Battle of Fredericksburg

In December 1862, Ambrose Burnside attempted to cross the Rappahannock River at Fredericksburg and move against Richmond. Delays in receiving pontoon bridges allowed Robert E. Lee to concentrate the Army of Northern Virginia on commanding ground west of the town.

Union attacks on Marye’s Heights were repeatedly repulsed, while fighting on the southern part of the field failed to break Stonewall Jackson’s line. The Army of the Potomac withdrew after suffering severe casualties.

Lee, Stonewall Jackson, Winfield Scott Hancock, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain and the human cost of frontal assault during the middle years of the Civil War.