This text is part of:
Table of Contents:
“
[256]
their heroic courage overcame every obstacle of Nature and of art, and achieved a triumph most honorable to our arms.”
Hooker's General Order No. 49, of May 6th, congratulates his army on its achievements, saying that, in withdrawing from the south bank of the Rappahannock before delivering a general battle, the army has given renewed evidence of its confidence in itself and its fidelity to the principles it represents.
That the Army of the Potomac was profoundly loyal, and confident of its strength, and would give or decline battle when its interests or its honor might demand.
“The events of last week,” said he, “might well swell with pride the heart of every officer and soldier of this army.”
And then in a letter to Mr. Lincoln, dated May 13th, 1863, Hooker says: “Is it asking too much to inquire your opinion of my Order No. 49?
If so, do not answer me. Jackson is dead, and Lee beats McClellan with his untruthful bulletins.”
It is not known whether Mr. Lincoln ever answered this question.
The truth is, the Army of the Potomac was woefully mismanaged.
Its commander guided it into the mazes of the Wilderness and got it so mixed and tangled that no chance was afforded for a display of its mettle.
General Paxton was killed while leading his brigade with conspicuous courage in the assault of the 3d. Generals A. P. Hill, Nichols, McGowan, Heth, Hoke, and Pender were wounded.
Chancellorsville is inseparably connected in its glory and gloom with Stonewall Jackson.
General Lee officially writes: “I do not propose to speak here of the character of this illustrious man, since removed from the scene of his eminent usefulness by the hand of an inscrutable but all-wise Providence.
I nevertheless desire to pay the tribute of my admiration to the matchless energy and skill that marked this last act of his life, forming, as it did, a worthy conclusion of that long series of splendid achievements which won for him the lasting gratitude and love of his country.”
Jackson's purely military genius resembled Caesar's and Napoleon's. Like the latter, his success must be attributed to the rapid audacity of his movements and
Scanned printed text.
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.
An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.