Against All Odds: The Battle of Chancellorsville
by Jeanie Turner
Summary: The Battle of Chancellorsville was a monumental fight on many different levels. It was a Confederate victory that never should have been. It was Lees greatest fight and Stonewall Jacksons final stand. The events at Chancellorsville proved that the accepted military strategy of the day was not necessarily the best strategy as Lee squared off prowess against size and strength. He took a daring gamble and won despite seemingly impossible circumstances.
General Robert E. Lee was not a man to play by the rules.
He took chances and defied the accepted rules of war. He went against what was
considered the best military strategy and made his own way. One of his trademark
strategies was dividing his army when they were facing a much larger force. Though
many considered this a very poor military strategy, at the Battle of Chancellorsville
it worked out brilliantly and caused one the most embarrassing losses for the
Union during the Civil War.
After the terrible defeat at Fredericksburg,
the Union was ready to even the score. Lincoln, as always, commanded his generals
to destroy the Confederate army. It was never that easy; while the Union had far
greater numbers, the Confederacy had greater skill and military prowess. This
was never more evident than at Chancellorsville. Lincoln had replaced the commander
at Fredericksburg, General Burnside, with General Hooker. Hookers objective
was not only to annihilate the Army of Northern Virginia, but also to capture
and imprison every last one of them. He had a sound military strategy in place,
but little turned out as he had planned. Hooker planned to send out his cavalry,
which was around 10,000 strong, two weeks ahead of his army. Their job was to
wreak as much havoc as possible on Lees supply and communication lines all
the way to Richmond. This action was supposed to entice Lees army out of
their fortified position in Fredericksburg. Then, Hooker planned to send his infantry
around 40 miles up the Rappahannock and Rapidan rivers deep into Confederate territory
to launch a surprise attack on Lees left flank. The remainder of his forces
was to cross the river into Fredericksburg to attack Lees front lines head-on.
He thought his plans were flawless and that Lees army was doomed. Much to
Hookers dismay, this was not what transpired.
The Union cavalry were
delayed by weather and road conditions and, in the end, were barely able to put
a dent in the Confederate supply and communications lines. The infantry did march
upstream and the remaining Union contingency did cross the river at Fredericksburg.
At this point, Lee should have retreated to escape Hookers much larger army
that was threatening to encircle them. Lee refused to relent and, instead, met
the Union advance full force. Lee split his army to go in three different directions
to halt the Union offensive. Lee was either very brave or very stupid in doing
this because Hookers army numbered around 130,000 while his was only around
60,000. Lee left only 10,000 men in the Fredericksburg area at a little road junction
called Chancellorsville. The rest went west to clash with Hookers columns
that were slowly descending upon them. Meanwhile, Hookers massive army was
moving in the opposite direction to meet Lees forces, however, Hooker decided
to stop at Chancellorsville instead of pushing on until they reached the Confederates.
This delay gave Jackson the opportunity he was looking for. Along with two other
Confederate divisions, Jackson attacked the stalled Union army and, though they
had fewer weapons, they had more fighting spirit. Hooker ordered his Generals
to retreat into the woods and form a defensive position. He thought it best to
wait for the Confederates to attack them at the location of his choosing.
However,
Lee countered Hookers position by further dividing his meager forces. He
retained two of his divisions to divert Hookers attention while the remainder
of the Confederate Army moved west to attack the Union Armys right flank
led by Stonewall Jackson. Jackson and his men executed this maneuver brilliantly
and forced the Union Army to retreat back across the Rappahannock River from whence
they came.
Against all odds, Lee triumphed at the Battle of Chancellorsville
despite being outnumbered by more than double. It was his greatest victory and
the final battle of his greatest general, Stonewall Jackson. The most powerful
lesson learned from the events at Chancellorsville was intelligence and the power
of the mind can trump brute strength and physical size even in an otherwise hopeless
situation.
-
McPherson,
James. Battle Cry of Freedom. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988.
About
the Author
Jeanie Turner is a history enthusiast and honors graduate of
American Public University. She is currently working on her Masters degree
in European History and plans to teach history on the college level in the near
future. She resides in Columbia, South Carolina with her husband and five children.