The Greatest Civil War Battles: The Battle of Fredericksburg

by Charles River Editors

Includes pictures of important people, places, and events. Includes maps of the battle.Analyzes the generalship of the battle's most important leaders, including Lee, Longstreet, Burnside and others. Includes descriptions of the fighting from the post-battle reports and memoirs of some of the leading generals, including Meade, Burnside, Longstreet, and others. Includes a Bibliography for further reading.Includes a Table of Contents. "It is good that war is so terrible; otherwise we should grow too fond of it." - Robert E. LeeThe Army of the Potomac had pushed Robert E. Lee's army out of Maryland in September 1862 after the Battle of Antietam, but President Lincoln and his War Department wanted the army to continue going after the Army of Northern Virginia after it retreated back into Virginia. When George B. McClellan refused to do it, Lincoln fired him and installed Ambrose E. Burnside as the new commander. Burnside, who didn't believe himself capable of commanding the Army of the Potomac, only took the job because he was told Fighting Joe Hooker would get the spot if he refused. With Washington urging Burnside to advance against Lee, Burnside launched an ill fated operation across the Rappahannock River near Fredericksburg in December 1862. From December 12-13, Burnside struggled to get his army across the river while it was under fire from Confederates in Fredericksburg, and things only got worse when they did. Although the Union almost broke the Confederate lines in the south on December 13, they were ultimately repulsed, and the battle is mostly remembered for the piecemeal attacks the Union army made on heavily fortified positions Longstreet's men took up on Marye's Heights. As they threw themselves at Longstreet's heavily fortified position along the high ground, the Northern soldiers were mowed down again and again. General Longstreet compared the near continuous fall of soldiers on the battlefield to "the steady dripping of rain from the eaves of a house." During the battle, Lee turned to Longstreet and commented, "It is well that war is so terrible, otherwise we should grow too fond of it."As injured Northern soldiers lay freezing and dying on the field that night, the Northern Lights made a rare appearance. Southern soldiers interpreted it as a favorable omen from God and mentioned them frequently in their diaries, while Northern soldiers who saw something far less divine sparsely mentioned them. The following morning, Burnside extricated his army back behind the river, ending the fighting in 1862.The Greatest Civil War The Battle of Fredericksburg comprehensively covers the campaign and the events that led up to the battle, the fighting itself, and the aftermath of the battle. Accounts of the battle by important participants are also included, along with maps of the battle and pictures of important people, places, and events. You will learn about the Battle of Fredericksburg like you never have before, in no time at all.

50 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 29, 2012

About the author

Charles River Editors is an independent publisher of thousands of ebooks on Kindle, Nook, Kobo, and Apple iBookstore & provider of original content for third parties.

Reviews

[Shawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

First hand accounts of one of the bloodiest Civil War battles.

This book provides some important first hand accounts of the battle by the soldiers and officers who fought on both sides. I have always been interested in the battle of Fredericksburg because my great, great grandfather – Robert Oscar Perry - was a Confederate soldier who fought in the battle which took place in his hometown of Fredericksburg. He was just a teenager - but he had already seen more blood and gore than anyone should have to in their lives. His brigade was positioned as far to the right of the Confederate line as you could get. Fortunately - for me - he survived the fighting that took place there. The awful slaughter of Union troops at the stone wall took place all the way on the opposite side of the Confederate line. I wonder about what effect this had on him and the generations of my family that came after.

[James Crawford · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an extremely good way to do such a book. It's done by quoting reports from the actual leaders involved in the battle. What things appear to be in this battle is a rather incompetent Union general (of which they had many) who could really plan and carry out a battle plan if his life depended on it.

This was the first major urban battle in the Civil War and the first time an American city was bombarded (by cannon) on purpose.

A lot of good men died because of poor leadership on the Union side. The Southern side, meanwhile, had gotten to the battle site first and set up excellent defenses and had very good plans in effect. It was really sort of a reverse Gettysburg.