Why was fredericksburg fought

With darkness approaching, the battle south of Fredericksburg came to an end. Throughout the day, the Union divisions advanced and were cut down by Confederate artillery and gunfire. Late in the day, the 9th Corps of Maj. Kirkland would be killed at the Battle of Chickamauga the following autumn. Burnside intended to renew the frontal assaults the next morning, but the commanders of his three grand divisions convinced him not to. The following two days were filled with the misery and suffering of the wounded between the two lines.

The night of December 15, Burnside retreated to winter camp in Stafford County. Confederate morale soared after Fredericksburg; they had been outnumbered and still prevailed. Dan Bullock died at age 15 in and efforts to recognize the young African-American Marine continue and are highlighted in this Military Times documentary.

An cavalry clash at Boonsboro, Md. Get inside articles from the world's premier publisher of history magazines. General Ambrose E. Burnside Confederate: General Robert E. Subscribe and save!

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.

Led by Secretary of the Treasury Salmon Chase, the senators pressed Lincoln to reorganize his cabinet, and when he refused, Chase offered his resignation. 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 Fredericksburg. At the head of a rejuvenated Army of Northern Virginia, Lee would follow up with an even more smashing success over a numerically superior Union force at Chancellorsville in May before launching a second invasion of the North through Pennsylvania.

The horrific carnage and stunning Union defeat inspired many writers to transform what had transpired into words. Over a century later, the Battle of Fredericksburg was the subject of Gods and Generals , a book by Jeff Shaara that was made into a film in But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us!

Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. Fought in It pitted Confederate General Robert E. Skip to Main Content. Loading Close. Do Not Show Again Close. Sign In. Civil War Fredericksburg played a major role in the Civil War, serving as the grounds for what was then the largest battle in America and the first urban battle since the Revolutionary War. Settlement to Society. Colony to Nation.

Early National Period.