Battle of Fredricksburg
The Battle of Fredericksburg took place on December 13, 1862 between the Union commanded by General Ambrose E. Burnside and the Confederates commanded by General Robert E. Lee.
At the start of this battle Abraham Lincoln replaced Major General George B. McClellan with Major General Ambrose Burnside because of McClellan’s unwillingness to pursue the confederates. Reluctantly Burnside took the position and planned a late fall offensive. He intended to move into Virginia and feint towards Gordonsville before marching southeast to Fredericksburg. In hopes to sidestep Lee’s army, Burnside planned to cross the Rappahannock River using the Richmond railway. Burnside submitted his plans and following a lengthy debate, it was approved by Lincoln five days later. Moving out on November 15, the lead elements of the Army of the Potomac reached Falmouth, VA, opposite Fredericksburg, two days later having successfully stolen a march on Lee.
This success was squandered when it was discovered that the pontoons needed to bridge the river had not arrived ahead of the army due to an administrative error. Major General Edwin V. Sumner, commanding the Right Grand Division, pressed Burnside for permission to ford the river and occupy Marye’s Heights west of the town. Burnside refused fearing that the fall rains would cause the river to rise and that Sumner would be cut off. As the Union forces sat in Falmouth, Lt. General James Longstreet’s corps arrived and began digging on the heights.
On November 25, the first pontoon bridges arrived, but Burnside refused to move, missing an opportunity to crush half of Lee’s army before the other half arrived. By the end of the month, when the remaining bridges arrived, Lt. General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson’s corps had reached Fredericksburg and assumed a position south of Longstreet. Finally, on December 11, Union engineers began building six pontoon bridges opposite Fredericksburg. Under fire from Confederate snipers, Burnside was forced to send landing parties across the river to clear out the town.
Supported by artillery on Stafford Heights, the Union troops occupied Fredericksburg and looted the town. With the bridges completed, the bulk of Union forces began crossing the river and deploying for battle on December 11 and 12. Burnside’s original plan for the battle called for the main attack to be executed to the south by Major General William B. Franklin’s Left Grand Division (I Corps & VI Corps) against Jackson’s position, with a smaller, supporting action against Marye’s Heights.
Beginning at 8:30 AM on December 13, the assault was led by Major General George G. Meade’s division, supported by those of Brigadier Generals Abner Doubleday and John Gibbon. While initially hampered by heavy fog, the Union attack gained momentum around 10:00 AM when it was able to exploit a gap in Jackson’s lines. Meade’s attack was eventually stopped by artillery fire, and around 1:30 PM a massive Confederate counterattack forced all three Union divisions to withdraw. To the north, the first assault on Marye’s Heights had commenced at 11:00 AM and was led by the division of Major General William H. French.
The approach to the heights required the attacking force to cross a 400-yard open plain which was divided by a drainage ditch. To cross the ditch, Union troops were forced to file in columns over two small bridges. As in the south, the fog prevented Union artillery on Stafford Heights from providing effective fire support. Moving forward, French’s men were repulsed with heavy casualties. Burnside repeated the attack with the divisions of Brigadier Generals Winfield Scott Hancock and Oliver O. Howard with the same results. With the battle going poorly on Franklin’s front, Burnside focused his attention on Marye’s Heights.
Reinforced by Major General George Pickett’s division, Longstreet’s position proved impenetrable. The attack was renewed at 3:30 PM when Brigadier General Charles Griffin’s division was sent forward and repulsed. Half an hour later, Brigadier General Andrew Humphrey’s division charged with the same result. The battle concluded when Brigadier General George W. Getty’s division attempted to attack the heights from the south with no success. All told, sixteen charges were made against the stone wall atop Marye’s Heights, usually in brigade strength. Witnessing the carnage Gen. Lee commented, “It is well that war is so terrible, or we should grow too fond of it.”