Chancellorsville

Chancellorsville. May 3, 1863. Following “Stonewall Jackson’s” successful flank attack and his subsequent wounding on the night of May 2nd, Lee appointed Major General “Jeb” Stuart to command Jackson’s Corps. Faced with an imminent threat from the direction of Fredericksburg, Lee ordered Stuart to pin the Federals in place. While Stuart drove the Federals back upon the river, General Lee attended to the threat., The acute fighting in the woods and fields of Chancellorsville soon became a steady roar as Stuart pressed his attack. Brigadier General’s Alfred Colquitt’s Georgia and Nicholls’ Louisiana Brigades were moved from the far right to the far left of the Confederate lines. Ordered to go forward around 10:00 a.m. Colquitt’s and Nicholls’ troops sought once again to turn the flank of the Federal forces. Instead, they ran into the Federal troops of Brigadier General Erasmus Tyler. Fighting intensified., (captions) , (upper left) Stuart followed Lee’s orders to the limit urging his troops onward. , (lower left) Amongst the killed was Private Issac Barnes, 91st PA infantry. He was 19 years of age. , (lower center) Famed artist Robert Knox drew this watercolor of the heavy fighting at Chancellorsville in 1863. These vivid colors and action scenes were very popular with the public. , (upper right) Map of the battle at 10 a.m. on May 3rd. Colquitt’s and Nicholls’ troops are at the far right. , (lower right) Corporal Isaac Reeves, left, and his brother, Sgt. James Reeves, Co. K, 10th La. Infantry. Sadly, Isaac was killed in action at Gettysburg and James was killed in action at Chancellorsville, Virginia. , (lower right) Colonel Jacob Frick, 126th Pennsylvania Infantry was awarded a Congressional Medal of Honor for personally re-capturing the flags of his regiment during the heated fighting in the woods. , Images courtesy S.H.A.-M.H.I.-V.H.S.-Library of Congress-Tintypes of Reeves’ brother courtesy Mrs. Anna Belle Reeves Morris-2014