RA)PAHANNOCK STATION, Battle of. In the fore part of October 1863 General Lee maneuvered the Army of the Potomac, un der General Meade, from the Rappahannock River back to Centreville. Meade resumed the offensive 19 October, and in several encounters pressed Lee back to the Rappahannock, Lee crossing to the south side of the river and dis-. posing his army• on both sides of the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, Ewell's corps on the right and A. P. Hill's on the left, with cavalry on both flanks. A part of Ewell's corps was left on the north side of the river at Rappahan nock Station, in an intrenched position covering the pontoon-bridge, the railroad bridge having been destroyed. The position was first held by General Hays' brigade and four guns, to which was subsequently added General Hoke's brigade, under Col. A. C. Goodwin. The whole force numbered about 2,000 men. Lee had destroyed the railroad from Bristoe Station 'to the Rap pahannock, a distance of more than 20 miles, and this had to be rebuilt before Meade could follow to the river. It was completed as far as Warrenton .Junction on 2 November: sup plies were brought up; and on the morning of the 7th Meade advanced to cross the Rappa hannock. General French, with tie left wing of the army, moved upon Kelley's Ford, five miles below Rappahannock Station, and forced a passage of the river (see KELLY'S Falai, EN GAGEMENTS AT), while the Fifth and Sixth corps, under command of General Sedgwick, moved along the line of the railroad, forming line about midday within one and a half miles of Rappahannock Station, the right of the Fifth corps and the left of the Sixth on the railroad. Skirmishers were thrown forward and the Con federate position reconnoitered, and as soon as it could be ascertained a plan of attack' was formed. The works to be carried consisted of two redoubts, connected by a chain of rifle-pits, and a further line of rifle-pits ran from the left redoubt to the river and some distance along it. The Fifth corps was to gain the river bank on the left and the Sixth on the right, in order to establish artillery on a range of high ground in front of the works and drive the men from them. The river bank was gained both on the
right and left, artillery put in position and the works shelled, but at dusk no impression had been the Confederate guns had not been silenced, nor had the infantry been driven front the works. General Russell, temporarily com-i mantling Wright's division of the. Sixth ,corps, said that he could carry the works by assault, and he was ordered to do it. It was now after dusk; artillery fire was kept up; Russell led parts of Ellmaker's and Upton's brigades., in all 2,117 men, and, under a heavy fire of musketry and canister, went over the works in a very few minutes, capturing 1,303 officers and men, the four guns, 1,225 stands of arms and seven battle flags. A part of the Fifth' corps on the left joined in the assault. General Wright says in his report that this was the first case during the war of an intrenched position being carried on the first assault, and one of General Lee's biographers writes that it was the saddest chapter in the history of the Army of Northern Virginia. General Hays, with nearly 300 of his men and about 130 of Hoke's, escaped. The Union loss was 413 killed and wounded and six missing. General Lee reports his loss as 6 killed, 39 wounded and 1,629 captured or miss ing, some of the missing being probably killed or wounded. Lee now abandoned his design of attacking General French, who had crossed at Kelly's Ford, burned the end of the pontoon bridge remaining in his possession, the north end of it having been captured by Russell, and fell back during the night to Mountain Run. General Meade crossed the remainder of his army over the Rappahannock on the 8th and moved to Brandy Station, and Lee crossed to the south side of the Rapidan. Consult 'Official Records) (Vol. XXVI) ; Humphreys, 'From Gettysburg to the ; the Century Com pany's Battles and Leaders of the Civil War) (Vol. IV).