nity to put his battery in position, unlimber and double shot it with canister. Gathering the passing and abandoned guns, he soon had twenty-two cannon in position and each one double shotted. Soon a blaze of fire burst out of the woods in front of Pleasonton, and a multitude of the enemy came charging upon the guns. Pleasonton had cautioned his gunners not to fire until he gave the command and to aim their pieces at the groundline of the parapet lately occupied by the Eleventh Corps. A moment later and the command "Fire!" rang out, and twenty-two cannon, filled almost to the muzzles with canister, hurled their deadly missiles into the charging throng. The discharge swept their ranks away-it seemed to blow them, bodily, over the parapet. They several times returned to the assault only to be met by the same consuming fire, and they abandoned the attempt to make any farther progress for the night. This was one of the most soldier-like and gallant exploits of that fatal day, and but for it the enemy might, and probably would, have swept on until they had taken our entire line in reverse. To no man more than to General Pleasonton is due the credit of having saved the Army from utter rout.

At midnight Ward's Brigade of Birney's division, under orders from General Sickles, made a successful attack upon the Confederates and drove them back across the Union line of works and reoccupied General Howard's rifle-pits, and recovered several pieces of artillery and some caissons which had been abandoned during the day. Thus, the final success of the day's operations was with the Union Army.

The bold and tireless enthusiast who directed and inspired the column which smote Hooker's right, had himself been stricken down, in the moment of his first success, by the fire of his over-zealous followers. With the religious faith and formal severity of a Puritan, and with the sincerity and devotion to the Confederate cause

of a Crusader, Jackson strongly impressed his officers and men with the faith that animated himself in his invincibility and in the ultimate success of the cause in which they were engaged. His brief military career had been exceptionally striking and was surrounded with a halo of romance which tended to magnify his martial exploits and win the unbounded admiration of his people. But with all his dash and enthusiasm he was a remarkably discreet leader, and conducted his operations upon well-considered plans, and it was in the pursuit of information upon which to guide his conduct. in the further operations against Hooker's right that he received the wounds of which he soon after died. John Esten Cooke, in his life of General Lee, narrates the circumstances attending the wounding of Jackson. "It was now between nine and ten P. M., and Jackson rode to the front to reconnoitre. The fighting had ceased-the moon was shining through misty clouds. Jackson rode forward on the Chancellorsville road a hundred yards in advance of his lines, with a few officers, and halted to listen. Suddenly a volley from his own infantry, was fired into his party-several of whom fell from their horses. Wheeling to the left, Jackson galloped into the woods to escape a second volley. In doing so, he passed in front of his men who fired upon him, at twenty paces, and wounded him in three places-twice in his left arm and once in his right hand. He dropped the reins from the left hand as the bullets passed through that arm, and seized them in his bleeding right hand. His horse wheeled suddenly and dashed off towards Chancellorsville. He passed be

neath the limb of a pine tree which struck Jackson in the face and tore off his cap and nearly dismounted him. He retained his seat, however, and regained the road, when he was met by Captain Wilbourn, one of his staff officers." In "The Life of Stonewall Jackson, by a Virginian," it is said that Jackson had ordered A. P.

1863.]

JACKSON MORTALLY HURT.

381

Hill to advance with his division, and to reserve his fire unless cavalry approached from the direction of the enemy, and that Jackson with his staff, rode forward to the skirmish line. That there he ordered an aide to ride back and tell Hill to press right on. Soon after giving this order, he, himself turned and rode back at a trot, followed by his staff. The little body of horsemen were mistaken for Federal Cavalry and fired upon as described. Captain Boswell was killed; Colonel Crutchfield, Chief of Artillery was wounded, and two couriers were killed. The bone of Jackson's left arm was shattered, and the chief artery severed; another ball, entering the same arm between the elbow and wrist, passed out through the palm of the hand. This writer says Jackson fell from his horse and was caught by Captain Wormly, to whom he said, "All my wounds are by my own men." This writer adds, that the fire which wounded Jackson, was responded to by the Federals who made a sudden advance; and, the Confederates falling back, their foes actually charged over Jackson's body. Subsequently regaining the ground, Jackson was placed upon a litter and borne to the rear, amid a heavy fire from the Federal lines. One of the litter-bearers was shot down, and the General fell from the shoulders of the men, receiving a severe contusion, adding to the injuries of the arm, and injuring the side severely. The Federal artillery fire, he says, was terrible, and the wounded General was left for five minutes until the fire slackened, when he was placed in an ambulance and borne to the rear. He died eight days afterwards at Guineas' Station, five miles from Chancellorsville. Jackson was wounded about the time of the operations of General Pleasonton, above described, and the "terrible" artillery fire was no doubt from his

