pouring murderous volleys
into the midst of the pontoniers, compelled them to desist from the
attempt to finish their bridge. Determined no longer to be thwarted by
these concealed foes, General Burnside, having previously notified the
civil authorities of the town, that if the houses were used as covers
for men who were shooting our soldiers, the town must suffer the
consequences, ordered our batteries to concentrate their fire upon it
and batter down the walls. Soon after noon, the bombardment commenced.
One hundred and seventy cannon belched forth the huge iron missiles upon
the devoted city. The roar of the artillery was terrific, and as the
winds rolled away the huge columns of smoke, we saw that the city was on
fire, the flames leaping to the skies. The spectacle was one of awful
grandeur. The bursting bombs, shooting forth their flashing coruscations
from the columns of smoke, the great tongues of flame