  the battle of chancellorsville was a major battle of the american civil war, and the principal engagement of the chancellorsville campaign.there were three battles and one cavalry raid during the campaign. because the three battles happened in a small geographic area and had overlapping timelines, this article covers both the battle around the village of chancellorsville and the full campaign. it was fought from april 30 to may 6, 1863, in spotsylvania county, virginia, near the village of chancellorsville. two related battles were fought nearby on may 3 in the vicinity of fredericksburg. the campaign pitted union army maj. gen. joseph hooker's army of the potomac against an army less than half its size, gen. robert e. lee's confederate army of northern virginia. chancellorsville is known as lee's "perfect battle" because his risky decision to divide his army in the presence of a much larger enemy force resulted in a significant confederate victory. the victory, a product of lee's audacity and hooker's timid decision making, was tempered by heavy casualties and the mortal wounding of lt. gen. thomas j. "stonewall" jackson to friendly fire, a loss that lee likened to "losing my right arm." the chancellorsville campaign began with the crossing of the rappahannock river by the union army on the morning of april 27, 1863. union cavalry under maj. gen. george stoneman began a long distance raid against lee's supply lines at about the same time. this operation was completely ineffectual. cro
1863_in_Virginia Battles_of_the_Eastern_Theater_of_the_American_Civil_War Chancellorsville_Campaign Confederate_victories_of_the_American_Civil_War Conflicts_in_1863 Spotsylvania_County_in_the_American_Civil_War Virginia_in_the_American_Civil_War