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The Beginning
April
26 - May 1, 1863
April 26: Federal I and VI Corps cross the river and demonstrate against Lee's Fredericksburg
defenses
April 27: Federal V, XI and XII Corps concentrate, preparing to move upriver.
April 29: Federals cross, Kelly, Ford against slight opposition before splitting
their columns.
April 29. Meade's V Corps secures Ely's Ford during the evening.
April 29: Howard's XI Corps and Slocomb's XII Corps cross Germanna Ford during the
evening.
April 30: Sykes Division of V Corps uncovers U.S. Ford for the two Federal corps
to cross.
April 30: Hooker reunites, the right wing of the Army of the Potomac.
April 30: J.E.B. Stuart's Confederate cavalry clings to the Federal column, sending
Lee information as to its strength.
April 30 - May 1: Lee divides his army, leaving Early at Fredricksburg while the
remainder moves toward Chancellorsville.
The End
May
1-6, 1863
May 1, pm: Hooker's Federal army assumes a strong defensive position around Chancellorsville.
May 1, late pm: Lee receives news that hooker's left is weak, and plans an attack
with Jackson for May 2.
May 2, 7:00 am-5:00 pm: Jackson marches 27,000 troops around Hooker while
Lee keeps pressure on the Federals with the remaining 13,000.
May 2, 12:00 Noon-5:00 pm: Sickles III Corps attempts to attack Jackson's column but tangles with Lee's force instead.
May 2, 5:15 pm: Jackson
routs the Union XI Corps with a surprise attack.
May 2, 9:30 pm: Jackson
is accidentally shot by his own troops, command passes to J.E.B Stuart.
May 3, 5:00-10:00 am: Lee and Stuart reunite after a desperate morning of punishing frontal
attacks.
May 3, 12:30 pm: Lee is diverted from attacking Hooker's last line by an urgent
message from Early at Fredericksburg.
May 3-4: Lee blocks Federal advance and counterattacks. Meanwhile, 4 miles east,
Sedgwick's VI Corps captures Early's defenses and set out for Chancellorsville.
May 6: Hooker retreats across the river before Lee can attack.
Source: James M. McPherson, The Atlas of the Civil War
Recommended
Reading: Chancellorsville,
by Stephen W. Sears. Description: Chancellorsville was one of the
Civil War's pivotal campaigns, a great victory for the South that also led directly to the death of top Confederate general
Stonewall Jackson. It hasn't generated the amount of literature devoted to most major Civil War battles, largely because John
Bigelow's 1910 classic, The Campaign of Chancellorsville, seemed for years to offer the last word. But Sears, employing a
mix of published and unpublished primary accounts to buttress secondary studies, manages to offer more than one new word in
a thoroughly engaging text. Most notable is his use of Union military intelligence reports to show how General Joseph Hooker
was fed a stream of accurate information about Robert E. Lee's troops; conversely, Sears points out the battlefield communications
failures that hampered the Union army at critical times. He also examines the roles of Hooker and his corps commanders, finding
that half of the latter poorly served their commander during the campaign. Regarding the Confederate command, Sears analyzes
Lee's faulty intelligence and his relationships with his subordinates. Continued below...
Throughout,
he highlights Lee's marvelous good luck, as well as his army's tenacious fighting capability. One of the book's three appendices
explores several of the battle's "romances", e.g., Jackson's wounding, Alfred Pleasonton's false stories, while
two other appendices present orders of battle and casualties. A model campaign study, Sears's account of Chancellorsville
is likely to remain the standard for years to come… It also includes numerous previously non-published maps and photos.
Recommended
Reading: Chancellorsville 1863: The Souls of the Brave. Description: Ferguson's book about Chancellorsville reads much like a vintage Stephen Sears book. Meticulous detail is crafted with primary
accounts and combined with author analysis, and the book has a detailed narrative with human elements. Reading these types
of accounts concerning Civil War battles is always enjoyable. Where Furgurson's book differs from Sears's book is, of course,
the analysis of Joe Hooker's management of the campaign. While Sears blames subordinates, most notably Howard, and points
to Hooker's concussion, Furgurson mentions the exploding pillar incident, adds soldier accounts of seeing Hooker looking drunk
and unresponsive at headquarters and takes Hooker to task. Given Hooker's pre-victory celebratory orders and his subsequent
defeat, I think it's hard to let Hooker completely off the hook. Continued below...
