Episode 57 - Lee's Greatest Victory

In December 1862 and May 1863, Robert E. Lee defeated two Union armies that heavily outnumbered his own. Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville are the clearest picture we have of the Army of Northern Virginia at its peak. Chancellorsville also cost the Confederacy Stonewall Jackson, shot by his own men and dead within a week.

Key Takeaways

Fredericksburg (December 13, 1862) was one of the most lopsided Union losses of the war. Union casualties topped 12,500, more than double the Confederate count.
Burnside's pontoon-bridge crossing under fire from Barksdale's Mississippi sharpshooters delayed the Union advance long enough for Lee to fortify Marye's Heights.
Chancellorsville (May 1 to 4, 1863) is remembered as Lee's boldest victory. Outnumbered nearly two to one, he split his army in the face of the enemy and sent Jackson on a flank march through the Wilderness to hit the Union right at dusk on May 2.
Stonewall Jackson was shot by his own men on the night of May 2 after being mistaken for enemy cavalry. His left arm was amputated. He died of pneumonia on May 10.
Lincoln's reaction to the Chancellorsville defeat captured how close the war came to political collapse in May 1863: "My God. My God. What will the country say?"

FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: Why did the Union lose so badly at Fredericksburg?

Burnside's plan required crossing the Rappahannock and attacking Lee on high ground at Marye's Heights. Confederate artillery and infantry behind a stone wall at the Sunken Road cut down repeated Union assaults across open ground. Union casualties reached 12,500, more than twice the Confederate count.

Q2: How did Stonewall Jackson die?

On the night of May 2, 1863, Jackson rode out past Confederate lines to scout the terrain. When he and his officers returned, North Carolina troops mistook them for Union cavalry and opened fire. Jackson was hit three times. His left arm was amputated. He developed pneumonia and died on May 10 at Guinea Station, Virginia.

Q3: Why is Chancellorsville considered Lee's greatest victory?

Lee had roughly 50,000 troops concentrated near Chancellorsville against Hooker's 70,000 initial crossing, with another 25,000 Union reinforcements joining before the battle ended. Lee split his army in the face of the enemy, sent Jackson on a wide flank march through dense forest, and attacked the Union right at dusk on May 2. Hooker retreated across the Rappahannock by May 6. Military historians still study the campaign as a textbook example of audacity against a larger force.

Q4: What was the Wilderness and why did it matter at Chancellorsville?

The Wilderness was an area of dense second-growth forest and tangled underbrush surrounding Chancellorsville. It limited visibility to a few dozen yards, broke up unit cohesion, and made artillery almost useless. Lee used the terrain to hide Jackson's flank march from Union observation. The same ground would become a battlefield again one year later.

Q5: How did Lincoln respond to the Chancellorsville defeat?

When Lincoln learned that Hooker had retreated, he said, "My God. My God. What will the country say?" His concern was less military than political. Two years into the war, the Union needed a victory to maintain public support. Gettysburg, two months later, would provide it.

After Antietam: A New Union Commander

On September 17, 1862, the Battle of Antietam had ended inconclusively. But because Lee's invasion of the North had been stopped, Lincoln hailed Antietam a strategic victory. Union General George McClellan, however, failed to pursue Lee and his army as they retreated across the Potomac and back into Virginia. To President Lincoln's mind, this was the last straw in a mounting record of McClellan's overly cautious leadership. In early November, the president replaced him with Ambrose Burnside. On his part, Lee would make the most of his opportunity, there in his home state, at the Battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville.

The Crossing at Fredericksburg

Just before dawn on December 11, 1862, Fredericksburg, Virginia sat quietly along the Rappahannock River. General Ambrose Burnside sought a rapid crossing, and so his army engineers began laying pontoon bridges. The first shots came in the pre-dawn hours, when sharpshooters in William Barksdale's Mississippi brigade, situated in the abandoned buildings on the other side, opened fire on the engineers. Their repeated fire delayed the Union crossing for hours. Union troops eventually crossed, engaging in fierce urban combat. The army crossed on December 11 and 12, and the soldiers looted much of the abandoned town. For historical maps of the crossing and the surrounding campaign, visit the HISTORY250® maps library.

Marye's Heights and the Sunken Road

Lee had positioned his army on strong defensive ground, anchored on the heights behind town. The terrain at Marye's Heights provided a near-perfect defensive position. Confederate artillery officer Edward Porter Alexander described it: "a chicken could not live on that field when we open on it." Burnside planned for William B. Franklin's 60,000 men to attack the Confederate forces under Stonewall Jackson, while the rest would target James Longstreet and his forces at Marye's Heights. On December 13, Longstreet's troops held a deadly line behind a stone wall at the Sunken Road. Wave after wave of Union soldiers advanced across open ground and were cut down.

