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strategic process essay
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The Battle of Fredericksburg falls in a long list of failures of the Army of the Potomac during the first year of the American Civil War. Following the Battle of Antietam the Northern Army had the opportunity to defeat Lee’s army. However, Northerners, were shocked by Lee’s escape following this battle on 17 September 1862, and were further upset by Major General George B. McClellan’s procrastination in pursuing Lee and allowing General J.E.B. Stuarts daring cavalry raid into Pennsylvania around Gettysburg (10-12 October 1862). McClellan’s failure to pursue Lee’s Army is mainly due to his own lack of confidence, believing that he doesn’t have enough men or material in order to defeat the Army of Virginia. President Lincoln had finally had enough; he fired McClellan for the second and final time, and replaced him with Major General Ambrose E. Burnside, whom he had initially offered the job. No military officer in the Civil War resisted promotion more assiduously than did Major General Burnside during 1862. On three separate occasions that year, President Lincoln asked Burnside to assume command of the Army of the Potomac, and each time the general demurred on the grounds that he was not competent to handle such a large force. Once General Burnside took command he immediately set forth after General Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia.
History
Fredericksburg lays approximately half way between Washington D.C. and the capital of the Confederacy Richmond Virginia. Burnsides plan called for departing Maryland and crossing the Rappahannock River at Fredericksburg, thus providing a straight shot towards Richmond, believing that this was the ultimate goal of his army. Lincoln favored this so-called covering approach to attackin...
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....” The other Lieutenant Colonel Joseph H. Taylor stated, “The carrying out of your plan will be murder, not warfare.” None of this input from subordinates could deter Major General Burnside from continuing with his plan because that is what the President wanted. Thus ensuring defeat!
Works Cited
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Goolrick, William K., Rebels Resurgent, Time-Life Books Inc, 1985.
Heidler, David S. and Jeanne T., Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, And Military History Volume 2 D-I, ABC-CLIO Inc, 2000.
McDonald, John, Great Battles of the Civil War, Macmillan Publishing Co, 1988.
McPherson, James M., Battle Chronicles of the Civil War 1862, Macmillan Publishing Co, 1989.
Stackpole, Edward J., The Fredericksburg Campaign, Military Service Publishing Co, 1957.
In 1863, the small town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, was awoken to the beginning of what was to be the turning point of the Civil War for the Union. It began as a small skirmish, but by its end it involved so many Americans to which would become one of the bloodiest battles ever taken place on Unites States soil. The Battle of Gettysburg was not only a turning point in the war.
Fredericksburg was the meeting place of the Armies of the Potomac and of Northern Virginia because of political pressure for the Union to achieve a decisive military victory. Winfield Scott’s Anaconda plan, which would have strangled the Confederacy into surrender through economic warfare, was overshadowed by impatience in Washington D.C., and by the aspirations of officers who were students of the grand Napoleonic victories that occurred less than a century prior.
Stoddard, Brooke C., and Daniel P. Murphy. The Everything Civil War Book : Everything You Need To Know About The Conflict That Divided A Nation. Avon, Mass: Adams Media Corp, 2009. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 4 Nov. 2013.
...as the turning point of the American Civil War. The battle proved to show the most casualties of any battle throughout the war and resulted in a crushing and demoralizing defeat of the Confederates. Coming off of his “perfect battle”, Lee’s overconfidence proved to be a downfall as his expectation for his men greatly exceeded the reality of his army. Added to this, his disorganization and lack of coordination led to numerous disjointed attacks that failed and in turn exhausted his men. Finally, Lee ultimately knew less about his opponent throughout the entire battle, which was a huge switch from previous meetings between the two sides. He was forced to fight arguably the most important battle of the Civil War with insufficient intelligence of the enemy, its positions and its intentions. All of these factors are what caused the Confederates to fail at Gettysburg.
The Battle of Antietam could have been a devastating and fatal blow to the Confederate Army if Gen. McClellan acted decisively, took calculated risks, and veered away from his cautious approach to war. There are many instances leading up to the battle and during the battle in which he lacks the necessary offensive initiative to effectively cripple and ultimately win the war. This paper is intended to articulate the failure of Mission Command by GEN McClellan by pointing out how he failed to understand, visualize, describe and direct the battlefield to his benefit.
...ition. Even after the South was all set up and it looked impossible for Burnside to win, he decided to try anyway. All of the mistakes Burnside made could have been avoided, so it was Burnside’s entire fault for this big disaster. I think that General Burnside was out-of-line; he was being very naïve by ordering more troops up the hill when he knew they would die. For these reasons, Fredericksburg was a morale booster for the South and a man-killer for the North.
Robert Lee makes bold moves to win victories. Lee was outnumbered two to one at Chancellorsville in May 1863; instead of just defending against the Union armies, he made an audacious move and split his army into two to encircle the enemy. Without Lee’s courageous move, the Confederacy might have lost another battle. But even if Lee was defeated, his performance would still stay on tract. When Lee was defeated at Antietam in September 1862, he quickly withdrew the remnants of his forces across the Potomac, reorganized his army, and res...
During the War Between the States there were two large-scale, decisive battles fought near the town of Manassas, Virginia. This will be a guided look at the second of those two occurring at the end of August in 1862. There were several great leaders from both sides of the war involved in the 2nd of Manassas, however I am going to focus on the attitudes, maneuvers, and decisions of the four primary generals; General Robert E. Lee, Major General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, Major General John Pope, and Major General George B. McClellan, as it was these men who, ultimately, shaped the actions and outcome of the battle. Following the Seven Days Battle, Maj. Gen. McClellan’s armies were camped on the banks of the James River, 20 miles from Richmond1 (Debelius 1998) and Gen Lee had just taken control of the Army of Northern Virginia on June 12 (Hennessy 2005). Maj. Gen. “Stonewall” Jackson was a subordinate commander in the Army of Northern Virginia and Maj. Gen. Pope was inbound to “assist” Maj. Gen. McClellan in securing the area of Northern Virginia for the Union high command. This study will focus on the mind-sets, maneuvers, and decisions these men made throughout the course of the battle that led to the defeat of the Union forces under Maj. Gen. Pope’s leadership.
The city of Vicksburg, Mississippi, 250 feet high, overlooks the Mississippi River on the Louisiana-Mississippi state border. Confederate forces mounted artillery batteries ready to challenge the passage of Union ships. Receiving control of Vicksburg and the Mississippi River was a huge benefit in the war. Due to the Geographic location made it ideal for defense.
June 29, 1863, the day before the most memorable battle in history took place. The Battle of Gettysburg would become the major outcome of the Civil War. What
McPHERSON, James M. "Major Problems in the Civil War and Reconstruction." (n.d.): n. pag. Rpt. in Major Problems in American History Series. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 10. Print.
After the Confederate victory at Chancellorsville in May of 1863, General Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia embarked on their 2nd invasion of the north. General Lee’s first campaign into the north resulted in the Confederate defeat at Antietam. The failure of Lee’s first northern campaign raises the question of his motives. The Confederate Army was...
Hassler, Jr. Warren W. "American Civil War (United States History)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2014.
Turner, Thomas R. 101 Things You Didn’t Know about the Civil War. Avon: Adams, 2007.
McPherson, James M.; The Atlas of the Civil War. Macmillan: 15 Columbus Circle New York, NY. 1994.