[21] by his subordinate commanders, but is chiefly due to Jackson, to whom the more difficult task was assigned. Whatever credit is due for suggesting what was done belongs to General Fitzhugh Lee, and Colonel Henderson truly says that to his skill and activity the victory of Chancellorsville was in great part due. All this responsibility rested on General Lee, and more, for as Colonel Henderson says, ‘To take advantage of the opportunity, the first rule of war must be violated.’ Could either Fitzhugh Lee or Jackson relieve him of such responsibility? Emphatically, No! All that any subordinate could do was to lay before the commanding general the facts ascertained by him on his part of the field, and when the chief, with his wider knowledge of conditions, had matured his plans, undertake with confidence the part allotted to him, and execute with his utmost skill and vigor the designs of his superior. The claim that General Jackson at the last moment hastily proposed to take his entire command and execute a hazardous movement of his own devising and practically dictated to General Lee what he was to do meanwhile, is a reflection on the soldierly qualities of General Jackson, and General Lee resented such an imputation when he said to Dr. Bledsoe:
Every movement of an army must be well considered and properly ordered, and everyone who knew General Jackson must know that he was too good a soldier to violate this fundamental military principle.Three hours before sunset General Lee was on the Plank Road, two miles east of Chancellorsville. At four P. M., he sent a dispatch to General Stuart, of which the following copy is taken from the official records:
