Fredericksburg! Fredericksburg!
A stunning defeat for the Union. Confederate Robert E. Lee suffered roughly 5,000 casualties but inflicted nearly 13,000--on his opponent, General Ambrose Burnside.

Fredericksburg I
Maryes' Heights Virginia
American Civil War
December 11-15, 1862

Fredericksburg 1 would unfold in an amphitheater bounded by the Rappahannock River and by the line of hills fortified by Lee. When Jackson's men arrived Longstreet moved his corps north, defending five miles of Lee's front. He mounted guns at Strong points such as Taylor's Hill, Marye's Heights, Howison Hill, and Telegraph (later Lee's) Hill, the Confederate command post. "Old Pete's" five divisions of infantry supported his artillery at the base of the slopes.
Journal Of Rufus Rowe
Witness To The Battle Of Fredricksburg
Witness the raw carnage of war; the dead horses, the deafening boom of cannon and gun fire, the exhaustion and hunger, soldiers stripping clothes and items off dead soldiers, truces agreed upon too bury the dead

On November 14, Burnside, now in command of the Army of the Potomac, sent a corps to occupy the vicinity of Falmouth near Fredericksburg. The rest of the army soon followed.  Lee reacted by entrenching his army on the heights behind the town.

On December 11, Union engineers laid five pontoon bridges across the Rappahannock under fire. On the 12th, the Federal army crossed over, and on December 13, Burnside mounted a series of futile frontal assaults on Prospect Hill and Marye's Heights that resulted in staggering casualties.

Meade's division, on the Union left flank, briefly penetrated Jackson's line but was driven back by a counterattack. Union generals C. Feger Jackson and George Bayard, and Confederate generals Thomas R.R. Cobb and Maxey Gregg were killed.

On December 15, Burnside called off the offensive and recrossed the river, ending the campaign.  Burnside initiated a new offensive in January 1863, which quickly bogged down in the winter mud. The abortive "Mud March" and other failures led to Burnside's replacement by Major General Joseph Hooker in January 1863.

Result(s): Confederate victory

Location: Spotsylvania County and Fredericksburg

Campaign: Fredericksburg Campaign (November-December 1862) This campaign had just this battle Campaigns

Date(s): December 11-15, 1862

Principal Commanders: Major General Ambrose E. Burnside [US]; General Robert E. Lee [CS]

Forces Engaged: 172,504 total (US 100,007; CS 72,497)

Estimated Casualties: 17,929 total (US 13,353; CS 4,576)


Fredericksburg
Voices of the Civil War
The courage of the troops who fought at Fredericksburg through their actual accounts. You can sence how the south felt it would win the war after this northern defeat from the soilders letters
Click for full size map
From Manassas to Appomattox: General James Longstreet
According to some, he was partially to blame for the Confederate defeat at Gettysburg; according to others, if Lee had followed Longstreet's advice, they would have won that battle. He has been called stubborn and vain; and he has been lauded as one of the greatest tacticians of the Civil War





George Gordon Meade and the War in the East
To most students of the Civil War, he is merely the man who was lucky enough to benefit from Confederate mistakes at Gettysburg, but whose shortcomings as a commander compelled Abraham Lincoln to bring in Ulysses S. Grant from the West to achieve victory





Fighting Joe Hooker
Union general Joseph Hooker assumed command of an army demoralized by defeat and diminished by desertion. Acting swiftly, the general reorganized his army, routed corruption among quartermasters, improved food and sanitation, and boosted morale by granting furloughs and amnesties. The test of his military skill came in the battle of Chancellorsville. It was one of the Union Army's worst defeats

fredericksburg virginia civil war battle map
Burnside
Ambrose Burnside, the Union general, was a major player on the Civil War stage from the first clash at Bull Run until the final summer of the war. He led a corps or army during most of this time and played important roles in various theaters of the war.

Confederate Cavalryman 1861-65
This title looks at how the men of the Confederate cavalry were recruited, trained, lived and fought. Both routine and campaign life are covered, as well as the weapons and equipment that served them in their combat roles. Key encounters such as the 1863 clash at Brandy Station are also covered.		 More on Fredericksburg
Virginia State Battle Map 1862
Civil War Battle Maps by State
Ships and Naval Battles
Civil War Submarines
Women Civil War Soldiers
Appomattox Courthouse
President Abraham Lincoln
American Civil War Exhibits
Civil War Summary
Civil War Campaigns
Reenactors Supplies
Civil War Store
72 Piece Civil War Army Men
Play Set 52mm Union and Confederate Figures, Bridge, Horses, Canon
  • 48 Union and Confederate Soldiers
  • 4 Horses, 4 Sandbag Bunkers, 6 Fence Sections, 3 Cannon, 3 Limber Wagons (Ammo Carts)
  • Bridge, Small Barracks,
  • Scale: About 1/35th
American Civil War Book Titles

