Scourge of War Boards

At this time, 9:30 AM, 150 years ago, the commander of the Army of The Potomac at Chancellorsville, Joseph "Fighting Joe" Hooker is starting to get a little nervous.. There are rumors around camp that the Rebels are moving around the Union right, a potential flanking march.. Hooker sends a dispatch to General Howard, commander of the XI Corps that is holding the Union right flank:

"We have good reason to suppose the enemy is moving to our right. Please advance your pickets for purposes of observation as far as may be safe in order to obtain timely information of their approach."

Just rumors though.. Right...

At 10:50 a.m., Howard replied to Hooker's dispatch that he was "taking measures to resist an attack from the west." Howard began to make light preparations for a possible flank attack. Around this time, Hooker also orders Maj Gen Dan Sickles III Corps to "advance cautiously toward the road followed by the enemy, and harass the movement as much as possible".

Sorry to detract from the ominous ambiance of the thread, but I'm loving this Little Powell! I'm leaving tonight for the 150th Chancellorsville reenactment and this is helping put me in a good mood for the 200+ hour drive from Georgia to Virginia.
On a less serious note:

Have a great time, 13thnct! If you can get around to it, please take some photos and post on the forum. We'd love to see some shots of the action.

At around noon, Sickles II Corps began attacking the rear of Jackson's Corps on their flanking march. Their attack was stalled by the 23rd Georgia Infantry--the unit that was detached by Jackson to act as a rear guard. The 23rd Georgia lost nearly it's entire command, but successfully held Sickles Corps in check for hours while the rest of Jackson's Corps continued advancing to the west.

Two brigades from A.P. Hill's division turned back from the flanking march and prevented any further damage to Jackson's column, which by now had left the area

Sickles came to the conclusion that the Rebels he encountered were retreating. This information was passed to Howard and his fear of a flank attack was further put at ease.

This action is depicted in scenario CV04-May 2-Fire at the Furnace (U-Corps)

Sound out which of these match CV scenarios LP, my memory is a bit hazy:)

Interesting tidbit about the rearguard action, I was under the impression they had never been spotted. 1 regiment rearguard fooling and keeping Sickles at bay is amazing as well.

Most of Jackson's men were unaware of the small action at the rear of their column. As they marched north on Brock Road, Jackson was prepared to turn right on the Orange Plank Road, from which his men would attack the Union lines at around Wilderness Church. However, it became apparent that this direction would lead to essentially a frontal assault against Howard's line. Fitzhugh Lee met Jackson and they ascended a hill with a sweeping view of the Union position and Jackson was delighted to see that Howard's men were resting, unaware of the impending Confederate threat. Although by now it was 3 p.m., Jackson decided to march his men two miles farther and turn right on the Turnpike instead, allowing him to strike the unprotected flank directly.

At around 5:30 PM, the Union soldiers prepared their meals, played cards, and mused as animals, for reasons known only to themselves, came bounding from the woods to their west. Mirth gave way to shocked excitement however as the force driving them burst upon the unprepared soldiers. Stonewall Jackson's Corps, 26,000 strong, erupted from the woods in an unrelenting wave of force. Officers tried to form lines of resistance but all broke as the unyielding Southerners surged forward.

"Along the road it was pandemonium," recalled a Massachusetts soldier, "and on the side of the road it was chaos." Most of Howard's men fought bravely, drawing three additional battle lines across Jackson's path. But the overmatched Federals occupied an untenable position. The screaming gray legions overwhelmed each Union stand and eventually drove the Eleventh Corps completely from the field.

This action and the closing fight for May 2nd are depicted in scenarios:

CV05-May2-Rebel Yells Spawn Wilderness Hell (U-Div)
CV06-May2-Juggernaut, Jackson's Finale (C-Corps)
CV07-May2-Fear Was On Us (U-Corps)

http://www.gatehouse-press.com/wp-conte ... newall.jpg[/img_size]

A little after 9 p.m. Gen. Jackson, anxious to continue the attack, rode forward of the still-forming main Confederate line with members of his staff to assess the situation. In the darkness southern infantrymen mistook them for Union cavalry and fired a volley into the mounted men. Three bullets struck Jackson while others in his party were killed or wounded.

Among those riding with the general was Capt. Richard Eggleston Wilbourn, Jackson's signal officer. In the chaos that followed, Wilbourn and several others tended to the general and helped get him to an ambulance that carried him to a field hospital where Jackson's left arm was amputated. The next day he was taken to a safe place south of Fredericksburg to recover. But a week later, on May 10, Jackson died from pneumonia. Before the general died, Capt. Wilbourn wrote an eight-page letter to Col. Charles J. Faulkner, assistant adjutant general on Jackson's staff, describing in detail the events surrounding the general's wounding. That letter is preserved in the society's manuscripts collection.

A complete transcription of Wilbourn's letter appears here.

And in case you missed it, here is a picture of a field notebook that belonged to another one of Jackson's staff.

http://www.norbsoftdev.net/forum/the-am ... sons-staff