Hurrah for Old Joe!: Hooker Wins at Chancellorsville

Hurrah for Old Joe!: Hooker Wins at Chancellorsville

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Hurrah for Old Joe! The men cheered as Joseph Hooker, commanding general of Army of Potomac, road past in triumph. The sight of Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia pulling away had elated the entire army. The tide had finally turned, the days of defeat and disgrace were to the rear, victory lay ahead. Hooker was fully immersed in his accomplishment, just months prior his critics had mocked him as a drunkard, a gambler and a womanizer. Now the road to Richmond lay straight ahead.

Hooker was one of the most interesting figures to come out of the war. He had served throughout the Peninsula and Maryland campaigns earning a reputation as an aggressive fighter. In January of 1863, he was appointed commander of the AoP in aftermath of the disaster at Fredericksburg and the so called Mud March. To his excellence President Abraham Lincoln, he had boldly declared to his intent to emerge victorious or die trying. Now it appeared Hooker’s bombast had come to fruition. This success though was not only due to his boldness it had been the result of months of meticulously preparations. He had many to thank for this great success……
 
Hello, I’m new to the forum so I apologize for anything I have overlooked in my posting. I have been very interested in the Chancellorsville Campaign of late and thought it would make a great timeline. All input is welcome and I hope you find it enjoyable.
 
I: The Quartermaster

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One of those men was Quartermaster General Montgomery Meigs. Meigs was one of the most outstanding and underrated officers of the war. His work behind the scenes had done much to help sustained the Union war effort. His expertise in strategy and logistics was unmatched. This was the man Hooker turned to for advice in planning for his grand campaign. Hooker began writing to him shortly after taking command, he was terribly fearful of his plans leaking to his opponent so the two conducted their correspondence as discreetly as possible.

Meigs outlined his thoughts on the planned offensive, He envisioned a two-pronged attack on the example of Napoleon at Jena that would stretch Lee’s army taking advantage of the Union’s superior numbers and firepower. The first of the two pincers, the main body, would cross at Ely’s Ford on the Rapidan River and move due south onto Chancellorsville and the second smaller force would attack in the Fredericksburg sector to serve as a diversion. In addition, a reserve would be kept back for support on either front should the opportunity arise. Meigs as well set an important role for the cavalry, recommending a concentrated strike on Lee’s rear to damage supply, rail and communications with Richmond. Hooker was very impressed by Meigs' assessment. Hooker added that he thought General John Sedgwick would make an excellent leader for the diversionary attack. Meigs was of complete agreement, Sedgwick “Uncle John” to his men was a capable and reliable officer who could be counted on to take his own initiative. With a general framework established, Hooker set about getting his army ready for the task ahead.

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It should be noted in OTL he told one of his commanders to keep a close eye on the exact place where the South made their "surprise" attack and... somehow the surprise came anyways. It's why Hooker claimed if he could replay the battle 100 times (with both sides not knowing anything going in) the South's attack should fail 99 out of 100. He's not exactly unbiased in claiming that, but considering it came from the spot he told his guys to look at...

Another way he could have won was by holding Hazel Grove. The III corps had a command artillery position. Against the smaller portion of the CSA units, the terrain favored the defenders in a 3 to 1 advantage (that is South vs III corps alone), not counting the fact that the main line could fire into the flank for the last 100 meters of the charge. Against the larger portion, Sickles's artillery in OTL stopped the attack. Sickles wanted to use Hazel Grove as a rallying point for the remaining disorganized North units and use the cohesive units to destroy the smaller portion of the Army of North Virginia. 25% of the Lee's army be neutralized right there. Instead Hooker, feeling shocked, ordered the general retreat and the III corps to leave Hazel Grove.

When Sickles's men got butchered by the South artillery from the spot they just abandoned, he thought the lesson was "take the best place for cannons." It's why in Gettysburg he was obsessed with the Peach Orchid because it was a better place for his cannons, never mind that Hazel Grove had 3 extra things that would allow the III corps to be safely supported by allies while in the latter case the land he was obsessed with only offered better cannon shots.
 
