Who was the defeated Union commander at the Battle of Fredericksburg?
General Ambrose Burnside. He waited until Lee had his troops dug in behind a stone wall up on a ridge and then ordered wave after wave of direct frontal attacks up the hill. The Confederate artillery was expertly placed and poured enfilade fire down the slope at the advancing Union troops. It was a slaughter. It was in December, before Christmas, and many, many thousands of Union troops were trapped on the hill at dark. In the freezing cold thousands of wounded troops died and those not wounded used the bodies to make shelters for themselves. When they were finally able to retreat back through the town of Fredricksburg they crossed the Rappahannock River and tore up the bridge so Lee could not follow them. Burnside was fired by President Lincoln and “Fighting Joe” Hooker was put in charge. Hooker got his clock-cleaned by Lee in the Spring just a few miles from Fredricksburg in the town of Chanselorsville. Oh, one last thing. The Northern Lights were clearly visible in the sky during th
