DK - The American Civil War

THE UNION TIGHTENS ITS GRIP 1863

M

ajor General Joseph Hooker

drew up a grand operational

plan for the Army of the

Potomac in the spring of 1863. He

would divide his 134,000-man force

and lead three corps around General

Lee’s western flank, marching through

the dense woods of the Virginia

wilderness. At the same time, Major

General John Sedgwick and the

remaining three corps held Lee’s

attention at Fredericksburg.

Hooker’s flanking force began its trek

without incident in late April 1863 and

succeeded in crossing both the Rapidan

and Rappahannock Rivers with minimal

resistance. Hooker then turned east,

moving his 70,000 men through the

wilderness, past a large estate locally

known as Chancellorsville, and into

the open country five miles to the

west of Fredericksburg.

Battle is joined

Lee and his lieutenant, Stonewall

Jackson, reacted quickly to the threat.

On May 1, Lee left General Jubal Early

and 12,000 men to watch Sedgwick at

Fredericksburg, while Jackson and the

rest of the army marched down the

Orange Plank Road to meet Hooker.

Near the Zoan Church, General

Lafayette McLaws’ Division ran head

first into part of George Meade’s Union

Fifth Corps. For a while the Federals

pushed McLaws back, but when the

Confederate threw in his reserve, they

retreated, calling for reinforcements.

Hooker was shocked at the resistance

his advance had met. Losing his nerve,

he ordered his two forward corps to

withdraw to Chancellorsville. The

mood among the Union commanders

on the night of May 1 was incredulous.

Lee and Jackson, on the other hand,

could hardly believe their good luck.

Later that night, the Southern

chieftains conferred. General J.E.B.

Stuart’s cavalry scouts had discovered

the Union right wing was “hanging in

the air” so Jackson and 33,000 troops

of his corps would march off through

the thick woods on the morning of

May 2 to attack the unprotected Federal

flank. Lee would keep only 14,000 men

to confront all of Hooker’s force at

Chancellorsville, should he attack.

The “Flying Dutchmen”

Men of Major General Daniel Sickles’

Third Corps, stationed on a cleared hill

called Hazel Grove just to the west of

Chancellorsville, discovered Jackson’s

flank march not long after it got started.

Hooker and Sickles misinterpreted the

movement as a Confederate retreat.

Eleventh Corps commander, Oliver

Otis Howard, stationed on the extreme

right of the Union line—exactly where

Jackson was headed—also believed the

enemy was retreating. Scouts reported

the enemy massing in the forest to the

right, but Howard dismissed them.

About 5:30pm, with darkness falling,

Jackson unleashed 26,000 Confederates,

screaming the rebel yell, into the 8,500

The Battle of Chancellorsville

By early 1863 the Union Army of the Potomac was more than twice as strong as the Confederate Army

of Northern Virginia. By boldly dividing his army and maneuvering rapidly against the Union flank,

General Robert E. Lee achieved an unlikely victory at Chancellorsville, but lost many men.

Battle sketch
Civil War artist Alfred Waud made drawings of the conflict
for the American press. Here, an injured soldier is
stretchered off the Chancellorsville battlefield. General
Howard’s headquarters at Dowdall’s Tavern is nearby.
MAJOR GENERAL JOSEPH HOOKER

The Eastern Theater had seen a series of
bloody battles in 1862 in which, largely
through poor generalship, the increasing
Union strength had gained little advantage.

HOOKER REFORMS THE FEDERAL ARMY
Replacing the inept Burnside as commander
of the Army of the Potomac after the defeat at
Fredericksburg ❮❮ 136–37, Major General
Joseph Hooker restored morale by revising
uniforms and ensuring rations and pay were
distributed on time. He also improved the army’s
organization, creating a military intelligence
service, consolidating the cavalry under one
command, and decentralizing the artillery.

A general’s great march

Stonewall Jackson led 33,000 men on his flank march.

The tired men traveled many miles to the strike the

enemy. One rebel noted, “I reckon the Devil himself

would have run with Jackson in his rear.”

BEFORE

Strength of

Hooker’s Army of

the Potomac at the start of the campaign.

Strength of the

Confederate Army

of North Virginia on the same date.

134,000

62,000