Existing comment:
Pressing the Attack:
That evening, as the fighting subsided, Confederate officers reassembled their commands in the clearing surrounding Wilderness Church, one-half mile in front of you. The attack had taken a heavy toll on the army's organization. Units had become mixed. Some men wandered off in search of food or water; others plundered abandoned Union camps.
It would take time to get his corps back into fighting trim, but Jackson could not wait. The Confederate army was divided. Decisive action by Hooker might yet turn the Confederate victory into defeat. Jackson had to strike before the enemy could regain his balance.
As darkness descended on the battlefield, Jackson ordered General A.P. Hill to slice behind the Union forces at Chancellorsville and sever their supply line across [the] Rappahannock River. "Press them, Hill!" he snapped, "Cut them off from United States Ford! Press them!" From Wilderness Church, the Confederates moved forward again into the gathering night.
Wilderness Church... Jackson's troops reorganized in the church clearing following their attack on the Eleventh Corps. |