"It is well that war is so terrible-we should grow too fond of it."
Gen. Robert E. Lee during the Battle of Fredericksburg.
Those words were uttered during the Union's fruitless assaults against the strong Confederate defenses on hills overlooking the town of Fredericksburg, Virginia on December 13, 1862. Fourteen Union attacks were made resulting only in horrific casualties as Confederate troops cut down the piecemeal brigade-sized assaults. As a newspaper reporter commented; "It can hardly be in human nature for men to show more valor(...) or generals to manifest less judgement." (McPherson: 572)

General Ambrose E. Burnside (pictured) assumed command of the Army of the Potomac after General McClellan was at last dismissed as commander for his failure to destroy General Lee's Army of Northern Virgina at Antietam. Burnside twice refuse command claiming an inadequate ability to command large forces. But his earlier successes, including taking Confederate positions along the North Carolina coast, made him appear the most capable commander. Sadly, Burnside's inability to adapt coupled with becoming flustered in the face of uncertainty would emerge in this battle resulting in another disaster for the Union.
At first, Burnside was doing well. He moved toward the Rappahannock River believing his supply lines would be more secure with naval assets protecting them instead of relying on more vulnerable railroads. But there were numerous rivers to cross. Burnside planned to deploy pontoon bridges in advance and get across before Lee could arrive.
The bridges did arrive...nineteen days later.
During this lull, Burnside became flustered, unable to conceive a Plan B. The pontoon crossings were his only play. Even though there were points where the river could be easily forded, Burnside would not move his forces across until the pontoons arrived. Once they finally arrived, Lee's forces were waiting in the hills overlooking the town, leaving a brigade of Mississippi troops in the town to harass the Union army. After shelling the town, Burnside's men did cross into Fredericksburg on December 11 driving back the handful of Mississippi troops. The rest of December 11th and all of the 12th, Union soldiers prepared for the coming battle by looting the town, smashing furniture and glassware inside the "rebel" houses.

The battle began on December 13 with Burnside intending to conduct a frontal assault with his soldiers numbering over 110,000 against Confederate defenses manned by around 75,000 soldiers. Burnside was convinced the Confederates would be surprised and unprepared for such an attack.
But Lee and his generals were indeed prepared. In the nineteen days while Burnside fumbled, the Confederates deployed artillery and earthworks along the already defensible high ground overlooking the town. One of General Longstreet's artillery officers boasted that "a chicken could not live in that field when we open up on it." His boast was justified as Union troops began assaulting the defenses.
General Lee could afford to wait during the winter letting the Union bleed their forces white. Burnside could not, as President Lincoln and the American public were expecting a victory. With this in mind, Burnside gave the order to attack.
The Union left wing under General William B. Franklin would assault the Confederate right under Stonewall Jackson. Confusing orders from Burnside confounded the timid General Franklin who sent his forces piecemeal into the fight. A breakthrough seemed likely when General Meade's forces reached Prospect Hill but Franklin did not exploit it and Confederate reinforcements turned back the assault. The Union right wing under General Hooker fared no better against General Longstreet's positions on the Confederate left. Fourteen piecemeal assaults against Confederate positions resulted in a disaster for the Union. At the end of the day, the Union suffered over 13,000 casualties, the South close to 5,000. Moved by the bravery of the Union troops, Lee agreed to a truce offered by Burnside to recover his men in the freezing night.
The next day, Burnside had to be talked out of leading a new assault and instead conducted a withdrawal of his forces back from Fredericksburg. Union morale all but totally collapsed as Confederate morale soared, their troops taunting Union soldiers as they moved to winter quarters in Falmouth. Upon learning of the disaster at Fredericksburg, President Lincoln said in frustration; "If there is a worse place than Hell, I am in it."
Burnside himself took the blame and was removed from his command but not the service, sent to command his old IX Ohio Corps. However, he also believed some of his officers were conspiring to discredit him, including Joseph Hooker, and wanted them court-martialed. Lincoln seemed to feel a bit of sympathy toward Burnside, hence the reason the General was simply transferred and not outright dismissed. General Hooker would take over, despite his criticism of Burnside or perhaps because of it. Hooker's command was short-lived after the even greater disaster at Chancellorsville.
One can feel sympathy for Burnside after Fredericksburg. But after the battle, Union soldiers and line officers would say otherwise. Cold and dispirited, they felt that their bravery was overshadowed by incompetent commanders. This would continue throughout the first half of 1863 until the fortunes of war would change at Gettysburg.
Books:
Battle Cry of Freedom:The Civil War Era. James M. McPherson, Ballantine Books, New York. 1988.
The American Civil War: This Mighty Scourge of War. Gary W. Gallagher, et al, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, UK. 2003.