guns.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

THE ELEVENTH CORPS MADE THE SCAPE-GOAT-IS IT JUST ?-GENERAL
SICKLES' STATEMENT-FALLACY OF HOOKER'S STATEMENT-REYNOLDS
ORDERED TO THE RIGHT-SEDGWICK ORDERED TO MARCH TO CHAN-
CELLORSVILLE-DIFFICULTIES IN THE WAY-CARRIES MARIE'S HILL-
MARCHES ON-WHAT HAPPENED MEANTIME AT CHANCELLORSVILLE-
LEE SENDS M'LAWS TO MEET SEDGWICK-SUNDAY'S FIGHT AT SALEM
CHURCH-HOOKER'S OPPORTUNITY—MONDAY'S FIGHT AT SALEM CHURCH
-SEDGWICK CROSSES THE RIVER-LEE PREPARES TO RENEW ATTACK
ON HOOKER-LATTER CROSSES RAPPAHANNOCK—UNEQUAL
COMMAND-HOOKER'S ORDER-SOPHISTICAL

-LEE'S ORDER-LOSSES-HOOKER.

ΤΟ THE
STONEMAN'S OPERATIONS

GENERAL HOOKER, unlike Burnside, seeks a scape-goat to bear the blame for the misfortunes of his army at Chancellorsville, and the Eleventh Corps is made to carry the burden-not only through the Wilderness, but through every history of the campaign which has since been written, and the foundation for this generally accepted state of facts is the allegation of General Hooker himself at the time of the occurrence, and repeated before the Committee on the Conduct of the War, that "The bad conduct of the Eleventh Corps had cost me the key of my position, and had very much embarrassed me by contracting my sphere of action. The Eleventh Corps had been completely surprised and disgracefully routed," and very much more to the same effect. General Hooker says that the dispositions for defence were inadequate on the right, and that no pickets were on the alert to advise of the approach of the enemy. He says, "It has been reported to me that the Corps-commander was under the impression that the enemy was retiring."

The fault of position of the Eleventh Corps, if there was any, is not chargeable to the Corps-commander, for

ย

1863.]

FALLACY OF HOOKER'S STATEMENT.

he held the position he was assigned to.

383

General De

vens testified before the Committee that General Hooker visited his portion of the line on Saturday morning, accompanied by General Howard, and that the latter asked General Hooker "if the dispositions were satisfactory, and he replied that they were." General Sickles stated, before the same Committee that he accompanied General Hooker on this occasion, and "the condition of affairs, as it seemed to him (Hooker), and I think to others who accompanied him, and as was reported to me by Generals Howard and Slocum, was entirely satisfactory."

As to the charge that the Eleventh Corps was surprised, it is shown by General Devens statement that the column of Jackson was seen from the right, as it passed over a high point of the road (near the "Furnace)" about eleven o'clock in the morning; and that he sent an aide, Lieutenant H. G. Davis, to report the fact to General Howard. General Howard informed Lieutenant Davis that he had already observed the movement, and that it was known at General Hooker's Headquarters. It appears from the same statement, that the picket line of the Eleventh Corps was from half to three-quarters of a mile beyond the line, and that during the day they were frequently engaged with the enemy's skirmishers. About two or three o'clock in the afternoon, two soldiers, who had been sent out especially to observe and report the enemy's movements, came in and stated that the enemy was massing heavily on the Federal right. These men General Devens at once sent to General Howard, and from thence they were sent to General Hooker's headquarters. The skirmish line of the Eleventh Corps met the enemy's advance well in front and resisted it with great determination, but was finally driven back upon the main line. The right division, Devens', which General Hooker says "was flying, panic-stricken to the rear,"