The Battle of Chancellorsville: Flank Attacks, Divided Forces, and Union Withdrawal

In spring 1863, the opposing armies in the American Civil War’s eastern theater faced each other across the Rappahannock River. After taking command of the Union Army of the Potomac, Joseph Hooker planned to use part of his force to hold the defenders at Fredericksburg while the main army crossed upstream and turned the flank and rear of Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. Stoneman’s cavalry was separately to raid Confederate communications toward Richmond.

In late April, Union troops crossed the Rappahannock and Rapidan rivers and concentrated near Chancellorsville. This was not a town but the Chancellor family house and nearby clearings at a junction of woodland roads. Hooker made the house his headquarters, preparing to use his numerical superiority to force Lee out of his existing defenses. Sedgwick’s troops remained on the Fredericksburg front, requiring the Confederates to consider two battlefields.

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Judging the upstream crossing to be the main threat, Lee left Early and other troops to hold Fredericksburg and led his main force west. On May 1, the armies made contact near the Orange Turnpike and Plank Road. Undergrowth restricted visibility and deployment, while Union advance units encountered growing resistance. Hooker ordered the forward columns back to the Chancellorsville position, against the objections of several corps commanders.

Hooker hoped to lure his opponent into attacking entrenched positions, reproducing the Confederates’ successful defensive tactics at Fredericksburg. Lee explained in his postbattle report that a frontal assault on positions surrounded by woods and obstacles would be costly, so he decided to turn the Union right. Hooker’s withdrawal transformed a Union-initiated enveloping maneuver into a battle in which the Confederates chose the direction of attack.

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On May 2, Thomas Jackson led a large force around the southern side while Lee remained in front with fewer troops to hold the enemy’s attention. Local knowledge of roads, cavalry reconnaissance, and staff mapping supported the march. Although Union forces detected the Confederate column, they disagreed over whether it was retreating or maneuvering around their flank. Howard’s Eleventh Corps at the western end did not adequately realign its defenses, and many units still faced south.

Late in the day, Jackson struck unexpectedly from the west, routing the Union right and forcing Hooker to organize a new line nearby. Rapid advance also mixed Confederate units together, while woods and darkness obstructed further attack. Jackson rode forward to reconnoiter at night and was wounded on his return when his own troops mistook him for the enemy. Hill was subsequently wounded as well, and Stuart took command of this infantry force to prepare renewed attacks the next day.

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On May 3, the Confederates attacked Chancellorsville from several directions, deploying artillery on Hazel Grove, high ground the Union had abandoned. Hooker was injured by a porch column shattered by artillery fire, and his army fell back toward positions nearer the river crossings. The Confederate wings reunited near the former Union headquarters, but Lee then learned that Sedgwick had captured Marye’s Heights and was advancing west from Fredericksburg.

Lee divided his forces again, sending McLaws and other troops to block Sedgwick at Salem Church and reinforcing the attack on May 4. The Union Sixth Corps failed to join Hooker’s main army and withdrew across the river that night. Hooker subsequently decided to return to the north bank. Lee’s report states that the Confederates had intended to attack again on the 6th but found their opponent had withdrawn under cover of rain, wind, and darkness. Both main armies ultimately returned to the areas they had occupied before the battle.

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The fighting transformed local residents’ living spaces. The Chancellor house served simultaneously as Union headquarters and a temporary hospital, confining the family and neighbors seeking shelter to limited rooms and the basement. Sue Chancellor’s recollections describe the constant arrival of wounded men and her family’s fear. On May 3, shellfire set the house alight. Officer Joseph Dickinson helped women and children escape, while their former home was destroyed.

Salem Church also housed wounded soldiers after the fighting. Captured Union surgeon Daniel Holt was allowed to remain and treat casualties. His letter of May 15 described exhaustion and food shortages, as well as food and medical assistance supplied by Confederate officers. Civilian buildings absorbed the strain of inadequate military logistics, and nursing and relief continued after combat stopped.

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The Confederates won on the battlefield and defeated Hooker’s attempt to force them away from Fredericksburg, but did not destroy the Army of the Potomac. Combined killed, wounded, and missing exceeded 30,000, with Confederate losses representing a larger proportion of their strength. After amputation, Jackson developed pneumonia and died a week later. The army also lost numerous brigade and regimental commanders, and difficulties replacing personnel reduced the benefits of victory.

Arguments over responsibility arose within the Union army. Hooker attributed defeat to problems in the cavalry raid, vigilance on the right flank, and Sedgwick’s advance, while Couch, Reynolds, and other generals asked Lincoln to replace the commander. Lincoln retained Hooker at that point. Chancellorsville thus preserved Lee’s operational position in Virginia and deepened mistrust within Union command, without giving either side a decisive end to the war.

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