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First Day at Chancellorsville
The End of the First Day
"The Rebel Band plays in the distance a triumphant air, as if to mock the sorrow of my heart."
-- Friedrich Emil Grossman, USA
As the sun dipped below the horizon in front of them, Confederate generals disagreed on whether to advance to seize the Chancellorsville crossroads or to reorganize and rest for the night. They tried a quick advance, but the murderous fire of Col. Patrick H. O'Rorke's New York brigade made bivouacking the better option. The Confederates camped here, separated from the Union camp to the west by only a valley. Hooker's men, on a five-mile arc around Chancellorsville, dug in and passed the night uneasily.
The fighting on May 1 had ended, but a much larger battle awaited. Having stolen the initiative from Hooker, Gen. Robert E. Lee met with Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson south of here and devised the now-famous plan to flank the Union army the following day. |