I like the Civil War battles for the size of the battlefield is usually smaller and campaigns shorter so one can see the layout in there mind with good maps.I read three books Fredricksburg,Chancellorsville and Gettysburg with Chancellorsville being the most interesting.Lee split his army and sent Jackson for miles just out side the range of cannons for about ten hours as Union troops watched all day as dust was upheaval ed about Jackson's men.The men were lead up through the forest up a hill and about 4pm they attacked the the outer right flank of cannons and crushed one after another Union gun emplacements as they were sitting down for dinner.
The
Battle of Chancellorsville was a major battle of the
American Civil War (1861–1865), and the principal engagement of the
Chancellorsville campaign.
[13] 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,
General 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, including
Lt. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson. Jackson was hit by
friendly fire, requiring his left arm to be amputated. He died of pneumonia eight days later, a loss that Lee likened to losing his right arm. Lee's difficulty in replacing his lost men as well as his inability to prevent the Union withdrawal effectively have led to his great victory being regarded as a
Pyrrhic one.
[14