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The Battle Of Fredericksburg December 11- December 15 1862

The Battle of Fredericksburg was a battle fought between December 11 to December 15 1862. It occurred in the East close to the Atlantic Ocean in Fredericksburg, Virginia. This battle was won by the Confederates and remembered as one of the most one sided battles of the American Civil War because the Union casualties were more than twice as much than the Confederates. The Union suffered 12,653 casualties and the Confederates suffered 5,377 casualties. The Union was led by Major General Ambrose E. Burnside and the Confederates were led by General Robert E. Lee. Burnside’s plan was to capture the Confederates at the their Capital in Richmond. Because they had retreated from the Battle of Antietam. However as the Union troops moved forward they met with the Confederates in Fredericksburg as their were waiting Marye’s Heights just west of the city.

 

 

 

 

 

Map of Battle                                                                       Ambrose E. Burnside Union Major General
 Robert E. Lee Confederate General

The Battle of Fredericksburg was a crushing loss to the Union. Burnside had eventually

accepted the defeat but people had blamed Abraham Lincoln to force him to rush into the battle. Burnside had replace Mclellan because Abraham Lincoln though he was not aggressive enough.  This battle was so important because it was the biggest Civil war battle with the most troops brought in estimated around 200,000. This can relate to the reason why Lincoln was encouraged to allow escape and free slaves into the Union Army.