What if Hooker hadn't been stunned at Chancellorsville?

[gary]

Say Hooker hadn't been stunned. He still had Meade's 5th Corps most of which (3/4) was fresh. Reynold's First Corps was still fresh and Howard's Cowards (11th Corps) had been rallied. If Hooker wanted to attack, couldn't he have won?

[johan_steele]

No, a professional soldier once told me that battles are won in the will and in the mind. If a general thinks he is beaten he is and if he has lost the will to fight he has lost.

Apparently, the Seven Days battles and Chancellorsville were both used as examples of this in Soviet Military academies... scary thought eh?

[ewc]

Hooker had already conceded his advantage of flanking Lee and setting up in clear terrain by pulling back into the Wilderness at the appearance of Lee's columns by the time he was dazed by the falling pillar at Chancellors Manse. He had no intention of attacking, instead was setting up defensive perimeters. In other words, he had entirely abandoned his masterpiece to best Lee, and was now hunkering in the woods waiting for Lee to attack him. After Jackson's devastating attack, with his lines stabilized and fortified around US Ford, Hooker was secure; Lee certainly would have attacked, and likely been bloodily repulsed. But Hooker, stunned, still in command, and against the judgment of his corps commanders, withdrew from this strong position which did offer some hope of success. Thus ended his campaign in failure.

One other point to consider- Hooker, a fairly well lubricated soul, abstained from his favorite lubricants throughout the campaign. His senior corps commander, General Couch, no strong supporter of Hooker, offers this as a defense of the man, that he would have been better off in his normal habits than changing at the time of greatest stress, and the point is a good one.

Hooker stunned- absolutley; inopportunely sober- almost surely; loss of composure- definitely; abdication of the initiative- yeppum. Want to attack? His absolute work of art of a plan to do just that could not have been better. Everything was 'go' as the first part of his plan went through without a hitch; everything was in order to attack at complete advantage- but he pulled back as soon as Lee turned his eyes directly upon him. So I think Hooker gave up every intention of attacking, let alone even staying in the Wilderness after his unhappy meeting with a cannonball and a pillar. Too bad for him, too bad for the Union. If he had just attacked...

[kepple]

if he would have attacked and listened to his pickets and instead of howards cowards put the 5th and second corp there jackson would have met disaster and that would have ended the war

[lrd89]

[quote=gary]and Howard's Cowards (11th Corps) had been rallied. ...QUOTE]

I think it was probably too late by then.

[samgrant]

Originally Posted by ewc

One other point to consider- Hooker, a fairly well lubricated soul, abstained from his favorite lubricants throughout the campaign. His senior corps commander, General Couch, no strong supporter of Hooker, offers this as a defense of the man, that he would have been better off in his normal habits than changing at the time of greatest stress, and the point is a good one.

Hooker stunned- absolutley; inopportunely sober- almost surely; loss of composure- definitely; abdication of the initiative- yeppum. Want to attack? His absolute work of art of a plan to do just that could not have been better. Everything was 'go' as the first part of his plan went through without a hitch; everything was in order to attack at complete advantage- but he pulled back as soon as Lee turned his eyes directly upon him. So I think Hooker gave up every intention of attacking, let alone even staying in the Wilderness after his unhappy meeting with a cannonball and a pillar. Too bad for him, too bad for the Union. If he had just attacked...

Kenneth P. Williams adddresses this point, thusly:

"Hooker had forgotten to take his compass when he left his old heaquarters for the front. ... It was not a magnetic compass that Fighting Joe was missing and suffering for. It was a drink. For four days Hooker had been subjected to a bad strain, and unwisely he had stopped his customary use of stimulants. He did not have the heart and the iron nerve of a real commanding general, but it was certainly unwise for a man who "takes his whisky strong" to become absteminous at a critical time. Had not A. Lincoln written twice in his letter, "Beware of rashness"?"

- Lincoln Finds a General

[nbforrest]

By the time Hooker was stunned he had already not only lost the initiative but had lost control of the situation. His defeat was already decided by his actions. Once Hazel Grove was gone, Hooker had set himself up.

Respectfully

[samgrant]

Had Dr. Letterman pronounced Hooker unfit, Couch might have been able to straighten things out.

[milhistbuff1]

Sam, with all due respect, the main thing that was necessary for the union to win that battle was a retraction of fighting joe's retreat order. Without it Couch would have a free hand, regardless of hooker's medical status.

[nbforrest]

Darius Couch is not the fellow I would expect a smashing counter attack from.

Respectfully