General Edwin V. Sumner ordered repeated assaults. All of them failed. To the south, at Prospect Hill and Hamilton's Crossing, Union forces attacked Jackson's line. George Meade briefly broke through but could not hold. Confederate generals Longstreet, Lafayette McLaws, Jubal Early, and Cadmus Wilcox held firm. Union leaders Winfield Scott Hancock and Darius Couch pressed on but failed. Burnside withdrew. Fredericksburg ended as one of the most lopsided losses in the war. Union forces suffered 12,500 casualties, more than twice the number among the Confederates.

Fighting Joe Hooker Takes Command

Nearly five months later, fighting shifted to Chancellorsville, a crossroads surrounded by dense forest called the Wilderness. The terrain greatly limited visibility and made communication difficult. After Fredericksburg, Burnside had been replaced by Joseph Hooker, known as Fighting Joe Hooker. When he took over the Army of the Potomac, morale was low and desertion at an all-time high, with one hundred or more soldiers deserting each day. Hooker reorganized the army, boosted morale, and dramatically slowed the desertion rate. In anticipation of crossing swords with his Confederate counterpart, the confident Union commander allegedly said: "May God have mercy on General Lee, for I will have none."

Jackson's Flank March Through the Wilderness

Lee had left 10,000 of his men under the command of Jubal Early to hold Fredericksburg. He concentrated the rest near Chancellorsville, altogether about 50,000 rebel troops. By April 29, more than 70,000 Union forces had crossed the Rappahannock. Another 25,000 would join them before the three-day battle was over. On May 1, troops clashed at Zoan Church. Lafayette McLaws and his rebels pushed Union forces back. Richard H. Anderson halted another advance. Hooker then made a critical mistake, ordering a withdrawal to Chancellorsville and allowing Lee to seize the initiative. On May 2, under Jackson's lead, 30,000 Confederates slipped into the dense woods and stealthily moved behind the Union lines. At 5:00 PM, Jackson's men burst from the woods screaming the rebel yell, then routed Union troops of the Eleventh Corps, commanded by Oliver Howard. They pushed Howard and the corps back two miles.

The Wounding of Stonewall Jackson

That night, Lee suffered a severe loss. Intent on maintaining the aggressive push against the Union forces, Stonewall Jackson and several of his officers rode out after dark to scout the terrain. They returned at a trot, and their arrival was mistaken for enemy cavalry. Around 9:00 to 9:15 PM, Jackson was accidentally shot by his own men from the 18th North Carolina Infantry. He was struck three times, twice in the left arm and once in the right hand. Shortly after midnight on May 3, Jackson's injured arm was amputated. When Lee heard the news, he replied, "He has lost his left arm, but I have lost my right." Jackson's command passed to JEB Stuart, who kept up the aggressive attacks on the Union.

Lee's Greatest Victory

Later in the day on May 3, Confederates broke through Union lines. Meanwhile, John Sedgwick advanced from Fredericksburg, threatening Lee's army from the rear. Lee sent a division to counterattack, which left only 25,000 Confederate troops to match Hooker's more than 70,000.

On May 4, Sedgwick was forced back by McLaws and Early. Hooker took little action himself that day. Worse yet, he ordered a withdrawal of a corps at Hazel Grove, which allowed Stuart and Lee to join their forces there and situate their artillery at high ground. Hooker kept three other Union corps idle during the day's battle. At one point, a Confederate cannonball struck Hooker's headquarters, stunning the commander and leaving him dazed. By battle's end, Hooker, whose forces had greatly outnumbered the rebel enemy, retreated across the Rappahannock. Chancellorsville proved to be Lee's greatest victory. When President Lincoln heard the news of Hooker's defeat, his response was a mix of shock and political worry: "My God. My God. What will the country say?"

Jackson's Death at Guinea Station

As for Stonewall Jackson, in the aftermath of his surgery he developed pneumonia from complications and exposure. He died May 10, 1863, at the Fairfield plantation office at Guinea Station, Virginia. His last words: "Let us cross over the river and rest under the shade of the trees." Jackson was buried in Lexington, Virginia, where he had taught before the war at Virginia Military Institute and where his widow Mary Anna Jackson and their daughter Julia lived. His amputated arm was buried separately, at Ellwood Manor, several miles from where he died. The next major clash would come two months later in Pennsylvania. For the full HISTORY250® series covering every free documentary episode on American history, visit the series index.