| Battle Of Chancellorsville |
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The Battle of Chancellorsville was a major battle of the American Civil War , fought near the village of Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia , from April 30 to May 6 1863 . Called Gen. Robert E. Lee 's "perfect battle"Dupuy, p. 261. because of his risky but successful division of his army in the presence of a much larger enemy force, the battle pitted Union Army Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker 's Army Of The Potomac against an army half its size, Lee's Confederate Army Of Northern Virginia . Lee's audacity and Hooker's timid performance in combat combined to result in a significant Union defeat. The Confederate victory was tempered by the mortal wounding of Lt. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson to Friendly Fire , a loss that Lee likened to "losing my right arm." The Chancellorsville campaign began with the crossing of the Rappahannock River by the Union army on the morning of April 27 1863 . Heavy fighting began on May 1 and did not end until the Union forces retreated across the river on the night of May 5 to May 6 . FORCES AND PLANS The Chancellorsville campaign began with the potential of leading to one of the most lopsided clashes in the war. The Union army brought an effective fighting force of 133,868 men onto the field at the start of the fighting; the Confederate army numbered less than half that figure, at 60,892.Eicher, p. 475 Furthermore, the Union forces were much better supplied and were well-rested after several months of inactivity. Lee's forces, on the other hand, were scattered all over the state of Virginia . In fact, some 15,000 men of the Army of Northern Virginia under Lt. Gen. James Longstreet , stationed near Norfolk dealing with a Federal threat at Suffolk , failed to arrive in time to aid Lee's outmanned forces. Moreover, the engagement began with a Union battle plan superior to most of the previous efforts by Army of the Potomac commanders. The army started from its winter quarters around Fredericksburg , where it faced Lee across the Rappahannock. Hooker planned a bold Double Envelopment of Lee's forces, sending four Corps on a stealthy march northwest, turning south to cross the Rappahannock and Rapidan rivers, turning east, and striking Lee in his rear. The remaining corps would strike Lee's front through Fredericksburg. Meanwhile, some 7,500 Cavalry under Maj. Gen. George Stoneman were to raid deep into the Confederate rear areas, destroying crucial supply depots along the railroad from the Confederate capital in Richmond to Fredericksburg, which would cut Lee's lines of communication and supply. This bold, aggressive plan was later known as ''Stoneman's Raid''. However, despite its superior forces and sound strategy, the Army of the Potomac's lack of competent leadership doomed its forces, as in earlier campaigns of the war. The superior tactical skills of the Confederate leaders Lee and Jackson won the day. On April 27 and April 28 , the four corps of the Army of the Potomac crossed the Rappahannock and Rapidan rivers in several places, most of them near the confluence of the two rivers and the hamlet of Chancellorsville , which was little more than a large mansion, owned by the Chancellor family, at the junction of the Orange Turnpike and Orange Plank Road. In the meantime, the second force of more than 30,000 men, under Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick , crossed the Rappahannock at Fredericksburg, and Stoneman's cavalry began its movement to reach Lee's rear areas. BATTLE May 1 – May 2 |
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