Battle of Fredericksburg II

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Second Battle of Fredericksburg
Part of American Civil War
Pontoon bridges erected for Sedgwicks corps to cross upon, Alfred R. Waud, artist.
Date May 3, 1863 Location Fredericksburg, Virginia Result Union victory
Combatants
United States of America	Confederate States of America
Commanders
John Sedgwick	Jubal A. Early
Strength
Corps	Corps
Casualties
2,000 total (US and CS)	2,000 total (US and CS)

Chancellorsville Campaign
Chancellorsville – Fredericksburg II – Salem Church

The Second Battle of Fredericksburg, also known as the Battle of Marye’s Heights, took place on May 3, 1863 in Fredericksburg, Virginia as part of the Chancellorsville Campaign of the American Civil War.

On May 1, Gen. Robert E. Lee left portions of Maj. Gen. Jubal A. Early’s division to hold Fredericksburg, while marching west with the rest of the army to meet Union Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker’s main offensive thrust at Chancellorsville with four corps of the Army of the Potomac. On May 3, the Union VI Corps under John Sedgwick, reinforced by John Gibbon’s II Corps division, having crossed the Rappahannock River, assaulted and carried the Confederate entrenchments on Marye’s Heights. This was the same ground assaulted December 13, 1862, by Ambrose Burnside in the first Battle of Fredericksburg, which resulted in horrendous Union losses. In the second battle, Early was defending with a virtually skeleton force of about 10,000 men, many of which were spread out to the north and south of the Heights. The outnumbered Confederates withdrew and regrouped west and southeast of town. Sedgwick moved cautiously west, toward defeat at the Battle of Salem Church.

[edit] References

• CWSAC Battle Summaries, National Park Service