TERRAIN AND THE BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG, DECEMBER 13 1862

The area around Fredericksburg, Virginia, was a major theater of operations in the American Civil War (1861-1865), beginning with the Battle of Fredericksburg in December 1862. The city and its environs along the Rappahannock River in north-central Virginia were significant obstacles to Union advances on Richmond, the Confederate capital. The battlefield consists of a series of flood plains and river terraces with gentle slopes paralleled by north-south ridges that provide structural boundaries on either side, all comprised of Tertiary and Quaternary Coastal Plain sediments. The Confederates, led by General Robert E. Lee, effectively used natural terrain features to impede attacks made by the Union army. Tactical benefits were also accrued by the Confederates from man-made obstacles on the battlefield, e.g., stone walls and fences. After crossing the Rappahannock River, the Union army, led by General Ambrose Burnside, was forced to attack uphill with little cover in their unsuccessful attempts to dislodge the Confederates. Effective use of the terrain thus enabled Confederate forces to defeat the Union army at the Battle of Fredericksburg, which helped delay Union capture of Richmond for almost three years.