The Battle of Fredericksburg is one of a long list of failures of the Army of the Potomac during the first year of the American Civil War. After the Battle of Antietam, the Northern Army had the opportunity to defeat Lee's army. However, Northerners were shocked by Lee's escape after this battle on September 17, 1862, and were even more upset by Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan's procrastination in pursuing Lee and allowing Gen. J. E. B. Stuart to launch a daring cavalry raid in Pennsylvania around Gettysburg (October 10-12, 1862). ). McClellan's failure to pursue Lee's army was primarily due to his own lack of confidence, believing that he did not have enough men or materiel 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, to whom he had initially offered the position. No military officer during the Civil War resisted promotion more assiduously than Major General Burnside in 1862. On three occasions that year, President Lincoln asked Burnside to assume command of the Army of the Potomac , and each time the general objected on the grounds that he was not competent to manage such a large force. Once General Burnside assumed command, he immediately set out in pursuit of General Lee's Army of Northern Virginia.HistoryFredericksburg is located approximately halfway between Washington, D.C. and the capital of the Confederacy, Richmond, Virginia. Burnside's plan called for leaving Maryland and crossing the Rappahannock River at Fredericksburg, providing a direct shot at Richmond, believing this to be his army's ultimate goal. Lincoln favored this so-called cover approach to attacking...... middle of paper ...... " Fellow Lt. Col. Joseph H. Taylor said: "The implementation of your plan will be murder, not war. .” None of these contributions from subordinates could deter Major General Burnside from pursuing his plan because that is what the President wanted. Thus ensuring defeat! Works Cited Bowen, John, The History and Battlefields of the Civil War, Quintet Publishing Ltd, 1991. 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 DI, 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.