# 1408 - 1970 6c Stone Mountain Memorial
Battle Of Chancellorsville
Robert E. Lee delivered the Union a stunning defeat at Fredericksburg in December 1862. But Joseph Hooker used the months that followed to reorganize and reinvigorate his troops. Proclaiming he had created “the finest Army on the Planet,” Hooker devised an elaborate plan to turn the left flank of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. The rebel troops, who were outnumbered and starving, were camped near Fredericksburg in the spring of 1863 as Hooker prepared to spring his trap.
Stinging from the heavy losses at Marye’s Heights, Hooker reshaped his troops into a disciplined force with incentives such as better food and a furlough lottery. He centralized his cavalry and beefed up military intelligence under Colonel George H. Sharpe, making him the first in the Potomac army’s history to know what lay ahead of him in a battle.
Hooker’s plan was to send all but a few cavalry brigades in a wide circle to the west and south under George Stoneman’s command, moving them to the rear of Lee’s army and cutting his supply lines. While that was happening, two Union corps – nearly equal in size to Lee’s entire army – would pretend an attack in Fredericksburg while the rest of the Army of the Potomac quietly crossed the Rapidan River and into Lee’s left flank. “My plans are perfect. May God have mercy on General Lee for I will have none,” said Hooker.
As the campaign began, communication with Stoneman ended on April 30 but everything else seemed to be going well. As night fell, three Union corps under Henry W. Slocum camped in the region known as the Wilderness, near a tavern called Chancellorsville, resting for the morning’s push eastward.
Jackson’s troops were spotted the next morning from a Union reconnaissance balloon, but poor communication mangled the message to Hooker. The Union commander decided Lee must have been retreating. Instead, Jackson’s men stormed from the woods late in the afternoon of May 2 to attack the Eleventh Corps. Comprised mostly of German immigrants, the corps earned the nickname the “Flying Dutchmen” for the speed of their retreat.
Multiple attacks were launched throughout the day, causing heavy losses on both sides. As the Second Battle of Fredericksburg was raging nearby, Union General John Sedgwick advanced across the Rappahannock River to defeat the small Confederate force at Marye’s Heights. To counter him, Lee marched a small force east to prevent Sedgwick from reuniting with the rest of the Union Army.
Battle Of Chancellorsville
Robert E. Lee delivered the Union a stunning defeat at Fredericksburg in December 1862. But Joseph Hooker used the months that followed to reorganize and reinvigorate his troops. Proclaiming he had created “the finest Army on the Planet,” Hooker devised an elaborate plan to turn the left flank of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. The rebel troops, who were outnumbered and starving, were camped near Fredericksburg in the spring of 1863 as Hooker prepared to spring his trap.
Stinging from the heavy losses at Marye’s Heights, Hooker reshaped his troops into a disciplined force with incentives such as better food and a furlough lottery. He centralized his cavalry and beefed up military intelligence under Colonel George H. Sharpe, making him the first in the Potomac army’s history to know what lay ahead of him in a battle.
Hooker’s plan was to send all but a few cavalry brigades in a wide circle to the west and south under George Stoneman’s command, moving them to the rear of Lee’s army and cutting his supply lines. While that was happening, two Union corps – nearly equal in size to Lee’s entire army – would pretend an attack in Fredericksburg while the rest of the Army of the Potomac quietly crossed the Rapidan River and into Lee’s left flank. “My plans are perfect. May God have mercy on General Lee for I will have none,” said Hooker.
As the campaign began, communication with Stoneman ended on April 30 but everything else seemed to be going well. As night fell, three Union corps under Henry W. Slocum camped in the region known as the Wilderness, near a tavern called Chancellorsville, resting for the morning’s push eastward.
Jackson’s troops were spotted the next morning from a Union reconnaissance balloon, but poor communication mangled the message to Hooker. The Union commander decided Lee must have been retreating. Instead, Jackson’s men stormed from the woods late in the afternoon of May 2 to attack the Eleventh Corps. Comprised mostly of German immigrants, the corps earned the nickname the “Flying Dutchmen” for the speed of their retreat.
Multiple attacks were launched throughout the day, causing heavy losses on both sides. As the Second Battle of Fredericksburg was raging nearby, Union General John Sedgwick advanced across the Rappahannock River to defeat the small Confederate force at Marye’s Heights. To counter him, Lee marched a small force east to prevent Sedgwick from reuniting with the rest of the Union Army.