"Little trouble identifying a battle" Topic

I am reading an old document and can't quite make out the name of the battle (it is handwritten in cursive)

Looks to have occurred June 7-12, 1863
The 2nd word is crossing, can't make out the 1st word.

Well this would have been the beginning of the Gettysburg Campaign. June 9th was the battle of Brandy Station.

What is the context? Are any units, geographical areas, or other battles mentioned?

Ah, the old secret code call "cursive."

Frederick Dyer, A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion, (1908) lists 10,455 "battles, engagements, actions, skirmishes, etc." in Volume II. Between the dates of 7 – 12 June 1863 the only event with "crossing" in its designation is "Skirmishes at Franklin's Crossing, or Deep Run, Rappahannock River" in Virginia, June 5-13, 1863.

The Union forces listed are: 7th Me Inf, 26th NJ Inf, 43rd NY Inf, 49th, NY Inf, 77th NY Inf, 2nd Vt Inf, 3rd Vt Inf, 4th Vt Inf, 5th Vt Inf, 6th Vt Inf, 33rd NY Engineers, 1st Mass Lt Art Bty, 1st and 3rd NY Indpt Batteries Lt Art, Batteries C and G 1st RI Lt Art, Batteries D and G 2nd US Art, Bty F 5th US Art.

Union losses: 9 killed, 48 wounded, 57 total.

The Compendium does not include any Confederate listings.

June 7 – CSA attack at Milliken's Bend, La (near Vicksburg)

June 8 – Skirmishes at Brunswick, Ga.; Camp Cole, Mo.; Fort Scott, Kas.; and Triune, Tenn.

June 9 – Battle of Brandy Station, Virginia

June 10 – Skirmishes at Edwards Station, Miss.; Suffolk and Diascund Bridge, Va.

June 11 – Skirmishing near Corinth, Miss also in Ky, Ga. and Ark.

June 12 – Ewell crossed the Blue Ridge into the Shenandoah Valley towards Winchester with skirmishing in several locations.

Buford crossed the Rappahannock to begin the Battle at Brandy Station, so that is the most logical in the time frame given.

Kim

Hi guys, I guess I should have given more.
My great-great grandpa was in Battery G, 2nd US Arty
On the back of his discharge papers, someone wrote all the battles and engagements he was in – there is about 20 of them. The ink has faded to red now.

I was going through it last night trying to get a list.
I think Ryan has it correct – Franklin's Crossing
Thank you.

Another oddity is there appears to be 2 Culpeppers.
Here is the list for anyone interested:
No Date Name
1. 7/21/61 Bull Run
2. 4/62 Siege of Yorktown
3. 5/5/62 Williamsburg
4. 5/31/62 Fair Oaks
5. 6/29/62 Savage Station
6. 6/30/62 Glendale
7. 7/01/62 Malvern Hill
8. July 62 Harrison's Landing
9. 9/17/62 Antietam
10. 12/13/62 Fredericksburg
11. 5/02/63 Fredericksburg II
12. May 63 Franklin's Crossing
13. 7/03/63 Gettysburg
14. 9/13/63 Culpepper
15. 10/14/63 Bristoe Station
16. 11/08/63 Culpepper
17. 11/28/63 Mine Run
18. 2/07/64 Barnard's Ford
(Barnet's Ford?)
19. May 64 Wilderness Camp.
20. Jun 64 Cold Harbor

I would post the original if I knew how.

Sept 13 would be the battle at Culpeper Courthouse. My guess on the second one is that that might be when his unit established winter quarters in Culpeper County as that fits the time that Union forces went into winter quarters in said county.

Dyer's only mention in Vol II of Bty G, 2nd US Art for 7-8 Nov 1863 is under the heading of "Advance to the line of the Rappahannock".

Here is the record of service from page 1699 of Vol III of Dyer's Compendium:

Advance on Manassas, Va., July 16-21, 1861. Near Fairfax Court House July 17. Battle of Bull Run July 21. Duty in the defences of Washington till March 1862. Moved to Virginia Peninsula. Siege of Yorktown April 5 – May 4. Near Williamsburg May 4. Battle of Williamsburg May 5. Battle of Fair oaks, Seven pines, May 32 – June 1. Seven days before Richmond June 25 – July 1. Oak Grove June 25. Glendale June 30. Malvern Hill July 1. At Harrison's Landing till August 16. Moved to Alexandria, Va., August 16-24. Maryland Campaign September 6-22. Battle of Antietam September 16-17. Movement to Falmouth, Va., October 30 – November 19. Battle of Fredericksburg, Va., December 12-15. "Mud March" January 20-24, 1863. At Falmouth till April. Chancellorsville CampaignApril 27 – May 6. Operations at Franklin's Crossing April 29 – May 2. Battle of Maryes Heights, Fredericksburg, May 3. Salem Heights May 3-4. Battle of Gettysburg, Pa., July 1-3. Advance from the Rappahannock to the Rapidan September 13-17. Culpeper Court House September 13. Bristoe Campaign 9-22. Advance to the line of the Rappahannock November 7-8. Mine Run Campaign November 26 – December 2. New Hope Church November 27. Demonstration on the Rapidan February 6-7, 1864. Barnett's Ford February 6-7. Rapidan Campaign May 4 – June 2. Wilderness May 5-7. Spottsylvania Court House May 8-21. North Anna River May 23-26. On line of the Pamunkey May 26-28. Totopotomoy May 28-31. Cold Harbor May 31 – June 2. Dismounted June 2 and ordered to Washington, D. C. Defences of that city till August 1865.

I do not know why Vol. II lists "Skirmishes at Franklin's Crossing, or Deep Run, Rappahannock River" in Virginia" for June 5-13, 1863 while Vol. III lists Operations at Franklin's Crossing for April 29 – May 2.

It seems like that task force was part of MG Sedgwick's VI Corps, BG Howe's 2nd Division (both the 2nd and 3rd Brigades) with all of the Corps assigned Artillery.

Quite a heavy force to be called a skirmish, especially all the artillery.

I have recently come to the conclusion that the North had tons of artillery – often more than they could fit on the battle line. Even when things went bad.
But maybe that's normal.
I sure don't know.

And thanks for all the good info everyone.
Ryan, that is a pretty impressive reference.

I have recently come to the conclusion that the North had tons of artillery – often more than they could fit on the battle line.

The Army of the Potomac certainly did. By having a large Artillery Reserve, exhausted batteries could be easily replaced on the line, so they could go rest, get more ammo, etc.

In '64 Grant wanted to cut down its number of batteries, but Hunt talked him into just cutting the batteries down to 4 guns each, instead. This also allowed infantrymen who had been "loaned" to the batteries to be sent back to strengthen their regiments.