1862 - Special Orders issued by the command of Brigadier General Reynolds during General McCall's brief occupation of the outskirts of Fredericksburg before being withdrawn by orders from President Lincoln

Fredericksburg, Virginia, 1862. Unbound. Very good. Special Orders No. 130, issued at Headquarters, 1st Brigade, McCall's Division at Fredericksburg, Virginia, dated 30 May 1862. Two-page document on a long (8" x 12½") sheet of paper. In nice shape with a 3" split along one storage fold.

In the spring of 1862, General McClellan's Army of the Potomac was finally making progress on its advance to Richmond, and General McDowell's corps was encamped on the outskirts of Fredericksburg, just across the Rappahannock River. One of his brigades, commanded by General Marsena Patrick, had even ventured into the city and established a headquarters in (truncated) the Farmers Bank building at the intersection of Princess Anne and George Streets. Shortly after President Lincoln visited Patrick's headquarters, he ordered McDowell to abandon his positions and prepare to counter Confederate successes in the Shenandoah Valley.

Although not mentioned in official Army histories, these special orders issued one day after Lincoln ordered McDowell to withdraw on 29 May could not have remained in effect more than a day or two but provide evidence that at least one additional Union brigade briefly established a headquarters in the city at the Railroad Depot.

"I. Lt. Col. Shane will command the companies detailed from General Doubleday's Brigade, and will make his Headquarters at the Railroad Depot, posting his companies at the head of the bridges . . .

"III. Travel across the Bridges by citizens and for business purposes will cease at Tatto, and open at Reveille . . .

"IV. Lt. Col. Shane will detail patrols . . . to patrol that part of the town known as 'Sandy Bottom' and arrest and hand over to the Provost Marshall all disorderly persons found there . . .

"By Command of Brig. General Reynolds. . .." . Little did anyone know at the time that just a few months later, the Union Army would suffer one of its most disastrous defeats of the war when it attempted to reoccupy Fredericksburg.

(For more information, see Kolakowski's The Virginia Campaigns March-August 1862 published by the U.S. Army Center for Military History, "War Comes to Fredericksburg" at the Historical Marker Database, and "General McDowell's Hdqrs. Department of the Rappahannock, Opposite Fredericksburg, May 22, 1862" at the Civil War Talk website.)

Exceptionally scarce documentation that the Union occupation of Fredericksburg in 1862 was more extensive than previously believed. At the time of listing no similar documentation is for sale in the trade, has appeared at auction, or is held by institutions. . (Inventory #: 010332)