The victory at Fredericksburg restored Confederate morale

One of the interesting facts about the Battle of Fredericksburg is that the victory at Fredericksburg restored Confederate morale. After Lee's disastrous fall foray into Maryland, the Confederate victory at Fredericksburg boosted Confederate morale. Lee would lead a revitalized Army of Northern Virginia to an even more crushing victory over a numerically superior Union force at Chancellorsville in May 1863 before launching a second invasion of the North through Pennsylvania.

The South roared in joy at its big victory. The Richmond Examiner described it as a "stunning defeat to the invader, a splendid victory to the defender of the sacred soil." The Charleston Mercury described General Lee as "jubilant, almost off-balance, and seemingly desirous of embracing everyone who calls on him," adding, "General Lee knows his business and the army has yet known no such word as fail."

Lee himself was not as pleased as the rest of the South. He later wrote that At Fredericksburg they had gained a battle, inflicting a very serious loss on the enemy in troops and equipment; their people were enormously elated but he was greatly depressed because he thought that they had really accomplished nothing; they had not gained a battle.