Whenever I ponder how far America has come in its view of warfare, I usually think of this battle. No battle better exemplifies the cold fact that Revolutionary War tactics were ineffective due to the advances in small arms fire and artillery fire. The rifle and the cannon were more accurate, longer range, and quicker to load than weapons of the 18th Century, but generals still insisted on fighting the same way. This was mainly due to the tradition of studying the last war and then trying to refight it. But the most stunning takeaway I get from this battle was how the public put up with the losses from battles like Fredericksburg. Of course there was grief from the families of the fallen, but Civil War battles did not cause the public of either side to freak out. Imagine if 1,000 Americans were killed in futile charges up a hill in Afghanistan.
- In November, 1862, Abraham Lincoln canned George McClellan (for the second time) and appointed Ambrose Burnside (who side-burns were named after) to command the Army of the Potomac. Burnside reluctantly accepted after telling Lincoln he did not feel he was qualified (boy was he right!). “Had I been asked to take it , I should have declined; but, being ordered , I cheerfully obeyed.” His reason for saying yes was the fear that Joseph Hooker would be appointed. Burnside had a low opinion of him.
- Burnside actually had a good plan. He swiftly moved the army upriver to cross the Rappahannock at Fredericksburg. This would have put his larger army on the unprotected flank of Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia with the road open to Richmond. (Fredericksburg was midway between Washington and Richmond.) The march was from Nov. 13-15. Unfortunately, when the army arrived, the necessary pontoon bridges had not arrived and would not be there until Nov. 25 because of lack of horses to pull the wagons and bureaucratic red tape. Burnside foolishly turned down a proposal by Gen. Sumner to get a division across by boat to take the city and the heights overlooking the city before the Confederates sent forces.
- Lee was caught by surprise by the maneuver and at first planned to pull back his army to the North Anna to contest a march on Richmond. When the Union forces did not cross in the first few days, he moved his army to outside Fredericksburg. The tardiness of the Union assault allowed Stonewall Jackson’s corps to arrive from the Shenandoah Valley.
- Burnside’s army had approximately 122,000 available troops to Lee’s 78,000 which makes Fredericksburg the Civil War battle with the most soldiers involved. Gettysburg had about 175,000 total.
- Even though the pontoons arrived on Nov. 25, Burnside did not start the construction of the pontoon bridge until Dec. 11. Meanwhile, Lee established a very strong defensive line. Burnside considered a fording to the south to dislodge Lee by threatening his flank, but fire from Union gunboats caused Lee to move two divisions to protect his right. The Confederate movement was picked up by Union observation balloons.
- Construction of the bridges (there were 6) was slowed by snipers in Fredericksburg. Rebels from Gen. Barksdale’s Mississippi brigade shot engineers from basements and other hiding places. Burnside ordered 150 cannons to open fire on the city for 4 hours. This was the first significant bombing of an American city in the war. Almost every house in the city was damaged by the 5,00 shells. Frightened civilians took refuge in basements. The artillery fire did little to suppress the sniping.
- On Dec. 12, Burnside was convinced to have men sent by boat to root out the sharpshooters and take the city. The 7th Michigan and 19th Massachusetts made the first contested river crossing by boat in American History. This was followed by the first urban warfare in the Civil War. The city was taken as the pontoon bridges could now be used. The sacking of the city was appalling and enraged the Confederate soldiers.
- The plan for Dec. 13, 1862 was for the Union army to make its main assault on the Confederate left (Jackson) with a diversionary attack on Marye’s Heights (Longstreet). In the morning, before the assault could start, Confederate artillerist John Pelham put two cannons on the far right and opened fire. The two cannons delayed the assault and caused a whole Union division to be diverted to protect the left flank … from two cannons!
- When the Union attacked Jackson, it was just one division as per Burnside’s orders. Despite sending a weak punch, George Meade’s division found a 600-yard gap in the Rebel line. The swampy ground had caused the Confederates to assume the area was safe. Meade’s men ran into Gregg’s brigade, which was in reserve and not prepared to withstand an attack. It was routed and Gregg was mortally wounded. Nearby, part of Meade’s division broke through at a farm. Jackson’s position was in grave danger, but Gen. Sumner stuck to Burnside’s order limiting the attack to one division and did not send reinforcements. A Confederate counterattack threw back Meade. The fighting was hand-to-hand and when ammunition ran low some of the soldiers threw their bayoneted rifles like javelins. Many officers on both sides were killed or wounded. The farm became known as “the Slaughter Pen”. The Union suffered 5,000 casualties and the Confederates 4,000. 5 Medals of Honor were awarded for bravery in the fight.
- Meanwhile the supposedly diversionary attack on Marye’s Heights (40-50 feet high) began. Brigades took their turn in marching up the slope. The Rebels were protected by a four foot high wall at the Sunken Road. The position was impregnable. The field in front was covered by rifle and cannister fire. Confederate head of the artillery Edward Porter Alexander assured Longstreet that “ a chicken could not live in that field.” And yet the Union soldiers kept coming. None got closer than 40 yards. There were 14 separate attacks. One, by Brigadier Gen. Humphreys, went up with fixed bayonets and guns unloaded. As the men moved up, wounded soldiers grabbed their pants legs begging them not to try. Witnessing the slaughter, Lee made his famous comment: “It is well that war is so terrible or we should grow too fond of it.” During the lulls in the attacks, Confederate Richard Rowland Kirkland from the 2nd South Carolina went over the wall with canteens of water for the wounded. Union soldiers did not fire at him. He became known as the “Angel of Marye’s Heights.”
- Halfway through the assaults on the heights, Gen. Hancock made a reconnaissance of the area and went to see Burnside. Burnside had not bothered to recon himself and in fact was still on the other side of the river! When Hancock insisted the attacks were doomed, Burnside still continued them.
- The attacks ended with the dark. Many wounded lay in the field. Bizarrely, during that terrible, cold night, both sides were entertained by the Aurora Borealis.
- On Dec. 14, Burnside was talked out of resuming the attacks. He wanted to lead an attack by himself (probably hoping to get killed). The Army of the Potomac slunk back over the river. This was a low moment for Union morale. Burnside blamed the failure on his generals, but that clearly was not where most of the blame lay. Lincoln replaced Burnside with Hooker on Jan. 25. Burnside served fairly well in lower commands for the rest of the war becoming a exemplar of the Peter Principle.
- The Union army was about 123,000 to Lee’s 78,000. This makes Fredericksburg the biggest battle of the war. Gettysburg involved 158,000. The Union suffered 121,653 casualties with 1,284 dead. The Confederacy lost 4,291 casualties with 608 dead.
- The 208-acre Slaughter Pen Farm was purchased by the Civil War Trust for $12 million in 2022. ”It remains the largest and most complex private battlefield preservation effort in the nation’s history.”
https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/10-facts-fredericksburg
https://www.havefunwithhistory.com/facts-about-the-battle-of-fredericksburg/
https://www.battlefields.org/learn/civil-war/battles/fredericksburg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fredericksburg
https://www.battlefields.org/learn/topics/slaughter-pen-farm
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