Between Battles

In the spring of 1863, after the slaughter of Fredericksburg, Union and Confederate armies faced each other across the Rappahannock in an unusual pause in the fighting. No cannon roared and no picket fired; instead, soldiers on opposite banks shouted jokes, exchanged music through rival bands, and traded souvenirs using toy sailboats made from scrap lumber and torn bits of old shirts. As soft days seemed to stand outside the reality of war, Joe Hooker, the new Union commander, moved his army upstream and across, only to be defeated at Chancellorsville. Afterward the opposing forces again waited tensely on their respective sides of the river until Lee made the next move, leading to Gettysburg.

Fredericksburg, Virginia · United States