ith 10 regiments and on the other side of the railroad was General Franklin with eight regiments. Burnside also had one regiment of engineers to build the pontoons to cross the river. (See Map 1)While Burnside had been waiting for two weeks he saw how the Confederates were positioned; even though the Confederates had the advantage he still believed he could win. The night before Burnside was going to start building the pontoons, he sent a message to Lincoln saying, We hope to succeed. So, on the night of Wednesday, December 10, 1862, the engineers started to build the pontoons. However, another general from the South, General Will Barkslade, was right above the area where the engineers were and whenever a soldier went to check on the progress of the pontoons, the Confederates would shoot at them. Now that everything was off schedule, Burnside knew that the Confederate general was getting ready to attack. So, Burnside ordered Brigadier General Henry to take 147 heavy caliber guns and shoot at the Confederates at Stafford Heights. The shooting lasted for an hour. During that hour, 70 solid shots were fired a minute and that firing destroyed the town of Fredericksburg instead of the Confederates. General Barksdale was still there to intercept the bridge builders and troops crossing the bridges. When Barksdale sent a report to General Lee asking if he wanted a bridge of dead Yankees, the comment showed how much trouble the Union was really in.The hunt was on as Lee ordered more help from Stonewall to assist Longstreet at Port Royal and Skiners Neck, which was where the pontoon builders and Bridgadier General Henery were. (See Map 1) Burnside was pleased by the destruction that had been done by his army and that six pontoons had been built. (See Map 3) Burnside learned from reports that Stonewall was still in his original position, so Burnside decided to wait another day before he moved. Burnside believed that if Jackson was so far away ...
