When was chancellorsville fought

His bright blue eyes sparkled with pride and confidence, remembered one infantryman. He waved his black hat high overhead. His thick blond hair jolted in rhythm to the galloping of his horse.

Slocum, senior to Howard and Meade, was in command. However, Fighting Joe had, in a manner of speaking, kept his cards close to his vest. The only commanders who had received any detailed instructions were Sedgwick and Stoneman. If the enemy decided to fight, Slocum was to select a strong position, and compel him to attack you on your ground. Hooker urged Slocum to push on so that not a moment be lost until our troops are established at or near Chancellorsville.

From that moment all will be ours. When he learned the true scope of the Yankee movement, Stuart hastily sent word to the Confederate detachment at Germanna Ford. Brigadier General Henry W. He soon was embroiled in an exchange of words with Brig. William T. Brooks and James S. It seems that Benham also thought he was in charge of the crossing. At a. David A. Russell refused to allow his troops to cross in the darkness. Benham summarily ordered him arrested, but nothing came of it.

At approximately a. Suddenly out of the darkness the sharp crack of muskets was heard. Bang whiz bang—we were saluted by a volley of musketry, recalled one Pennsylvania officer.

The greater portion of the balls flew too high over the men in the boats and too low to do us much damage. As soon as this was accomplished, the bridge building resumed at a rapid pace. As the boatmen neared the riverbank, preparing to cross, Confederate sharpshooters opened up. The boatmen fled as two regiments from the famed Iron Brigade returned the Rebel fire. When word came to load the boats, the soldiers had to race across open ground to reach the craft.

While their comrades covered them, the 6th Wisconsin and 24th Michigan started toward the Rebel positions with bullets hailing around all the time. Opposing the Iron Brigade were the 13th Georgia and 6th Louisiana. In this instance, the blue-clad attackers had the advantage. Confederate riflemen had to stand halfway out of their parapets to get a clear shot and, in so doing, exposed themselves to the Yankee infantry. Henry Walker from the 13th Georgia later wrote to his family: We fought there about two or three hours until our cartridges gave out and we never lost but one man while we was in the rifle pits but when we went to leave they swept our boys down like they was chaff.

The troopers from Maj. Jubal A. While they were frantically digging in, a puzzled Robert E. Lee watched in amazement as Union infantry scampered ashore from the Union bridgehead at Fredericksburg. Never one to become nervous in tense situations, Lee coolly waited to hear from his trusted eyes and ears, Stuart, before making any decision.

Lee knew that he must have more detailed information to determine where the main effort of the Yankee army would be. Thomas Stonewall Jackson, was shoring up Confederate defenses around Fredericksburg. Brigadier General Robert E. Hill and Brig. Raleigh E. Colston, were kept in reserve. Early anxiously watched as the Yankees deployed along a four-mile front. The question was whether they were ostentatiously displayed as a feint, or whether they were massed for crossing, he later wrote.

Finally, the word came that Lee had been eagerly awaiting. Lee immediately telegraphed Davis: Their intention, I presume, is to turn our left, and probably get into our rear. Our scattered condition favors their operations. Without hesitating, Lee sent for his artillery, which was camped at Bowling Green and Chesterfield Station. However, with the exception of a few smaller infantry units in the area, he could expect no other reinforcements.

Samuel French was stationed at Petersburg, and Maj. Hill was back in North Carolina with his division. It was crystal clear to Lee that he would have to defeat the Union masses with what he had in hand—no more. At 11 a. Brusquely ushering the Chancellor family into one of the back rooms of the house, the crusty corps commander awaited the arrival of the remainder of the troops. About 2 that afternoon, Slocum galloped up with the forward elements of his corps. This is splendid, Slocum!

Hurrah for old Joe! Slocum, however, had discouraging news for Meade. Hooker had given directions to take up a line of battle…and not to move forward without further orders. This was extremely bleak news to Meade, but Slocum was in command and he had no choice but to follow orders.

At dusk, Hooker himself arrived on the scene. Amid a flurry of congratulations, he issued his grandiloquent General Order No. Surrounded by dozens of officers, Hooker further boasted: I have the rebellion in my breeches pocket, and God Almighty himself cannot take it away from me. A few in the crowd were taken aback by this blasphemous remark.

Said one Union officer: I do not like that sort of talk on the eve of battle. There is no sense in defying the Almighty when you are fighting General Lee.

General Anderson, after leaving the Chancellor estate, was ordered by Lee to reposition the brigades of Brig. While Meade was trotting up to the Chancellor house, the Rebels were already beginning to build fortifications to establish a perimeter from Zoan Church to Tabernacle Church.

Once again, the fast-paced cavalry of Jeb Stuart came through. Lee knew at this point he had no time to waste; he must attack. McLaws was ordered to leave behind Brig. It was a daring move, but Lee felt he had no other alternative.

While on reconnaissance the evening prior to the battle, Rebel horsemen ran pell-mell into Lt. As the two groups neared, Stuart was startled by a pistol shot and was surprised to see his point rider hurrying toward him, warning that Yankees were up ahead. Jeering, the cavalier dispatched a small scouting party to verify the information. Heading the foray was Heros von Borcke, a former officer in the Prussian army, who immediately met several horsemen on the road. Because of the darkness, von Borcke had difficulty distinguishing their uniforms and inquired what outfit they belonged to.

