CIVIL WAR CHRONICLES

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Union soldiers filled this Federal Encampment near Rappahannock Station during the years 1862 and 1863. Library of Congress photo |

French’s men easily
overwhelmed the Confederates’ meager defenses at Kelly’s Ford in the early
afternoon, capturing around 300 Confederates in the process. Meanwhile at
Rappahannock Station, Sedgwick’s right wing advanced toward Rebel redoubts.
Though Early called for reinforcements, Lee only sent one brigade, led by
Colonel Archibald Godwin, to assist the hard-pressed Brigadier General Henry T.
Hays’ brigade of “Louisiana Tigers,” regiments appropriately dubbed for their
ferocity in battle.
Godwin and Hays’ men found
themselves in the midst of heavy and rapid enemy fire as Sedgwick worked his
way around both rebel flanks and attacked Confederate redoubts. Sedgwick’s guns
and Confederate batteries maintained an active fire until dusk. Lulled by the
“lateness of the hour” and the quieting of gunfire, Confederates mistakenly
believed that no further attacks would be attempted until the morning light.
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The Louisiana Tigers originally wore
red uniforms,
but later dyed them
gray, producing a distinctive
peach tone to their coats.
|
Suddenly, out of the
shadows of the night, Brigadier General David A. Russell’s division led a
brutal bayonet assault on Rebel forces. Unprepared for such an attack, many
Southerners simply ran off, but enough came together to fight the enemy in
fierce hand-to-hand combat. Russell’s lead regiment, the 6th Maine, along with
their reinforcements, the 5th Wisconsin, resisted the Louisiana Tigers’
counterattack. By the end of the fight, Russell’s men had overrun the
Confederate bridgehead at Rappahannock Station and taken more than 1,600 of
Early’s men prisoner.
South of the battle, winds
stifled the sounds of the fight, leaving Confederate high command to find out
only too late of the severity of the attack. Fear of further defeat and capture
prevented their directing aid in repelling Federal troops near the station.
On both fronts—Kelly’s Ford and Rappahannock Station—Lee’s army suffered over 2,000 casualties. Thus miserably defeated, Lee retreated into Orange County south of the Rapidan River to take up another defensive position at Mine Run.
On both fronts—Kelly’s Ford and Rappahannock Station—Lee’s army suffered over 2,000 casualties. Thus miserably defeated, Lee retreated into Orange County south of the Rapidan River to take up another defensive position at Mine Run.

http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/chattanooga/chattanooga-2013/
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Today, the town of Rappahannock Station has been
renamed Remington. Note: where the river
bends there is a highway marker on the map #29 that is the location of the
breastworks where the Union forces overran Gen. Early’s troops.
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