Lee's Cavalrymen: A History of the Mounted Forces of the Army of Northern Virginia, 1861-1865
The cavalry of the Army of Northern Virginia its leadership, the military life of its officers and men as revealed in their diaries and letters, the development of its tactics as the war evolved, and the influence of government policies on its operational abilities. All the major players and battles are involved
Jefferson Davis: Unconquerable Heart
Shades of Blue and Gray
No scholar can fail to appreciate Allen's exhaustive research,, nor any layman fail to be amazed at her mass of fact and significant detail
Mosby's Rangers
From 1863 to the end, Mosby's raiders were a constant headache for the North. More than 1,000 men served under Mosby, they usually acted in small detachments of several dozen, sacking supply depots, attacking railroads, and harassing federal troops. They seemed to move behind enemy lines almost at will.
Lee's Miserables: Life in the Army of Northern Virginia from the Wilderness to Appomattox
The words of the soldiers themselves provide a view of the army's experiences in camp, on the march, in combat, and under siege—from the battles in the Wilderness to the final retreat to Appomattox. It sheds new light on such questions as the state of morale in the army, the causes of desertion, ties between the army and the home front

The Last Confederate General: John C. Vaughn and His East Tennessee Cavalry
The first man to raise an infantry regiment in the state, and one of the very last Confederate generals to surrender.History has not been kind to Vaughn, who finally emerges from the shadows in this absorbing reassessment of his life and military career
Cavalryman of the Lost Cause: A Biography of J. E. B. Stuart
James Ewell Brown Stuart was the premier cavalry commander of the Confederacy. He gained a reputation for daring early in the war when he rode around the Union army in the Peninsula Campaign, providing valuable intelligence to General Robert E. Lee at the expense of Union commander George B. McClellan
P.G.T. Beauregard: Napoleon in Gray
Beauregard often gets overlooked, he was never as beloved as Lee or Stonewall Jackson, but he was capable, the man had a sharp mind and Lee understood this, even if Jefferson Davis did not
Van Dorn: The Life and Times of a Confederate General
Biography of the flamboyant Earl Van Dorn, one of the most promising yet disappointing officers in the Confederate Army

Civil War History Documentary DVD Movie Titles

Civil War Combat: America's Bloodiest Battles
The violent mayhem of the hornet's nest at Shiloh, the valiant charge on the sunken road at Antietam, the carnage in the wheat field at Gettysburg, and the brutal fighting at Cold Harbor
Civil War Journal - The Conflict Begins
These four programs from the History Channel series Civil War Journal cover critical aspects of the early days of the war.
Civil War Journal
Collector's Edition 4-DVD Set
Made exclusively for Books Are Fun. Discs include: · Stonewall Jackson · Sherman and the March to the Sea · West Point Classmates-Civil War Enemies · Robert E. Lee · Battle of 1st Bull Run · The 54th Massachusetts · John Brown s War · Destiny at Fort Sumter
Gettysburg / Gods and Generals
The tide of the war changes during three fierce days of combat at Gettysburg [Disc 1] the gripping saga of the tactics command errors and sacrifices behind the bloodiest battle ever fought on U.S. soil. Gods and Generals [Disc 2] reveals the spirited allegiances and fierce combat of earlier Civil War struggles

History Channel Presents The Civil War
From Harper's Ferry, Fort Sumter, and First Bull Run to Shiloh, Antietam, and Gettysburg. The most legendary Civil War battles in brilliant detail. A selection of the soldiers and legendary leaders.
The Civil War - A Film by Ken Burns
Here is the saga of celebrated generals and ordinary soldiers, a heroic and transcendent president and a country that had to divide itself in two in order to become one
Still Standing: The Stonewall Jackson Story
The life of Stonewall Jackson from his orphaned childhood, to the Sunday School class he taught for African Americans that has resulted in a lasting impact today, to the pivotal role he played as a General in the Civil War.
Stonewall Jackson - Biography
He earned his nickname for bravery at Bull Run. He met his fate in a tragic accident at Chancellorsville. Stonewall Jackson is widely regarded as one of the greatest of the Confederate commanders of the Civil War. An outstanding leader and brilliant tactician he led some of the most stunning campaigns of the war and earned a place in military history.


Union Hardtack Recipes
Civil War Picture Album
General Stonewall Jackson
Clara Barton - American Red Cross
Underground Railroad
Women in the War



Sources:
U.S. National Park Service
US Army
U.S. Library of Congress.


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