It was time for the Federal Army of the Potomac to launch its long-anticipated offensive against General Robert E. Lee’s Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. The Federals began leaving their winter quarters on schedule, and General-in-Chief Ulysses S. Grant reported, “Soon after midnight, May 3d-4th the Army of the Potomac moved out from its position north of the Rapidan (River), to start upon that memorable campaign.” This began an unprecedented movement designed to maintain relentless pressure upon Lee until he surrendered. That pressure would be applied for nearly a year.
Cavalry troopers led the way across the Rapidan and into the forbidding region of dense brush known as the Wilderness. The infantry was awakened a little after midnight and ordered to follow the cavalry. Engineers were placed ahead of the infantry so they could lay bridges across the Rapidan. Major-General George G. Meade, commanding the Potomac army, had planned and organized the movement so skillfully that a correspondent reported the army had never moved with such precision and order before. The Federals moved in two columns:
- The Second Corps of Major-General Winfield Scott Hancock crossed the Rapidan via Ely’s Ford and headed toward Chancellorsville.
- The Fifth Corps of Major-General Gouverneur Warren crossed the Rapidan via Germanna Ford and headed toward Wilderness Tavern. Warren was followed by Major-General John Sedwick’s Sixth Corps.
Meade and his staff left headquarters and joined the march around 5 a.m. Andrew Humphreys, Meade’s chief of staff, organized the massive supply train that was to accompany the army. It included 3,476 wagons and 590 ambulances, which needed the labor of some 24,000 horses and mules to move. The train was needed because the army would be temporarily detached from the supply line on the Orange & Alexandria Railroad, and a few days would be needed to set up a new line via Fredericksburg. The supply train had the potential to slow the march, which could give the Confederates time to react to the movement and counter.
Across the Rapidan, General Lee had three infantry corps in his Confederate army:
- Lieutenant-General Richard Ewell’s Second Corps held the Confederate right, which was closest to the Federal advance.
- Lieutenant-General A.P. Hill’s Third Corps held the center, near Orange Court House.
- Two divisions of Lieutenant-General James Longstreet’s First Corps held the left near Gordonsville.
Lee also had his invaluable cavalry command, led by Major-General J.E.B. “Jeb” Stuart. Near midnight, Lee’s signalmen atop Clark’s Mountain flashed the awaited message: “General Ewell, have your command ready to move at daylight.” Around 9:30 a.m. on the 4th, the signalmen notified Ewell, “From present indications everything seems to be moving to the right, on Germanna and Ely’s Fords roads, leaving cavalry in our front.”
Meanwhile, Grant joined the Federal march in his new dress uniform. He was accompanied by his staff and Congressman Elihu Washburne, his political benefactor who had sponsored the law bestowing the rank of lieutenant-general upon him. Washburne’s black suit prompted nearby soldiers to quip that Grant had brought his own undertaker with him. Grant and his party crossed the Rapidan at Germanna Ford before stopping to watch troops of the Sixth Corps pass.
Grant reported, “The crossing of the Rapidan effected. Forty-eight hours now will demonstrate whether the enemy intends giving battle this side of Richmond.” Grant expressed relief that Lee had not contested the crossing, but he did not know that Lee was luring him south of the Rapidan so that he could attack the Federal army in the forbidding Wilderness.
As Grant set up headquarters in a farmhouse, a correspondent asked, “General Grant, about how long will it take you to get to Richmond?” Grant replied, “I will agree to be there in about four days. That is, if General Lee becomes party to the agreement; but if he objects, the trip will undoubtedly be prolonged.” A messenger brought Grant a dispatch stating that according to deciphered Confederate dispatches, Ewell’s corps was in motion. Grant said, “This gives just the information I wanted. It shows that Lee is drawing out from his position, and is pushing across to meet us.”
Grant had the 25,000 men of Major-General Ambrose E. Burnside’s Ninth Corps guarding the Orange & Alexandria Railroad from enemy raiders. But Grant decided to separate from that line and rely instead on his supply train until he could set up a new base. He therefore directed Burnside to bring his corps up to join Meade’s army. Grant wrote, “Make forced marches until you reach this place. Start your troops now in the rear the moment they can be got off, and require them to make a night march.”
Ewell’s Confederates advanced on the Orange Turnpike, followed by A.P. Hill on the Orange Plank Road, which ran parallel to the Orange Turnpike about two miles south. Longstreet remained back for the time being, guarding the line from Gordonsville to Richmond in case Grant sent a force around the Confederate left. Ewell halted for the night near Mine Run, while Hill camped at New Verdiersville.
When it became clear that the main Federal threat was on the right, Lee called Longstreet’s men forward. Longstreet urged Lee to move around to the Federal rear, but Lee directed him to move north to Orange Court House, and then follow Hill’s corps along the Orange Plank Road.
Stuart’s cavalry scouted near Fredericksburg amid rumors that the Federals might turn east. Stuart soon discovered that the Federals were actually turning west, moving between the Wilderness and Chancellorsville. Lee noted that Grant’s superior numbers and guns would be offset by the forbidding terrain, and he planned to attack the Federals before they could get into the open, just as he did against Joe Hooker last year. Lee directed Ewell to resume his advance against the enemy at dawn, and “bring him to battle now as soon as possible.”
As the Confederates moved, President Jefferson Davis notified Lee that the armies of Benjamin F. Butler (on the Virginia Peninsula) and Franz Sigel (in the Shenandoah Valley) were also on the move in Virginia. Lee relied on General P.G.T. Beauregard’s Confederates southeast of Richmond to handle Butler, while Major-General John C. Breckinridge’s Confederates in the Shenandoah Valley were tasked with facing Sigel.
Meade’s advance ended around mid-afternoon on the 4th. Warren’s corps halted at Wilderness Tavern, while Sedgwick’s corps stopped along the Germanna Road. Hancock’s corps stopped for the day near the Chancellorsville crossroads. The Federals could have kept going until they were out of the Wilderness, but Meade and Humphreys did not want them to get too far ahead of their supply train.
Many Federal troops camped on the old Chancellorsville battlefield, where skeletons had been unearthed by weather. In one instance, a soldier tapped a skull with his boot and announced, “This is what you are all coming to, and some of you will start toward it tomorrow.” This macabre scene foreshadowed things to come as the armies bivouacked within two miles of each other.
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