What nickname did the Union retreat from Fredericksburg earn?

What nickname did the Union retreat from Fredericksburg earn?

• A. Mud March
• B. Cold March
• C. Long March
• D. Rain March

Answer: (A)

The name comes from the conditions of the withdrawal and the winter march that followed. After Fredericksburg, the Army of the Potomac pulled back, and in January 1863 attempts to maneuver south of the Rappahannock were thwarted by thawing weather that turned the roads to mud. The army slogged through knee-deep, clinging mud, making the retreat slow, exhausting, and humiliating in the eyes of observers. That miserable, mud-soaked march earned the nickname Mud March. Other options don’t fit historical usage for this event, since there isn’t a record of Cold March, Long March, or Rain March being applied to Fredericksburg.

The name comes from the conditions of the withdrawal and the winter march that followed. After Fredericksburg, the Army of the Potomac pulled back, and in January 1863 attempts to maneuver south of the Rappahannock were thwarted by thawing weather that turned the roads to mud. The army slogged through knee-deep, clinging mud, making the retreat slow, exhausting, and humiliating in the eyes of observers. That miserable, mud-soaked march earned the nickname Mud March. Other options don’t fit historical usage for this event, since there isn’t a record of Cold March, Long March, or Rain March being applied to Fredericksburg.