Popular Chancellorsville Campaign Books

9+ [Hand Picked] Popular Books On Chancellorsville Campaign

4.5/5

The Union Sixth Army Corps in the Chancellorsville Campaign: A Study of the Engagements of Second Fredericksburg, Salem Church and Banks's Ford, May 3-4, 1863 by Philip W. Parsons

The winter of 1862-1863 found the Union's Army of the Potomac in sad shape. Bloody battles, multiple defeats, lack of adequate provisions and high desertion rates had left even the hardiest Union soldiers dispirited. With Major General Joseph Hooker's advent to the army command, he set about revamping the army's conditions, establishing a generous furlough program, impleme The winter of 1862-1863 found the Union's Army of the Potomac in sad shape. Bloody battles, multiple defeats, lack of adequate provisions and high desertion rates had left even the hardiest Union soldiers dispirited. With Major General Joseph Hooker's advent to the army command, he set about revamping the army's conditions, establishing a generous furlough program, implementing a system of corps insignia and setting new sanitary standards. While his administrative efforts were extremely successful, his battlefield manner left something to be desired. Instructed by President Lincoln to make the destruction of General Lee's Army of Northern Virginia the Union's top priority, Hooker mounted the Chancellorsville Campaign. Lee's aggressive battlefield manner coupled with Hooker's failure to initiate an assault led to a sound defeat by Confederate forces and left Hooker - who ultimately had only himself and his lack of initiative to blame - looking for a scapegoat. Among those Hooker attempted to hold responsible was the courageous Sixth Army Corps, the unit responsible for the sole Union victory of the entire campaign. This military history focuses on the battlefield engagements of the

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4/5

Chancellorsville by Stephen W. Sears

Sears describes the series of controversial events that define this crucial battle, including General Robert E. Lee's radical decision to divide his small army - a violation of basic military rules - sending Stonewall Jackson on his famous march around the Union army flank. Jackson's death - accidentally shot by one of his own soldiers - is one of the many fascinating stor Sears describes the series of controversial events that define this crucial battle, including General Robert E. Lee's radical decision to divide his small army - a violation of basic military rules - sending Stonewall Jackson on his famous march around the Union army flank. Jackson's death - accidentally shot by one of his own soldiers - is one of the many fascinating stories included in this definitive account of the battle of Chancellorsville.

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4.4/5

Under the Crescent Moon with the XI Corps in the Civil War: From the Defenses of Washington to Chancellorsville, 1862-1863 by James Pula

-The Eleventh Corps served in the Army of the Potomac for just twelve months (September 1862-August 1863), but during that time played a pivotal role in the critical battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, hastened westward to reinforce a Union army in besieged Chattanooga, and then marched through brutal December weather without adequate clothing, shoes, or provisions -The Eleventh Corps served in the Army of the Potomac for just twelve months (September 1862-August 1863), but during that time played a pivotal role in the critical battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, hastened westward to reinforce a Union army in besieged Chattanooga, and then marched through brutal December weather without adequate clothing, shoes, or provisions to help rescue a second Northern army, this one under siege in Knoxville, Tennessee. Despite its sacrifices in the Eastern campaigns and successes in Tennessee, the reputation of the Eleventh Corps is one of cowardice and failure. James J. Pula sets the record straight in his two-volume study Under the Crescent Moon: The Eleventh Corps in the American Civil War, 1862-1864. Under the Crescent Moon (a reference to the crescent badge assigned to the corps) is the first study of this misunderstood organization. The first volume, From the Defenses of Washington to Chancellorsville, opens with the organization of the corps and a lively description of the men in the ranks, the officers who led them, the regiments forming it, and the German immigrants who comprised a sizable portion of the corps. Once this foundation is set, the narrative flows briskly through the winter of 1862-63 on the way to the first major campaign at Chancellorsville. Although the brunt of Stonewall Jackson's flank attack fell upon the men of the Eleventh Corps, the manner in which they fought and many other details of that misunderstood struggle are fully examined here for the first time, and at a depth no other study has attempted. Pula's extraordinary research and penetrating analysis offers a fresh interpretation of the Chancellorsville defeat while challenging long-held myths about that fateful field. The second volume, From Gettysburg to Victory, offers seven entire chapters portraying the Eleventh Corps at Gettysburg, followed by a rich exploration of the corps' participation in the fighting around Chattanooga, its grueling journey into Eastern Tennessee in the dead of winter, and its role in the Knoxville Campaign. Once the corps' two divisions are broken up in early 1864 to serve elsewhere, Pula follows their experiences through to the war's successful conclusion. Under the Crescent Moon draws extensively on primary sources and allows the participants to speak directly to readers. The result is a comprehensive personalized portrait of the men who fought in the -unlucky- Eleventh Corps, from the difficulties they faced to the accomplishments they earned. As the author demonstrates time and again, the men of the Eleventh Corps were good soldiers unworthy of the stigma that has haunted them to this day. This long overdue study will stand as the definitive history of the Eleventh Corps.-

