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THE CHAN CELLO PSVILLE CAMPAIGN.
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THE RIGHT WING OP HOOKER’S ARMY CROSSING THE RAPPAHANNOCK AT KELLY’S FORD.
PROM A WAR-TIME SKETCH.
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the river so swollen by lieavy rains that he was constrained to hold up, upo®which Hooker suspended his advance until the ‘27th. This unexpected delayof the cavalry seemingly deranged Hooker’s original plan of campaign. U ehad hoped that Stoneman would have been able to place his horsemen on th erailroad between Fredericksburg and Richmond, by which Lee received ln ssupplies, and make a wreck of the whole structure, compelling that general toevacuate his stronghold at Fredericksburg and vicinity and fall back towardRichmond.
I estimate the grand total of Hooker’s seven corps at about 113,000 men readyfor duty, although the data from which the conclusion is arrived at arestrictly official. This estimate does not include the cavalry corps of not le® @than 11,000 duty men, nor the reserve artillery, the whole number of guns hthe army being 400. Lee’s strength in and around Fredericksburg was place®at between 55,000 and 60,000, not including cavalry. It is not known 11
Hooker’s information concerning the Confederate force was reliable, but Peo%operating in front of Norfolk , notified him that two of Lee’s divisions und 01 ’Longstreet were on the south side of the James. The hour was, thereto 1 ’ 6 ’auspicious for Hooker to assume the offensive, and he seized it with a boldne$which argued well for his fitness to command. The aim was to transfer h lSarmy to the south side of the river, where it would have a manoeuvring foottf 1 ®not confronted by intrenched positions. On the 27th. of April the Eleven! 1and Twelfth corps were set in motion for Kelly’s Ford, twenty-five rnd eSup the Rappahannock, where they concentrated on the evening of the 28$’the Fifth, by reason of its shorter marching distance, moving on the 28$'The object of the expedition was unknown to the corps commanders urncommunicated to them after their arrival at the ford by the commandh^