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American Civil War

The land war > The war in the east in 1862 > Fredericksburg
Photograph:Union engineers constructing a pontoon bridge across the Rappahannock River during the Battle of …
Union engineers constructing a pontoon bridge across the Rappahannock River during the Battle of …
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (LC-USZ62-7023)

Burnside delayed for a number of weeks before marching his reinforced army of 120,281 men to a point across the Rappahannock River from Fredericksburg, Virginia. On December 13 he ordered a series of 16 hopeless, piecemeal frontal assaults across open ground against Lee's army of 78,513 troops, drawn up in an impregnable position atop high ground and behind a stone wall. The Federals were repelled with staggering losses; Burnside had lost 12,653 men, compared to Lee's 5,309. The plunging Federal morale was reflected in an increasing number of desertions. Therefore, on January 25, 1863, Lincoln replaced Burnside with a proficient corps commander, Joseph (“Fighting Joe”) Hooker, who was a harsh critic of other generals and even of the president. Both armies went into winter quarters near Fredericksburg.

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