Battle of Chancellorsville: General Hooker, Intelligence, and Poor Decisions Multiple studies, reviews, and accounts have been conducted on the Battle of Chancellorsville. Each describes the battle space, provides order of battle statistics, and label it General Lee’s greatest victory against the Army of the Potomac (also referred to as the Union Army and Union). This paper will include information on the battle space and force strength of the Union and Confederate Armies to establish background and general understanding of the battle. It will also explore the Army of the Potomac under the command of General Hooker during the Battle of Chancellorsville, the creation of the Bureau of Military Information (BMI), and the application of multi-source …show more content…
Following a previous defeat at Fredericksburg, the senate pressured President Lincoln for a victory. Prompted by the loss at Fredericksburg, a failure by General Burnside, the previous Union Army Commander, Lincoln appointed General Hooker to the task. According to Sears (1996), the Union Soldiers at Chancellorsville were better equipped, and clothed than their opponents (p. 130), but they suffered low morale due to the recent loss and the inability of their previous commander to strategically lead the fight. General Hooker sought to gain a victory for the Union which could have potentially elevated the popularity of the war and reinvigorate his troops. He was well equipped to seize a victory at Chancellorsville and it began with the intelligence he was able to …show more content…
He realized that there were no tools in place that could provide him with information on the Confederate Army. Furthermore, he lacked estimates of any opposing force he may come in contact with. He then, wittingly, charged Colonel Sharpe with ascertaining the location, size, and disposition of the opposing force in and around Chancellorsville (p.101). Thus, the Bureau of Military Information was created. The BMI was an operational level intelligence unit (Ibid), similar to our modern day Analysis Control Element, or ACE. The BMI conducted analysis on all sources of information then compiled that data into a single assessment for the
Utilizing McClellan’s complex strategic approach for several offenses and forcing the larger grand Union army at the heart of the Confederacy command. Lincoln could have won the war a lot sooner then essentially waiting for commanding generals Grant and Sherman to advance the Union’s strategy once
These civil war battles were a major victory for General Ulysses Grant from the Union and a disaster for the Confederate forces in the South. General Grant seized Forts Henry and Donelson in Tennessee as a way to invade the South directly. Both forts were important for the South because of Tennessee and Cumberland rivers ways as supply line. Factors that played an important role in the Unions victory were Grant’s character traits and the weather. General Grant’s leadership and critical traits of initiative, aggressiveness, constantly seeking creativity, inventive, and resourcefulness were key to the Unions victory.
Soon after, the security of the Confederate capitol of Richmond, Virginia is threatened by McClellan’s forces. Lee is then called in as Commanding General of the confederate forces after the original commander dies in battle. With Jackson, Lee took on the Union forces and continually won while being both outnumbered and undersupplied. They took the wins at the Seven Day's Battle, the Second Battle of Bull Run, and
Another way he helped the outcome of the war is by winning at Vicksburg and Petersburg. One confederate leader was General George Pickett. He helped the course of the war by leading “15,000 men in a daring charge against the center of the union line” (Stoff 506). This was known as Pickett’s charge but it was an easy win for the union. To get to the union army “Pickett’s men would have to march 1,000 yards across
Joshua Chamberlain, a scholar, had a strong hanker to go into the military despite his family’s wishes for his attendance in college. He went to Maine and was assigned a top-notch role in the Maine 20th Regiment, but declined because he wanted to see the elephant from Col. Adelbert Ames. Chamberlain fought in many battles in Fredericksburg like the battle in Mary Height, but couldn’t fight in the battle of Chancellorsville because of a smallpox outbreak in the army. Despite of the fact that the soldiers were peaked which was the reason why the soldiers missed the battle, small pox did help Chamberlain because Alderbert made brigades out of his army and Chamberlain was a head of one of the brigades of the 20th Regiment. On July 20,
Aidan Springs Mr. Parish American Studies H 29 March 2018 James Longstreet and the failure of Gettysburg The Civil War was one of the Bloodiest conflict in American History, lasting from 1861 to 1865. Not only was the Civil War the deciding factor of the future of the United States, but would also shape the world around it for years to come (How The Civil War Affected Future Warfare 2). During the four years of the Civil War, one Confederate general stood out as one of the most influential men of the conflict: James Longstreet.
