battle of Chancellorsville (4/20)

The battle of Chancellorsville between April 3-May 6, 1863, is also known as “Lee’s perfect battle” for the effectiveness of the Confederate maneuvers and skilled shooters among the ranks – all in the face of a much larger opponent. Chancellorsville was the largest deployment of Union forces outside of the Battle of Gettysburg with 133,868 men on the battlefield compared to less than half of that on the Confederate side. Lee’s 60,298 men caused significant damage despite the odds. In the end 17,287 Union soldiers were killed, wounded, or captured compared to 12,764 Confederate soldiers. Lee prevailed and even though it was the greatest number of confederate casualties to that point than in any other battle, Chancellorsville gave a boost of confidence to Confederate forces at the potential for their success despite the mounting odds against them.