Analysis Of The Battle Of Fredericksburg
The Battle of Fredericksburg on December 13, 1862, involved nearly 200,000 combatants, the largest concentration of troops in any Civil War battle. Ambrose Burnside, the newly appointed commander of the Army of the Potomac, had ordered his more than 120,000 troops to cross the Rappahannock River, where they made a two-pronged attack on the right and left flanks of Robert E. Lee's 80,000-strong Army of Northern Virginia at Fredericksburg.
On both ends, Lee's rebel defenders turned back the Union assault with heavy casualties, particularly from their high position atop Marye's Heights. The results of the battle sent Union morale plummeting and lent much-needed new energy to the Confederate cause after the failure of Lee's first invasion of the …show more content…
The limitless resources of the North soon rectified Burnside's losses in manpower and materiel. Though a division led by General George Meade managed to temporarily break Jackson's line, Franklin failed to send 50,000 more troops forward when given the opportunity, and Jackson was able to launch a successful counterattack.
Longstreet's artillery mowed down ranks of attacking Union soldiers from their strong position on high ground. The Union had suffered nearly 13,000 casualties, most of them in front of Marye's Heights, while the Confederates counted fewer than 5,000. Burnside now authorized volunteers to ferry themselves across the river in the clumsy pontoon boats.
The Battle of Fredericksburg was a crushing defeat for the Union, whose soldiers fought courageously and well but fell victim to mismanagement by their generals, including confused orders from Burnside to Franklin. Burnside accepted responsibility for the defeat, though many blamed Lincoln for pressuring him to go ahead with an impossible offensive. Seward had also offered to resign, but Lincoln refused in both cases, smoothing over the cabinet crisis and deftly limiting the political repercussions of the defeat at
On both ends, Lee's rebel defenders turned back the Union assault with heavy casualties, particularly from their high position atop Marye's Heights. The results of the battle sent Union morale plummeting and lent much-needed new energy to the Confederate cause after the failure of Lee's first invasion of the …show more content…
The limitless resources of the North soon rectified Burnside's losses in manpower and materiel. Though a division led by General George Meade managed to temporarily break Jackson's line, Franklin failed to send 50,000 more troops forward when given the opportunity, and Jackson was able to launch a successful counterattack.
Longstreet's artillery mowed down ranks of attacking Union soldiers from their strong position on high ground. The Union had suffered nearly 13,000 casualties, most of them in front of Marye's Heights, while the Confederates counted fewer than 5,000. Burnside now authorized volunteers to ferry themselves across the river in the clumsy pontoon boats.
The Battle of Fredericksburg was a crushing defeat for the Union, whose soldiers fought courageously and well but fell victim to mismanagement by their generals, including confused orders from Burnside to Franklin. Burnside accepted responsibility for the defeat, though many blamed Lincoln for pressuring him to go ahead with an impossible offensive. Seward had also offered to resign, but Lincoln refused in both cases, smoothing over the cabinet crisis and deftly limiting the political repercussions of the defeat at