Image: Gallant Charge of Humphrey’s Division at the Battle of Fredericksburg. (Public Domain).
On this day in history, December 13, 1862, Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia resisted several attacks by General Ambrose Burnside’s Army of the Potomac and defeated the Federals at Fredericksburg, Virginia. The rout of the Union Army was one of their most decisive losses, and it administered a considerable shock to Northern morale in the winter of 1862-1863.
Having grown furious with Major General George B. McClellan’s reluctance to chase General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia after the Battle of Antietam, President Abraham Lincoln fired him on November 5, 1862. He replaced him with Major General Ambrose Burnside two days later. A graduate of West Point, Burnside had attained some achievements earlier in the war fighting in North Carolina and leading IX Corps.
Even with this, Burnside had doubts about his competence to command the Army of the Potomac. He had twice refused the commission, citing that he lacked experience and qualifications. Lincoln had first broached the topic with him following McClellan’s defeat on the Peninsula in July. He made a similar offer following Major General John Pope’s defeat at Second Manassas in August. Asked again that fall, he only accepted when Lincoln told him that McClellan would be replaced nonetheless and that the alternative was Major General Joseph Hooker, whom Burnside strongly detested.
Reluctantly assuming command, Lincoln and Union General-in-Chief Henry W. Halleck pressured Burnside to undertake offensive operations. Intending a late fall offensive, Burnside planned to move into Virginia and assemble his army at Warrenton. From this location, he would maneuver towards Culpeper Court House, Orange Court House, or Gordonsville before speedily rushing toward Fredericksburg. Hopeful that he would skirt Lee’s army, Burnside planned to cross the Rappahannock River and advance on Richmond using the Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad.
Demanding speed and guile, Burnside’s plan built upon some strategies McClellan had envisioned at his removal. The final plan was submitted to Halleck on November 9. Following an extensive discussion, Lincoln approved it five days later though the president was frustrated that the target was Richmond rather than Lee’s army. Furthermore, he warned Burnside to hurry because Lee would continue moving against him. Beginning on November 15, the lead portions of the Army of the Potomac reached Falmouth, VA, opposite Fredericksburg, two days later, having effectively stolen a march on Lee.
Reacting to Burnside, Lee initially expected to stand behind the North Anna River to the south. He changed when he learned how slow Burnside was moving and decided to move toward Fredericksburg. As the Union forces sat in Falmouth, Lieutenant General James Longstreet’s entire corps arrived by November 23 and began staging on the heights. While Longstreet established a dominating position, Lieutenant General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson’s corps was en route from the Shenandoah Valley.
On November 25, the first pontoon bridges arrived, but Burnside refused to move, missing a chance to defeat half of Lee’s army before the other half reached him. By the end of November, when the remaining bridges arrived, Jackson’s corps had reached Fredericksburg and assumed a position south of Longstreet. On December 11, Union engineers began constructing six pontoon bridges opposite Fredericksburg. Under fire from Confederate sharpshooters, Burnside was forced to send advanced parties across the river to clear out the town.
Reinforced by artillery on Stafford Heights, the Union troops overtook Fredericksburg and ransacked the town. With the bridges completed, most Union forces began crossing the river and positioning for battle on December 11 and 12. Burnside’s prime strategy for the action called for the main assault to be performed to the south by Major General William Franklin’s Left Grand Division (I Corps & VI Corps) against Jackson’s location, with a lesser, aiding charge against Marye’s Heights.
Commencing at 8:30 a.m. on December 13, the attack was led by Major General George Meade’s division, supported by the forces of Brigadier Generals Abner Doubleday and John Gibbon. While heavy fog initially impeded their progress, the Union attack gained momentum around 10:00 a.m. when it exploited a break in Jackson’s lines. Meade’s attack was ultimately halted by artillery fire, and around 1:30 p.m., a huge Confederate counterattack drove all three Union divisions to retreat. To the north, the first charge on Marye’s Heights had started at 11:00 a.m. and was led by the forces of Major General William French.
As in the south, the fog prohibited Union artillery on Stafford Heights from offering successful fire support. Moving forward, French’s men were repelled with heavy casualties. Burnside repeated the attack with the divisions of Brigadier Generals Winfield Scott Hancock and Oliver Howard with the same results. With the battle going poorly on Franklin’s front, Burnside turned his attention to Marye’s Heights.
Reinforced by Major General George Pickett’s division, Longstreet’s position proved impenetrable. The attack was renewed at 3:30 p.m. when Brigadier General Charles Griffin’s division was sent forward and repulsed. Half an hour later, Brigadier General Andrew Humphrey’s division attacked with similar results. The battle concluded when Brigadier General George Getty’s division could not attack the heights from the south. Sixteen charges were made against the stone wall atop Marye’s Heights, mostly in brigade strength.
Witnessing the bloodshed, General Lee commented, “It is well that war is so terrible, or we should grow too fond of it.”
The Battle of Fredericksburg was one of the most one-sided battles of the Civil War. The battle cost the Army of the Potomac 1,284 killed, 9,600 wounded, and 1,769 captured and missing. The Confederates’ casualties were 608 killed, 4,116 wounded, and 653 captured and missing. Of these, only about 200 were experienced at Marye’s Heights. As the battle ended, many Union troops, living and wounded, were obliged to spend the extremely cold night of December 13/14 on the plain before the heights, pinned down by the Confederates. On the afternoon of the 14th, Burnside asked Lee for an accepted truce to attend to his wounded. Lee agreed.
Having taken his men from the field, Burnside retreated his army back across the river to Stafford Heights. Burnside tried to salvage his standing the next month by endeavoring to move north around Lee’s left flank. This plan became entangled when January rains turned the roads into mud holes which stopped the army from advancing. Nicknamed the “Mud March,” the operation was terminated. Burnside was replaced by Hooker on January 26, 1863.
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