First Day at Chancellorsville

First Day at Chancellorsville. Safer Ground. Among the Union troops facing the closing grip of Confederate forces were the experienced veterans of the 5th New York Infantry and the novice soldiers of the 146th New York Infantry. The Confederates, however, did not discriminate between “green” and veteran troops. Both regiments, across the turnpike in front of you and across the run to your left, had real trouble escaping. Some fought their way out, while others were captured en masse., As the retreating Federal regiments, hounded by Southern artillery fire, crested the hill to your right, they were greeted with a happy sight. The fresh Union division of Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock had moved forward to cover Sykes’s withdrawal. Once Sykes was clear, Hancock fell back to Chancellorsville., "My brigades, covered by skirmishers, moved in succession, in line of battle, to the height on which (Absalom) McGee's house rests." , Union Gen. George Sykes, (captions) , (lower left) Men of the veteran 5th New York Infantry, in their brightly colored Zouave uniforms, fought in their last battle at Chancellorsville. Their terms of enlistment expired just days after the fighting. , Courtesy The New-York Historical Society , (center) Col. Kenner Garrard commanded the 146th New York Infantry from the summer of 1862 through the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863. Courtesy Library of Congress