National Park Civil War Series

The Battle of Fredericksburg

Plot

The Battle of Fredericksburg left thousands of dead soldiers in its wake. The bodies of Federal soldiers that lay scattered in front of Marye's Heights carpeted the deadly plain in blue. The Union would suffer more than 12,000 casualties in this battle while General Robert E. Lee's Confederates would sustain fewer than 5,400 losses. This momentous failure greatly demoralized the North. The immense loss of life would soon cause Congress to pass the National Cemetery Act providing for the proper burial of those who died fighting for the Union.