The Battle of Fredericksburg as a four day battle fought around Fredericksburg, Virginia in December of 1962. Union General Ambrose E. Burnside faced off against Confederate Robert E. Lee in one of the most one-sided battles of the entire Civil War.
The initial plan was for Burnside’s Union army to regain an upper hand againt Lee’s smaller but infinitely more aggressive army. Burnside’s plan was to fool Lee’s army into waiting for a frontal encounter while he really slid around and crossed the Rappahannock River in an effort to flank Lee. By way of mistake, the pontoon bridges had not arrived before the foot soldiers and rendered Burnside’s army immobile.
By the time the bridges had arrived, Lee’s and Longstreet’s armies were already dug in and prepared. To Burnside’s credit, a battery of cannons were placed preventing any counter-attack while plans were reorganized. Burnside decided on a crossing directly at Fredricksburg in an attempt to surprise the southern forces.
Given plenty of time to set up, the south had an obvious advantage against the north. The battle begun at 8:30am, and lasted for four days. The Union suffered heavy losses as the South had dug in and prepared for the worst. Wave after wave of Union soldiers were heavily wounded in a succession of charges that failed. All said, over 1,000 Union soldiers were killed, and 9,000 were injured. The Condederates lost 600 soldiers with over 4,000 wounded.