Battle Of Fredericksburg Research Paper

286 Words2 Pages

The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought on December 11-15th 1862. The Potomac Union soldiers, commanded by Ambrose Burnside, came into battle with over 100,000 soldiers ready for combat. For the Confederacy, the number of soldiers was about half of the Union’s amount with only around 70,000. This battle was the first Urban battle of the war, forcing citizens and families out of their homes and some into the woods. The Battle begins with General Burnside planning to attack the Union army but ended up failing because of a miscommunication at the Rappahannock River between general Burnside and general Halleck. During the dilemma for the Union, the Confederacy was able to occupy a strong position at Marye’s Heights. After the Union crossed, Burnside ordered his left wing to attack Lee’s right. General Meade of the Union then was able to temporarily break Jackson’s line but failed to send more troops in to capitalize on it. In return the Union army was defeated by Jackson. Meanwhile, the Union army was also getting slaughtered by …show more content…

By this time, the Union has suffered over 13,000 casualties but the confederacy has only about 5,000 killed or wounded. As a Confederate victory, The Battle of Fredericksburg was very much impactful for it showed how miscommunication could change the fate for an army or two. Many people ended up blaming Lincoln for the defeat but Burnside mostly took responsibility. Burnside ended up getting replaced in January of 1863 by Joseph Hooker because of his actions and what he has shown to accomplish. As for the Confederacy, the war led to many spirits boosted and better publicity for Robert E. Lee after the