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Battle of Chancellorsville | HearLore
— Ch. 1 · The Union's Failed Campaigns —
Battle of Chancellorsville.
~9 min read · Ch. 1 of 7
In the first two years of the American Civil War, four major attempts to capture Richmond had failed. The first foundered just miles away from Washington, D.C., at the First Battle of Bull Run in July 1861. Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan's Peninsula Campaign took an amphibious approach, landing his Army of the Potomac on the Virginia Peninsula in the spring of 1862 and coming within a few miles of Richmond before being turned back by Gen. Robert E. Lee in the Seven Days Battles. That summer, Maj. Gen. John Pope's Army of Virginia was defeated at the Second Battle of Bull Run. Finally, in December 1862, Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside's Army of the Potomac attempted to reach Richmond by way of Fredericksburg, Virginia, but was defeated at the Battle of Fredericksburg.
By January 1863, the Army of the Potomac suffered from rising desertions and plunging morale following the humiliating Mud March. Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside decided to conduct a mass purge of the army's leadership, eliminating generals he felt were responsible for the disaster at Fredericksburg. He offered President Abraham Lincoln his resignation from command of the Army of the Potomac. The president persuaded him to stay, transferring him to the Western Theater where he became commander of the Department of the Ohio. Burnside's former command, the IX Corps, was transferred to the Virginia Peninsula, prompting Confederates to detach troops from Lee's army under Lt. Gen. James Longstreet.
Abraham Lincoln had become convinced that the appropriate objective for his Eastern army was the army of Robert E. Lee, not any geographic features such as a capital city. He tried a fifth time with a new general on the 25th of January 1863, Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker, a man with a pugnacious reputation who had performed well in previous subordinate commands. With Burnside's departure, Maj. Gen. William B. Franklin left as well because he disliked Hooker personally and was senior to him in rank. Maj. Gen. Edwin V. Sumner stepped down due to old age and poor health. Brig. Gen. Daniel Butterfield was reassigned from command of the V Corps to be Hooker's chief of staff.
Hooker's Reorganization And Intelligence
Hooker embarked on a much-needed reorganization of the army, doing away with Burnside's grand division system which had proved unwieldy. He organized the cavalry into a separate corps under the command of Brig. Gen. George Stoneman. But while he concentrated the cavalry into a single organization, he dispersed his artillery battalions to the control of the infantry division commanders, removing the coordinating influence of the army's artillery chief, Brig. Gen. Henry J. Hunt.
Hooker established a reputation as an outstanding administrator and restored the morale of his soldiers. Among his changes were fixes to the daily diet of the troops, camp sanitary changes, improvements and accountability of the quartermaster system, addition of and monitoring of company cooks, several hospital reforms, an improved furlough system, orders to stem rising desertion, improved drills, and stronger officer training. He took advantage of improved military intelligence about the positioning and capabilities of the opposing army, superior to that available to his predecessors in army command.
His chief of staff, Butterfield, commissioned Col. George H. Sharpe from the 120th New York Infantry to organize a new Bureau of Military Information in the Army of the Potomac. Previously, intelligence gatherers gathered information only by interrogating prisoners, deserters, contrabands, and refugees. The Army of the Potomac was able to call on the services of self-styled Professor of Aeronautics Thaddeus S. C. Lowe and his two hydrogen aerostats Washington and Eagle, which regularly ascended to heights of 3,000 feet or more to observe Lee's positions. The new BMI added other sources including infantry and cavalry reconnaissance, spies, scouts, signal stations, and an aerial balloon corps.
Lee Divides His Forces
On the 27th of April 28, the initial three corps of the Army of the Potomac began their march under the leadership of Slocum. They crossed the Rappahannock and Rapidan rivers as planned and began to concentrate on April 30 around the hamlet of Chancellorsville. Hooker arrived late in the afternoon on April 30 and made the mansion his headquarters. Stoneman's cavalry began on April 30 its second attempt to reach Lee's rear areas.
In his Fredericksburg headquarters, Lee was initially in the dark about the Union intentions. He suspected that the main column under Slocum was heading towards Gordonsville. Jeb Stuart's cavalry was cut off at first by Stoneman's departure on April 30, but they were soon able to move freely around the army's flanks on their reconnaissance missions after almost all their Union counterparts had left the area. As Stuart's intelligence information about the Union river crossings began to arrive, Lee did not react as Hooker had anticipated.
He decided to violate one of the generally accepted principles of war and divide his force in the face of a superior enemy, hoping that aggressive action would allow him to attack and defeat a portion of Hooker's army before it could be fully concentrated against him. He became convinced that Sedgwick's force would demonstrate against him, but not become a serious threat, so he ordered about four-fifths of his army to meet the challenge from Chancellorsville. He left behind a brigade under Brig. Gen. William Barksdale on heavily fortified Marye's Heights behind Fredericksburg and one division under Maj. Gen. Jubal A. Early, on Prospect Hill south of the town.
The Flanking March Through The Wilderness
Early on the morning of May 2, Lee divided his army again. Jackson would lead his Second Corps of 28,000 men around to attack the Union right flank while Lee exercised personal command of the remaining two divisions, about 13,000 men and 24 guns facing the 70,000 Union troops at Chancellorsville. For the plan to work, several things had to happen. First, Jackson had to make a 12-mile march via roundabout roads to reach the Union right, and he had to do it undetected.
