*COPY* of MC's LOST Civil War Geocoin #06: Chancellorsville

Of course, this geocoin MUST go to the Chancellorsville battlefield and get its picture taken there. Any other Civil War related site or cache would be good too. Just keep the coin moving around from cache to cache, please!

Don't keep this coin - it is not a trade item!

This is a copy of my Chancellorsville geocoin that was lost or stolen. The original coin was sent out to travel, but went missing. It has been missing for over a year, so I made this copy coin to travel in its place.

This geocoin wants to go anywhere related to the Civil War - but especially to the Chancellorsville battlefield in the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park in Virginia. Take it to Civil War battlefields, historic markers, Civil War graveyards, forts, etc. Please try to keep it moving. Place it in another cache within two weeks if possible.

Please post pictures of the geocoin at Civil War sites if you can.
Thanks!

Some interesting information about the Battle of Chancellorsville:
- The battle of Chancellorsville, considered by many historians to be "Lee's greatest victory", was the biggest mismatch of the Civil War, yet the much smaller Confederate army emerged victorious.

- Union General Joseph “Fighting Joe” Hooker commanded the largest army of the Civil War - nearly 134,000 men and 412 artillery pieces. They were well trained, well supplied, and more than twice the size of the opposing Confederate forces. Hooker called them "the finest army on the planet."

- The Confederate army was under the command of General Robert E. Lee. Lee had only about 63,000 men.

- Toward the end of April, 1863, Hooker advanced to attack Lee at Chancellorsville. Hooker intended to split his army and catch Lee in a pincer between the halves. "My plans are perfect," boasted Hooker "and when I start to carry them out may God have mercy on General Lee, for I will have none."

- On May 1, Hooker suddenly became cautious, halted his advance while still inside the tangle of the Wilderness, and ordered his men into a defensive posture. Had he continued to more open country, his superior numbers would have given him a decided advantage.

- With Hooker stalled in the Wilderness, Lee and Jackson conceived a bold but risky plan to strike Hooker first. On the morning of May 2, Lee split his forces and sent Lieutenant General T.J. Jackson and his corps of 30,000 men on a long march against the Federal right flank, which was reported to be "hanging in the air."

- Lee's small remaining force of 14,000 kept up an almost continuous fire in the dense forest all along Hooker’s three-mile front, deceiving Hooker as to his numbers, and making him hesitate to advance. Unnerved, Hooker allowed Lee to hold him in check all day, while Jackson swiftly marched around his right flank.

- That afternoon, just as a rainbow sprang across the sky in the rear of his lines of battle, Jackson ordered the attack. With a wild "rebel yell," his veterans rushed forward through the forest, driving all kinds of game before them, and hit Hooker's right flank. The Union forces were cooking their supper. A panic ensued, and the Union line was routed.

- The Federal troops eventually rallied, resisted the advance, and counterattacked. Disorganization on both sides and darkness ended the fighting.

- After dusk, Jackson rode ahead to reconnoiter. As he and his men trotted back to their line, a Confederate regiment mistook them for Union cavalry and fired two volleys into the blackness. Jackson was hit three times. Two bullets had smashed his left arm. Another bullet had hit his right hand. He was hurried to the back of the line. A doctor quickly cut off his left arm and stopped the heavy bleeding. Jackson seemed to get better, then developed pneumonia and died a few days later.

- J.E.B. Stuart took command of Jackson's Corps. On May 3, the Confederates attacked. The bloodiest fighting of the battle occurred as Stuart launched brigade after brigade against entrenched Union lines. The woods caught fire, confronting the wounded with a horrible fate. The Federal line finally broke. Later that night, his nerve apparently failing him again, Hooker ordered a full retreat of the Army of the Potomac.

- Although Lee was very upset that Hooker's army had escaped, had he actually continued to assault the Federal army in its prepared defenses, he could very well have destroyed his own army instead. Hooker was defeated more by his own loss of nerve than by Lee and Jackson. "Fighting Joe" Hooker would be relieved of command in mid-June.

- Estimated Casualties: 24,000 total (US 14,000; CS 10,000)

Blue skies and happy caching!
Model Citizen - Zero Discipline