Brief Summary Of The Battle At Chancellorsville

Shots rang out at Chancellorsville, Virginia! The bloody battle lasted from April 30 to May 6. The Battle at Chancellorsville started with the Union army crossing Rappahannock River on the morning of April 27, 1863. On May 1, general Joseph Hooker of the Union advanced from Chancellorsville toward general Robert E. Lee, but general Lee split his army, leaving a small group at Fredericksburg to discourage Major General John Sedgwick from advancing, while he attacked Hooker's force with about four-fifths of his army. After making contact with Lee on May 1st on the Orange Turnpike east of the Chancellor house, Hooker pulled his men back and gave up the initiative to general Lee. That night, Lee and General "Stonewall" Jackson came up with one
of the boldest plans of the war. On May 2, Lee split his army up again, sending Stonewall Jackson's entire force on a mission to attack the Union. Jackson, led 30,000 Confederates through a long route to the Union right and from there execute an attack that exposed the Union flank.
While doing a personal scouting mission in advance of his line, Jackson was wounded by fire at night from his own men close in between the lines. Forcing Stonewall Jackson’s arm to have amputated. Major General J. E. B. Stuart temporarily replaced him as corps commander. The May 2nd flank attack stunned the Union troops and threatened Hooker’s position.The deadliest fighting of the battle, and the second bloodiest day of the Civil War, happened on May 3 as general Lee sent multiple attacks on the Union position at Chancellorsville, resulting in heavy losses on both sides. The Confederate army kept up their attack and forced Hooker’s larger army back to a new defensive line closer to the fords. Heading east, Lee defeated a separate Union force at Salem Church that had threatened his rear. That same day, general Sedgwick went across the Rappahannock River, defeated the small Confederate force at Marye's Heights in the Second Battle of Fredericksburg, and then moved to the west. The Confederate army fought a successful fight at the Battle of Salem Church and by May 4 had forced back general Sedgwick's men to Banks' Ford, surrounding them on three
sides. Sedgwick pulled back his troops across the ford early on May 5, and Hooker pulled back the remainder of his army across U.S. Ford the night of May 5–6. The battle ended on May 7 when Stoneman's forces reached Union lines east of Richmond. After being greatly outnumbered, Lee successfully defeated the Union army. this battle is known to be general Lee’s greatest victory in the war. The estimated casualties for the Union is 17,000, while the casualties for the Confederates is 13,000, with nearly 40,000 combined casualties.