In his memoir of the Civil War, General Ulysses S. Grant characterized the physically impressive Ambrose E. Burnside as an officer who was generally liked and respected, but not fit to command an army. Unfortunately, this opinion was not shared by the Lincoln administration, which pressured Burnside to assume command of the Army of the Potomac. The result was an ill-advised frontal assault on well-positioned Confederate troops at the Battle of Fredericksburg, which cost the Union more than 12,700 casualties.