The Battle of Fredericksburg (Part 3: The Irish Brigade)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fredericksburg The battle of Fredericksburg began early in the morning as General Franklin (whose army was to the west of Fredericksburg) marched on Jackson's line, and in the morning fog, managed to get two divisions past Jackson's lines. The attack was stopped by Confederate artillery, leading to an artillery duel between Major John Pelham and his Confederate battery and an opposing Union battery. The attacks on Marye's Heights were disastrous, and doomed from the start. Swampy land prevented charging Union brigades from spreading out, and unlike the charge at Gettysburg under similar circumstances, the Union troops had to stop before the entrenched Confederates and engage in volley fire, fully exposed. Despite this, the Union managed to deal heavy blows to the Confederates on Marye's Heights, prompting General Pickett to march his division in support of the Heights, and General Hood to send a brigade as well. The Irish Brigade suffered the worst casualties, losing 50% of their strength in battle. And yet they made it the furthest of any Union brigade in the charge on Marye's Heights.