Page:Confederate Military History - 1899 - Volume 3.djvu/423

Rh behind the line of battle, his black plume waving as, in merry mood and clear, sharp voice, he sang, "Fighting Joe Hooker, come out of the "Wilderness!" His right soon took the lead and attacked Hooker's center near Hazel Grove, capturing four Federal guns and gaining a position on the south end of the Chancellorsville plateau. As the light of day increased, Stuart's quick military eye detected the advantages of this Hazel Grove position, and he ordered Walker to concentrate thirty guns upon that point. These gave him an enfilade, as he was at the apex of Hooker's salient, along both the right and the left wing of the Federal army. Anderson's guns, under Hardaway, coming forward from toward Catherine furnace, also secured an enfilading position, and under the concentrated fire of these well served big guns, Hooker's position became untenable in about an hour.

While Lee's artillery was doing this effective work, McLaws assaulted Hooker's left; Anderson his center, from the south; while Stuart pressed line after line against his right. By 8 of the morning, Lee's wings were joined in front of Chancellorsville, in continuous line of battle, and a stubborn fight, of stroke and counterstroke, began. Three times the bold Confederates took the Federal line of defenses, and three times were they driven from them by Hooker's brave fighters. His many well-handled guns aided in the repulses; but those of Lee finally overcame those of Hooker. A Confederate shell striking a heavy brick column of the Chancellor house, disabled Hooker himself, and Couch was compelled to take the command without having any definite plan of defense.

By 10 o'clock Stuart had broken through the Federal lines on the westward and gained the central point of the Chancellorsville plateau, at the little Fairview cemetery, thus forcing Hooker's men to retreat, driven by the desperate courage of inferior numbers, from their strongly-intrenched positions on three sides of Chancellorsville, past that burning mansion, into the strong line of intrenchments (the most formidable the writer ever saw constructed from timber) which Hooker had thrown up, as a refuge of last resort, during the preceding night, extending across from the mouth of Hunting run of the