Introduction:

During any war, most battles have a distinguished winner and loser, with
considerable consequences for the latter. Others, though, have no victory, and others
still have an insignificant and small outcome. These last battles, while not greatly
influencing the outcome of war, may still drastically alter the military career of an
officer while producing massive casualties. The Battle of Fredericksburg of the Civil
War was one such battle and General Ambrose E. Burnside was one such officer. This
single conflict completely ruined the newly acquired reputation of Burnside.
Although he had turned down the Army of the Potomac twice, Burnside finally
accepted control of the army in order to keep it from a rival, Joseph Hooker, in
November of 1862. A month after he became the commander, Burnside led his men
into Fredericksburg, Virginia. Early during this campaign against Lee, it was thought
the Union would easily win due to the element of surprise. Through Burnside’s poor
leadership, though, the Confederates were able to build up their forces and viciously
slaughter the Northern soldiers. Though the damage was already done, the
Commander of the Army of Potomac attempted to ratify himself and his men during
that January. He achieved nothing, though, and was removed from his position shortly
after this atrocious attempt.

I. Ambrose Burnside had turned down the offer of commanding the Army of the
Potomac on two occasions before reluctantly accepting the offer to block
Joseph Hooker from getting the command. General Ambrose E. Burnside
inherited the Army of the Potomac on November 7, 1862 from McClellan.
II. Battle
a.
III. Aftermath
a. Burnside attempted again in January of 1863 while they were still camped
on the western side of the Rappahannock. They got caught in torrential
rains that led to the “mud march”. This march did nothing but further
lower the respect of Burnside throughout the Union. In his anger, Burnside
sent a letter to Lincoln to remove the offending officers. Lincoln then
replaced Burnside with Joseph Hooker.