General A. P. Hill then assumed command, but fighting had scarcely
been resumed the next morning before he was wounded and Jeb Stuart
took his place. Meanwhile, Hooker had been injured and the next
day Lee fiercely assailed Sedgwick. For the best part of two days
the battle raged with varying success. But, little by little, the
Confederates edged their opponents toward the Rappahannock, and by
the night of May 5th, 1863, Hooker withdrew his exhausted forces
across the river.

The battle of Chancellorsville cost Lee over 12,000 men; but with
a force which never exceeded 60,000, he had not only extricated
himself from a perilous position, but had inflicted a crushing
blow on an army of 130,000, an achievement which has passed into
history as one of the most brilliant feats of modern warfare.





Chapter XX




In the Hour of Triumph


Great as Lee's reputation had been before the battle of Chancellorsville,
it was immensely increased by that unexpected triumph. But no trace
of vanity or self-gratulation of any kind marked his reception of