Chancellorsville and the Death of Stonewall Jackson
Lee wins his most audacious victory, then loses his best general to his own men's bullets
Quick facts
- Location
- Chancellorsville, Virginia
- Union commander
- Joseph Hooker
- Confederate commander
- Robert E. Lee
- Result
- Confederate victory; Jackson mortally wounded
What happened
Union General Joseph Hooker crossed the Rappahannock and Rapidan Rivers in late April 1863 with a Union army more than twice the size of Lee's, hoping to force Lee out of his defenses at Fredericksburg. Lee, in what many historians call his boldest gamble of the war, split his already outnumbered army, sending Stonewall Jackson on a long flanking march through the woods to hit the exposed Union right flank on May 2. Jackson's surprise attack routed the Union Eleventh Corps, but riding forward after dark to scout a night attack, Jackson was mistaken for Union cavalry and shot by his own North Carolina troops. Jackson's left arm was amputated; he developed pneumonia and died on May 10 at Guinea Station, Virginia. Lee won the battle, forcing Hooker's larger army back across the river, but at the cost of his most trusted subordinate.
Why it matters
Chancellorsville is remembered as Lee's tactical masterpiece, but Jackson's death removed the commander whose aggressive independent action had made Lee's boldest maneuvers possible, a loss Lee compared to losing his right arm and one that showed within two months at Gettysburg.
How we know
The National Park Service's Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania account of the battle documents Jackson's flank march and wounding from staff officers' contemporary accounts.
Sources
- Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park, National Park Service. The Battle of Chancellorsville · Reputable sourcenps.gov · The domain "nps.gov" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
- American Battlefield Trust. Chancellorsville Battle Facts and Summary · Reputable sourcebattlefields.org · The domain "battlefields.org" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
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