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4.3/5

Chancellorsville and the Germans: Nativism, Ethnicity, and Civil War Memory by Christian Keller

Often called Lee's greatest triumph, the battle of Chancellorsville decimated the Union Eleventh Corps, composed of large numbers of German-speaking volunteers. Poorly deployed, the unit was routed by "Stonewall" Jackson and became the scapegoat for the Northern defeat, blamed by many on the "flight" of German immigrant troops. The impact on America's large German communit Often called Lee's greatest triumph, the battle of Chancellorsville decimated the Union Eleventh Corps, composed of large numbers of German-speaking volunteers. Poorly deployed, the unit was routed by "Stonewall" Jackson and became the scapegoat for the Northern defeat, blamed by many on the "flight" of German immigrant troops. The impact on America's large German community was devastating. But there is much more to the story than that. Drawing for the first time on German-language newspapers, soldiers' letters, memoirs, and regimental records, Christian Keller reconstructs the battle and its aftermath from the German-American perspective, military and civilian. He offers a fascinating window into a misunderstood past, one where the German soldiers' valor has been either minimized or dismissed as cowardly. He critically analyzes the performance of the German regiments and documents the impact of nativism on Anglo-American and German-American reactions--and on German self-perceptions as patriots and Americans. For German-Americans, the ghost of Chancellorsville lingered long, and Keller traces its effects not only on ethnic identity, but also on the dynamics of inclusion and assimilation in American life.

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4.3/5

Chancellorsville Battlefield (includes Fredericksburg and Salem Church), Spotsylvania County, Virginia by Earl B. McElfresh

Robert E. Lee's great Pyrrhic victory: he won the battle but lost Stonewall Jackson. Scale: 1"= 1 mile Map image: 211/2" x 13" Overall size: 18" x 28" Style: Watercolor and colored pencil map showing crops, fences, houses, farms, watercourses, woods and significant terrain. No troop movements depicted. Reverse side: Text includes an account of Jedadiah Hotchkiss's mapping Robert E. Lee's great Pyrrhic victory: he won the battle but lost Stonewall Jackson. Scale: 1"= 1 mile Map image: 211/2" x 13" Overall size: 18" x 28" Style: Watercolor and colored pencil map showing crops, fences, houses, farms, watercourses, woods and significant terrain. No troop movements depicted. Reverse side: Text includes an account of Jedadiah Hotchkiss's mapping of the Chancellorsville Battlefield after the May 1863 confederate victory. Reproductions include Hotchkiss's map in full color, three pages from his sketchbook, and a photograph of some of his surveying instruments. Also reproduced is a map by fellow Confederate mapmaker, W.W. Blackford. Packaged in a reusable sleeve. A History Book Club Selection.

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4/5

Guide to the Battle of Chancellorsville and Fredericksburg by Jay Luvaas (Editor) , Harold W. Nelson (Editor)

The battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, 1862-63, were remarkable in several respects. Both revealed the problems of mounting a serious attack at night and provided the first examples of the now-familiar trench warfare. Fredericksburg featured street fighting and river crossings under fire. Chancellorsville was marked by Stonewall Jackson's death and the rare in The battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, 1862-63, were remarkable in several respects. Both revealed the problems of mounting a serious attack at night and provided the first examples of the now-familiar trench warfare. Fredericksburg featured street fighting and river crossings under fire. Chancellorsville was marked by Stonewall Jackson's death and the rare instance of mounted cavalry attacking infantry. In addition, the latter battle also demonstrated in striking fashion the profound influence of the commander on the battle. The Union committed more soldiers, supplies, money, and better equipment than did the Confederacy, and yet Lee won. Eyewitness accounts by battle participants make these guides an invaluable resource for travelers and nontravelers who want a greater understanding of five of the most devastating yet influential years in our nation's history. Explicit directions to points of interest and maps--illustrating the action and showing the detail of troop position, roads, rivers, elevations, and tree lines as they were 130 years ago--help bring the battles to life. In the field, these guides can be used to recreate each battle's setting and proportions, giving the reader a sense of the tension and fear each soldier must have felt as he faced his enemy.

