What is Battle of Fredericksburg?
[[File:Battle of Fredericksburg, Dec 13, 1862.png|thumb|right|350px|{{Center|The Army of the Potomac crossing the [[Rappahannock River]]}}]] The '''Battle of Fredericksburg''' (December 11, 1862 – December 15, 1862) was a major [[battle]] in the [[American Civil War]] fought at [[Fredericksburg, Virginia]].<ref name=bofTH>{{cite web |url=http://totallyhistory.com/battle-of-fredericksburg/ |title=Battle of Fredericksburg |date=30 December 2012 |publisher=TotallyHistory |access-date=18 July 2016}}</ref> The battle saw almost 200,000 men engaged—more than any other Civil War battle.<ref name=bofHN>{{cite web |url=http://www.historynet.com/battle-of-fredericksburg |title=Battle Of Fredericksburg |publisher=HistoryNet |access-date=18 July 2016}}</ref> It involved the first major [[wikt:oppose|oppose]]d river [[wikt:crossing|crossing]] in the [[history]] of the [[United States]].<ref name=bofHN/> == Background == After the [[Maryland Campaign]] and the [[wikt:bloody|bloody]] [[Battle of Antietam]], the [[Army of Northern Virginia]] under [[General officer|General]] [[Robert E. Lee]] retreated [[south]] into [[Virginia]]. Lee's [[rearguard]] action at the [[Battle of Shepherdstown]] convinced [[Union Army|Union]] General [[George B. McClellan]] not to follow him too closely. McClellan, after asking twice for more [[wikt:reinforcement|reinforcement]]s, decided it was safer to stay put and defend [[Maryland]].{{efn|McClellan was considered a great organizer but a poor choice for a battlefield commander.<ref name=TWP>{{cite web |url=https://live.washingtonpost.com/civil-war-120305.html |title=Why Civil War Gen. George McClellan wasn't actually a failure |date=5 March 2012 |access-date=1 July 2016 |archive-date=3 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803202828/https://live.washingtonpost.com/civil-war-120305.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> He was too [[wikt:cautious|cautious]] and generally moved his army at a snail's pace.<ref name=TWP/> His delays usually gave Confederate Generals ample time to [[retr