Comte de Paris, History of the Civil War in America. Vol. 3.
Henry Coppee , LL.D., Ed.

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[106] defended than that of Chancellorsville, he determined not to attack him until he could do it with his whole army. It was necessary, first of all, to get rid of Sedgwick. The inactivity of the Federals allowed him ample leisure to do so: he took advantage of it with that promptness and vigor which was the secret of his superiority over his adversaries. Anderson was ordered to go and join McLaws, while Heth, with three brigades of Hill's division, came to relieve him in the positions he had taken in the morning. The three divisions which had followed Jackson in his flank movement remained, therefore, alone in front of Hooker's army, although worn out by four days marching and fighting and reduced to less than twenty-five thousand men.

The task of holding an enemy in check whose forces were three times more numerous was all the more difficult for the Second corps that the latter was obliged to envelop the Federals, and that its concave line was consequently more extended than the convex line of its opponents. But the density of the forest enabled Stuart to conceal the inferiority of his forces, while Lee, leaving the management of this matter in his hands, counted, with just cause, upon the vacillating disposition of his adversaries. The event justified his expectations. In the afternoon of the 4th, Hooker, finding that the enemy did not come to attack him, naturally concluded that he contemplated marching against Sedgwick. He then directed General Griffin to make a demonstration to the right of the Bullock clearing with one division of the Fifth corps, in order to try the Southerners on that side. The combat was a sharp one, for the Federals lost about five hundred men, but the attack was not pushed with vigor; so that, instead of enlightening Hooker as to Stuart's weakness, it led him to believe that he stood in the presence of very considerable forces. The Union generals, finding themselves without either guidance or support, displayed no longer any zeal in leading their troops, and only fought, if one may say so, for conscience' sake. Hooker became more and more convinced that his adversary was gathering his army together at Chancellorsville, and allowed the remainder of the day to pass without stirring.

In the mean time, Lee, with all the forces at his disposal, was preparing to attack Sedgwick in the difficult position which the