Battle Of Fredericksburg Essay

and has been honored by the United States Field Artillery by naming Camp Pelham in South Korea after him. After the battle of Fredericksburg, Union and Confederate Generals recognized the importance of Artillery and its effectiveness on the battlefield. The battle of Fredericksburg was a crushing defeat for the Union Army with the casualties mounting into 13,000 compared to the 5,000 for the Confederate Army. Even though the Battle of Fredericksburg is a lesser-known battle of the Civil War, it is still one to be remembered for its drastic repercussions it had on the Union and Confederate Armies. The armies of both North and South gleaned massive affects but each had their own type of consequences to deal with. The North had recently undergone

The changes corroded the loyalties already in place with the soldiers of the North. Major General Ambrose Burnside found himself the man of the hour when he took control of the Army of the Potomac. How was he to lead an army committed to a former general? He had to prove himself to his soldiers and make the best possible decisions for the army of the North. But of course the battle did not go as planned. Losing Fredericksburg was a huge loss for the Union Army. You now had the North majorly cut back in numbers. The battle also shot down morale of the men in a hurry. Major General Burnside found himself taking the brunt of the blame even though diplomatic mix-ups left him ill equipped. The Union, had they been able to acquire the needed supplies on time and execute the attack, would have made a major victory over the South. Much to their dismay, it just did not happen this way. With a resounding defeat, the Union Army was left again without a general, as Major General Burnside was relieved of command shortly after his colossal thrashing by General Lee and his ragtag group of soldiers. The Confederates, on the other hand, were downright giddy with triumph. General Robert E. Lee and his soldiers were on a victory high. The

With the mission set to take place in mid-November, faulty timelines and missing valuable materials, interrupted the original plan to attack the Confederate Army in the vicinity of Fredericksburg. Once the Union Army were able to cross the river into Fredericksburg, General Lee and his entrenched troops were prepared to engage in urban warfare and counterattack all of General Burnside’s offenses. With the replacing of several top Generals from both sides, one could presume that the Union transitions were not as effective. In the aftermath we seen a dismal Union Army, crushed by defeat, all the while the Confederate Army were peaking in confidence and their top General believing the South would rise again. We were able to see why the Unions Artillery attacks were not efficient, when looking at how we operate in modern day. With the use of over 150 cannons which fired over 5,000 rounds, the Confederates were not deterred by the barrage of fire. Comparing that to modern Artillery, we now use precision guided munitions and at times, are able to monitor the enemy and his exact location with the use of unmanned aerial vehicles. Today’s mission of the Field Artillery is to destroy, defeat, or disrupt the enemy with integrated fires to enable maneuver commanders to dominate in