Second Battle of Fredericksburg
| Second Battle of Fredericksburg (Second Battle of Marye's Heights) |
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| Part of the American Civil War | |||||||
 Pontoon bridges erected for Sedgwick's corps to cross upon, Alfred R. Waud, artist. |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 United States (Union) |
 CSA (Confederacy)
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| John Sedgwick | Jubal Early | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| Army of the Potomac | Army of Northern Virginia | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 27,100 | 12,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 1,100 | 700 | ||||||
| 2,000 | |||||||
The Second Battle of Fredericksburg, also known as the Second Battle of Marye's Heights, took place on May 3, 1863, in Fredericksburg, Virginia, as part of the Chancellorsville Campaign of the American Civil War.
Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee left Maj. Gen. Jubal A. Early to hold Fredericksburg on May 1, while he marched west with the rest of the Army of Northern Virginia to deal with Union Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker's main thrust at Chancellorsville with four corps of the Army of the Potomac. Early had his own division, along with William Barksdale's brigade from McLaws' division and cannons from the artillery reserve; Early was assisted by Brigadier General William Pendleton of the artillery reserve. Cadmus Wilcox's brigade arrived on May 3, increasing Early's strength to 12,000 men and 45 cannons. Most of the Confederate force was deployed south of Fredericksburg.
Early was ordered by Lee to watch the remaining Union force near Fredericksburg; if he was attacked and defeated, he was to retreat southward to protect the Confederate supply lines. If the Union force moved to reinforce Hooker, then Early was to leave a covering force and rejoin Lee with the remainder of his troops. On May 2, misunderstanding his orders, Early left one brigade at Fredericksburg and started the rest of his force towards Chancellorsville; Lee corrected the misunderstanding and Early then returned to his positions that night before Sedgwick discovered the Confederate retreat.
Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick was left near Fredericksburg with the VI Corps, the I Corps, and the II Corps division of Brig. Gen. John Gibbon. Hooker's plan called for Sedgwick to demonstrate near the city in order to deceive Lee about the Union plan. The VI and II Corps seized control of several crossings on April 29, laying down pontoon bridges in the early morning hours, and the divisions of W.H.T. Brooks and James S. Wadsworth crossed the river. The I Corps was ordered to reinforce the main army at Chancellorsville during the night of May 1. During the evening of May 2, Sedgwick received orders to attack Early with his remaining forces.
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Wikipedia