As will be noticed from the table, only part of Longstreet's corps was
present. The main body had been sent, about Feb. 1, under command of
its chief, to operate in the region between Petersburg and Suffolk,
where our forces under Peck were making a demonstration. This detail
reduced Lee's army by nearly one-quarter.
During the winter, Lee's forces had been distributed as follows:--
The old battle-ground of Dec. 13 was occupied by the First Corps; while
Jackson with his Second Corps held Hamilton's Crossing, and extended his
lines down to Port Royal. Stuart's cavalry division prolonged the left
to Beverly Ford on the upper Rappahannock, and scoured the country as
far as the Pamunkey region. Hampton's brigade of cavalry had been sent
to the rear to recruit, and Fitz Lee's had taken its place at Culpeper,
from which point it extended so as to touch Lee's left flank at Banks's
Ford. The brigade of W. H. F. Lee was on the Confederate right.
Stuart retained command of the entire force, but had his headquarters at
Culpeper.
The supplies of the army were received by the Fredericksburg and
Richmond Railroad from the capital, and from the depots on the Virginia
Central.
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