Furgurson also
mentions near the end of the book that Jackson's death affected Gettysburg and
ultimately the war. Had Jackson lived and taken Culp's Hill on July 1 in place of the inactive
Ewell, the Union would have been forced to retreat, likely to the line of defense around
Pipe Creek that Meade was aiming for in the first place. Would the Confederates have won the battle of Gettysburg in that case?
Recommended
Reading: Chancellorsville: The Battle and
Its Aftermath (Military Campaigns of the Civil War) (Hardcover). Description: A variety of important but lesser-known dimensions of the Chancellorsville campaign
of spring 1863 are explored in this collection of eight original essays. Departing from the traditional focus on generalship
and tactics, the contributors address the campaign's broad context and implications and revisit specific battlefield episodes
that have in the past been poorly understood. Chancellorsville was a remarkable victory for Robert E. Lee's troops, a fact
that had enormous psychological importance for both sides, which had met recently at Fredericksburg and would meet again at
Gettysburg in just two months. But the achievement, while stunning, came at an enormous cost: more than 13,000 Confederates
became casualties, including Stonewall Jackson, who was wounded by friendly fire and died several days later. Continued below...
The topics
covered in this volume include the influence of politics on the Union army, the importance of courage among officers, the
impact of the war on children, and the state of battlefield medical care. Other essays illuminate the important but overlooked
role of Confederate commander Jubal Early, reassess the professionalism of the Union cavalry, investigate the incident of
friendly fire that took Stonewall Jackson's life, and analyze the military and political background of Confederate colonel
Emory Best's court-martial on charges of abandoning his men. Contributors: Keith S. Bohannon, Pennsylvania State University;
Gary W. Gallagher, Pennsylvania State University; A. Wilson Greene, Petersburg, Virginia; John J. Hennessy, Fredericksburg,
Virginia; Robert K. Krick, Fredericksburg, Virginia; James Marten, Marquette University; Carol Reardon, Pennsylvania State
University; James I. Robertson, Jr., Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
Recommended
Reading: Guide to the Battles of Chancellorsville and Fredericksburg. Description: The battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, 1862-63, were remarkable in several
respects. Both revealed the problems of mounting a serious attack at night and provided the first examples of the now-familiar
trench warfare. Fredericksburg featured street fighting and
river crossings under fire. Chancellorsville was marked by Stonewall Jackson's death and
the rare instance of mounted cavalry attacking infantry. In addition, the latter battle also demonstrated in striking fashion
the profound influence of the commander on the battle. The Union committed more soldiers,
supplies, money, and better equipment than did the Confederacy, and yet Lee won. Continued
below...
Eyewitness
accounts by battle participants make these guides an invaluable resource for travelers and non-travelers who want a greater
understanding of five of the most devastating yet influential years in our nation's history. Explicit directions to points
of interest and maps--illustrating the action and showing the detail of troop position, roads, rivers, elevations, and tree
lines as they were 130 years ago--help bring the battles to life. In the field, these guides can be used to recreate each
battle's setting and proportions, giving the reader a sense of the tension and fear each soldier must have felt as he faced
his enemy.
Recommended
Reading: Chancellorsville 1863 (Osprey Trade Editions). Description:
General Joseph Hooker's attack was calculated to take his army to Richmond
and end the war. Faced with an army twice the size of his own, Robert E. Lee split his forces, leaving Early to fend off Hooker's
Fredericksburg attack, whilst ‘Stonewall’ Johnson
was sent to take the Federal right flank by surprise.
The Bringing
History to Life collection is made up of Osprey's all-time favorite titles, re-released with striking new covers - selected
titles also include visitor information sections.
Battle of Chancellorsville Timeline
Battle of Chancellorsville Campaign Summary Battlefield Map Total Casualties Confederate Order of Battle
Union Order of Battle Maps Stonewall Jackson's Last Battle
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