THE CHANCELLORSVILLE CAMPAIGN.

1 59

and was the most direct; the United States Ford road, crossing the former^ Chau cellorsville, became the Plank road, bent to the left and united with theturnpike five miles or so from Chancellorsville ; the third road fell hack fromChancellorsville toward the Rappahannock, passed along by Banks’s Ford ,Slx miles distant, and continued to Fredericksburg . That wing was ready forthe advance at an early hour in the morning of May 1st, but somehow thingsdragged; the order defining the movement, instead of being issued the pre-vious night, was not received by the corps commanders, at least by me, until°Urs after light. Meade was finally pushed out on the left over the Banks ’s°rd and turnpike roads, Slocum and Howard on the right along the PlankT '° a d, the left to be near Banks’s Ford by 2 p. m., the right at the junction ofds lii le of movement with the turnpike at 12 m. No opposition was met,^ceptiug that the division marching over the turnpike came upon the enemyW° or three miles out, when the sound of their guns was heard at Chancel-°i‘sville, and Gleneral Hooker ordered me to take Hancock’s division and pro-C( ' e d to the support of those engaged. After marching a mile and a half orI came upon Sykes, who commanded, engaged at the time in drawing backadvance to the position he then occupied. Shortly after Hancock’s troopsa( ‘ got into a line in front, an order was received from the commanding gen-eia l “ to withdraw both divisions to Chancellorsville.” Turning to the officersai ound me, Hancock, Sykes, Warren, and others, I told them what the order^ as , upon which they all agreed with me that the ground should not be aban-°Ued, because of the open country in front and the commanding position.11 aide, Major J. B. Burt, dispatched to General Hooker to this effect,

came

in half an hour with positive orders to return. Nothing was to be done

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carry out the command, though Warren suggested that I should disobey,then he rode back to see the general. In the meantime Slocum, on thea nk road to my right, had been ordered in, and the enemy’s advance wastween that road and my right flank. Sykes was first to move back, thentowed by Hancock’s regiments over the same road. When all but two of theter had withdrawn, a third order came to me, brought by one of the gen-^ a l’s staff: “ Hold on until 5 o’clock.” It was then perhaps 2 r. M. Disgustedthe general’s vacillation and vexed at receiving an order of such tenor, IPued with warmth unbecoming in a subordinate : “ Tell General Hooker heS n?° hde, the enemy are already on my right and rear. I am in full retreat.”1 he position thus abandoned was high ground, more or less open in front,er "which an army might move and artillery be used advantageously; more-ei \ were it left in the hands of an enemy, his batteries, established on itss t and slopes, would command the position at Chancellorsville. Every-

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g on the whole front was ordered in. General Hooker knew that Lee

a pprised of his presence on the south side of the river, and must havebooted that his enemy would be at least on the lookout for an advancep ° n Fredericksburg. But it was of the utmost importance that Banks ’ss h°uld fall into our hands, therefore the enemy ought to have beenP jSs ed until their strength or weakness was developed ; it would then haveeetl time enough to run away.