Theodore James Trowbridge
Born: Dec. 24, 1845, Mt. Freedom, Randolph, Morris Co., New Jersey
Died: May 4, 1863, Fredericksburg, Virginia
Parents:
Augustus Bayles Trowbridge & Rebecca Hedden
Military Service: Union Army, American Civil War
Baptism: Sept. 3, 1859, Mt. Freedom Presbyterian Church, Mt. Freedom, Randolph, Morris Co. New Jersey
Buried: Mt. Freedom Presbyterian Cemetery, Mt. Freedom, Randolph, Morris Co. New Jersey
The headstone of Theodore J. Trowbridge, and his parents Augustus B. Trowbridge & Rebecca Hedden.
THEODORE JAMES TROWBRIDGE
Theodore J. Trowbridge died in a field hospital
at Fredericksburg, Virginia, on May 4, 1863, the day after being
wounded in Fredericksburg. It is unknown if he participated in
the Battle of Fredericksburg earlier that year, but the following is a
brief description of the battle from "The Atlas of the Civil War" by
James M. McPherson from Civil War Home. com:
Embarrassed by General McClellan's repeated defeats and apparent lack
of commitment in prosecuting the war, Lincoln replaced him on November
7 with General Ambrose Burnside. Burnside launched a winter campaign
against the Confederate capital, Richmond, by way of Fredericksburg, a
strategically important town on the Rappahannock River. The Federal
Army of the Potomac, 115,000-b, raced to Fredericksburg, arriving on
November 17. There were only a few thousand Confederates on hand to
challenge them, yet the Federal advance ground to a halt on the eastern
bank of the Rappahannock, opposite the city. Burnside's campaign was
delayed for over a week when material he had ordered for pontoon
bridges failed to arrive. Disappointed by the delay, Burnside marked
time for a further two weeks. Meanwhile, Lee took advantage of the
stalled Federal drive to concentrate and entrench his Army of Northern
Virginia, some 78,000, on the high ground behind Fredericksburg. With
the arrival of the pontoons, Burnside crossed the river on December 11,
despite fierce fire from Confederate snipers concealed in buildings
along the city's river front. When the Confederates withdrew, Federal
soldiers looted the town, from which the inhabitants had been
evacuated. By December 13, Burnside was prepared to launch a
two-pronged attack to drive Lee's forces from an imposing set of hills
just outside Fredericksburg.
The main assault struck south of the city. Misunderstandings and
bungled leadership on the part of the commander of the Federal left,
Major General William B. Franklin, limited the attacking force to two
small divisions - Major General George G. Meade to lead; Major General
John Gibbon in support. Meade's troops broke through an unguarded gap
in the Confederate lines, but Jackson's men expelled the unsupported
Federals, inflicting heavy losses. Burnside launched his second attack
from Fredericksburg against the Confederate left on Marye's Heights.
Wave after wave of Federal attackers were mown down by Confederate
troops firing from an unassailable position in a sunken road protected
by a stone wall. Over the course of the afternoon, no fewer than
fourteen successive Federal brigades charged the wall of Confederate
fire. Not a single Federal soldier reached Longstreet's line. On
December 15, Burnside ordered his beaten army back across the
Rappahannock. The Union had lost 13,000 soldiers in a battle in which
the dreadful carnage was matched only by its futility. Federal morale
plummeted, and Burnside was swiftly relieved of his command. By
contrast, the morale of the Confederacy reached a peak. Their
casualties had been considerably lighter than the Union's, totaling
only 5,000. Lee's substantial victory at Fredericksburg, won with
relative ease, increased the already buoyant confidence ofthe Army of
Northern Virginia, which led subsequently to the invasion of the North
the following summer.
