April 29 marked the third day for the grand offensive of Major-General Joseph Hooker’s Federal Army of the Potomac. So far, one column of the army had crossed the Rappahannock River and stood poised to outflank General Robert E. Lee’s Confederate Army of Northern Virginia at Fredericksburg. A second Federal column was ready to feint against Fredericksburg itself to hold Lee in place. And a third column was ready to reinforce the other two as needed.
In the pre-dawn hours, Federals from the feinting column crossed the Rappahannock and secured the area below Fredericksburg so that engineers could build bridges for the rest of the troops to cross. Confederates provided stiff resistance for several hours, but the Federals, consisting of the Sixth and First Corps under Major-Generals John Sedgwick and John J. Reynolds respectively, got across and established a line against the center of Lee’s defenses.
As the Federals fought their way across, Lee was informed by an aide to Lieutenant-General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson that the enemy was advancing in force near Hamilton’s Crossing, site of the battle south of Fredericksburg in December. Lee replied, “Tell him (Jackson) that I am sure he knows what to do. I will meet him at the front very soon.” He rode out to see that the Federals had crossed over two pontoon bridges but did not appear poised to give battle. Nevertheless, he issued orders for the Confederates to prepare to defend the ridges behind Fredericksburg.
Meanwhile, Hooker’s flanking column resumed the march at dawn from Kelly’s Ford on the Rappahannock above Fredericksburg. Major-General Alpheus Williams, interim commander of the Twelfth Corps, wrote, “Across the river long lines of infantry were winding down toward the river and on the south side brigades were breaking masses and filing up the hills. Batteries of artillery and heavy columns of cavalry were forming large solid squares, which… looked like great black blocks on the green surface, massed by some unseen power.”
Major-General Henry W. Slocum, commanding the three corps in the flanking column, received orders from Hooker to advance southward and cross the Rapidan River. Once across, the Federals were to unite at Chancellorsville, a hamlet consisting of a single house (the Chancellor House) in a clearing surrounded by dense woods.
Around noon, Lee received word from Major-General Jeb Stuart, commanding the Confederate cavalry, that Federal infantry, cavalry and artillery had crossed the Rappahannock at Kelly’s Ford. Lee initially believed that this was a feint, with the true threat being the Federals now in front of Fredericksburg. He wrote his superiors at Richmond, “He is certainly crossing in large force here (below Fredericksburg), and it looks as if he was in earnest. I hear of no other point at which he is crossing, except below Kelly’s Ford, where General (Oliver) Howard has crossed with his division, said to be 14,000, six pieces of artillery, and some cavalry.”
Lee later sent another message, still thinking the main thrust would not be to the north: “I have nothing to oppose to all that force up there except the two brigades of cavalry under General Stuart.” As more details trickled in, Lee began thinking that the northern movement might be toward the Virginia Central Railroad at Gordonsville. He wrote, “If any troops can be sent by rail to Gordonsville, under a good officer, I recommend it.”
Lee then requested the return of Lieutenant-General James Longstreet and his men from Suffolk, even though he did not expect Longstreet to arrive in time for action. Confederate Adjutant-General Samuel Cooper wired Longstreet that Hooker’s massive army had crossed the Rappahannock, “and it looks as if he was in earnest. Move without delay your command to this place to effect a junction with General Lee.” This ended any hopes Longstreet had of capturing Suffolk. He left command of the Department of North Carolina and Southern Virginia to Major-General D.H. Hill and began arranging to rejoin Lee.
In midafternoon, Slocum informed Hooker that the Federals had seized Germanna Ford on the Rapidan and would finish crossing the river by nightfall. Major-General George G. Meade, commanding the Fifth Corps, was last in line, and his troops were slated to cross the Rapidan at Ely’s Ford. But troopers from Major-General George Stoneman’s Cavalry Corps were running late and could not build get the bridge ready at Ely’s as expected. Meade therefore directed his men to wade across the river. Meade told Hooker, “The ford is deep and I feel impracticable for infantry. I shall try it and by means of rafts try to set my men over.” The Federals made it across.
Meanwhile, Stuart sent word that the Federals were crossing the Rapidan and Ely’s and Germanna fords, and the force was much larger than originally reported. Lee now realized that the movement south of Fredericksburg was just a feint, while the real attack would come from the north and west. This was confirmed at 6:30 p.m., when Lee received confirmation that the Federals were fording the Rapidan. From there, they advanced on roads that converged at Chancellorsville.
Lee sent Major-General Richard Anderson’s division west to guard the converging roads between Chancellorsville and Fredericksburg. He then began turning the rest of his troops around to meet the threat to the west. Lee also directed Stuart to detach troopers to protect “public property” on the railroad line leading to Gordonsville while bringing the rest of his cavalry back to the main army.
Meanwhile, Stoneman’s cavalry continued its mission to disrupt Lee’s communication and supply lines. Part of Stoneman’s force rode toward Gordonsville to wreck the Orange & Alexandria Railroad, while another part rode toward the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad. This had been part of Hooker’s original plan, but it did not fit well with the revised plan unfolding. In fact, it deprived Hooker of much needed cavalry support in the densely wooded Wilderness around Chancellorsville.
Bibliography
- Catton, Bruce, The Army of the Potomac: Glory Road. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co., Inc., 1952.
- Catton, Bruce, The American Heritage Picture History of the Civil War. New York: American Heritage Publishing Co., 1960.
- Davis, Jefferson, The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government: All Volumes. Heraklion Press, Kindle Edition 2013, 1889.
- Freeman, Douglas Southall, Lee. Scribner, (Kindle Edition), 2008.
- Goolrick, William K., Rebels Resurgent: Fredericksburg to Chancellorsville. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1983.
- Sears, Stephen W., Chancellorsville. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books, (Kindle Edition), 1996.
- Sears, Stephen W., Lincoln’s Lieutenants: The High Command of the Army of the Potomac. Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books, (Kindle Edition), 2017.