Battle of Chancellorsville

May 1–6, 1863 · Eastern Theater

Phases

1. 1Apr 30–May 1 — Hooker CrossesApril 30 – May 1, 1863
2. 2May 2, Day — Jackson’s Flank MarchMay 2, 1863 — 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM
3. 3May 2, 5:15 PM — The Flank AttackMay 2, 1863 — 5:15 PM to Midnight
4. 4May 3 — The Bloodiest MorningMay 3, 1863 — 5:30 to 10:00 AM
5. 5May 3–6 — Salem Church & WithdrawalMay 3–6, 1863

April 30 – May 1, 1863

“May God have mercy on General Lee, for I will have none.” Hooker executes a brilliant opening: three corps swing far upriver and descend on Lee’s rear at the Chancellorsville crossroads while Sedgwick pins him at Fredericksburg. Lee refuses both retreat and the script — leaving 10,000 under Early at Fredericksburg, he marches the rest west. When the columns collide on May 1, Hooker inexplicably orders his army back into a defensive ring in the tangled second-growth forest called the Wilderness — surrendering the initiative to the most dangerous man in America.

• ➤V, XI & XII Corps — The flank march descends on Lee’s rear
• ➤Sedgwick’s VI Corps — Pins Lee at Fredericksburg
• ➤Lee & Jackson — March west to meet the real threat
• ●Chancellorsville — one brick mansion in the Wilderness