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

While the small brigade of Fitzhugh Lee was crossing the Rapidan at Raccoon Ford, the numerous battalions of Slocum and Meade were crossing the river a little lower down, at Germanna Ford and Ely's Ford. The waters, which were still very high, rendered these fords rather dangerous, but it was impossible to wait for the bridge-equipage, and the soldiers, appreciating the importance of getting speedily over this river, which had already stopped their progress on several occasions, threw themselves cheerfully into the current, supporting each other, whilst the mounted men picked up those whom the waters were carrying off. Ways rapidly constructed gave the field-pieces and the wagons an easy access to the ford, and the crossing continued without interruption during the whole night by the blaze of fires kindled along both banks, whose lurid flames, agitated by the wind, threw a vivid light, now on the fantastically-shaped shadows of the tall trees which crowned the bank, and then over the numerous personages forming this strange and picturesque scene.

On the morning of the 30th the three Federal corps were on the right side of the Rapidan. Without wasting one moment, they continued their march in the direction of Chancellorsville, which Hooker had indicated to them as the rallying-point. They only encountered the small parties which they had easily dislodged from the river-fords the day previous, and a single regiment of Stuart's cavalry, which, having reached the church of the Wilderness before them, had thus been able to cross over to their left flank. The remainder of Fitzhugh Lee's brigade, arriving a little later, found the troops of Slocum in possession of this point.

By a vigorous charge it compelled the latter to come to a stop about noon, and to deploy in order to resist its attack; but Stuart, becoming soon aware that he would not be able to force a passage by way of the Plank Road, determined to make a circuitous move southward, by way of Spotsylvania Court-house, in order to join General Lee, who had sent for him in great haste, leading his column through cross-roads toward a point called Todd's Tavern,