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On the Trail of Grant and Lee by Frederick Trevor Hill
page 102 of 201 (50%)
had already twice refused the chief command on the ground that he
did not feel competent to conduct a great campaign. But the public,
which had become disgusted with boasters, admired his modesty,
and his preparations for carrying the war again into Virginia were
followed with high hopes for his success. The officers of the army,
however, did not share the popular confidence in their new chief
and some of those highest in authority gave him only a half-hearted
support.

But nothing could have saved Burnside's extraordinary campaign. Had
he been assigned to lead a forlorn hope, regardless of consequences,
his plan, if it can be called a plan, might have been justified,
but under the existing circumstances it was reckless to the point
of madness. His first moves, however, were characterized by an
excess of caution and so slowly did he advance that before he was
fairly started for the South, Lee blocked the road, concentrating
his whole army on the hills behind the City of Fredericksburg in
a position practically defying attack.

To attempt a direct assault against this fortress-like post was
suicidal, but apparently no thought of maneuvering crossed Burnside's
mind. His one idea was to brush aside the foe. But before he could
even reach him his army had to cross the Rappahannock, a formidable
river, and march over an open plain, absolutely at the mercy of its
intrenched opponents, who could, as one of their artillery officers
expressed it, "comb the ground" with their cannon. Nevertheless,
into this death trap the Union troops were plunged on the 13th of
December, 1862, and they advanced to destruction with a dash and
courage that won the admiration of friends and foes alike. The
result was, of course, inevitable. No human beings could withstand
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