Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-04-20
A FORTETH
 ANNIVERSARY WAR STORY
May I-3, 1863

with the enemy he still had high hopes of ultimate success. He meant to fight Lee, If Lee would stand for it, upon that rolling, open ground in front of. Charlottesville and Banks ford He believed that when Lee found his ene- my's army planted there he would re- treat toward Richmond. Longstreet, the old warhorse of Lee, was absent in southeastern Virginia, but Stuart, with his cavalry, lay off on Rockers right, looking out for the roads to Gordons- vile. Stonewall Jackson was at the head of his famous corps, and with him Lee took counsel ''how best to get at these people"
 As a result of the conference between Lee and StoneWall the latter moved his corps out of the lines at Freder- icksburg in the direction of Richmond. The outposts of Hooker saw the Con- federates moving away toward Rich mond, and Hooker believed that his stroke in crossing the river was mas terpiece. Meanwhile he had put his army behind intrenchments at Chan cellorsvilIe and sent out detachments to watch the retreating enemy. How dl lu D AI4CNSALA 1OlpS AN4u AAOONCA 2 right flank. Marching far beyond the Federal flank, Stonewall Jackson swept around in circle and toward the close of May 2 lined up his troops in the thicket on Towards flank.
 At the appointed hour, sitting on horseback at the head of the line, Jack son waved his hand and the bugle sounded the charge. The overconfident Federals lay in the thicket refusing to believe that the occasional picket tir- Ing off Towards front during the day meant that the enemy was coming in force. In seconds time, with no more warning than the sound of their guns, the Confederates burst through the woods, sweeping down in rear of Towards .breastworks and rolling up his line like scroll.
 Words fail to picture the scene to one who has never seen an army surprised by overwhelming foes. Batteries turn ed their guns on the enemy only to be overrun the next minute; generals, colonels and captains rushed into the mass to rally and lead their men in re- sistance Soldiers were shot down from the front, from the right and from the rear without getting sight of to fight in line; here was mob, with out order or cohesion, and the coming of the foe was like vast tidal wave. Of heroes in the crisis there were hun lreds, but none more conspicuous than the one armed Howard, who kept his face to the front, with a battlefag clasped in the embrace of his empty sleeve and the few inches of stub that remained But heroism was useless, Jackson swept down the line until brought to a standstill nearer Chan cellorsville by Hooker with troops of the Third and Twelfth corps.
 While Jackson was smashing in Rockers right flank, Lee, with Nc Laws, attacked Rockers left, where Hancock still held~the van. Hooker was between two fires. During the night Stonewall rode out beyond his own pickets to look the ground over for q finishing blow the morning of May and was lnortally wounded by random shots of his own men or the enemy. But Hooker had odds in num- bers and Jackson had really rushed his column like wedge into mass of foes. Fortunately for Lee, Hooker continued to act with caution. Instead of calling up all the troops within reach to dispose of Jackson he sent word to Sedgwick at Fredericksburg to march to Chancellorsville. When Sedgwick got the message, his troops were already in collision with the en- emy at Fredericksburg, ready to storm Marye's hill. All day the Sd of May Hooker strained his ears listening for the sound of Sedgwick's guns on his left flank, where Lee and McLaws were pounding away vigorously. But Fredericksburg heights had not been evacuated, although it seemed to Hook CT that he was fighting all of Lees army at Charlottesville.
 As the day wore on the Confederates of Jackson under the leadership of Stuart drove back a brigade of Fed erals here and division there, and in a short time the two wings of Lees army were united in front of Chancel- lorsville. Lees batteries took for 8 target the Charlottesville house where Hooker stood directing the battle. A shell struck a pillar of the front against which Hooker was leaning and the coIcussion knocked him down. Quickly the report flew through the ranks that Hooker was killed. Before his fall Hooker had ordered two lead ing corps to retreat, and after he had rallied from his shock he turned over the command to General Couch with instructions to withdraw the, entire army from Charlottesville to a new position in the rear.
 But Charlottesville was not aban- doned without fighting. Federal regi- ments, brigades. and batteries disputed every foot of ground, every thicl1et and ravine Batteries were destroyed and generals were killed in heroic struggle to stem the second disaster. Soldiers willing to die in their tracks if called upon to do so were surrounded and driven to the wall by numbers far their inferior. In seeking to avoid bat tie Hooker had drifted into a hopeless tan;sle of carnage. Aiming to outgen- erel Lee he had himself been outgen- eroled. GEORGE l.. hILMER.
 An Ananimate Conversation.
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