The
Camp brothers hadn’t seen much action at Fredericksburg, but things appeared to
be heating up around Chancellorsville. It looked like General Joseph Hooker was
finally going to go on the offensive against General Robert E Lee. Moreover,
the brothers were almost guaranteed to see some of the impending action as part
of General James Archer’s Brigade in General Ambrose “A.P.” Hill’s Division of
General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson’s Second Corps.
2
Gen. Hooker had directed Generals Henry Slocum, Oliver Howard, George Meade and
Darius Couch to set off with their forces along two major roadways through the
wilderness to engage the Rebels. However, due to the impenetrable tangle of
forest surrounding them, they soon lost contact with each other and came under
enemy fire. Union reconnaissance balloons reported that Confederate forces were
moving towards Chancellorsville.
3
As a consequence, Hooker ordered his subordinates back to Chancellorsville and
to begin digging trenches and erecting the breastworks that would be necessary
to defend the village against the Rebels. So, the soldiers took up their picks
and shovels and got to work.
4
Later, in conference with his subordinates, Gen. Hooker proclaimed, “The Army
of the Potomac will shortly own Lee’s army. They’re mine, and Almighty God
won’t be able to protect them from me!” The other generals could only look down
at their feet and wonder in silence at their commander’s timidity and
stupidity.
5
At about the same time, Gen. Lee and Gen. Jackson met on the Plank Road a
little over a mile to the southeast of the city in the wilderness. The two men
were seated together on a log in the midst of a little pine thicket looking
over what few maps of the area that were available to them. Before long, they
were joined by Gen. J.E.B. Stuart.
6
“The Yankees are already well entrenched on our right. What might we do on the
left?” Gen. Lee mused aloud. “Hooker’s boys are in the air on that side,”
Stuart offered as he pointed to the enemy’s position on the map. “They are
vulnerable to attack there, General.”
7
“Are there roads available to us that would get our forces there without them
being observed by those people? Lee asked. “I don’t know, General, but I’ll
find out,” Stuart responded. The conference adjourned, Lee and Jackson bedded
down there amongst the pines with their saddle blankets and waited for Stuart’s
report.
8
In the meantime, the Camp brothers had already bedded down for the evening. “I
sure am getting tired of waiting,” Thomas grumbled as he lay there on his
blanket staring up at the night sky. “Yeah, I know what you mean. It ain’t no
fun. Sometimes it seems like that’s most of what we do,” William Lewis replied.
9
“I’d rather be with Brother Will in Richmond,” Seaborn offered. “You got that
right,” Thomas growled. “Now that would be the life.” “No, being back home
would be the thing,” William Lewis added. Then the brothers lay still and
listened to the Whippoorwill’s familiar cry in the distance as they drifted off
to sleep.
10
At dawn, Major Hotchkiss returned to where Lee and Jackson had made their camp
and spread his map out between the generals. He slowly traced a route out on
the map that would prevent their forces from being detected by the Yankees. The
two generals sat in silence as they studied the map.
11
Lee finally broke the silence. “What are you going to do, General?” he asked.
“I will immediately proceed along this path with my entire corps!” Jackson
proclaimed. “I see,” Lee responded as he stroked his whiskers in contemplation.
“Well go on then.” With those few words, the plan was set. The rebels would
attack Hooker’s exposed flank.
12
The movement of Gen. Jackson’s forces through the narrow paths which Major
Hotchkiss had traced through the Wilderness took most of that day to
accomplish. Finally, as the Yankees were making preparations for their supper,
the forest came alive with deer and rabbits. They appeared to be fleeing out of
the brush in the direction of the Union forces.
13
It wasn’t long until the critters were followed by men dressed in torn
butternut and grey uniforms. They emerged from the briars and brambles, running
toward the startled men in blue and giving a blood curdling rendition of the
Rebel Yell as they came forward.
14
It didn’t make any sense at first. The Union troops were facing south. They had
expected any Confederate attack to come from that direction, but these troops
were approaching from the west.
15
“I thought those bastards were retreating,” one private shouted to another. “I
guess you thought wrong!” the other shouted back with terrified sarcasm. And
so, the Confederate soldiers poured into the rear of the Union entrenchments,
and those soldiers quickly abandoned their entrenchments and fled toward the
east and the main body of their army.
16
The pursuit of the Yankees continued till after sundown and even by light of
the moon. Jackson was determined to press his advantage, and Lee was eager to
force Hooker’s army to surrender. Nevertheless, it was soon too dark to
accomplish much of anything else. Everything was confusion, and both armies
needed to regroup, rest and prepare for the new day ahead.
17
General Jackson, however, was still restless and full of energy. He led a small
group of officers on horseback on a reconnaissance of the Union lines and was
returning to his own forces when fate intervened.
18
A company of men from North Carolina fired on the general and his party.
Jackson was hit by three bullets - two in the left arm that now hung useless at
his side. “Help me down from here,” the General ordered. “My arm is broken.”
19
As they helped him from his horse, the men could see that the general was
bleeding profusely and was fading fast. They acted quickly to staunch the flow
of blood, loaded him onto a stretcher and headed for the rear of their lines.
“That arm is going to have to come off,” the surgeon proclaimed as he looked
down at the general.
20
“News is that Old Stonewall’s been wounded,” Thomas shouted to his brothers as
he approached them in the dark. “How can that be? I thought we were wippin
those Yankees all to hell and back?” William Lewis asked in bewilderment. “Good
Lord! I hope and pray to God that it’s not too bad!” Seaborn interjected.
“A-men to that!” Thomas agreed.
21
The next morning, General J.E.B. Stuart took over command of the forces of his
fallen comrade. Together, he and General Lee launched an assault on the
defensive lines that the Union forces had been working on throughout the night.
Now the Camp brothers were in the thick of the fighting.
22
“Forward!” Colonel Fry shouted as he led his men forward. Thomas was in the
forefront of those charging toward the Union lines and screaming the Rebel
Yell. Suddenly, he felt a hot stab of pain pass through his abdomen. He looked
down and there was blood seeping through his shirt around his belly. He took a
few more steps and then he fell face forward to the ground.
23
“Tom!” he heard someone scream as if from far away. He felt rough hands on his
left arm, pulling and rolling him over on the ground. Now he was staring into
the frightened face of his brother, William Lewis. “Will, I don’t wanna die,”
he managed. “That’s not gonna happen!” his brother frantically reassured him.
24
Then William Lewis placed one hand under each of Tom’s armpits and began
dragging him back to the Confederate side of the battlefield. He felt a sharp
prick of pain in his leg, but he ignored it and kept dragging his brother
rearward, away from the battle. When he finally came to a stop behind the trunk
of a fallen tree, he unbuttoned Tom’s shirt and shoved a small piece of cloth
into the hole in his stomach.
25
It was then that he noticed the growing deep red wetness on his own trousers.
Now more men were around both of the brothers, Seaborn among them. Two men
carried Thomas, while Will leaned on Seaborn and limped toward the surgeons.
26
Finally, after repeated assaults on their lines and a relentless barrage by
Confederate artillery positioned at Hazel Grove, the Union forces withdrew.
General Robert E. Lee and General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson had won a
brilliant victory over General Joseph Hooker.
27
Nevertheless, General Jackson would be dead within the week. Seaborn would be
captured by the Yankees just two months later at a little village in
Pennsylvania called Gettysburg, and Thomas Camp would be dead one month after
that. In fact, of the three brothers who had fought at Chancellorsville, only
William Lewis would return home to Alabama when the war was finished.
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