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Essay on Battle of Fredericksburg
The Battle of Fredericksburg, fought on December 13, 1862 between General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and the Army of the Potomac commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside, is today remembered as one of the most one-sided battles of the American Civil War.
The battle was the culmination of an effort by the United States (Union) army to regain the initiative in its struggle against Lee's smaller, but more aggressive, army. Burnside was appointed commander of the Union army in October in spite of the fact that his predecessor, Maj. Gen. George McClellan had stopped Lee at the Battle of Antietam in September. Much of the reason for this was McClellan's lack of aggressiveness (Noah, 2000, pg. 21-24).
The main part of the Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia happened on December 13, 1862. The result of that cold day near Fredericksburg would be the most embarrassing defeat for the union in the whole war, and the shining moment of the Army of Northern Virginia. Over the course of 4 days, 12,600 Union men died two thirds of them in a single area. Lee lost 5,600 men, but gave his army the aura of invincibility. On November 6th, 1862, Ambrose Burnside took command of the Army of the Potomac, almost in tears. Why, you ask? Not because his friend of over a decade had been relieved, but because Ambrose Burnside knew he had no business commanding an army his more capable friend couldn't handle. Luckily, before Lincoln's mandate took effect, Burnside had a few days to size up the situation.
Burnside's first move as commander was to send a diversionary force in the vicinity of Culpepper, some 40 miles away, while moving the main body of his force towards Fredericksburg (Noah, 2000, pg. 21-24, pg 12-16). The Army of Northern Virginia, under Confederate General Robert Edward Lee was once again........
