GENERAL ORDERS No. 59.
HDQRS. ARMY NORTHERN
VIRGINIA,
May 7, 1863.
With heartfelt gratification the general commanding
expresses to the army his sense of the heroic conduct displayed by officers and
men during the arduous operations in which they have just been engaged. Under
trying vicissitudes of heat and storm, you attacked the enemy, strongly
intrenched in the depths of a tangled wilderness, and again on the hills of
Fredericksburg, 15 miles distant, and, by the valor that has triumphed on so
many fields, forced him once more to seek safety beyond the Rappahannock. While
this glorious victory entitles you to the praise and gratitude of the nation, we
are especially called upon to return our grateful thanks to the only Giver of
victory for the signal deliverance He has wrought. It is, therefore, earnestly
recommended that the troops unite on Sunday next in ascribing to the Lord of
Hosts the glory due unto His name.
Let us not forget in our rejoicing the brave soldiers who
have fallen in defense of their country; and, while we mourn their loss, let us
resolve to emulate their noble example.
The army and the country alike lament the absence for a time
of one to whose bravery, energy, and skill they are so much indebted for
Success.
The following letter from the President of the Confederate
States is communicated to the army as an expression of his appreciation of its
success:
[General LEE :]
I have received your dispatch, and
reverently unite with you in giving praise to God for the success with which He
has crowned our arms.
In the name of the people, I offer my
cordial thanks to yourself and the troops under your command for this addition
to the unprecedented series of great victories which your army has achieved.
The universal rejoicing produced by
this happy result will be mingled with a general regret for the good and the
brave who are numbered among the killed and the wounded.
R E. LEE,
General.
SOURCES: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of
the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume
25, Part 1 (Serial No. 39), p. 805; John William Jones, Life
and Letters of Robert Edward Lee: Soldier and Man, p. 243-4
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