Chancellorsville

I have just recently gotten back into Civil War History after about a 5 year lapse. I read Foote's Fredericksburg to Meridian (Part II of his massive trilogy) in August. In that book, I learned about the Battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg - as well as others. In looking for books on Chancellorsville, I came across this one by Stephen Sears. I bought it along with Gettysburg as well as his others on Antietam and the Peninsula Campaign. I also read the reviews on Chancellorsville and I saw some that indicated this book was a defense of General Hooker. After reading this book in a mere two weeks, I did not find it to be a defense of Hooker but more of a realistic approach to what Hooker did after he took over for Burnside. Hooker did many great things during his time as head of the Army before the Battle of Chancellorsville. However, Mr. Sears did not leave out his shortcomings during the actual battle. He points out that his decision to abandon Hazel Grove was one of the biggest mistakes of the battle. He also points out that Hooker's decision to retreat was a mistake since Lee had sent some of his army facing Hooker to take on the VI Corps at Fredericksburg. Lastly, Mr. Sears tells of Hooker's mistake in not turing over command of the Army to General Couch after his being wounded. I did not find this book to be an argument in favor of Hooker and against the generals under him. There is no doubt that the generals under Hooker, at least a couple of them (Generals Howard and Stoneman)failed Hooker. This is made very clear in the book. But Mr. Sears does not excuse Hooker for these failures totally. The failure of the XI Corps was not totally of Hooker's doing but more because of Howard. This comes through loud and clear in the book. This is a very good book. It is easy to read and understand. It is easy to get bogged down in the names of the generals and whether they are confederate or union but Mr. Sears made this easy for he put the names of the units behind them so if you know what states were fighting for the Union and what states were Confederate, then it is not difficult. The pace of the book is very good. I did not find any part of the book borning or tedious. I now have a much better understanding of the battle. In fact, I have already begun Mr. Sears' book on Gettysburg and am already 50 pages into it and am liking it very much. I am looking forward to finishing Gettysburg and then moving on to the other books I have that Mr. Sears wrote. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in the Civil War and specifically the eastern theater.

Too often, the battle of Chancellorsville has been viewed as merely another of a series of humiliating defeats for the Army of the Potomac at the hands of RE Lee, and that the battle was further evidence of Lee's tactical genius triumphing over the bumbling leadership of his Union counterparts. Certainly Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia came to view it as such, and that misperception in no small measure contributed Lee's defeat two months later at Gettysburg. What Stephen Sears presents is a considerably different picture, that of a battle which, although a tactical Confederate victory, represented more of a draw in the larger operational sense. Far from being an uncertain leader in the mold of McClellan or Burnside, Joe Hooker is shown by Sears as a leader who has a very clear idea of what his operational objectives, and his battle plan for Chancellorsville cannot fail to impress. Certainly he completely out-generalled Lee, successfully executing an elaborate maneuver which landed the Union army in the rear of the unsuspecting Lee. Lee's unconventional division of his forces is the one element of Chancellorsville that one always hears about, but what is often not emphasized is that Lee was forced to these desperate measures by Hooker's superior maneuvers. Once Jackson begins his massive flanking maneuver, Sears really hits his stride as a writer. The reader is left awestruck at Jackson's skill as a corps commander. Even though the wisdom of this flanking maneuver certainly is open to debate, nevertheless Jackson was able to move a massive number of men a great number of miles largely undetected, and that is no minor accomplishment. Sears then describes the rout and destruction of the XI Corps that is both vivid and coherent. A scene such as that cannot be easy to describe so as to be followed by the reader, but Sears is more than equal to the challenge. I remember how Chancellorsville was described in Ken Burns' celebrated (but at times flawed) documentary --- "the defeat was total." Well --- not exactly. Certainly the XI Corps was shattered, but by and large the Army of the Potomac gave as good as it took, and possibly could have taken the day had a counter-offensive been launched. Even with the element of surprise, Jackson's corps did not succeed in shattering Hooker's flank. How it came to be that Hooker, despite a significant advantage in numbers and superior maneuvering, failed to achieve his objectives is where Sears devotes the bulk of his energies and where is book is most valuable. Some reviewers have faulted Sears for being nothing more than an apologist for Hooker, making excuses for Hooker's numerous blunders. Sears definitely does not have the scorn for Hooker that he has acquired for McClellan. While he obviously feels that Hooker's reputation has suffered unfairly, I don't know if I would call Sears an apologist. He makes it clear where the fault lies at Chancellorsville: Howard's complete negligence in fo

This is the definitive volume on the Chancellorsville Campaign, bar none! No other book need be written about this campaign, although more would be welcome. Mr. Sears is a great writer, and it shows. The Chancellorsville Campaign is considered by many "Lee's Greatest Victory," and, well, this book is Sears' greatest victory! As if the terrific writing is not enough, the maps, by George Skoch, are excellent. There is also an abundance of maps, always a plus in my book. Maps are essential to a military history; these maps do not dissapoint. I found the account of the despise of General Burnside to be great, and the rendering of Stonewall Jackson's ill-timed death moving. If you are a buff of Civil War--or even military--history, this book is essential to your library. If this book does not go down as one of the greatest of Civil War writing, it would be a crying shame. Get this book!

Stephen Sears has earned a reputation as one of the top Civil War authors today and with Chancellorsville he once again shows why with what could be his best book so far. First off, Sears is just a great writer. To many Civil War books are written by authors who know the subject and have done all the right research but simply don't have the writing talents to put the information into a form that is both informative and entertaining. That is not the case with Sears. His writing skills are equel to his research and the result is a book that is both informative and a pleasure to read. To say this book is about the Battle of Chancellorsville is almost a misnomer. A better description would be that the book is about the Hooker era in the Army of the Potomac. In the book Sears treats us to more than just the Xs and Os of a battle. We hear about Hooker's rebuilding of the Army's moral after the disasterous tenure of Burnside. We learn about army intelligence, how both armies are supplied and how troops passed the winter months. All before we get anywhere close to Chancellorsville. The book does a wonderful job of covering the situation of both the Army of the Potomac and Army of Northern Virginia in the early days of 1863.As far as the battle goes, the book gives a very complete description. From the opening moves to the death of Jackson, the reader really gets a full and complete picture. This is aided by Sears' inclusion of some very good maps, something that is often missing from Civil War books.I can think of few Civil War books that I have enjoyed as much as this. The book is 600 pages but Sears is such a good writer that you breeze right through it. Sears has done a lot of good books but for me this could be his best.

Stephen Sears once again shows his great skill in recounting civil war battles. Chancellorsville was indeed a very bloody battle. It was a battle that Union General Hooker was blamed for not winning. Sears research clearly shows that the blame rightly belongs on the shoulders of his subordinates-who did not follow his orders. Besides providing a just defense of Hooker Sears also demonstrates the devastating loss to the south. The accidental shoot of General Stonewall Jackson by his own men. This was the most important event of the battle-the loss of Jackson was described by General Lee as similar to losing an arm. The book reads like a fictional novel and was difficult to put down. If you want a good, fast and factual read of this battle then grab this book.