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4.2/5

Chancellorsville's Forgotten Front: The Battles of Second Fredericksburg and Salem Church, May 3, 1863 by Chris Mackowski , Kristopher D. White

By May of 1863, the Stone Wall at the base of Marye s Heights above Fredericksburg loomed large over the Army of the Potomac, haunting its men with memories of slaughter from their crushing defeat there the previous December. They would assault it again with a very different result the following spring when General Joe Hooker, bogged down in bloody battle with the Army of By May of 1863, the Stone Wall at the base of Marye s Heights above Fredericksburg loomed large over the Army of the Potomac, haunting its men with memories of slaughter from their crushing defeat there the previous December. They would assault it again with a very different result the following spring when General Joe Hooker, bogged down in bloody battle with the Army of Northern Virginia around the crossroads of Chancellorsville, ordered John Sedgwick s Sixth Corps to assault the heights and move to his assistance. This time the Union troops wrested the wall and high ground from the Confederates and drove west into the enemy s rear. The inland drive stalled in heavy fighting at Salem Church. Chancellorsville s Forgotten Front: The Battles of Second Fredericksburg and Salem Church, May 3, 1863 is the first book-length study of these overlooked engagements and the central roles they played in the final Southern victory.Once Hooker opened the campaign with a brilliant march around General Lee s left flank, the Confederate commander violated military principles by dividing his under-strength army in the face of superior numbers. He shuttled most of his men west from around Fredericksburg under Stonewall Jackson to meet Hooker in the tangles of the Wilderness, leaving behind a small portion to watch Sedgwick s Sixth Corps. Jackson s devastating attack against Hooker s exposed right flank on May 2, however, convinced the Union army commander to order Sedgwick s large, unused corps to break through and march against Lee s rear. From that point on, Chancellorsville s Forgotten Front tightens the lens for a thorough examination of the decision-making, movements, and fighting that led to the breakthrough, inland thrust, and ultimate bloody stalemate at Salem Church.Authors Chris Mackowski and Kristopher D. White have long appreciated the pivotal roles Second Fredericksburg and Salem Church played in the campaign, and just how close the Southern army came to grief and the Union army to stunning success. Together they seamlessly weave their extensive newspaper, archival, and firsthand research into a compelling narrative to better understand these combats, which usually garner little more than a footnote to the larger story of Jackson s march and tragic fatal wounding.The success at Second Fredericksburg was one of the Union army s few bright spots in the campaign, while the setback at Salem Church stands as its most devastating lost opportunity. Instead of being trapped between the Sixth Corps hammer and Fighting Joe Hooker s anvil, Lee overcame long odds to achieve what is widely recognized as his greatest victory. But Lee s triumph played out as it did because of the pivotal events at Second Fredericksburg and Salem Church Chancellorsville s forgotten front where Union soldiers once more faced the horror of an indomitable wall of stone, and an undersized Confederate division stood up to a Union juggernaut.REVIEWS Too often historians have treated the battles of Second Fredericksburg and Salem Church as mere footnotes to the greater Chancellorsville campaign. In Chancellorsville s Forgotten Front, Mackowski and White bring the story to the forefront where it belongs, and they do so in a style at once entertaining and evocative. Donald Pfanz, award-winning author of Richard S. Ewell: A Soldier s Life Mackowski s and White s Chancellorsville s Forgotten Front is not just a micro-study of a small portion of a large campaign, but a study of the campaign from the perspective of overlooked battles. Anyone who thinks Second Fredericksburg, Salem Church, and Banks Ford were insignificant engagements are about to discover that the Federals who fought and died in these actions were not left behind simply as decoys, and the fighting so wonderfully researched and described had a direct effect on the entire campaign. Greg Mertz, supervisory historian, Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park Most studies of Chancellorsville focus on the fighting around the Chancellor house and on Stonewall Jackson s flank attack and mortal wounding. Few remember the campaign s second front at Fredericksburg and the intense deadly combat at Salem Church, where nearly 30,000 Federal troops of Sedgwick s VI Corps battled for their lives against Jubal Early s division and elements of Longstreet s First Corps. This stunning oversight has finally been corrected by historians Mackowski and White. Their readable, enjoyable, and deeply researched micro-tactical study is a must for anyone interested in Civil War battles in general, and Chancellorsville in particular. Eric J. Wittenberg, award-winning Civil War author Chris Mackowski and Kristopher White s Chancellorsville s Forgotten Front focuses on an overlooked and yet complex part of Fighting Joe Hooker s 1863 effort to defeat Robert E. Lee. Their study is simply first-rate, and should not and cannot be overlooked by anyone trying to understand the full importance of the Chancellorsville campaign. Lance J. Herdegen, award-winning author of The Iron Brigade in Civil War and Memory Chancellorsville s Forgotten Front is sure to be among the best Civil War books published this year. Mackowski and White demonstrate the importance of this all-too-often neglected part of campaign with authenticity and eloquence. Their research is exhaustive, and their passion for the subject obvious. If you think you know all about Chancellorsville, think again. Professional historians and amateurs alike will gain new information and fresh insight by reading this book, and come away with a better appreciation for, and knowledge of, Lee s greatest victory. Mike Stevens, President, Central Virginia Battlefields Trust"

