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Chancellorsville's Forgotten Front: The Battles Of Second Fredericksburg And Salem Church, May 3, 1863

By May of 1863, the Stone Wall at the base of Marye’s Heights above Fredericksburg loomed large over the Army of the Potomac, haunting its men with memories of slaughter from their crushing defeat there the previous December. They would assault it again with a very different result the following spring when General Joe Hooker, bogged down in bloody battle with the Army of Northern Virginia around the crossroads of Chancellorsville, ordered John Sedgwick’s Sixth Corps to assault the heights and move to his assistance. This time the Union troops wrested the wall and high ground from the Confederates and drove west into the enemy’s rear. The inland drive stalled in heavy fighting at Salem Church. Chancellorsville’s Forgotten Front: The Battles of Second Fredericksburg and Salem Church, May 3, 1863 is the first book-length study of these overlooked engagements and the central roles they played in the final Southern victory.Once Hooker opened the campaign with a brilliant march around General Lee’s left flank, the Confederate commander violated military principles by dividing his under-strength army in the face of superior numbers. He shuttled most of his men west from around Fredericksburg under Stonewall Jackson to meet Hooker in the tangles of the Wilderness, leaving behind a small portion to watch Sedgwick’s Sixth Corps. Jackson’s devastating attack against Hooker’s exposed right flank on May 2, however, convinced the Union army commander to order Sedgwick’s large, unused corps to break through and march against Lee’s rear. From that point on, Chancellorsville’s Forgotten Front tightens the lens for a thorough examination of the decision-making, movements, and fighting that led to the breakthrough, inland thrust, and ultimate bloody stalemate at Salem Church.Authors Chris Mackowski and Kristopher D. White have long appreciated the pivotal roles Second Fredericksburg and Salem Church played in the campaign, and just how close the Southern army came to grief―and the Union army to stunning success. Together they seamlessly weave their extensive newspaper, archival, and firsthand research into a compelling narrative to better understand these combats, which usually garner little more than a footnote to the larger story of Jackson’s march and tragic fatal wounding.The success at Second Fredericksburg was one of the Union army’s few bright spots in the campaign, while the setback at Salem Church stands as its most devastating lost opportunity. Instead of being trapped between the Sixth Corps’ hammer and “Fighting Joe” Hooker’s anvil, Lee overcame long odds to achieve what is widely recognized as his greatest victory. But Lee’s triumph played out as it did because of the pivotal events at Second Fredericksburg and Salem Church―Chancellorsville’s forgotten front―where Union soldiers once more faced the horror of an indomitable wall of stone, and an undersized Confederate division stood up to a Union juggernaut.REVIEWS “Too often historians have treated the battles of Second Fredericksburg and Salem Church as mere footnotes to the greater Chancellorsville campaign. In Chancellorsville’s Forgotten Front, Mackowski and White bring the story to the forefront where it belongs, and they do so in a style at once entertaining and evocative.”– Donald Pfanz, award-winning author of Richard S. Ewell: A Soldier’s Life“Mackowski’s and White’s Chancellorsville’s Forgotten Front is not just a micro-study of a small portion of a large campaign, but a study of the campaign from the perspective of overlooked battles. Anyone who thinks Second Fredericksburg, Salem Church, and Banks’ Ford were insignificant engagements are about to discover that the Federals who fought and died in these actions were not left behind simply as decoys, and the fighting so wonderfully researched and described had a direct effect on the entire campaign.” – Greg Mertz, supervisory historian, Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park“Most studies of Chancellorsville focus on the fighting around the Chancellor house and on Stonewall Jackson’s flank attack and mortal wounding. Few remember the campaign’s ‘second front’ at Fredericksburg and the intense deadly combat at Salem Church, where nearly 30,000 Federal troops of Sedgwick’s VI Corps battled for their lives against Jubal Early’s division and elements of Longstreet’s First Corps. This stunning oversight has finally been corrected by historians Mackowski and White. Their readable, enjoyable, and deeply researched micro-tactical study is a must for anyone interested in Civil War battles in general, and Chancellorsville in particular.”– Eric J. Wittenberg, award-winning Civil War author“Chris Mackowski and Kristopher White’s Chancellorsville’s Forgotten Front focuses on an overlooked and yet complex part of ‘Fighting Joe’ Hooker’s 1863 effort to defeat Robert E. Lee. Their study is simply first-rate, and should not and cannot be overlooked by anyone trying to understand the full importance of the Chancellorsville campaign.”– Lance J. Herdegen, award-winning author of The Iron Brigade in Civil War and Memory“Chancellorsville’s Forgotten Front is sure to be among the best Civil War books published this year. Mackowski and White demonstrate the importance of this all-too-often neglected part of campaign with authenticity and eloquence. Their research is exhaustive, and their passion for the subject obvious. If you think you know all about Chancellorsville, think again. Professional historians and amateurs alike will gain new information and fresh insight by reading this book, and come away with a better appreciation for, and knowledge of, Lee’s greatest victory.”– Mike Stevens, President, Central Virginia Battlefields Trust

