The Battle of Chancellorsville
May 1-4, 1863

The great battles of the Spring and Summer of 1863 would forever alter the course of the War - in the span of two short months (May to July) the South experienced the exhilaration of an improbable but tremendous victory at Chancellorsville (early May) only to be driven to despair by the twin defeats at Vicksburg and Gettysburg (early July). Chancellorsville, VA, a small country crossroads about 9 miles west of historic Fredericksburg in an area known to this day as "The Wilderness," was the unlikely setting for Confederate GEN Robert E. Lee's greatest tactical triumph. For the North and the Army of the Potomac it was another ignominious disaster in a string of depressing failures, dating from the Peninsula Campaign of 1862. Following the sanguinary Union defeat at Fredericksburg (December 1862), MG Ambrose E. Burnside led the ill-timed "Mud March" (January 1863, an unsuccessful Federal attempt to cross the Rappahannock River above Fredericksburg) - unseasonable weather including a January thaw compounded by a wintry rain storm stalled the advance. On 26 January President Lincoln relieved Burnside. Lincoln named MG Joseph "Fighting Joe" Hooker the latest commanding general of the Army of the Potomac. The brash Hooker, very critical of past army commanders, was energetic, ambitious, and confident; moreover, he had a bold plan that, in the hands of an aggressive general, might destroy the Army of Northern Virginia (60,000+ men - GEN Robert E. Lee, commanding in thoroughly prepared defenses at Fredericksburg.). The plan called for the revamped Army of the Potomac (134,000+ men - comprising 7 infantry corps and one corps of cavalry - in Hooker's words: "the finest army on the planet") to accomplish three simultaneous missions beginning in late Apr. First, three infantry corps would cross the Rappahannock and the Rapidan above (west of) Fredericksburg, then turn east to fall upon Lee's army from the rear. Concurrently, three corps under MG John Sedgwick would demonstrate before Fredericksburg, ideally holding Lee's attention until Hooker was ready to attack. In conjunction with the two major troop movements, the Federal cavalry corps under MG George Stoneman would raid Confederate supply depots and cut military communication lines to the south (between Fredericksburg and Richmond). The three part stratagem began auspiciously, and by Apr. 30 Hooker's three corps were in the Virginia Wilderness - a low-lying, swampy area of extremely dense vegetation and underbrush that made large-scale military maneuvers nearly impossible around Chancellorsville. On 1 May Hooker turned east toward the out-flanked Confederate army. The high command of the Army of Northern Virginia, however, had not been fooled by the Union ruse before the city. Leaving 10,000 infantry under MG Jubal A. Early (LTG James Longstreet and two divisions had been detailed far to the south to the Virginia Tidewater) to hold the Fredericksburg defenses, GEN Lee and LTG Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson marched west toward the main Union threat. They clashed with the advancing Federals at mid-day (1 May) east of the Wilderness and Chancellorsville. Then during the afternoon, Hooker inexplicably ordered his troops to fall back into defensive positions around Chancellorsville. Just when the Army of the Potomac's superior numbers (infantry and artillery) could be deployed, the commanding general gave up the offensive and, much worse, the initiative - and he would not regain them! Now, Lee and Jackson had time to develop a plan of their own. Meeting well into the night (1-2 May), Lee and his most trusted commander dared to split their forces yet again. Early on the morning of 2 May Jackson's II Corps (Lee was left with only two divisions opposite the Union front) began a forced 12 mile march through the Wilderness to envelop the Federal right flank. Around 6 PM fleeing wildlife emerged from the Wilderness, alerting the unsuspecting Union infantry, just moments before Jackson's II Corps burst from the supposedly impenetrable thickets. The rout was on, and the Union right was rolled-up for two miles before nightfall halted the shocking Confederate surge. Then Jackson and several staff officers rode between the lines to reconnoiter the makeshift Federal defenses. Returning in the growing darkness to their own lines, Jackson's group received musket fire from a Confederate regiment - the indomitable "Stonewall" Jackson was mortally wounded (succumbing eight days later on 10 May). The next morning (3 May) Jackson's II Corps, now commanded by MG J.E.B. Stuart, seized high ground known as Hazel Grove (for unknown reasons Hooker ordered Federal forces to withdraw from this important salient) where Confederate massed artillery supported resurgent infantry assaults on the three Union corps around Chancellorsville. A dazed and confused Hooker (he had been knocked unconscious when Confederate cannon fire hit his headquarters) ordered a retreat (against the wishes of some subordinate commanders who favored a counterattack) towards the Rapidan and the Rappahannock, north of Chancellorsville. Nine miles to the east (morning of 3 May), Union MG John Sedgwick's VI Corps (28,000+ men) finally drove Confederate MG Jubal Early's defenders (10,000 men) from Fredericksburg. Convinced that Hooker's disorganized and discouraged army posed no immediate threat, Lee hurried one and then a second division east, blunting Sedgwick's advance at Salem Church (the western outskirts of Fredericksburg) late on the afternoons of 3 May and 4 May. The beaten and mismanaged (Hooker had given up the initiative, and he had failed to commit all of his infantry corps). The Army of the Potomac withdrew across the Rappahannock (5-6 May) leaving the Army of Northern Virginia on the field of its most astounding success. In the days ahead southern morale would be bouyed by Lee's opportune victory at the Battle of Chancellorsville. Meanwhile the great Confederate general contemplated plans for his second invasion of the North. Estimated Casualties: Union - 17,000; Confederate - 12,800 (including LTG "Stonewall" Jackson - Lee's greatest lieutenant).

Notes:

  1. Numbers in parentheses reflect estimated strength of armies or units.

  2. Estimated casualty figures are totals for killed, wounded, missing in action, and taken prisoner.

  3. Alternative names of battles and campaigns appear in parentheses.

  4. Military and naval rank abbreviations in text: LT - Lieutenant, CPT - Captain, MAJ - Major, LTC - Lieutenant Colonel, CDR - Commander (Navy), COL - Colonel, BG - Brigadier General, MG - Major General, RADM - Rear Admiral (Navy), LTG - Lieutenant General, VADM - Vice Admiral (Navy), and GEN - General.

  5. Army Organization: Although authorized and actual strength and the rank of the commanding officer often varied, the standard military unit during the War was the infantry regiment (1,000 men, COL commanding) which was comprised of 10 companies (100 men each, CPT commanding). 3-4 Regiments = 1 Brigade (3,000-4000 men, BG commanding). 3 (sometimes 4) Brigades = 1 Division (9000-12,000 men, BG or MG commanding). 2-4 (usually 3) Divisions = 1 Corps (18,000-24,000+ men, MG - North and MG or LTG -South commanding). 2 or more Corps = An Army (usually 20,000-100,000+ men - MG, LTG, or GEN commanding). 2 or more Armies = An Army Group (usually 100,000+ men - MG, LTG, or GEN commanding).

Sources:

Photographs courtesy of The Generals of the American Civil War Website.

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