Confederate Artillery

Artillery was an effective weapon, particularly in defensive combat, and on Marye's Heights nine guns of the Washington Artillery shattered the ranks of the oncoming Union army. One Union soldier wrote, "The shells fell thick and fast, exploding with deafening roar right in our midst. Shattered, torn and bleeding, our column still pushed on." Toward sunset the Washington Artillery's ammunition ran low and the battalion retired to safety. Colonel Edward Porter Alexander's reserve artillery galloped up from the rear to take its place. Mistaking the Washington Artillery's withdrawal for a general Confederate retreat, Union forces again pressed toward the heights, only to be greeted by the blasts of Alexander's fresh guns. The Union battle lines dissolved in the growing darkness.

Fredericksburg, Virginia · United States