Fighting Joe Hooker

Front Cover
U of Nebraska Press, 1999 M01 1 - 366 pages
?I have placed you at the head of the Army of the Potomac. Of course I have done this upon what appear to me to be sufficient reasons. And yet I think it best for you to know that there are some things in regard to which, I am not quite satisfied with you.? ø With this opening sentence in a two-page letter from Abraham Lincoln, Union general Joseph Hooker (1814?79) gained a prominent place in Civil War history. Hooker assumed command of an army demoralized by defeat and diminished by desertion. Acting swiftly, the general reorganized his army, routed corruption among quartermasters, improved food and sanitation, and boosted morale by granting furloughs and amnesties. His hour of fame and the test of his military skill came in the May 1863 battle of Chancellorsville. It was one of the Union Army?s worst defeats; shortly thereafter Hooker?s resignation was accepted. ø This definitive biography of a man who could lead so brilliantly and yet fall so ignominiously remains the only full-length treatment of Hooker?s life. His renewal as an important commander in the western theater during the Chattanooga and Atlanta campaigns is discussed, as is his life before and after his Civil War military service. In a new introduction James A. Rawley, Carl Adolph Happold Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Nebraska, reminds today?s readers of Fighting Joe?s place in history.
 

Contents

FOREWORD
11
THE EARLY TRAINING OF A FIGHTER
17
CIVIL INTERLUDE IN CALIFORNIA AND OREGON
36
THE FIRST COMMAND
47
YORKTOWN AND WILLIAMSBURG
74
ON THE OFFENSIVE ALONG THE CHICKAHOMINY
92
THE CHANGE OF BASE
105
SECOND BULL
119
APPOINTMENT TO THE COMMAND OF THE ARMY
164
ADMINISTRATIVE JOE
171
PRELIMINARIES OF THE SPRING CAMPAIGN
185
HOOKER LOSES CONFIDENCE IN HOOKER
192
ARMY WITHOUT A HEAD
204
AFTERMATH OF THE CAMPAIGN
222
REMOVAL FROM THE COMMAND
231
HOOKER GOES WEST
247

SICK LEAVE AND FREDERICKSBURG
146

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