Battle of Chancellorsville

Having driven the auto tour and walking much of the trails at the Chancellorsville Battlefield, I still had a difficult time putting it all together. The battlefield covered miles upon miles upon miles of terrain, much of which is now a four lane divided highway or wooded areas that were open fields 150 years ago. The “new” trees were a bigger problem for me as I could not get a feel for the battles or the maneuvering of the troops because my views were often blocked.  

Following the disaster at Fredericksburg, President Lincoln removed General Burnside and put in his place General Joseph Hooker. Fightin’ Joe Hooker, in my opinion, talked tough but didn’t follow it up with action. Hooker had a great plan to get behind the Confederate Army of General Lee, but at the first sign of difficulty, it seems Hooker would turn tail and run.

One of Hooker’s famous quotes after being given the command is “May God have mercy on Lee, because I will not.”

Leaving 30,000 troops with General Sedgwick at Fredericksburg to occupy Lee, Hooker moved the balance of his army west with the intention of crossing the Rappahannock River and close in on the Rebel Army from the west, while Sedgwick would move from the east. A brilliant plan.  Having crossed the river, Hooker started moving his troops east toward Fredericksburg. Lee, having learned of Hooker’s movement, split his forces, leaving some at Fredericksburg, and headed toward Chancellorsville. On May 1, 1863, they clashed.

With this resistance, Hooker elected to retreat back to the Chancellorsville area. He far outnumbered Lee’s troops, but none the less, backed away. He then formed a formidable defensive line at and around Chancellorsville. Chancellorsville, by the way, was not a town by rather an Inn located on the Orange Plank Road (current route 3).

During the night of May 1^st, Lee learned that Hooker’s right flank was unprotected and this presented an opportunity for the Confederates to turn this flank and inflict serious damage on the Union Army. On May 2nd Lee, in a daring move, split his army of 60,000 troops and directed Stonewall Jackson to take his Corps on a 12 mile march over country roads and attack Hooker’s exposed right flank. Lee’s army was outnumbered 2 to 1 and with the orders he had given, was now outnumbered approximately 4 to 1 on the front.  The surprise maneuver worked for the Rebels as Jackson’s Corps crushed the right flank of Hooker’s as bloody fighting was taking place on the front and the left flank of the Union Army.

The night of May 2^nd witnessed one of the most devastating events of the entire Civil War. As General Stonewall Jackson was doing reconnaissance, he was shot by one of his troops. He lost his left arm to amputation the next day, and 10 days later died of pneumonia as a result of his injury. General Lee, no doubt, lost his most reliable subordinate and Jackson was never adequately replaced.

Hooker, not understanding the importance of occupying Hazel Grove, the high ground of the battle, simply withdrew from this area. It was quickly taken by the Confederates who deployed artillery and was in an excellent position to shell the Union lines. Another example of Hooker not being a war time general under fire.

On May 3^rd, J.E.B. Stuart was given command of Jackson’s Corps, resuming the relentless offensive against fortified Union positions. South of the highway, Stuart’s men attacked Fairview, an elevated clearing defended by nearly 40 cannon. In only five hours of fierce combat, more than 17,500 soldiers were killed, wounded, or captured. This amounts to one every second of fighting.

Eventually the Confederate artillery was shelling Chancellorsville, where Hooker had his headquarters. One of the shells that hit the house, as Hooker stood on the porch, caused a piece of wood to knock Hooker to the ground and dazed him. He  ordered a retreat and fell back about one mile toward the river.

At this time, Lee was able to pull a portion of his troops and send them seven miles east to the Salem Church area where General Sedgwick was approaching with his 30,000 troops from Fredericksburg. Sedgwick was defeated in this battle.

After uniting all his forces in Chancellorsville on May 5^th, General Lee decided to again attack Hooker’s army with the intention of destroying it. As he moved  forward, Lee found only empty trenches as the Union Army had re-crossed the Rappahannock River during the night, thus ending this campaign.

This particular battle generated 18,000 casualties for the Union Army and 13,000 for the Confederates.

Once again, the Union Army far outnumbered the Confederate Army. But once again, General Robert E. Lee far outmaneuvered his Union counterpart and proved once again to be the far superior tactician.