General Burnside after Fredericksburg Battle | Ambrose Burnside Speaks | American Civil War

Ambrose Burnside was the general commanding the Union Army at the Battle of Fredericksburg in 1862.
The following presentation examines the aftermath of the terrible disaster at Fredericksburg, Virginia in December, 1862. we will hear from general Ambrose Burnside himself, in his own words, soon after his crushing defeat.
It's December 11, 1862. union general burnside has brought the army of the Potomac to Falmouth, Virginia on the Rappahannock river.
Falmouth is across the Rappahannock river from Fredericksburg. At Burnside's command is the giant union army of the Potomac. What Burnside had intended to be a rapid movement across the river was bogged down by a delay in pontoon bridges. meanwhile, Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia has had plenty of time to prepare for the crossing.
Burnside does cross the Rappahannock and secure the town. However, the subsequent attempt to secure the heights beyond town as well as the high ground below town are a complete disaster. multiple blue waves are repulsed, resulting in a horrifically one-sided defeat for the union army.
unable to dislodge the rebel defenders, the bloodied army of the Potomac is forced to recross the Rappahannock river to the Falmouth side.
at 4am, on December 16, 1862, burnside sends a telegraph to major general Halleck in Washington. It reads:
I have thought it necessary to withdraw the army to this side of the river, and the movement has progressed satisfactorily thus far. [or burnside 65]
General Halleck responds from Washington that day. his tone is short and pointed. the message reads:
The president desires that you report the reasons of your withdrawal as soon as possible.
that evening on December 16, burnside transmits a response to Halleck. burnside states:
the army was withdrawn to this side of the river because I felt the positions in front could not be carried, and it was a military necessity either to attack or retire. a repulse would have been disastrous to us. I hope this explanation will be satisfactory to the president. the army was withdrawn at night, without the knowledge of the enemy, and without loss either of property or men. [or burnside 66]
burnside knew he had been beaten badly. he remains at Falmouth as December progresses, the army of the Potomac subject to winter's cold weather, rain, and mud.
burnside's report to Washington, composed the next day on December 17, contains a mixture of admiration for his men as well as a deep guilt and regret for his own decisions. here is general Ambrose Burnside, candid and in his own words, the day after his retreat across the Rappahannock.
A few days later, in what one union officer called the valley forge of the war, a letter from Washington was returned to burnside's headquarters.
this letter, dated December 22, came from the executive mansion in Washington, where it had been composed by Abraham Lincoln.
one month later President Lincoln accepted burnside's resignation, and command of the army of the Potomac fell to Joseph Hooker.
A short film by Jeffrey Meyer, historian and librarian

[@automaticmattywhack1470]

I commend Burnside for taking blame and not blaming his troops.

[@kristaskrastina2863]

He was very honest. He gambled, blundered and took whole responsibility. I'd like to see McClellan or Pope doing that instead of blaming the others.

[@vasili1097]

New Testament Greek and Civil War history, I don't think I've ever seen a channel more tailor-made for me. Keep up the good work.

[@JeffreytheLibrarian]

It's a strange combo, but I'm going to incorporate all of the interests I've had in my life.

[@lanemeyer9350]

Burnside out-general’d James Longstreet at the Battle of Campbell’s Station in TN. I wish history would speak of this brilliant delaying action more that it does

[@JeffreytheLibrarian]

Burnside also got a big early win at Roanoke.

[@Squatch_Rider66]

Another great video. Very interesting to hear the after action report in the words of the commanding officer and his superiors

[@JeffreytheLibrarian]

Much appreciated!

[@johngaither9263]

Burnside resigned as commander of the Army of the Potomac but unfortunately did not resign from the Army all together. In 1863 George Meade was appointed commander of the Army of the Potomac over several Generals who were senior to him and out ranked him. Burnside was one of these men. It became an issue in 1864 when the IX Corps commanded by Burnside became a part of the Army of the Potomac in preparation for Grants, who now commanded all union armies, overland campaign. To prevent rancor between the two General Grant detached the IX Corps from Meades command and put him directly under Grants own authority. Burnside continued to command slowly and inefficiently until the disaster at the Crater battle ended his military career.

[@brianmccarthy1029]

Thank you, my immigrant ancestor served in Hall’s Brigade (42nd NY) I now know that he made the initial crossing into Fredricksburg.

[@JeffreytheLibrarian]

Excellent! That's a great find. I have a much more in-depth overview of the Battle of Fredericksburg on my channel that goes into more detail.

[@brianmccarthy1029]

@@JeffreytheLibrarian Yes, through you I also know that he probably survived the charge on Mareys Heights because Halls Brigade pelled off to the right and held a position in support of the waves that came after them.

[@brianmccarthy1029]

He was finally wounded on the second day of Gettysburg out in front of the 1st MN. when Wilcox advanced.

[@BiblePit]

Really intense. Can you even imagine what was going on there. Another great upload.

[@channelname1700]

I love your channel! You’re awesome!

[@JeffreytheLibrarian]

Thank you!

[@jeremywales8]

Thank you. ☺️🤙🏻

[@JeffreytheLibrarian]

Thanks!

[@stevearchtoe7039]

Nice reading sir!

[@JeffreytheLibrarian]

Thank you!

[@tommy-er6hh]

Halleck did not care for Burnside, there are speculations that Halleck did not rush the Pontoons - although the rains that turned the area into mud probably had a bigger effect. Halleck was happy to see Burnside go, but since he also did not like Hooker, Halleck stayed unhappy....

[@JeffreytheLibrarian]

The same thing happened out west with Halleck and Grant.

[@tommy-er6hh]

@@JeffreytheLibrarian I thought Grant was a buddy of Halleck, like Sherman. Halleck stopped Lincoln from cashiering Grant when he made a mistake.....