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4.2/5

Chancellorsville 1863: The Souls of the Brave by Ernest B. Furgurson

For 130 years historians and military strategists have been obsessed by the battle of Chancellorsville. It began with an audaciously planned stroke by Union general Joe Hooker as he sent his army across the Rappahannock River and around Robert E. Lee's lines. It ended with that same army fleeing back in near total disarray -- and Hooker's reputation in ruins. This splendid For 130 years historians and military strategists have been obsessed by the battle of Chancellorsville. It began with an audaciously planned stroke by Union general Joe Hooker as he sent his army across the Rappahannock River and around Robert E. Lee's lines. It ended with that same army fleeing back in near total disarray -- and Hooker's reputation in ruins. This splendid account of Chancellorsville -- the first in more than 35 years -- explains Lee's most brilliant victory even as it places the battle within the larger canvas of the Civil War. Drawing on a wealth of first-hand sources, it creates a novelistic chronicle of tactics and characters while it retraces every thrust and parry of the two armies and the fateful decisions of their commanders, from Hooker's glaring display of moral weakness to the inspired risk-taking of Lee and Stonewall Jackson, who was mortally wounded by friendly fire. At once impassioned and gracefully balanced, Chancellorsville 1863 is a grand achievement in Civil War history.

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3.9/5

Chancellorsville: The Battle And Its Aftermath by Gary W. Gallagher (Editor) , Keith S. Bohannon (Contributor) , A. Wilson Greene (Contributor) , John J. Hennessy (Contributor) , Robert K. Krick (Contributor) , James Marten (Contributor

A variety of important but lesser-known dimensions of the Chancellorsville campaign of spring 1863 are explored in this collection of eight original essays. Departing from the traditional focus on generalship and tactics, the contributors address the campaign's broad context and implications and revisit specific battlefield episodes that have in the past been poorly unders A variety of important but lesser-known dimensions of the Chancellorsville campaign of spring 1863 are explored in this collection of eight original essays. Departing from the traditional focus on generalship and tactics, the contributors address the campaign's broad context and implications and revisit specific battlefield episodes that have in the past been poorly understood. Chancellorsville was a remarkable victory for Robert E. Lee's troops, a fact that had enormous psychological importance for both sides, which had met recently at Fredericksburg and would meet again at Gettysburg in just two months. But the achievement, while stunning, came at an enormous cost: more than 13,000 Confederates became casualties, including Stonewall Jackson, who was wounded by friendly fire and died several days later. The topics covered in this volume include the influence of politics on the Union army, the importance of courage among officers, the impact of the war on children, and the state of battlefield medical care. Other essays illuminate the important but overlooked role of Confederate commander Jubal Early, reassess the professionalism of the Union cavalry, investigate the incident of friendly fire that took Stonewall Jackson's life, and analyze the military and political background of Confederate colonel Emory Best's court-martial on charges of abandoning his men. Contributors Keith S. Bohannon, Pennsylvania State University and Greenville, South Carolina Gary W. Gallagher, University of Virginia A. Wilson Greene, Petersburg, Virginia John J. Hennessy, Fredericksburg, Virginia Robert K. Krick, Fredericksburg, Virginia James Marten, Marquette University Carol Reardon, Pennsylvania State University James I. Robertson Jr., Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Chancellorsville was a remarkable victory for Robert E. Lee's troops, a fact that had significant psychological importance for both sides, which had met recently at Fredericksburg and would meet again at Gettysburg in just two months. But the achievement, while stunning, came at the enormous cost of more than 13,000 Confederate casualties, including Stonewall Jackson, who was wounded by friendly fire and died several days later. A variety of important but lesser-known dimensions of the Chancellorsville campaign are explored in this collection of eight original essays. Departing from the traditional focus on generalship and tactics, the contributors address the campaign's broad context and implications and revisit specific battlefield episodes that have in the past been poorly understood. Contributors include Keith S. Bohannon, Gary W. Gallagher, A. Wilson Greene, John J. Hennessy, Robert K. Krick, James Marten, Carol Reardon, and James I. Robertson Jr.

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