Skip to main content
Massachusetts State Seal
Commonwealth Museum   Secretary of the Commonwealth William Francis Galvin
Commonwealth Museum Secretary of the Commonwealth William Francis Galvin

Heavy casualties at Fredericksburg

Download the PDF:    Mass-12th-Vol-Inf.pdf


Heavy casualties at Fredericksburg At Fredericksburg, Dec. 13, 1862, under the command of Col. James L. Bates, as a part of Reynolds’ (1st) Corps, the 12th fought bravely in the attack on the Confederate right, losing heavily. At a terrible cost, the brave men of the 12th had carried out their orders to support the attack. The division had suffered 1,267 casualties out of a total force of 3,500 men. The 12th Massachusetts had lost 105 of 258 men; the 16th Maine lost 230 of 417 in its first fight, but won the proud reputation of a fighting regiment. Although the main battle had been an abysmal failure, Gibbon’s soldiers had accomplished what no other Union division at Fredericksburg had managed: they had breached however briefly-the formidable Confederate line.

Heavy casualties at Fredericksburg 

At Fredericksburg, Dec. 13, 1862, under the command of Col. James L. Bates, as a part of Reynolds’ (1st) Corps, the 12th fought bravely in the attack on the Confederate right, losing heavily. 

At a terrible cost, the brave men of the 12th had carried out their orders to support the attack. The division had suffered 1,267 casualties out of a total force of 3,500 men. The 12th Massachusetts had lost 105 of 258 men; the 16th Maine lost 230 of 417 in its first fight, but won the proud reputation of a fighting regiment.

Although the main battle had been an abysmal failure, Gibbon’s soldiers had accomplished what no other Union division at Fredericksburg had managed: they had breached however briefly-the formidable Confederate line.