Second Battle of Fredericksburg The Second Battle of Fredericksburg , also known as the Second Battle of Marye ' s Heights , took place on May 3 , 1863 , in Fredericksburg , Virginia , as part of the Chancellorsville Campaign of the American Civil War . Background . Confederate Gen . Robert E . Lee left Maj . Gen . Jubal A . Early to hold Fredericksburg on May 1 , while he marched west with the rest of the Army of Northern Virginia to deal with Union Maj . Gen . Joseph Hooker ' s main thrust at Chancellorsville with four corps of the Army of the Potomac . Early had his own division , along with William Barksdale ' s brigade from McLaws ' division and cannons from the artillery reserve ; Early was assisted by Brigadier General William Pendleton of the artillery reserve . Cadmus Wilcox ' s brigade arrived on May 3 , increasing Early ' s strength to 12 , 000 men and 45 cannons . Most of the Confederate force was deployed south of Fredericksburg . Early was ordered by Lee to watch the remaining Union force near Fredericksburg ; if he was attacked and defeated , he was to retreat southward to protect the Confederate supply lines . If the Union force moved to reinforce Hooker , then Early was to leave a covering force and rejoin Lee with the remainder of his troops . On May 2 , misunderstanding his orders , Early left one brigade at Fredericksburg and started the rest of his force towards Chancellorsville ; Lee corrected the misunderstanding and Early then returned to his positions that night before Sedgwick discovered the Confederate retreat . Maj . Gen . John Sedgwick was left near Fredericksburg with the VI Corps , the I Corps , and the II Corps division of Brig . Gen . John Gibbon . Hooker ' s plan called for Sedgwick to demonstrate near the city in order to deceive Lee about the Union plan . The VI and II Corps seized control of several crossings on April 29 , laying down pontoon bridges in the early morning hours , and the divisions of W . H . T . Brooks and James S . Wadsworth crossed the river . The I Corps was ordered to reinforce the main army at Chancellorsville during the night of May 1 . During the evening of May 2 , Sedgwick received orders to attack Early with his remaining forces . Battle . Sedgwick moved his forces into Fredericksburg during dawn on May 3 , uniting with Gibbon ' s division which had crossed the river just before dawn . Sedgwick originally planned to attack the ends of Marye ' s Heights but a canal and a stream blocked the Union forces . He then decided to launch an attack on the Confederate center on the heights , which was manned by Barksdale ' s brigade , with John Newton ' s division ; this attack was defeated . Colonel Thomas M . Griffin of the 18th Mississippi Infantry granted the Union forces a truce in order to gather in their wounded . During this truce , the Union commanders noticed that the flank of Barksdale ' s left regiment was unprotected . Sedgwick launched another attack against this flank and Barksdale ' s front using elements from all three VI Corps divisions , which pushed the Confederate forces off the ridge , capturing some artillery . The first men to mount the stone wall were from the 5th Wisconsin and the 6th Maine Infantry regiments . Barksdale retreated to Lee ' s Hill , where he attempted to make another stand but was again forced to retreat southward . Aftermath . Confederate casualties totaled 700 men and four cannons . Early withdrew with his division two miles to the south , while Wilcox withdrew westward , slowing Sedgwick ' s advance . When he learned of the Confederate defeat , Lee started moving two divisions east to stop Sedgwick . Following the campaign , Early became embroiled in an argument with Barksdale over what Barksdale considered a slight to his brigade in a newspaper letter that Early had written ; the exchange continued until Lee ordered the two generals to cease . Sedgwick had lost 1 , 100 men during the engagement . At first he started to pursue Early ' s division but then followed the orders he received the previous day and started east along the Plank Road towards Hooker ' s army at Chancellorsville . Gibbon ' s division was left in Fredericksburg to guard the city .