The Mud March

The Mud March is a Virginia historical marker in Stafford County, dedicated 1998.

Rte. 17, south of Rte. 654, at Rte. 700

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In Jan. 1863, after the Federal defeat at the First Battle of Fredericksburg on 13 Dec., Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside sought to restore the army's morale by crossing the Rappahannock River at Banks's Ford two miles south and attacking the rear of Gen. Robert E. Lee's army. The march began on 19 Jan.; that night a warm front thawed the frozen roads with 48 hours of pouring rain. Confederates across the river taunted the sodden Federals with large signs: "This Way to Richmond" and "Burnside Stuck in the Mud." Burnside canceled the march on 23 Jan., and two days later President Abraham Lincoln replaced him with Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker.

TodayHistorical map

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David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1857 · Delaware And Maryland. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1859 · Virginia (Herman Boye, 1859) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1864 · Central Virginia showing Lieut. Gen'l. U.S. Grant's Campaign and marches of the armies… (Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library)
1865 · Central Virginia showing Lieut Gen'l U.S. Grant's Campaign and Marches. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1895 · N.E. Virginia, Washington 2. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

Central Virginia showing Lieut Gen'l U.S. Grant's Campaign and Marches, 1865, covering the location of The Mud March, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — Central Virginia showing Lieut Gen'l U.S. Grant's Campaign and Marches, 1865, covering this location. David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries. The pin is ours, placed from the marker's coordinates.

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