Fredericksburg! Fredericksburg!

<p>During the battle of Gettysburg as Union troops along Cemetery Ridge rebuffed Pickett’s Charge they were heard to shout “Give them Fredericksburg!” Their cries reverberated from a clash that although fought some six months earlier clearly loomed large in the minds of Civil War soldiers.<br/><br/>Fought on December 13 1862 the battle of Fredericksburg ended in a stunning defeat for the Union. Confederate general Robert E. Lee suffered roughly 5000 casualties but inflicted more than twice that many losses — nearly 13000 — on his opponent General Ambrose Burnside. As news of the Union loss traveled north it spread a wave of public despair that extended all the way to President Lincoln. In the beleaguered Confederacy the southern victory bolstered flagging hopes as Lee and his men began to take on an aura of invincibility.<br/><br/>George Rable offers a gripping account of the battle of Fredericksburg and places the campaign within its broader political social and military context. Blending battlefield and home front history he not only addresses questions of strategy and tactics but also explores material conditions in camp the rhythms and disruptions of military life and the enduring effects of the carnage on survivors — both civilian and military — on both sides.</p>