Existing comment:
First Day at Chancellorsville
The Union Attack
"The advance was irresistible... in a few minutes the brigade occupied the crest of the hill."
-- Union brigade commander Col. Sidney Burbank
You now stand at the farthest point of the Union infantry advance on May 1. From here, Federal troops poured a murderous fire into the disorganized Confederate line. But the Southerners, under Gen. William Mahone, soon regrouped for battle on the ridge in front of you. One Union officer recalled that his men advanced "steadily and with a will, although exposed to a sharp fire from musketry and artillery."
Confederate fire halted the Union attack. The Federals fell back to the Lewis house behind you and held off the enemy from behind the ridge. For Union troops, however, the battle soon took an unfortunate turn. |