Decisions at Chancellorsville: The Sixteen Critical Decisions That Defined the Battle

Having won a considerable victory at Fredericksburg only months earlier, Gen. Robert E. Lee would again be tested by Gen. Joseph Hooker and the Federal Army at Chancellorsville. Hooker and the bulk of his army crossed the Rappahannock River at dawn on April 27, 1863, in conjunction with cavalry raids from Maj. Gen. George Stoneman. But Lee boldly divided his army, leaving a small force to defend Fredericksburg and attacking Hooker with the remainder of the Army of Northern Virginia. As the battle wore on, Lee launched multiple attacks on Hooker’s defenses resulting in massive casualties for both sides. Lee divided his army again, sending Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson’s corps on a flanking maneuver that infamously resulted in the general’s injury by friendly fire and eventual death. Though the Confederate Army’s victory was assured, Lee equated the loss of Stonewall Jackson to the loss of his right hand, and as many months later Lee would find his army in a tide-turning defeat at the Battle of Gettysburg. 

Decisions at Chancellorsville explores the critical decisions made by Confederate and Federal commanders during the campaign and how these decisions shaped its outcome. Rather than offering a history of the operation, Sarah Bierle hones in on a sequence of decisions made by commanders on both sides of the contest to provide a blueprint of the campaign at its tactical core. Identifying and exploring the critical decisions in this way allows students of the battles to progress from a knowledge of what happened to a mature grasp of why events happened. 

Complete with maps and a driving tour, Decisions at Chancellorsville is an indispensable primer, and readers looking for a concise introduction to the battles can tour this sacred ground—or read about it at their leisure—with key insights into the campaign and a deeper understanding of the Civil War itself. 

Decisions at Chancellorsville is the twenty-second in a series of books that explores the critical decisions of major campaigns and battles of the Civil War.