Battle of Fredericksburg • Tour the Battlefield • Monuments & Markers • Armies
The Battle of Fredericksburg
The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought in December of 1862. It was a year that started for the Federals with the optimism of McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign but saw disaster after disaster until the stalemate of the Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest single day in American military history. The Confederacy had found a commanding general in Robert E. Lee who understood McClellan and could outthink him at every turn. Now McClellan was gone, replaced by Ambrose Burnside. He had plainly stated that he was not suited for the job of commanding the Army of the Potomac, but took the position rather than let it go to Joseph Hooker, a man he despised.
The Second Battle of Fredericksburg
A second battle was fought on the same ground at Fredericksburg on May 3, 1863 as part of the Chancellorsville Campaign. It was a much smaller battle, with most of the fighting occuring at Chancellorsville, a few miles to the west. Both battles are covered on these pages.
On this site:
Tour the Fredericksburg battlefield following the route of the Auto Tour as well as visiting other areas of interest.
Explore monuments and historical markers, with photographs, map locations, text and background history.
See the Organization of the Armies in the First Battle of Fredericksburg
Battle of Fredericksburg Facts
Who fought in the Battle of Fredericksburg?
The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia: 78,500 men commanded by General Robert E. Lee
The Federal Army of the Potomac: 122,000 men commanded by Major General Ambrose Burnside
How many casualties were there in the Battle of Fredericksburg?
How many people died?
The Confederates lost about 400 men killed and 3700 wounded, a total of around 4,100.
The Federals lost almost 1,300 killed, 9,600 wounded and 1,770 missing or captured, a total of around 12,670.
It was the tenth costliest battle of the Civil War.
When was the Battle of Fredericksburg?
The battle lasted from December 11 to December 18, 1862. The majority of the fighting and the worst casualties were on December 13, when Burnside tried to break the Confederate defensive line at two points.
Where was the Battle of Fredericksburg fought?
The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, on the Rappahannock River almost exactly halfway between Washington and Richmond. It was the first contested river crossing of the Civil War, and the first urban fighting.
Why was the First Battle of Fredericksburg fought?
Ambrose Burnside had unwillingly taken over command of the Army of the Potomac after George McClellan was relieved by Lincoln. He was forced to either begin an offensive drive or give up the army to Joseph Hooker, who he despised. Burnside planned for a quick advance on Richmond by the straightest path, which lay through Fredericksburg. He moved surprisingly fast, beating Lee to the Rappahannock. Unfortunately, he also beat his pontoons.
Burnside reached Fredericksburg while only 500 defenders were on the southern shore of the Rappanannock. But administrative problems delayed his pontoon train for days. He refused to cross the river without his bridges, and by the time they finally arrived Lee’s army was well dug in on the heights west of the river. Lee even had time to send to Richmond for heavy artillery. Any chance for Burnside’s plan to succeed was gone.
What happened in the Battle of Fredericksburg?
This did not stop Burnside. On December 12 Burnside began with what turned into an assault crossing of the river accompanied by a devastating bombardment of the town that did little military damage. On the 13th he launched two massive attacks. The first was on Longstreet’s 1st Corps on the bluffs at Marye’s Heights behind their covering sunken road and stone wall. The second was a short distance downstream against Jackson’s 2nd Corps, which was defending less ideal terrain.
At the downstream location Mead’s Division briefly broke through Jackson’s line, but Confederate counterattacks restored the position. Upstream the attack against Marye’s Heights turned into a slaughter. Again and again Federal columns surged across the open space that was totally covered by a crossfire of artillery and infantry. Not a man made it within 40 yards of the stone wall. Burnside had to be restrained from putting himself at the head of his former corps and leading one final, suicidal attack. That night thousands of killed and wounded carpeted the field in front of Marye’s Heights as a rare aurora borealis played overhead.
Who won the Battle of Fredericksburg?
The Confederacy won an overwhelming victory. Burnside withdrew his army back across the Rappahannock. It was the tenth costliest battle of the Civil War, with over 17,000 casualties. The great majority were Federal. The 3 to 1 casualty ratio was one of the most lopsided major battles of the war.
Why was the Battle of Fredericksburg important?
What were the results of the Battle of Fredericksburg?