Confederate cavalry under Stuart kept most Union forces from spotting Jackson on his long flank march, which started between 7 and 8 a.m. and lasted until midafternoon. Several Confederate soldiers saw the Union observation balloon Eagle soaring overhead and assumed that they could likewise be seen, but no such report was sent to headquarters. When men of the III Corps spotted a Confederate column moving through the woods, their division commander, Brig. Gen. David B. Birney, ordered his artillery to open fire, but this proved little more than harassment.
At 5:30 p.m., Jackson turned to Robert Rodes and asked him General, are you ready? When Rodes nodded, Jackson replied, You may go forward then. Only two-thirds of Jackson's marching column participated in the assault. Some of A.P. Hill's men arrived late, other units were detached to guard the Orange Plank Road. Most of the men of the XI Corps were encamped and sitting down for supper and had their rifles unloaded and stacked.
The Friendly Fire Tragedy
Stonewall Jackson wanted to press his advantage before Hooker and his army could regain their bearings and plan a counterattack. He rode out onto the Plank Road that night to determine the feasibility of a night attack by the light of the full moon, traveling beyond the farthest advance of his men. When one of his staff officers warned him about the dangerous position, Jackson replied, The danger is all over. The enemy is routed. Go back and tell A.P. Hill to press right on.
As he and his staff started to return, they were incorrectly identified as Union cavalry by men of the 18th North Carolina Infantry, who hit Jackson with friendly fire. Jackson's three bullet wounds were not in themselves life-threatening, but his left arm was broken and had to be amputated. While recovering, he contracted pneumonia and died on May 10. His death was a devastating loss for the Confederacy. Some historians and participants attribute the Confederate defeat at Gettysburg two months later to Jackson's absence.
The Union gunners at Fairview Cemetery were alert and nervous; they found it quite impossible to fire their guns without the shells going over the heads of the infantrymen in front of them. A few friendly-fire casualties resulted from this as the gunners were quick to shoot at anything that looked like enemy soldiers. When they got sight of a large body of Confederates drawing near, they let loose a huge cannonade that landed on and around the party that was carrying the wounded Jackson to the rear and did end up wounding A.P. Hill.
Fighting On The Third Of May
Despite the fame of Stonewall Jackson's victory on May 2, it did not result in a significant military advantage for the Army of Northern Virginia. Howard's XI Corps had been defeated, but the Army of the Potomac remained a potent force and Reynolds's I Corps had arrived overnight, which replaced Howard's losses. About 76,000 Union men faced 43,000 Confederate at the Chancellorsville front.
The attack began about 5:30 a.m. supported by the newly installed artillery at Hazel Grove, and by simultaneous attacks by the divisions of Anderson and McLaws from the south and southeast. The Confederates were resisted fiercely by the Union troops behind strong earthworks, and the fighting on May 3 was the heaviest of the campaign. The initial waves of assaults by Heth and Colston gained a little ground, but were beaten back by Union counterattacks. Rodes sent his men in last and this final push, along with the excellent performance of the Confederate artillery, carried the morning battle.
Chancellorsville was the only occasion in the war in Virginia in which Confederate gunners held a decided advantage over their Federal counterparts. Confederate guns on Hazel Grove were joined by 20 more on the Plank Road to duel effectively with the Union guns on neighboring Fairview Hill, causing the Federals to withdraw as ammunition ran low and Confederate infantrymen picked off the gun crews.
Withdrawal And Campaign End
On the evening of May 3 and all day May 4, Hooker remained in his defenses north of Chancellorsville. Lee observed that Hooker was threatening no offensive action, so felt comfortable ordering Anderson's division to join the battle against Sedgwick. He sent orders to Early and McLaws to cooperate in a joint attack, but the orders reached his subordinates after dark, so the attack was planned for May 4.
By this time Sedgwick had placed his divisions into a strong defensive position with its flanks anchored on the Rappahannock, three sides of a rectangle extending south of the Plank Road. The attack finally began around 6 p.m. Two of Early's brigades pushed back Sedgwick's left-center across the Plank Road, but Anderson's men took a few hours to get into position, a situation that frustrated and angered both Early and Lee.
Lee turned back to confront Hooker who withdrew the remainder of his army across U.S. Ford the night of the 5th of May 6. The campaign ended on May 7 when Stoneman's cavalry reached Union lines east of Richmond. Both armies resumed their previous position across the Rappahannock from each other at Fredericksburg. With the loss of Jackson, Lee reorganized his army, and flush with victory began what was to become the Gettysburg campaign a month later.
When did the Battle of Chancellorsville take place?
The Battle of Chancellorsville took place from April 30 to the 6th of May 1863. The campaign officially ended on May 7 when Stoneman's cavalry reached Union lines east of Richmond.
Who commanded the Confederate forces at the Battle of Chancellorsville?
General Robert E. Lee commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia during the battle. He divided his force to attack Union troops while leaving a small portion behind to hold Fredericksburg.
What happened to General Thomas J. Jackson during the Battle of Chancellorsville?
Confederate General Thomas J. Jackson was accidentally shot by friendly fire from the 18th North Carolina Infantry on the night of May 2. His left arm was amputated and he died of pneumonia on May 10.
How many soldiers fought in the Battle of Chancellorsville?
Approximately 76,000 Union men faced 43,000 Confederates at the front of the battle. The Union army included the I Corps under Reynolds and the XI Corps under Howard.
Why did General Robert E. Lee divide his army at the Battle of Chancellorsville?
Lee decided to violate accepted principles of war by dividing his force to defeat a portion of Hooker's army before it could fully concentrate against him. This strategy allowed him to send most of his army to meet the challenge from Chancellorsville while leaving a small force to guard Fredericksburg.