Manuscript Map of the Battle of Chancellorsville. ...

Description

After the disastrous defeat at Fredericksburg, the Army of the Potomac, now under the command of Major General Joseph Hooker left the 6^th Corps and a division to make a demonstration against the Confederate position at Fredericksburg to cover his movement to Chancellorsville with the rest of the army, crossing the Rappahannock and Rapidan rivers. Confederate General Robert E. Lee responded by dividing his army, leaving a force at Fredericksburg, and taking the rest to confront Hooker at Chancellorsville. Hooker took up defensive positions, and Lee again divided his own army, sending General Stonewall Jackson on a march around the Union's left flank. In the early evening on May 2, members of the 11^th Corps in the Army of the Potomac were settling down to eat supper when Jackson's troops burst from the woods, routing them. The Union army counterattacked, and the day ended with both sides disorganized in an area of tangled wilderness. Jackson, riding out with his staff to reconnoiter in preparation for the next day's battle, was shot by his own men. He would die several days later, following amputation of his left arm. Lee's army resumed the offensive on May 3, forcing Hooker's army into a defensive posture near the fords that were their only means of retreat across the rivers. Meanwhile, Lee received word that the Federals had crossed the Rappahannock and were advancing on him from the east. Splitting his army yet again, he met and defeated this new threat near Salem Church.  Considered by many to be Lee's greatest victory, the battle resulted in 14,000 Union casualties and 10,000 Confederate casualties. The loss of Jackson, however, was a critical loss to the Confederate army.