The American Civil War - This Mighty Scourge of War

The fighting 65

after 17 September. More significantly,
between June and September 1862, the Army
of Northern Virginia had crafted spectacular
victories that helped cancel the effects of
defeats in other theaters. The retreat from
Maryland, itself counterbalanced by the
capture of thousands of Federals at Harpers
Ferry and the tidy success at Shepherdstown,
did not detract appreciably from laurels won
at Richmond and Second Manassas.
Similarly, the bitter contest at Sharpsburg,
seen by most Confederates as a bloody
drawn battle, confirmed the gallantry of
Lee's soldiers. In the space of less than three
months, the Confederate people had come
to expect good news from Lee and the Army
of Northern Virginia, investing ever more
emotional capital in them. That investment
led to a belief in possible victory that would
be as important as any other factor in
lengthening the life of the Confederacy.
Abraham Lincoln lost all patience with
McClellan in the wake of Antietam. The
outspoken general reiterated his opposition
to emancipation, angering Republican
politicians already eager to see him relieved.
The principal problem from Lincoln's
standpoint lay in McClellan's refusal to
mount a new campaign into Virginia. In
mid-October, an exasperated Lincoln asked
whether his general was 'over-cautious when
you assume that you can not do what the
enemy is constantly doing? Should you not
claim to be at least his equal in prowess, and
act upon the claim?' McClellan finally began
crossing the Potomac on 26 October. His
army took six days to make the passage (Lee's
had done it in one night after Antietam) and
then marched slowly towards Warrenton.
Nearly seven weeks had elapsed since Lee's
retreat, and Lincoln had reached his breaking
point. On 5 November, the day after the
northern off-year elections (elections held in
between presidential elections), Lincoln
issued orders replacing McClellan with
Ambrose E. Burnside. Little Mac received the
orders late in the evening on 7 November. He
took an emotional leave from the army three
days later, having played his final scene in
the war's military drama.

Battle of Fredericksburg

Burnside doubted his capacity for high

command. At 38 years old, he could look

back on a largely unexceptional career. He

graduated from West Point in 1847 and served

a few uneventful years in the army before

resigning to enter civilian life. Trying

unsuccessfully to market a carbine he had

designed while in military service, he later

worked for the same railroad that employed

his friend McClellan. In 1861, he led a brigade

at First Bull Run before winning several

victories along the North Carolina coast.

Powerfully built and bald, he affected

luxuriant whiskers that swept down the sides

of his face and joined to form a bushy

moustache - the famous 'Burnside cut' (from

Ambrose Everett Burnside in a wartime engraving.

Although primarily remembered for losing the

Battle of Fredericksburg, Burnside had previously

earned a favorable reputation for overseeing successful

operations along the North Carolina coast that

employed land and naval forces. In February 1862,

a New York diarist wrote:'Burnside is pushing on,

up Albemarle Sound, it would seem. Hurrah for

Burnside!' (Author's collection)