FREDERICKSBURG, BATTLE OF

FREDERICKSBURG, BATTLE OF (13 December 1862), the scene of a decisive Southern victory against great odds. After the defeat of Union General George B. McClellan at Sharpsburg, Maryland, command of the Army of the Potomac was given to General Ambrose E. Burnside, who made Richmond, Virginia—instead of the Army of Northern Virginia—his objective. General Robert E. Lee outmarched him to Fredericksburg and placed his army of about 78,000 on the high ground from one to two miles south of the Rappahannock River. Lee's lines roughly paralleled the river for more than six miles. Burnside slowly concentrated his 122,000 troops on the northern bank, with difficulty drove the Confederate sharpshooters out of Fredericksburg, and crossed to the southern bank, where he drew his lines for battle on 13 December. The Confederate right flank was unprotected by any natural obstacle, but Burnside launched only one major assault on the exposed line during the entire day, and this was repulsed. The main battle was fought at the base of Marye's Heights, where a sunken road provided a natural breastwork for the Confederates. Wave after wave of Union infantry was broken and rolled back by the devastating fire from this road. Nightfall ended the battle along the entire line, with 10,208 Unionists and 5,209 Confederates killed or wounded. Burnside planned to renew the attack on 14 December but was dissuaded by his commanders. His plans frustrated by his defeat, Burnside withdrew his demoralized army north of the Rappahannock during the night of 15 December, and on 25 January 1863 he was relieved of his command, which was given to General Joseph Hooker.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Gallagher, Gary W. ed. The Fredericksburg Campaign: Decision on the Rappahannock. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1995.

McPherson, James M. Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988.

Sutherland, Daniel E. Fredericksbsurg and Chancellorsville: The Dare Mark Campaign. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1998.

George FrederickAshworth/a. r.

See alsoAntietam, Battle of ; Army of Northern Virginia ; Chancellorsville, Battle of ; Civil War .

Fredericksburg1 Town (1990 pop. 6,934), Gillespie co., S central Texas, in the Texas Hill Country near the Pedernales River; inc. 1928. Located in an agricultural (cattle, peaches, wine, lavender) and quarrying (granite, sand, gravel) region, the city produces animal feed, processed foods, and millwork. Tourism is important, with visitors drawn by the architecture, customs, and language that still recall the German settlers of 1846 and by hunting and fishing nearby. The National Museum of the Pacific War, Pioneer Museum, and Bauer Toy Museum are there; Admiral Chester Nimitz was born in Fredericksburg. Enchanted Rock State Natural Area is to the north; the LBJ Ranch, part of the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park is to the east. 2 Independent city (1990 pop. 19,027), N Va., on the Rappahannock River, midway between Washington, D.C., and Richmond; settled 1671, laid out 1727, inc. as a town 1781, as a city 1879. A city filled with historic interest, Fredericksburg attracts tourists. It is also a farm trade center with some light industry. Historic buildings include the home of Mary Washington (1772–89), the mother of George Washington; "Kenmore," the home of George Washington's sister; the Rising Sun Tavern (c.1760); the law office of James Monroe; and the home of John Paul Jones. Fredericksburg is the seat of Mary Washington College. Nearby are Wakefield (Washington's birthplace), Ferry Farm (the site of his boyhood home), and Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County Battlefields Memorial National Military Park (see National Parks and Monuments , table), commemorating the Civil War battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville , and Spotsylvania Courthouse (see Wilderness campaign ).

battle of Fredericksburg in the Civil War, fought Dec. 13, 1862, at Fredericksburg, Va. In Nov., 1862, the Union general Ambrose Burnside moved his three "grand divisions" under W. B. Franklin, E. V. Sumner, and Joseph Hooker to the north side of the Rappahannock River opposite Fredericksburg; his objective was Richmond. Delay in bringing up pontoons prevented Burnside from seizing the heights on the south bank immediately. Robert E. Lee, having anticipated the move, soon confronted him from those heights with James Longstreet's 1st Corps, which soon was joined by Stonewall Jackson's 2d. The Federals crossed on Dec. 11–12 and attacked Lee on Dec. 13. After Jackson had repulsed Franklin's attack on the Confederate right, Burnside ordered Sumner to storm Longstreet's impregnable position on Marye's Heights. Successive charges brought death to droves of courageous Union troops. Burnside's subordinates protested against renewing the foolhardy assaults, and on Dec. 15 the Federals made an undisturbed withdrawal to the north bank. Union losses, more than twice the Confederate, were over 12,000. The defeat caused profound depression throughout the North.

Bibliography: See E. J. Stackpole, Drama on the Rappahannock (1957); V. E. Whan, Jr., Fiasco at Fredericksburg (1961); J. Luvaas and H. W. Nelson, The U.S. Army Guide to the Battles of Chancellorsville and Fredericksburg (1989).