For the South in the Civil War, there were many astonishing victories, and heartbreaking defeats- from Thomas Jackson earning his nickname, "Stonewall," on the Henry House Hill at Bull Run, to the decimation of Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg. However, one Southern victory may be hailed as the South's finest hour. This victory came at the Battle of Chancellorsville.

The spring of 1863 saw a small pinhole of light at the end of a dark tunnel for the Confederacy. Robert E. Lee had just given Ambrose Burnside and the Northern army a terrible lashing at Fredericksburg, saving Richmond from Union attack. Meanwhile, in the West, Ulysses Grant was bogged down trying to figure a plan of attack on the Mississippian stronghold of Vicksburg. Burnside's defeat the previous December at Fredericksburg and his even less impressive "Mud March" retreat promptly led to his removal from head of the Army of the Potomac.

In Burnside's position, Lincoln placed Joseph "Fightin' Joe" Hooker. Lincoln saw Hooker as popular with his troops and an aggressive general. Initially, Hooker did not disappoint Lincoln. He cleaned up the camps, drilled the men rigorously, upgraded the army's food, and boosted the troops' morale. Hooker was very confident of his abilities and this confidence sometimes worried Lincoln. Hooker told his Commander-In-Chief that it was not a matter of IF he could capture Richmond, but WHEN.

April of 1863 found Lee encamped at Fredericksburg and Hooker stationed just across the Rappahannock River. The Army of Northern Virginia under Lee totaled almost 60,000 men, while the Army of the Potomac enjoyed a population of 115,000 soldiers. Hooker's grand plan was to keep Lee's men at Fredericksburg entertained by leaving a portion of his army at Lee's front, while his main force-marched around behind Lee. They were to destroy the Rebel army from behind and then march on Richmond. "Fightin' Joe" Hooker began moving his troops toward Chancellorsville in Lee's rear on April 27th.

He sent a cavalry raid on Lee's communication and supply lines with Richmond to screen his movements and also sent 40,000 men to keep Lee's attention in his front. The ever-attentive Lee, however, was fully aware of what Hooker was doing. He had done it many times himself. Lee remained on the standby and waited for Hooker's plans to develope more fully. No sooner had Hooker's cavalry moved than its movements were reported to Lee by his own brilliant cavalry leader, J.E.B. Stuart. Lee then decided it was time to react. He had two choices. One, he could turn tail in retreat toward the safe havens of Richmond. His other choice was to face the threat to the rear from Chancellorsville which, in turn, would leave him open to attack from the Union troops Hooker had left at Fredericksburg. Here, Lee made one of the boldest, most brilliant moves of the war.

He went completely against conventional West Point wisdom and split his army in the face of a larger numbered foe. This move left only 10,000 Confederates to defend against the 40,000 Union troops at Fredericksburg. Nevertheless, on April 30, the main body of Lee's forces marching toward Chancellorsville numbered only 50,000 troops against the Union's 70,000.

On May 1st, the Yankees were marching hard toward Fredericksburg, while the Rebels were marching hard toward Chancellorsville. In the middle of the dense, tangled growth of the Wilderness, the Battle of Chancellorsville gently began. Gently because right at the moment he met Confederate resistance, "Fightin' Joe" quickly withdrew his troops back to the trenches around Chancellorsville. This action gave Lee the initiative and he took advantage of it. During a council of war, the great minds of Generals Lee and Stonewall Jackson concluded that the right flank of the Union army was weakly protected and agreed on a plan of attack on that position for the next day, May 2.

Lee once again shot the then modern school of military thought all to pieces by splitting his army a second time. Lee gave Jackson 25,000 men to be at his disposal on May 2nd. At 4:30 in the morning, Jackson's troops began a very daring flanking march. Led on the backroads by a pastor from a local church, his troops remained undetected by the Union forces until early in the afternoon. When the rear of Jackson's troops was spotted, it was thought by the Yankees that Lee was retreating. Hooker sent a detachment of Daniel Sickles's Corps to find out just what was going on, but a small skirmish broke out and they returned to camp without the information they set out to retrieve. Jackson remained a secret.

The most unfortunate lot of men during the Battle of Chancellorsville was the XI Corps under the command of Union General Oliver O. Howard, which composed the Union right flank. This corps was made up primarily of German- Americans who were not particularly liked by the other Union troops. At about 5:30pm, while the XI Corps was cooking and eating supper, and playing cards, a few deer came running through the camp announcing the arrival of Jackson's troops. Jackson had completely caught the XI Corps off guard and totally demolished the Union right. Panic overcame the Union troops and they were easily pushed back two miles before the Confederate advance was halted by darkness and Union artillery. Jackson's march was a complete success. Wanting to continue with a night attack, Jackson and members of his staff ventured into the darkness to make a reconnaissance ride. Here, the South received its greatest loss of the war. A jumpy North Carolina regiment, thinking Jackson and his staff were Union cavalry, fired into the group, striking Jackson three times. Jackson was taken to the hospital, where his left arm was amputated. Lee, hearing of Jackson's accident and amputation said of Jackson, "He is lucky, for he has lost his left arm, but I have lost my right." Ten days later, General Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson died of pneumonia. His presence was terribly missed through the rest of the war.