This battle began when Union Major General Joseph Hooker moved his armies behind Lee's position at Fredericksburg, an an attempt to attack him while he was busy facing another Union force. In a surprise move, Lee left roughly 20 percent of his men to defend Fredericksburg, and took the rest of his men to meet Hooker's armies, removing Hooker's element of surprise, and the subsequent fighting then forced Hooker back to Chancellorsville where he took up a defensive position.

Lee then divided his army again, sending another force, led by Lieutenant General Thomas J. The risky decision was a success, however Jackson was wounded by friendly fire while on a reconnaissance mission, and died eight days later. The heaviest fighting of the battle and second bloodiest day of the American Civil War was on May 3, , where Lee finally pushed the Union forces out of Chancellorsville, before he was yet again forced to divide his army to face the Union force that had defeated the men Lee had left at Fredericksburg.

The decision was another success, and despite the inferior numbers, Lee's decisions to split his armies at pivotal times took his enemies by surprise, and gave him an overall victory.

This victory paved the way for Lee to launch his second invasion of the north in June , where he would eventually be defeated at the Battle of Gettysburg.

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Historical Data Number of casualties at the Siege of Vicksburg Aaron O'Neill. Instead, he ordered his Third Corps to harass the tail end of Lee's "retreating" army. Colorful Major General Daniel E. Sickles commanded the Third Corps. He probed cautiously from Hazel Grove toward a local iron manufactory called Catharine Furnace. In mid-afternoon the Federals overwhelmed Jackson's rearguard beyond the furnace along the cut of an unfinished railroad, capturing nearly an entire Georgia regiment.

The action at Catharine Furnace, however, eventually attracted some 20, Bluecoats onto the scene thus effectively isolating Howard's Eleventh Corps on the right with no nearby support.

Meanwhile the bulk of Jackson's column snaked its way along uncharted trails barely wide enough to accommodate four men abreast.

After making the desired impression, Jackson ducked under the Wilderness canopy and continued his march toward Howard's insensible soldiers. Acting upon a personal reconnaissance recommended by cavalry general Fitzhugh Lee, Jackson kept his column northbound on the Brock Road to the Orange Turnpike where the Confederates would at last be beyond the Union right.

The exhausting march, which altogether traversed more, than 12 miles, ended about 3 p. Jackson, however, did not authorize an attack for some two hours, providing 11 of his 15 brigades time to take position in the silent forest.

The awe-inspiring Confederate front measured nearly two miles across. Although individual Northern officers and men warned of Jackson's approach, Eleventh Corps headquarters dismissed the reports as frightened exaggerations from alarmists or cowards.

Hooker's shortage of cavalry hampered the Federals's ability to penetrate the Wilderness and uncover the Confederate presence with certainty. Only two small regiments and half a New York battery faced west in the direction of Jackson's corps. Suddenly, a bugle rang out in the afternoon shadows. Bugles everywhere echoed the notes up and down the line.

As waves of sweat-soaked soldiers rolled forward, the high defiance of the Rebel Yell pierced the gloomy woods. Jackson's Corps erupted from the trees and sent the astonished Unionists reeling.

But the overmatched Federals occupied an untenable position. The screaming gray legions overwhelmed each Union stand and eventually drove the Eleventh Corps completely from the field. Sunset and the inevitable intermingling of "Stonewall's" brigades compelled Jackson to call a reluctant halt to the advance about He summoned Major General A.

Hill's division to the front and, typically, determined to renew his attack despite the darkness. Jackson hoped to maneuver between Hooker and his escape routes across the rivers and then, with Lee's help, grind the Army of the Potomac into oblivion.

While Hill brought his brigades forward, Jackson rode ahead of his men to reconnoiter. When he attempted to return, a North Carolina regiment mistook his small party for Union cavalry. Two volleys burst forth in the blackness and Jackson tottered in his saddle, suffering from three wounds. Shortly thereafter a Federal shell struck Hill, incapacitating him, and direction of the corps devolved upon Stuart. The cavalryman wisely canceled "Stonewall's" plans for a night attack.

See text for Wounding of Stonewall Jackson Trail. Despite his misfortune on May 2, Hooker still held the advantage at Chancellorsville. He received reinforcements during the night and the Third Corps moved back from Catharine Furnace to reoccupy Hazel Grove. Sickles' troops thus divided the Confederates into separate wings controlled by Stuart and Lee. Hooker, if he chose, could defeat each fraction of his out manned enemy in detail. The Confederate commanders understood the need to connect their divisions, and Stuart prepared an all-out assault against Hazel Grove at dawn.

Hooker made it easy for him. As the Southerners approached the far crest of Hazel Grove they witnessed Sickles' men retiring in an orderly fashion. Stuart immediately exploited the opportunity by placing 31 cannon on Hazel Grove.

Combined with artillery located west along the Turnpike, the gunners at Hazel Grove pounded Fairview with a spectacular bombardment. The Federals responded with 34 pieces of their own and soon the Wilderness trembled with a discordant symphony of iron. See folder for Hazel Grove to Fairview walking trail. The bloodiest fighting of the battle occurred between and a. Stuart launched brigade after brigade against entrenched Union lines on both sides of the Turnpike. Troops lost their way in the tangled underbrush and the woods caught fire, confronting the wounded with a horrible fate.

The see-saw fighting began to favor the Southerners as, one by one, Union artillery pieces dropped out of the contest. Hooker failed to resupply his cannoneers with ammunition or shift sufficient infantry reserves to critical areas.