Chancellorsville and Gettysburg | Page 7

There was too
much vacillation at headquarters. Slocum, who was pressing the enemy
back, was very much vexed when he received the order, but obeyed it,
and retreated without being molested. It is true, Wright's brigade had
formed on his right, but the advance of the Eleventh Corps would have
taken that in flank, so that the prospect was generally good at this time
for an advance. The column on the river road also retired without
interference. As Couch had waited to hear from Hooker, Hancock's
right flank became somewhat exposed by the delay, but he fell back
without serious loss. French also, who had started for Todd's Tavern,
returned. He encountered the enemy, but was ordered in and did not
engage them.
That portion of the country around Chancellorsville within the Union
lines on the morning of May 2d, may, with some exceptions, be

described as a plain, covered by dense thickets, with open spaces in the
vicinity of the houses, varied by the high ground at Talley's on the west
and by the hills of Fairview and Hazel Grove on the south, and
terminating in a deep ravine near the river. Our general line was
separated from that of the enemy by small streams, which principally
ran through ravines, forming obstacles useful for defensive purposes.
This was the case on the east and south, but on the west, where
Howard's line terminated, there was nothing but the usual thickets to
impede the enemy's approach.
As the narrative proceeds, the position of the Confederate army, who
held the broken ground on the other side of those ravines, will be more
particularly described.
After all, a defensive battle in such a country is not a bad thing, for
where there are axes and timber it is easy to fortify and hard to force
the line; always provided that free communications are kept open to the
central reserve and from one part of the line to another. It must be
confessed that the concealment of the thickets is also favorable to the
initiative, as it enables the attacking party to mass his troops against the
weak parts without being observed. Hooker probably thought if Lee
assailed a superior force in an intrenched position he would certainly be
beaten; and if he did not attack he would soon be forced to fall back on
his depots near Richmond for food and ammunition. In either case the
prestige would remain with the Union general.
The rebels followed up our army closely, and it is quite possible that a
sudden attack, when it was heaped up around Chancellorsville, might
have been disastrous to us. Gradually, under the skilful guidance of
Captain Payne of the Engineers, who had made himself well acquainted
with the country, the different corps took the positions they had
occupied on the previous night, and order came out of chaos. The line,
as thus established, covered all the roads which passed through
Chancellorsville. The left, held by Meade's corps, rested on the
Rappahannock, near Scott's Dam; the line was then continued in a
southerly direction by Couch's corps, facing east, French's division
being extended to a point near to and east of Chancellorsville, with

Hancock's division of the same corps holding an outpost still further to
the east. Next came the Twelfth Corps under Slocum, facing south, and
then, at some distance to the west, in echelon to the rear along the
Plank Road, Howard's corps was posted. The Third Corps under
Sickles was kept in reserve, back of the mansion. The next morning
two brigades and two batteries of Birney's division were interposed
between Slocum and Howard, with a strong line of skirmishers thrown
out in front. The 8th Pennsylvania Cavalry picketed the roads and kept
the enemy in sight. The thickets which surrounded this position were
almost impenetrable, so that an advance against the enemy's lines
became exceedingly difficult and manoeuvring nearly impracticable,
nor was this the only defect. Batteries could be established on the high
ground to the east, which commanded the front facing in that direction,
while our own artillery had but little scope; and last, but most important
of all, the right of Howard's corps as "in the air," that is, rested on no
obstacle.
Hooker was sensible that this flank was weak, and sent Graham's
brigade of Sickles' corps with a battery to strengthen it; but Howard
took umbrage at this, as a reflection on the bravery of his troops or his
own want of skill, and told Graham that he did not need his services;
that he felt so secure in his position that he would send his compliments
to the whole rebel army if they lay in front of him, and invite them to
attack him. As Hooker had just acquiesced in the appointment of