Even though he was badly whipped on May 2, Hooker still was not in a terribly bad position when fighting resumed on the third. He gained reinforcements over the night and his numerically greater army lay between the two parts of Lee's divided army. Yet, Hooker could only think of defense and his troops were once again thrown into a pitched battle until Lee's artillery caught the union troops in a crossfire in Chancellorsville Clearing. By this time, Hooker had sent for reinforcements from Fredericksburg. While Hooker was falling back to his final position, the Fredericksburg troops overran the Rebel defenders and were on their way to help Hooker. Lee left a skeleton force to watch Hooker and turned the rest of his men to meet Sedgewick's troops at Salem Church and prevented them from coming to the aid of Hooker.

The two armies stayed still on the day of the fourth and on the fifth of May, "Fightin' Joe" Hooker withdrew back across the Rappahannock River.

Lee's boldness and audacity were exemplified in the Battle of Chancellorsville. He went against his and every general's training and split his army into three separate forces in the face of a superior numbered foe. Jackson then carried out an extremely successful 15 mile flanking movement and annihilated his opposition. The Army of Northern Virginia destroyed a very formidable army of twice its size, then defeated that army's reinforcements, giving the South its finest hour of the Civil War.

Description: On May 1, Gen. Robert E. Lee left Maj. Gen. Jubal A. Early's division to hold Fredericksburg, while marching with the rest of the army to meet Hooker's main offensive thrust at Chancellorsville. On May 3, the Union VI Corps under Sedgwick, reinforced by John Gibbon's II Corps division, having crossed the Rappahannock River, assaulted and carried the Confederate entrenchments on Marye's Heights. The outnumbered Confederates withdrew and regrouped west and southeast of town.

Result(s): Union victory

Description: Gen. Robert E. Lee concentrated his full strength against Maj. Gen. George G. Meade's Army of the Potomac at the crossroads county seat of Gettysburg. On July 1, Confederate forces converged on the town from west and north, driving Union defenders back through the streets to Cemetery Hill. During the night, reinforcements arrived for both sides. On July 2, Lee attempted to envelop the Federals, first striking the Union left flank at the Peach Orchard, Wheatfield, Devil's Den, and the Round Tops with Longstreet's and Hill's divisions, and then attacking the Union right at Culp's and East Cemetery Hills with Ewell's divisions. By evening, the Federals retained Little Round Top and had repulsed most of Ewell's men. During the morning of July 3, the Confederate infantry were driven from their last toe-hold on Culp's Hill. In the afternoon, after a preliminary artillery bombardment, Lee attacked the Union center on Cemetery Ridge. The Pickett - Pettigrew assault (more popularly, Pickett's Charge) momentarily pierced the Union line but was driven back with severe casualties. Stuart's cavalry attempted to gain the Union rear but was repulsed. On July 4, Lee began withdrawing his army toward Williamsport on the Potomac River. His train of wounded stretched more than fourteen miles.

Result(s): Union victory

Description: On July 8, the Confederate cavalry, holding the South Mountain passes, fought a rearguard action against elements of the Union 1st and 3rd Cavalry Divisions and infantry. This action was one of a series of cavalry combats fought around Boonsboro, Hagerstown, and Williamsport.

Result(s): Inconclusive

During the night of July 4-5, Lee's battered army began its retreat from Gettysburg, moving southwest on the Fairfield Road toward Hagerstown and Williamsport, screened by Stuart's cavalry. The Union infantry followed cautiously the next day, converging on Middletown, Maryland. On July 7, Imboden (CS) stopped Buford's Union cavalry from occupying Williamsport and destroying Confederate trains. Kilpatrick's cavalry division drove two Confederate cavalry brigades through Hagerstown before being forced to retire by the arrival of the rest of Stuart's command. Lee's infantry reached the rain-swollen Potomac River but could not cross, the pontoon bridge having been destroyed by a cavalry raid. On July 11, Lee entrenched a line, protecting the river crossings at Williamsport and waited for Meade's army to advance. July 12, Meade reached the vicinity and probed the Confederate line. July 13, skirmishing was heavy along the lines as Meade positioned his forces for an attack. In the meantime, the river fell enough to allow the construction of a new bridge, and Lee's army began crossing the river after dark on the 13th. On the morning of the 14th, Kilpatrick's and Buford's cavalry divisions attacked the rearguard division of Henry Heth still on the north bank, taking more than 500 prisoners. Confederate Brig. Gen. James Pettigrew was mortally wounded in the fight. On July 16, David McM. Gregg's cavalry approached Shepherdstown where Fitzhugh Lee's and J.R. Chambliss's brigades, supported by M.J. Ferguson's, held the Potomac River fords against the Union infantry. Fitzhugh Lee and Chambliss attacked Gregg, who held out against several attacks and sorties, fighting sporadically until nightfall when he withdrew.

Result(s): Inconclusive

Description: Payne's Farm and New Hope Church were the first and heaviest clashes of the Mine Run Campaign. In late November 1863, Meade attempted to steal a march through the Wilderness and strike the right flank of the Confederate army south of the Rapidan River. Maj. Gen. Jubal A. Early in command of Ewell's Corps marched east on the Orange Turnpike to meet the advance of William French's III Corps near Payne's Farm. Carr's division (US) attacked twice. Johnson's division (CS) counterattacked but was scattered by heavy fire and broken terrain. After dark, Lee withdrew to prepared field fortifications along Mine Run. The next day the Union army closed on the Confederate position. Skirmishing was heavy, but a major attack did not materialize. Meade concluded that the Confederate line was too strong to attack and retired during the night of December 1-2, ending the winter campaign.

Result(s): Inconclusive