Instead, however, of giving
each division a definite section of the line, he had handed over the
whole front to A.P. Hill. This arrangement, however, had been made
before D.H. Hill and Early came up, and with the battle imminent a
change was hazardous. In many respects, moreover, the ground he now
occupied resembled that which he had so successfully defended on
August 29 and 30. There was the wood opposite the centre, affording
the enemy a covered line of approach; the open fields, pasture and
stubble, on either hand; the stream, hidden by timber and difficult
of passage, on the one flank, and Longstreet on the other. But the
position at Fredericksburg was less strong for defence than that at
the Second Manassas, for not only was Jackson's line within three
thousand yards--a long range but not ineffective--of the heavy guns
on the Stafford Heights, but on the bare plain between the railway
and the river there was ample room for the deployment of the Federal
field-batteries. At the Second Manassas, on the other hand, the
advantages of the artillery position had been on the side of the
Confederates.
Nevertheless, with the soldiers of Sharpsburg, ragged indeed and
under-fed, but eager for battle and strong in numbers, there was no
reason to dread the powerful artillery of the foe; and Jackson's
confidence was never higher than when, accompanied by his staff, he
rode along his line of battle.
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