When looking back onto the great history of American leaders and generals, many names notably stand out. These American heroes helped to shape the future of our country, from the efforts of General Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Second World War, to General Douglas Macarthur of the Korean War, to even George Washington in the Revolutionary War. Regardless, each of these brave leaders allowed for their respective forces to attain victory, yet in this caveat, the legacy of many brilliant and skillful generals is lost. Victory does not determine skill, and such a notion has never attested to a military leader as much as it applies to General Robert E. Lee, of the Confederate Forces in the American Civil War. Lee’s proficiency in battle tactics and
In response to Lincoln’s intelligence, Hooker telegraphed, “Your dispatch is more conclusive than any I have received. I now feel that invasion is [Lee’s] settled purpose.” This type of coordination was representative of how Lincoln utilized a centralized command structure to optimize the North’s operational tactics on the
Due to high causality figures and with constant confrontation, Sherman come to a decision to broaden the weight and Emotional distress of the war further than rebel soldiers and to include the civilian advocators Particularly, the common People in general of the Confederacy who filled the ranks of the confederacy. Sherman considered that forcing civilian to feel what he called the “hard hand of war” was a military essential. Making the war ruthless and remorseless would bring victory more swiftly and with a minimum loss of life. He considered that by doing this Confederate morale would be weakened and irregular armed force that were fighting the union forces by sabotage and stalking would withdraw. This would disseminate the message that
Unfortunately, most people know Hooker for his loss at the Battle of Chancellorsville, which was supposively General Lee’s perfect battle. Some of Joseph Hooker’s awards and accomplishments he achieved is that he achieved the rank of Major General, won the Founder’s Gold medal, and served his country for most of his life. Hooker was important in the Civil War because he was one of the most successful generals at that time and he helped win the war with his great leadership and
On November 7th of 1862, frustrated by the neglectance to take command of the Union army, President Lincoln removed Commander McClellan. In substitution, Lincoln placed the new commander Ambrose Burnside to take control of the Union army. Although at the beginning of Burnside's commandership, he did not believe in himself to take charge in guiding the Union army to success. However, he pulled through and led his army to Rappahannock River to attack the Confederates at their capital Richmond Virginia. The Battle of Fredericksburg was also known as the “First opposed river crossing in American military history (Battlefield Trust)”.
On that day, he took control of the Union troops and developed a strategy to finally defeat the Confederates and save the Union. Grant’s strategy was to destroy the South’s resources and men, and their will to continue fighting. He was an experienced military leader, and was trusted by the public and his troops. Once Grant was promoted to Lieutenant General by Lincoln, the next steps were entirely up to Grant. Lincoln had great trust in Grant to achieve the Union’s goals.
The Battle of Gettysburg was a three day fight in which an estimate of 51,000 soldiers were killed in total, but besides all of the casualties, what else makes this battle special? The Battle of Gettysburg was a huge factor in the abolishment of slavery. It is one of the most important battles because it created new war strategies and was the turning point in the Civil War, which led to the Gettysburg Address. The Confederate general, Robert E. Lee, was very confident because of his army utmost victory.
By definition, “mission command is the exercise of authority and direction by the commander using mission orders to enable disciplined initiative within the commander’s intent to empower agile and adaptive leaders in the conduct of unified land operations,” according to ADRP 5-0. Mission command is about knowing when to change the task to fit the purpose. This paper is intended to analyze the mission command of one side of the battle, focusing on the commander’s role in the operations process. The Battle of Bunker Hill was the most important battle of the American Revolution because of Colonel Prescott’s superior command and control.
Grant’s counterattacks had payed off, it devastated the confederate troops. Many of Grants piers did not like the way he led, but there were also people who admired Grants style, one of his admirers was President Abraham Lincoln. President Lincoln liked the way he fought fearlessly, Lincoln even said “I can’t spare this man, he fights.” Lincoln’s admiration for Grant would lead to him putting Grant in charge of the entire Union