UNION ARMY WITHDRAWS AFTER FREDERICKSBURG

Union Army withdraws after Fredericksburg

By December 15th, 1862, the Army of the Potomac was pulling back across the Rappahannock River after the bloody defeat at Fredericksburg. In the preceding days, Union troops had fought their way into the town, then launched frontal assaults against Confederate positions on the heights behind it. Well-entrenched defenders, protected by stone walls and rising ground, inflicted devastating casualties on attacking brigades. The withdrawal underlined how costly it could be when command decisions underestimated prepared defensive positions in the age of rifled muskets and artillery. For Northern soldiers and civilians, Fredericksburg became a symbol of sacrifice apparently wasted by poor planning and rigid tactics. The defeat contributed to growing doubts about leadership at the top of the army, even as individual acts of courage on the field added new stories to the Civil War’s long roll of battlefield heroism.