THE SUCCESSES AND FAILURES OF CHANCELLORSVILLE.

175

Against him. The very cavalry under Stuart that Lee depended on to keep. Ui advised had been cut off by the prompt action of the army, and we had^ over the signature of Gleneral Lee himself that his army had been surprised.General Hooker had it in his power at that time to have crushed Lee’s army^)d wound up the war. The Army of the Potomac never had a better oppoi’-Ul| ity, for more than half its work had been done before a blow had beens truck, by the brilliancy of its strategy in moving upon Chancellorsville.

I camped my command about a mile from General Hooker’s headquarters,v^ich were at the Chancellor House, and such were my misgivings as regardedlle situation of the army that about dusk I called upon the general againari d stated to him our perilous position.

To the east, toward Fredericksburg , the woods were thick for three or four^hes; to the south, toward Spotsylvania Court House, the woods extended'°ut the same distance; to the west, from Hazel Grove, the same conditionthings existed; while the country between Chancellorsville and the Bappa-aiinock River, in our rear, was rough, broken, and not at all suitable for thederations required of an army. The position of the army at Chancellorsville^tended about three miles from east to west in the narrow clearings, which

did

wot afford sufficient ground to manoeuvre an army of the size of the Army

0 the Potomac. Besides this, we were ignorant of what might be going on°Wtsid e of this cordon of woods, and were giving the enemy every opportu-to take us at a disadvantage. Every instinct induced me to suggest tocoeval Hooker, to relieve ourselves from our embarrassments, to send theeventh Corps, which was in a miserable position in the woods, down to^Potsylvania Court House by the Jack Shop road, and make the line of battle°m Chancellorsville to Spotsylvania. This proposition was not approved,d I then asked permission to send some cavalry to Spotsylvania, to find outlat was going on in the open country beyond the woods. General Hookere nted to this, and I ordered the 6th New York Cavalry, under Lieuten-. 'Colonel Duncan McVicar, to proceed down the road from Chancellors-e to Spotsylvania, ascertain if the enemy were anywhere in that vicinity,th’ done so, return before daybreak. This could easily be done, as

„ e distance was not more than eight miles. Colonel McVicar executed his

0l 'deri

r Gur

s in splendid style; he went to Spotsylvania, saw no enemy, but on his^urn, it being moonlight, he found a body of cavalry in his front-, barring^ passage to Chancellorsville. He immediately deployed his regiment, someel/ 66 ° r ^ our hundred strong, and after a murderous fire from the saddle he^ a iged the enemy with sabers and completely routed them. This force wass e /hh Virginia Cavalry, and with it were General Stuart and staff. Theyafi. ui ©very direction and were pursued by the 6t-h New York Cav-

Phr" ^he 2d Virginia Begiment, coming to their assistance, stopped the

L

remit.

_ The 6th New York Cavalry then, unmolested, returned to Cliancel-viiie, but without their brave commander, who was killed in the thickest

hv fray :

°i’d 1S ac “R°u made a strong impression on the Confederates, and Stuart, inei to avoid another such encounter, started his cavalry in the direction