William Swinton, Campaigns of the Army of the Potomac

That the morale of the Army of the Potomac became seriously impaired after the disaster at Fredericksburg was only too manifest. Indeed it would be impossible to imagine a graver or gloomier, a more sombre or unmusical body of men than the Army of the Potomac a month after the battle. And as the days went by, despondency, discontent, and all evil inspirations, with their natural consequent, desertion, seemed to increase rather than to diminish, until, for the first time, the Army of the Potomac could be said to be really demoralized.¹

The cause of all this could not be concealed; it was the lack of confidence in General Burnside—a sentiment that was universal throughout the army. Troops who have by experience learned what war is, become severe critics. It is a mistake to suppose that soldiers, and especially such soldiers as composed the American army, are lavish of their lives; they are chary of their lives, and are never what newspaper jargon constantly represented them to be—‘eager for the fray.’ ‘The soldier,’ says Marmont, ‘acquires the faculty of discriminating how and when he will be able, by offering his life as a sacrifice, to make the best possible use of it.’ But when the time comes that he discovers in his commander that which will make this rich offering vain, from that moment begin to work those malign influences that disintegrate and destroy the morale of armies. General Burnside had brought his army to that unhappy pass that, with much regard for his person and character, it distrusted and feared his leadership; while the general officers had little belief in or respect for his