The Battle of Chancellorsville
The Union soldiers
were led by "Fighting" Joe Hooker.
In appearance, personality, and lifestyle, these men were nearly
perfect opposites. Lee, an older man in poor health with a gray beard,
had a somber, measured demeanor. Hooker was a blond, strapping
young man whose vanity over his appearance was but one aspect of his
egotism. Whereas Lee was devout and principled, Hooker was known
for his rollicking enjoyment of both women and whiskey.
Despite the fact that the Confederacy had won the last four major battles and the Union soldiers
were famished, exhausted, and demoralized, Hooker proclaimed, "My plans are perfect. And when I start
to carry them out, may God have mercy on Bobby Lee, for I shall have none." Why, aside from a
propensity for narcissism, was Hooker so confident?
Hooker had used spies, analysts, and even hot air balloons to compile a vast amount of
intelligence about Lee’s army. He had discerned, for example, that Lee had only 61,000 men to Hooker’s
own 134,000. Buoyed by his superior numbers, Hooker covertly moved 70,000 of his men fifteen miles up
and across the river, and then ordered them to sneak back down to position themselves behind Lee’s
army. In effect, Hooker had cut off the Confederate soldiers in front and behind. They were trapped.
Satisfied with his advantage, Hooker became convinced that Lee’s only option was to retreat to
Richmond, thus assuring a Union victory.
Yet Lee, despite his disadvantages of both numbers and position, did not retreat. Instead, he
moved his troops into position to attack. Union soldiers who tried to warn Hooker that Lee was on the
offensive were dismissed as cowards. Having become convinced that Lee had no choice but to retreat,
Hooker began to ignore reality. When Lee’s army attacked the Union soldiers at 5:00 p.m., they were
eating supper, completely unprepared for battle. They abandoned their rifles and fled as Lee’s troops
came shrieking out of the brush, bayonets drawn. Against all odds, Lee won the Battle of Chancellorsville,
and Hooker’s forces withdrew in defeat.