Good thing he wasn't a sailor...

[gary]

Burnsides. He wanted to do well but just didn't know how. He performed credibly in his North Carolina expedition and established a Union presence there. However, that was the last time water and Burnsides worked well together.

At Antietam, he funnelled his men into capturing one bridge and was held back for several hours by two Georgia regiments that were slightly reinforced by a couple of companies of South Carolinians. Several attacks were made, each flung back in succession. Later, one disgusted individual wrote that Antietam Creek was fordable and it went up only to his knees. The time lost in capturing that bridge allowed reinforcements (Hill's Light Division) to arrive and save Lee's Army when it threw back Burnside's men who were flanking Lee.

A few months later, Burnsides gets command of the AoP and tries to take Fredericksburg. Same thing again. There's this body of water called the Rappahannock and he can't seem to get his bridge across in time. Eleven hours of delay follow before he captures the town. During that time, Reinforcements in the form of Jackson's Corps arrive to protect Lee's flank.

Attempting to redeem himself, Burnsides plans another flanking manuever but again, water is involved. This time it's heaven sent and the rain turns the roads to mud and Burnsides' Army gets stuck in the mud.

Are we seeing a pattern here? Some folks must stay away from water and Burnsides was one of them. If there's such a thing as reincarnation, he must have led the combined French and Spanish fleet at Trafalgar when it got whupped by Nelson. Either that or he led the larger Persian fleet against the Greeks at Salamis and in losing that naval battle, lost any chance to conquer Greece for his king, Xerxes.

Anyhow, we're not done with Burnsides yet. There's the Crater battle. But wait, you think. There's no water involved. Well, I've a surprised for you. Burnsides probably "thought" there was water and because he thought that water could be involved, he jinxed the entire operation.

You're welcome to discuss these theories intelligently. Please don't laugh so hard such that your jaw hurts. Mine does right now.

[FSPowers]

Burnside should have not been a soldier.

On the subject of Antietam, the latest America's Civil War has an article that puts forward the idea that the creek was not fordable after all. This might have been a defense of Burnside.