General Edward Porter Alexander at Chancellorsville: Account of the Battle from His Memoirs

By Edward Porter Alexander

In the narrative of the Civil War, Edward Porter Alexander has loomed larger in death than in life. Just 25 years old when the war broke out, Porter Alexander had already served as an engineer and officer in the U.S. Army, but the native Georgian resigned his commission in May 1861 and joined the Confederacy after his home state seceded. 


Porter Alexander would continue to serve under Longstreet's corps for most of the rest of the war, and he famously suggested to Lee at Appomattox that the Confederate army should disband and melt away instead of surrender. Porter Alexander would later regret the suggestion, and Lee scolded him for it anyway. 


Though he had served with distinction during the Civil War, it was Porter Alexander's memoirs that have kept his name alive today. While many prominent officers on both sides wrote memoirs, Porter Alexander's were among the most insightful and often considered by historians as the most evenhanded. With a sense of humor and a good narrative, Porter Alexander skillfully narrated the war, his service, and what he considered the successes and faults of others, including Lee, when he thought they had made good decisions or mistakes. As a result, historians continue to rely heavily on his memoirs as a source for Civil War history. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Krill Press
• Release date: Nov 25, 2015
• ISBN: 9781518310898

Edward Porter Alexander

General Edward Porter Alexander (1835-1910) was Robert E. Lee’s artillery commander for most of the Civil War. After the Confederate surrender, he served as an executive at various railroad companies and became a respected author. He died in Savannah, Georgia.

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GENERAL EDWARD PORTER ALEXANDER AT CHANCELLORSVILLE: ACCOUNT OF THE BATTLE FROM HIS MEMOIRS

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Edward Porter Alexander

FIREWORK PRESS

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Copyright © 2015 by Edward Porter Alexander

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

Chapter 15: Chancellorsville

General Edward Porter Alexander at Chancellorsville: Account of the Battle from His Memoirs

By

Edward Porter Alexander

General Edward Porter Alexander at Chancellorsville: Account of the Battle from His Memoirs

Published by Firework Press

New York City, NY

First published 1904

Copyright © Firework Press, 2015

All rights reserved

Except in the United States of America, this book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

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INTRODUCTION

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IN THE NARRATIVE OF THE Civil War, Edward Porter Alexander has loomed larger in death than in life. Just 25 years old when the war broke out, Porter Alexander had already served as an engineer and officer in the U.S. Army, but the native Georgian resigned his commission in May 1861 and joined the Confederacy after his home state seceded.

Porter Alexander spent 1861 as an intelligence officer, and he served as part of a signal guard, but he soon became chief of ordnance for Joseph Johnston’s army near Richmond. Half a year later, Johnston would be injured during the Peninsula Campaign at the Battle of Seven Pines, after which he was replaced by Robert E. Lee. Over the course of 1862, Porter Alexander took on more roles in the Army of Northern Virginia’s artillery branch, particularly under Longstreet’s 1st Corps.

Though he had served with distinction during the Civil War, it was Porter Alexander’s memoirs that have kept his name alive today. Though many prominent officers on both sides wrote memoirs, Porter Alexander’s were among the most insightful and often considered by historians as the most evenhanded. With a sense of humor and a good narrative, Porter Alexander skillfully narrates the war, his service, and he isn’t afraid to criticize officers, including Lee, when he thought they had made mistakes. As a result, historians continue to rely heavily on his memoirs as a source for Civil War history.

This account of the battle of Chancellorsville comes from Alexander’s memoirs, Military Memoirs of a Confederate: A Critical Narrative. It is specially formatted with a Table of Contents, images of the key battles, and Alexander.

CHAPTER 15: CHANCELLORSVILLE

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Winter quarters.

— RATIONS REDUCED. — HAYS’S Louisiana brigade. — officers’ servants. — Hooker’s reorganization. — Confederate organization. — Hooker’s plan of attack. — Lee’s proposed aggressive. — Hooker crosses. — Hooker’s fatal mistake. — Lee’s prompt action. — the Wilderness. — Hooker advances. — Lee’s advance. — Hooker Retreats. — Hooker Intrenches. — Lee Reconnoitres. — Lee’s plan of attack. — Jackson’s march. — the movement discovered. — Sickles advances. — Jackson Deploys. — Jackson attacks. — Colquitt’s blunder. — Dowdall’s Tavern. — casualties. — at Hooker’s headquarters. — defensive measures. — Jackson Pauses. — a cannonade. — wounding of Jackson. — Stuart in command. — formation for attack. — Sickles’s midnight attack. — Hooker’s interior line. — Hooker abandons Hazel Grove. — Stuart attacks. — assaults repulsed. — Hazel Grove guns. — Federals withdraw. — Lee and Stuart meet. — Sedgwick’s advance. — Wilcox on Taylor’s Hill. — assaults renewed. — Early falls back. — Salem Church. — casualties. — Early’s division. — Lee organizes an attack. — Sedgwick driven across.

Soon after the battle of Fredericksburg, Lee placed his army in winter quarters. Jackson was extended along the river, below the town, as far as Port Royal, his own headquarters being at a hunting lodge on the lawn of a Mr. Corbin, at Moss Neck, 11 miles below Fredericksburg. Longstreet was encamped from a little above Fredericksburg to Massaponax Creek. Lee established his headquarters in a camp a short distance in rear of Hamilton’s Crossing. Most of the artillery was sent back to the North Anna River for convenience of supply. My own battalion occupied a wood at Mt. Carmel church, five miles north of Hanover Junction, the horses being sheltered in an adjoining pine thicket. On the occasion of Burnside’s Mud March, we marched about halfway to Fredericksburg, but were then allowed to return. The infantry generally did not leave their camps, as there was nowhere any fighting. [318]

Although so near