Of Lee’s original three corps around Fredericksburg, two are now converging on Culpeper, leaving the third behind to keep watch on Hooker’s army. Hooker sent one division across the river downstream of Fredericksburg and captured some prisoners, but they advanced no further when that third corps of Lee’s started to fight back.
Word of the movement filtered down to the troops today, in particular to Col. Gates of the 20th NY. He wrote a good account of the day’s events in his diary that evening, and had time for two games of chess.