vine and the Massaponax, was Stonewall
Jackson. A. P. Hill's division with the brigades of Pender, Lane,
Archer, Thomas, and Gregg made his first line of battle, the divisions
of Taliaferro and Early his second, and D. H. Hill's division his
reserve. His artillery held all favourable crests and headlands.
Stuart's cavalry and Stuart's Horse Artillery were gathered by the
Massaponax. Hills and forest hid them all, and over the plain and river
rolled the fog.

It hid the North as it hid the South. Burnside's great force rested the
night of the twelfth in and immediately about Fredericksburg--Hooker and
Sumner and Franklin, one hundred and thirteen thousand men. "The balloon
people" now reported that the hills south and west were held by a
considerable rebel force--Longstreet evidently, Lee probably with him.
Burnside repeated the infatuation of Pope and considered that Stonewall
Jackson was absent from the field of operations. Undoubtedly he had
been, but the shortest of time before, down the river by Port Royal. No
one had seen him move. Jackson away, there was then only
Longstreet--strongly posted, no doubt. Well! Form a great line of
battle, advance in overwhelming strength across the plain, the guns on
Stafford Heights supporting, and take the hills, and Longstreet on them!
It sounded simple.

[Illustration: THE VEDETTE]

The fog, heavy, fleecy, white, persisted. The grey soldiers on the
wooded hills, the grey artillery holding the bluff heads, the grey
skirmishers holding embankment and cut of the Richmond, Fredericksburg
and Potomac Railroad, the grey cavalry by the Massaponax, all stared
into the white sea and could discern nothing. The ear was of no avail.
Sound came muffled, but still it came. "The long roll--hear the long
roll! My Lord! How many drums have they got, anyway?"--"Listen! If you
listen right hard you can hear them shouting orders! Hush up, you
infantry, down there! We want to hear."--"They're moving guns, too! Wish
there'd come a little sympathizing earthquake and help them--'specially
those siege guns on the heights over there!"--"No, no! I want to fight
them. Look! it's lifting a little! the fog's lifting a little! Look at
the guns up in the air like that! It's closed again."--"Well, if that
wasn't fantastic! Ten iron guns in a row, posted in space!"--"Hm! brass
bands. My Lord! there must be one to a platoon!"--"Hear them marching!
Saw lightning once run along the ground--now it's thunder. How