Burnside Replaced with Hooker

Thursday, January 29, 1863

By general order of President Abraham Lincoln General Ambrose Burnside was removed from command of the Army of the Potomac and replaced with General Joseph Hooker.¹

References:
¹Winthrop Dudley Sheldon The "Twenty-Seventh," : A Regimental History (New Haven, Connecticut: Morris and Benham, 1866), 39.

Burnside's "Mud March"

Tuesday, January 20, 1863

The Twenty-Seventh Connecticut received orders to march toward Fredericksburg, as General Ambrose Burnside planned to advance upon the city once more. Generals Joseph Hooker and William Franklin were ordered to march north six miles and cross the Rappahannock River at Banks' Ford in a flanking move on Fredericksburg and General Edwin Sumner was to cross at Falmouth to advance directly upon the city. As the army began their move rain ensued for several days, and the advance of the army was impeded by heavy rain and mud. After three days the campaign, known as the "Mud March," was halted permanently.¹

References:
¹Winthrop Dudley Sheldon The "Twenty-Seventh," : A Regimental History (New Haven, Connecticut: Morris and Benham, 1866), 38-9.

Burnside and Sumner Review the Second Corps

Sunday, January 18, 1863

The Twenty-Seventh Connecticut participated in a review of the Second Corps by Generals Ambrose Burnside and Edwin Sumner.¹

References:
¹Winthrop Dudley Sheldon The "Twenty-Seventh," : A Regimental History (New Haven, Connecticut: Morris and Benham, 1866), 37-8.

Dress Parade and Orders to March

Saturday, January 17, 1863

On Friday the Twenty-Seventh Connecticut participated in a regimental dress parade and received orders to march this morning with three day rations. They arose early this morning and awaited orders to prepare for march, but the orders did not come.¹

References:
¹Winthrop Dudley Sheldon The "Twenty-Seventh," : A Regimental History (New Haven, Connecticut: Morris and Benham, 1866), 37.

Augustus' Story - A Sad Conclusion

It appears from the newspaper reports and from first-hand accounts that Augustus Baldwin Fairchild's body was never recovered. Augustus is listed in the burial records of the Grove Street Cemetery in New Haven, Connecticut, and a headstone for Augustus stands in the Fairchild plot in the Grove Street Cemetery, but it is likely that he is not buried there. His remains are probably interred at the Fredericksburg National Cemetery, where eighty-five percent of the burials are unknown. Augustus' headstone at Grove Street is most likely a memorial stone.¹

References:
¹Grove Street Cemetery (New Haven, Connecticut), Augustus B. Fairchild marker, photographed by author 22 May 2009.

Augustus' Story - Report from the Surgeon's Orderly

Saturday, January 10, 1863

The latest report from Fredericksburg surrounding the fate of Augustus Baldwin Fairchild appeared in the New Haven Daily Palladium:

A letter just received from the Surgeon’s Orderly of the 27th, contains as much concerning the martyrdom of young Fairchild, as we shall be likely to know. The writer says: ‘I cannot learn any thing of his fate, further than that he was seen to fall in the fight. Our boys the day after the battle went to search for him, but were fired on by the rebel sharpshooters and were forced to return. Some days after that a number went over under a flag of truce, but nothing could be found of him. He was probably buried by the rebels. He was a quiet, fine young man, and his early death will be remembered with the tenderest emotions by all who knew him. All the officers praised him for his fidelity and gentlemanly worth.’¹

References:
¹"A[u]gustus B. Fairchild" New Haven Daily Palladium (New Haven, Connecticut), 10 January 1863, issue 8, col C.

Augustus' Story - Newspaper Request for Information

Monday, January 5, 1863

A request for information surrounding the fate of Augustus Baldwin Fairchild appeared today in the New Haven Daily Palladium:

Should this little paragraph chance to meet the eye of any member of Co. A, 27th reg., and he can furnish us with any facts tending to throw light upon the military history of A[u]gustus B. Fairchild of that company, at and since the battle of Fredericksburg, he will confer a favor, not only upon the Palladium, but upon many near and dear friends who are still agitated with the conflicting reports, concerning his supposed death. ¹

References:
¹"Untitled," New Haven Daily Palladium (New Haven, Connecticut), 5 January 1863, issue 3, col B.