© 2024 Texas Public Radio
Real. Reliable. Texas Public Radio.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
00000174-b11b-ddc3-a1fc-bfdbb1a20000The Schreiner University Department of History is honoring the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War with a series of short vignettes focusing on events from 1861 through 1865. The Civil War was the most destructive conflict in American history, but it was also one of our most defining moments as a people and as a nation. Let us know what you think about "This Week in the Civil War." E-mail your comments to Dr. John Huddleston at jhuddles@schreiner.edu.Airs: Weekdays at 5:19 a.m., 8:19 a.m., 4:19 p.m. on KTXI and 4:49 a.m., 9:29 p.m. on KSTX.

This Week in the Civil War - 461

Fredericksburg, Virginia was one of the most lopsided Confederate victories of the Civil War.  Even with a superior number of forces it was virtually suicidal for the Union to attack Lee in a strong defensive position.

Marye’s Heights dominated the battlefield and was protected against Union assault at the foot of the heights by Georgia sharpshooters who helped repulse as many as fourteen separate, piecemeal Union assaults on December 13, 1862. 

Burnside ordered a renewed attack on the 14th which he himself intended to lead but was persuaded not to attempt an attack by virtually all of his superior officers, who now questioned their commander’s judgment.  On the 14th in Washington, D.C., a concerned Abraham Lincoln held a series of conferences with his advisors and generals about the fiasco at Fredericksburg.