Gotta give credit where credit is due your off to a good start. Never considered a Hooker wins timeline.

I could see Hooker eyeing political office if he avoids the Chancellorsville defeat especially if it leads to winning the war
 
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Gotta give credit where credit is due your off to a good start. Never considered a Hooker wins timeline.

I could see Hooker eyeing political office if he avoids the Chancellorsville defeat especially if it leads to winning the war

Thanks, I agree with your assessment. Hooker was a darling of republicans such as Salmon Chase and Benjamin Wade I could see them putting him up to it.
 
II: The Two Dans

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In building up his war machine, Hooker turned to the aid of two of the most colorful characters in the Army of the Potomac: Daniel Sickles and Daniel Butterfield. Both men were not particularly well liked in the army. They were largely regarded as morale corrupt individuals who owed their positions more to political influence than martial skill. Nonetheless these two would be loyal friends to Hooker and serve as great assets in the coming campaign.

Sickles lived a life overflowing with scandals. He had murdered his wife’s lover and pleaded temporary insanity to avoid his conviction. While in London he caused a diplomatic incident by snubbing Queen Victoria. When war broke out he raised men the Union desperately needed and during the conflict acted as brave as one could be expected. He would rise to be the proud commander of the 3rd Crops for the engagements to come. Butterfield took on the important role as chief of staff for the Army of the Potomac. He had seen service in the Peninsula through to Fredericksburg. He was a man of many talents, known to have been the composer of Taps. This new role suited him well and he showed himself a very able administrator who found the daily grind of staff work a pleasant exercise.

With the assistance of his two Dan’s, Hooker began a major reorganization of the army. Hooker did away with the unwieldy Grand Divisions of his predecessor Ambrose Burnside and restructured the men into seven crops: 1st under John Fulton Reynolds, 2nd under Darius Couch, 3rd under Daniel Sickles, 5th under George Gordon Meade, 6th under John Sedgwick, 11th under Oliver Otis Howard and finally the 12th under Henry Slocum. As an addition a cavalry corps was formed under the command of George Stoneman. These progressive steps made the army a much more efficient and maneuverable animal. The reforms to the cavalry were perhaps most impressive. Prior to this period the Union cavalry had proven itself largely ineffective compared to its Confederate rivals. This centralization into a single corps made them a force to be reckoned with.

Hooker also began to tackled morale issues that plagued the army. The men were simply not getting the proper supplies necessary to sustain them and it had lead to a large number of desertions. Hooker bombastic as ever declared "that the men will eat before I do" and set about remedying the situation as quickly as possible. The commanding general tried to spend time intermingling with the men and gaining their trust. Hooker’s personality and hard living habits related well to the average solider. Over time he would become a real solider's general, to the men “Old Joe”.

Having gotten the army in its sorts Hooker began to focus more and more on his enemy. He was unsure as to the strength of his opponent or his plans, the intelligence he received was wholly inadequate. Hooker desperately needed someone who could get him the information he so badly needed. As luck would have Butterfield had the perfect man in mind…..
 
III: Bureau of Military Intelligence

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George Sharpe was brought on to lead the new Bureau of Military Information. Sharpe, a prewar lawyer and colonel in the 120th New York Infantry, brought professionalism and accuracy to his new assignment. George Sharpe’s agents gave Hooker extremely accurate information and almost perfectly assessed Confederate strength at around 55,000. Sharpe was a great improvement over his predecessor the detective Alan Pinkerton. The way in which Pinkerton gathered information had been proven faulty and he had misjudged Confederate strength. During the Peninsula Campaign he had repeatedly given General George B. McClellan exaggerated numbers. This had the negative side effect of adding to the fears of the already cautious McClellan and contributed to the campaigns ultimate failure. Unlike McClellan, Hooker's confidence would be boosted by the knowledge that he outnumbered his opponent by over two to one.