[@jmsdeco]

Excellent video.

[@JeffreytheLibrarian]

Thank you!

[@antonleimbach648]

Great video. The way Lincoln appointment generals has to be evaluated. Why did he select the generals instead of the secretary of war? It seems that he didn’t have faith in Stanton to manage the conflict.

[@kristaskrastina2863]

Maybe. Or he thought Stanton and others woud go political and appoint someone Republican rather that competent.

[@RickDeckard6531]

Great artwork. @06:09 To me, most of the men here look quite old for infantry, some of them well over 30, maybe older. Does anyone know what the average age of Union soldiers was? I think most front-line infantry troops nowadays would be in their twenties (me, non-military man).

[@manchasdos]

I remember reading somewhere that it was 23. I've skimmed through a fair amount of muster rolls, and I'd guess men in their 30s are less than 10% and men in their 40s quite rare outside of senior positions.

[@Sandwichking-hikes]

I’ve been to Fredericksburg and the battlefield tour. It was really sad that all those brave men walked uphill in open side by side line against a fortified position at top of the hill. Line after line cut down and they kept going. Those generals poor tactics will forever be a stain on them for their lack of care for lives of their men

[@mikelnu8224]

I too took the battlefield tour. The most chilling words I heard were "and here the Irish Brigade (69th NY) ceased to exist." So many lives gone in an instant.

[@JeffreytheLibrarian]

It's a terrible loss of life. May God rest their souls.

[@FuzzyWuzzy75]

If the Confederate Army had waged more battles like Fredericksburg and fewer battles like Gettysburg or even Chickamauga or Chancellorsville, I'd be living in the Confederate States of America.

[@lamwen03]

They did a lot of them, which is why the Confederacy lasted as long as it did. Chancellorsville showed Lee that he just didn't have the manpower to win a long war, and caused him to risk doing at Gettysburgh just what Burnside did here.

[@FuzzyWuzzy75]

@lamwen03 I think Lee knew that a long protracted war of attrition was most likely not going to end well for the Confederates long before Chancelorsville. This explains his wrecklessly aggressive assault on Malvern Hill, which was his first true defeat. The Confederates counted on that one crushing defeat of a major Union Army that would bring the North to its knees and gain recognition from Europe (specifically Britan) and hopefully intervention on the South's behalf. This was why Lee was such a gunslinger, which made him so willing to take high risks that resulted in heavy losses that the Confederate forces could not sustain for long. The reason Longstreet was not pleased with Lee's decision to attack at Gettysburg was Longstreet was of the opinion that the summer invasion of 1863 should be aggressive tactically but defensive tactically, to force the Army of the Potomac to attack the ANV on ground of their own choosing, kind of like at Fredericksburg. This would have been a far more effective strategy not only at Gettysburg but elsewhere as well than gambling on this crushing defeat that never came to be. They came close a few times but never sealed the deal. The North was entirely demoralized after Fredericksburg. The ANV beat the hell out of the Army of the Potomac and took comparatively light casualties in return. It wouldn't have taken to many more of those kinds of victories for public pressure in the North to sue for peace would have forced Lincoln to negotiate for peace.

[@raylast3873]

Fortunately, their Meade was not going to give them the courtesy of more of those sorts of battles. It’s easy when your enemy is cooperative but this is hardly an outcome one can count on or even realistically hope for.

[@FuzzyWuzzy75]

@Ray Last True, you can't always count on the enemy to do what you want or expect him to do. But with the American Civil War, you are predominantly talking about a war of maneuver, which more often than not opens the possibility to choose one's ground and avoid battles where the ground and situation are not advantageous. There is always the opportunity to place yourself into a position that compells your enemy to attack when it is not in his advantage to do so. It's a true game of chess.

[@lamwen03]

@@FuzzyWuzzy75 That is in fact what Lee was looking for. He was heading for Harrisburgh, to capture a State capitol. He hoped this would discourage the North. He was shocked to find that Meade had crossed the Potomac and was in a position to cut off his separated forces.

[@earmarkaudiologyllc8444]

True leaders take responsibility for everything.

[@rogertrent9842]

why not accept the blame they going to get blamed for any failures anyways...

[@lamwen03]

I guess a month later Lincoln got all the details of the battle that Burnside left out of his 'apology'.

[@JeffreytheLibrarian]

Burnside always told Lincoln he felt unqualified for the position. He offered his resignation.

[@lamwen03]

@@JeffreytheLibrarian Ah, thank you.

[@kristaskrastina2863]

No. Or else Halleck who delayed the bridges would be kicked out of office.

[@curtc2194]

Burnside one of the Souths best generals lol

[@kristaskrastina2863]

Nah, he only boobed once. The worst Union General was Ledlie :)

[@curtc2194]

@@kristaskrastina2863 Not only the major screw up at Fredericksburg but he was a Corps commander mainly responsible for the fiasco that was the battle of the Crater during the siege of Petersburg...look it up...another bloody mess.

[@moochythecat3435]

Burnside should have led the first charge against the rock wall....

[@kristaskrastina2863]

No. He shouldn't have attacked there at all. Or rather he should've send someone like Meade to Washington to speed Halleck and the bridges up :)

[@johnzajac9849]

…….sent a telegram…….*

[@jacksoncurtain9612]

Burnside, like many other Generals during this war, should have been charged with war crimes and waste, fraud and abuse of life and resources.

[@mrdinkelpuss4000]

I love and i want more!!

[@JeffreytheLibrarian]

Thank you! More to come!

[@charwest5892]

what a ridiculous hairstyle, hate to say it but he might have deserved it

[@JeffreytheLibrarian]

It's actually where the term "sideburns" comes from. It's a play on his name.