The most obvious result was the end of another Union drive on Richmond. Burnside lost not only the battle, but the confidence of his army and its commanders. Desertions skyrocketed and high ranking officers plotted against Burnside and each other. The “mud march” in January was the final nail in Burnside’s coffin, and many, including Lincoln himself, wondered if the war could be continued.
On the Confederate side confidence in their army and especially their commanding general swelled. Yet both Lee and Jackson felt the victory was incomplete. A defeat such as this was the ideal time to hit the broken and dispirited Federals with a counterattack, but Burnside had been able to withdraw across the Rappahannock where Lee’s army could not easily reach them. This became a major issue in the upcoming Gettysburg campaign, where Lee sought to fight his opponent in the open. At the same time Longstreet formed the opinion that the ideal Confederate strategy was to defend a strong defensive position that the Federals would be forced to attack. This led to dissension between Lee and Longstreet at Gettysburg, where both tried to apply contradictory lessons from Fredericksburg.
Second Battle of Fredericksburg Facts
When was the Second Battle of Fredericksburg?
The Second Battle of Fredericksburg was fought on May 3, 1863. It was a part of the Chancellorsville campaign.
Where was the Second Battle of Fredericksburg fought?
The Second Battle of Fredericksburg was fought on Marye’s Heights, immediately west of the city of Fredericksburg, Virginia. A major part of the First Battle of Fredericksburg was fought in the same location.
Who fought in the Second Battle of Fredericksburg?
Early’s Division of Jackson’s Corps of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia
12,000 men commanded by Major General Jubal Early
The Sixth Corps of the Federal Army of the Potomac
27,100 men commanded by Major General John Sedgwick
How many casualties were there in the Second Battle of Fredericksburg?
How many people died?
The Confederacy lost 700 killed, wounded and missing.
The Union lost 1,100 killed, wounded and missing.
Why was the Second Battle of Fredericksburg fought?
Five months after the First Battle of Fredericksburg the Union army was on that march again. Major General Joseph Hooker was in command, and he had – somewhat surprisingly – restored the army’s strength and morale. He even had a pretty good plan, which may have worked if he’d stuck to it. Hooker took the majority of the Army of the Potomac in a flanking movement to the west of Fredericksburg. Major General John Sedgwick and his Sixth Corps were to remain behind opposite Fredericksburg and hold Lee’s attention there as long as possible. When Lee learned of Hooker’s movement one possibility was that Lee would move against Hooker’s main body. If that happened Sedgwick would cross the Rappahannock and move against Lee’s rear, trapping him between the two forces.
However, Hooker allowed himself to become bogged down in the wilderness of second growth forest around Chancellorsville, and became the victim of “Stonewall” Jackson’s most daring and final stratagem. While the major fighting was taking place around Chancellorsville on May 5, 1863, the first Battle of Fredericksburg was refought on a smaller scale. The Confederates still held Marye’s Heights, but with a much smaller number of men. Sedgwick with his single Corps repeated the frontal assault from the first battle. Two bloody attacks were thrown back just as before. But a third attack burst up a ravine and overran the defenders, capturing eight guns and all of Marye’s Heights. The Confederate survivors withdrew down Telegraph Road.
Who won the Second Battle of Fredericksburg?
The Union. Hooker had succeeded in drawing most of Lee’s army west to Chancellorsville. After three attempts Sedgwick was able to overrun and capture the weakened Confederate position on Marye’s Heights that seemed so invincible in December.
What were the results of the Second Battle of Fredericksburg?
Sedgwick continued to advance west, ordered to come up behind Lee’s men fighting Hooker at Chancellorsville. But by then Hooker had pulled back into defensive positions, and this allowed Lee to turn part of his force against Sedgwick. Sedgwick was stopped later the same day four miles west of Marye’s Heights in the Battle of Salem Church. Instead of threatening Lee with encirclement, Sedgwick was in danger of being surrounded himself. Now it was Sedgwick who found himself outnumbered and threatened with encirclement. He skillfully extricated his men north of the Rappahannock, and the Confederates reoccupied Marye’s Heights.
Fredericksburg would continue to be a spectator to war. In May of 1864 two more of the deadliest battles of the Civil War, the Wilderness and Spotsylvania, took place just a few miles outside town. Although there was no fighting in the town itself, Fredericksburg served as a supply depot, hospital, and cemetery.