In the meantime, the men under Hooker’s command saw their first taste of action. On March 17th a cavalry engagement at Kelly’s Ford broke out along the Rappahannock. The results of the fight were inconclusive, and the event was relatively minor. It did however give the cavalry new heart that Hooker’s reforms were working and that they could now compete with the Confederates on even terms. The men were aswell encouraged by the news that talented Confederate artillery officer Major John Pelham had been killed.
 
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IV: Finishing Touches

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By mid April after months of work, Hooker was satisfied that his army was now ready to take on “Bobby Lee”. The men were in high spirits and the army had swelled to roughly 130,000. At his headquarters in Falmouth, Virginia he formulated his deployment. Five corps the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 11th and 12th would make up the right wing while the remaining two corps the 1st and 6th would be on the left. The division of Iron Brigade veteran John Gibbon would remain in rear as a reserve. With any luck Lee in the coming days would find himself in a massive vice and be forced to “fly” or “fight.”

In the final days before the offensive, Hooker summoned corps commanders Darius Couch and John Sedgwick along with the army’s Chief Engineer Gouverneur Warren to report to his headquarters for a final briefing. To General Couch he granted the position of second in command and the role of right wing commander. Couch would have the task of managing the crossing of the Rappahannock-Rapidan along with securing the Chancellorsville crossroads. Couch’s 2nd Corps was perhaps the best unit in the army comprising of veteran soldiers lead by the likes of Winfield Scott Hancock. As a commander, Couch was a personally brave and competent leader. He did tend to err on the side of caution, but overall Hooker’s choice was a safe one. General Sedgwick would be given control over the two left wing corps which would include his own 6th along with the 1st crops under the aggressive John Fulton Reynolds. Sedgwick understood what was to be expected on him. To cross over at Fredericksburg, demonstrate against Lee, drawing his gaze, and if the right moment presented itself seize the heights outside the city. Warren, the engineer, gave the final details on the routes the army would be taking and the terrain conditions to be expected.

With the finishing touches put on his “perfect” plan Hooker was ready to begin. On April 27th, the army was set in motion.
 
Intrigued from where this is going, especially if Joseph Hooker is nominated to be head of the GOP in place of OTL Ulysses Grant.
What are the chances of that happening here?
 
Intrigued from where this is going, especially if Joseph Hooker is nominated to be head of the GOP in place of OTL Ulysses Grant.
What are the chances of that happening here?

I would say it is probable. I think the people who pushed for Grant's presidency in our timeline would do the same in this scenario for Hooker. You even have men like Butterflied, who was Hooker's close friend, and served in the Grant administration.
 
I would say it is probable. I think the people who pushed for Grant's presidency in our timeline would do the same in this scenario for Hooker. You even have men like Butterflied, who was Hooker's close friend, and served in the Grant administration.

Although since I know next to nothing about this guy, where would he stand in domestic and foreign policy if president and would be as or less corrupt.
 
Although since I know next to nothing about this guy, where would he stand in domestic and foreign policy if president and would be as or less corrupt.

I think Hooker can be best described as more of an opportunist without many concrete views on domestic/foreign policy. Politically, he was a democrat pre war but became very friendly with the radical republicans and adopted their views to further his career. He was a very good administrator, which would be a help as president, at the same time however he was corrupt hanging out with men like Sickles. He could be really vindictive if you crossed him, post Gettysburg he used his influence with Benjamin Wade to have the Congressional Joint Committee investigate Meade and tried to get him relieved of command. The idea being that if Meade was fired, Hooker would regain the position. Basically he did whatever need be to get ahead.
 
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Lincoln's letter to Hooker on taking command, I think does a pretty good job summarizing Hooker's character if anyone is interested:
Executive Mansion
Washington, January 26, 1863

Major General Hooker:
General.

