General Hooker had confidence in himself, and felt that he could
whip the rebels out of their boots any fine morning. Hence it was,
that feeling in a fighting humor one morning in early April, he
picked up his army, and, crossing the stream, went in pursuit of the
enemy. He found the enemy posted in the woods near Chancellorville,
where he engaged him in a fierce and desperate battle. But the
general's plan, if he had any, soon got out of his head, and it
became apparent that he was fighting the battle in so strange a
manner that no one could understand it. In truth, the general set
aside the established rules of war early in the battle, and went
back to first principles. These give every man the right to fight in
his own way, and is beautifully illustrated in an army fighting
without orders. I am told, my son, on very good authority, that
these "first principles," as applied to fighting battles, never were
better developed than at Chancellorville. I am afraid, my son, we
shall never get a complete and accurate history of that
extraordinary battle, for the reason that no historian will be found
capable of describing it.
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