Hardcover: 432 pages

Publisher: Savas Beatie; 1St Edition edition (May 1, 2013)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1611211360

ISBN-13: 978-1611211368

Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 1.1 x 9.4 inches

Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #1,080,050 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #27 in Books > History > Americas > United States > Civil War > Campaigns & Battlefields > Fredericksburg #10740 in Books > History > Military > United States

My introduction to Second Fredericksburg and Salem Church was on the road from Fredericksburg to Chancellorsville.I pulled over when is spied a large Civil War monument alongside the road.The monument is to the 23rd New Jersey for the fighting at Salem Church.I understood that Chancellorsville was much more than the fighting at the crossroads.The few chapters in battle histories became real and something to look into.This book opens a new area of study for the majority of Civil War readers by detailing this front.Chancellorsville is the secondary consideration, important only as it influences John Sedgwick's action.By focusing on the secondary front, the authors give us a primer in communication problems and personalities.The problems caused by Hooker's collapse at Chancellorsville become very real as you read this book.Sedgwick's mission and his recourses are constantly changing with little logic or understanding of his situation.The result is desperate battles, impossible requirements and a shifting landscape.Jubal Early did not have a good time either. Striped of resources, with instructions that contradicts events he copes as well as possible.Cadmus M. Wilcox's action determines the course of the fighting on both fronts and is a real hero here.Most of all, this is the story of two hard fought battles and missed opportunities.The authors do an excellent job producing an informative and very readable book. The maps are in the right places and in sufficient numbers to meet reasonable needs.Hal Jespersen's maps are clear and easy to follow making a real contribution to the text. Illustrations abound, both portraits and contemporary illustrations.

The Battle of Chancellorsville is one of the war’s best-known engagements. It is often described as Robert E. Lee’s greatest victory because he was outnumbered two to one and successfully took huge risks.Even casual students of the war know of Stonewall Jackson’s legendary march on May 2 around the Federal army, which was followed by his devastating rout of the Union’s ill-prepared right flank. Many are also aware of how later that night Jackson was accidently shot and mortally wounded by his own men.Often overlooked, however, are two May 3 large-scale and pivotal actions of the Chancellorsville campaign that took place well to the east of the famous battlefield, one 10 miles away on the same ground as the December 1862 Battle of Fredericksburg.Now, in the first-ever book-length study of this “forgotten front,” authors Chris Mackowski and Kristopher D. White explain in great detail just how the battles known as Second Fredericksburg and Salem Church complemented the larger and more famous Battle at Chancellorsville.The primary Union actors in this particular drama were Gen. John Sedgwick and his large 6th Corps, which had been positioned across the Rappahannock River from Fredericksburg as a means of holding the Confederates’ attention.Meanwhile, commanding Union General Joseph Hooker and three corps marched to the west, crossed the fords on April 30, and placed themselves on the Confederates’ left flank. As part of Hooker’s plan, Sedgwick’s command had crossed the Rappahannock on April 29 and established a bridgehead on the south bank.In spite ofJackson’s successful surprise assault against the Union’s right flank on May 2, Hooker realized that his smaller foe was now dangerously divided.

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