Our Collection

At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Burnside, Ambrose Everett, 1824-1881 to William Buel Franklin

Order a pdf of this item here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02455.02 Author/Creator: Burnside, Ambrose Everett, 1824-1881 Place Written: Fredericksburg, Virginia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 13 December 1862 Pagination: 1 p. : Height: 11.5 cm, Width: 19 cm Order a Copy

Orders written the morning of the Battle of Fredericksburg. Burnside is "this moment preparing orders for you," and tells Franklin to "Make no movement except for defense until they arrive." Also hopes "to be with you this morning." Franklin was in charge of a large portion of the army during this assault. After the bloody Union defeat, accused Franklin of disobeying orders and blamed him for being partly responsible for the Union defeat. Burnside demanded that Lincoln either remove Franklin and a number of other officers or relieve Burnside of his command. Lincoln chose to replace Burnside, but even though Franklin was not removed, his military career was ruined by these events.

Burnside, Ambrose Everett, 1824-1881
Franklin, William Buel, 1823-1903

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources