by The Fredericksburg Battlefield in Virginia is one of those rare battlefield sites where you can get a real feel for what happened. Usually I’m thinking, “Yep, that’s another field.”
Don’t get me wrong, the NPS self-guided driving and audio tour reached new lows on an already-lowered rating scale, but the Sunken Road Walking Trail brought history to life.
General Ambrose E. Burnside received command of the 120,000-men strong Army of the Potomac on November 7, 1862.
Within days he altered the course of his predecessor and was on a mad dash towards Fredericksburg, a strategic position due to its location between the Union capital in Washington, D.C., and the Confederate headquarters at Richmond, Virginia.
Burnside’s troops arrived at Stafford Heights opposite Fredericksburg on November 17. This immediately put General Robert E. Lee at a disadvantage, as he had not anticipated this move, and did not have troops in position.
The Union army needed to cross the Rappahannock River, though, and the required pontoon equipment didn’t arrive until November 25th due to a series of problems. Then it took weeks for the equipment to be assembled and for the troops to be ready to cross. This delay had allowed Lee to get his troops in position, destroying all of the advantage Burnside had established.
When viewed today, it is clear the Confederates’ fortified high ground position beyond the stone wall on the Sunken Road would be suicidal to assault. Truly, what were they thinking? During the December 11-15 frontal assault, the Union army sent seven waves of attackers, but not one reached the Confederate line.
Union casualties were 12,500, more than double those of the Confederates. It is remembered as one of the most one-sided battles of the war. A visitor to the battlefield described it as a “butchery” to U.S. President Abraham Lincoln.