I have placed you at the head of the Army of the Potomac. Of course I have done this upon what appear to me to be sufficient reasons. And yet I think it best for you to know that there are some things in regard to which, I am not quite satisfied with you. I believe you to be a brave and a skilful soldier, which, of course, I like. I also believe you do not mix politics with your profession, in which you are right. You have confidence in yourself, which is a valuable, if not an indispensable quality. You are ambitious, which, within reasonable bounds, does good rather than harm. But I think that during Gen. Burnside's command of the Army, you have taken counsel of your ambition, and thwarted him as much as you could, in which you did a great wrong to the country, and to a most meritorious and honorable brother officer. I have heard, in such way as to believe it, of your recently saying that both the Army and the Government needed a Dictator. Of course it was not for this, but in spite of it, that I have given you the command. Only those generals who gain successes, can set up dictators. What I now ask of you is military success, and I will risk the dictatorship. The government will support you to the utmost of it's ability, which is neither more nor less than it has done and will do for all commanders. I much fear that the spirit which you have aided to infuse into the Army, of criticising their Commander, and withholding confidence from him, will now turn upon you. I shall assist you as far as I can, to put it down. Neither you, nor Napoleon, if he were alive again, could get any good out of an army, while such a spirit prevails in it.

And now, beware of rashness. Beware of rashness, but with energy, and sleepless vigilance, go forward, and give us victories.

Yours very truly
A. Lincoln
http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/hooker.htm
 
V: Into the Woods

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The initial advance went exactly as planned. Sedgwick’s wing established his bridgehead near Fredericksburg while Couch lead the main body across the Rapidan-Rappahannock fords to Chancellorsville. Stoneman’s cavalry departed on its mission to cause havoc in the Confederate rear. The Union advance had gone largely undetected thanks to misdirection efforts by Butterflied and Sharpe. The Confederates were largely absent from the crossing points at the Germanna, Ely’s and U.S. fords, thinking the attack would come elsewhere.

While the campaign opened, Hooker hung back at his headquarters to help manage communications between the two wings. Hooker’s was thinking more and more on the heavily wooded area near Chancellorsville known as the Wilderness. These woodlands would limit the effectiveness of Hooker’s larger force and force him to use its inadequate road network. Hooker wanted to clear this unfavorable terrain if possible. At the same time however, he did not want to bring on a general engagement before his army was concentrated. He was very concerned when his aide de camp General James van Alen brought word that the Union advanced elements had encountered Confederates skirmishers south and east of Chancellorsville. Hooker sent orders for these units to halt, pull back, and road to join the main body himself arriving late on the April 30th.
 
VI: Meade’s Rebuke

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Some of the officer’s had begun think Hooker had lost his nerve. For all the talk he was showing himself no more aggressive than McClellan. One man in particular General George Meade, commander of the Union fifth corps, felt strongly that the opposition in front of him was weak. If the advance was kept he said, they could be pushed aside the enemy and an attack could be made on Lee’s rear. Meade had a reputation as the rising star in the Army of the Potomac. He had served in Hooker’s corps during the Maryland campaign leading the troops bravely at South Mountain, earning his commanders praise. Then at Antietam when Hooker was severely wounded Meade took command and rallying the corps. Most recently at Fredericksburg, Meade had shown himself an aggressive fighter nearly smashing through the Confederate lines.

Hooker knew Meade well and valued his opinion. However, he simply did not want to take the risk of being defeated in detail. The example of an equally confident commander John Pope, whose Army of Virginia was crushed at 2nd Manassas, was fresh in his mind. Hooker resolved to assume a defensive posture, amassing all his corps together around Chancellorsville. He would let Lee make the next move. He did not fear an attack by Lee in fact he welcomed it. Hooker remembered Malvern Hill where Lee’s aggressiveness got the best of him had launched a number of bloody unsuccessful assaults. He was certain that if Lee attacked he would be repulsed with similar results. Little did he know Lee and his right arm the famed Stonewall Jackson had something terrible in store for him....
 
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