DOC Chancellorsville by Stephen W. Sears in History

Review

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Excellent accountBy JonClear discussion of battle without the odd reports of key battle events that have appeared as almost facts over the years. Makes clear the luck that helped Lee and harmed Hooker. Really drives home how badly served Hooker was by his Calvary; his communications and his structure for his large guns.7 of 7 people found the following review helpful. Wonderful book but no argument for HookerBy John BenintendiI have just recently gotten back into Civil War History after about a 5 year lapse. I read Foote's Fredericksburg to Meridian (Part II of his massive trilogy) in August. In that book; I learned about the Battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg - as well as others. In looking for books on Chancellorsville; I came across this one by Stephen Sears. I bought it along with Gettysburg as well as his others on Antietam and the Peninsula Campaign. I also read the reviews on Chancellorsville and I saw some that indicated this book was a defense of General Hooker.After reading this book in a mere two weeks; I did not find it to be a defense of Hooker but more of a realistic approach to what Hooker did after he took over for Burnside. Hooker did many great things during his time as head of the Army before the Battle of Chancellorsville. However; Mr. Sears did not leave out his shortcomings during the actual battle. He points out that his decision to abandon Hazel Grove was one of the biggest mistakes of the battle. He also points out that Hooker's decision to retreat was a mistake since Lee had sent some of his army facing Hooker to take on the VI Corps at Fredericksburg. Lastly; Mr. Sears tells of Hooker's mistake in not turing over command of the Army to General Couch after his being wounded. I did not find this book to be an argument in favor of Hooker and against the generals under him.There is no doubt that the generals under Hooker; at least a couple of them (Generals Howard and Stoneman)failed Hooker. This is made very clear in the book. But Mr. Sears does not excuse Hooker for these failures totally. The failure of the XI Corps was not totally of Hooker's doing but more because of Howard. This comes through loud and clear in the book.This is a very good book. It is easy to read and understand. It is easy to get bogged down in the names of the generals and whether they are confederate or union but Mr. Sears made this easy for he put the names of the units behind them so if you know what states were fighting for the Union and what states were Confederate; then it is not difficult. The pace of the book is very good. I did not find any part of the book borning or tedious. I now have a much better understanding of the battle. In fact; I have already begun Mr. Sears' book on Gettysburg and am already 50 pages into it and am liking it very much.I am looking forward to finishing Gettysburg and then moving on to the other books I have that Mr. Sears wrote. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in the Civil War and specifically the eastern theater.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. " what was it like to be there"By Miriam FosterAs a non-American (Irish) but with a passion for history; I found Stephen Sears 3 books; Landscape turned red; Antietam; Chancellorsville; and Gettysburg to be outstanding reads. The detail provided is first class and they gave me a deeper understanding of the politics of the time especially from a northern standpoint. The battle descriptions truely answers the age old question; " what was it like to be there".I cannot recommend these books strongly enough.