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Joseph Hooker
b. Nov. 13, 1814, Hadley, Mass., U.S.d. Oct. 31, 1879, Garden City,
N.Y.
Hooker was a Union
general in the American Civil War (1861-65) who successfully
reorganized the Army of the Potomac in early 1863 but who thereafter
earned a seesaw reputation for defeat and victory in battle.
A West Point
graduate and veteran of the Mexican War (1846-48), Hooker left his
California home at the outbreak of the Civil War to serve as
brigadier general of volunteers. In 1862 he participated in all the
major Eastern campaigns and was dubbed "Fighting Joe" because of his
vigorous leadership in the field. When General A.E. Burnside
resigned command of the Army of the Potomac after the Union disaster
at Fredericksburg (November-December), Hooker was appointed to
succeed him.
Immediately the new
commander effected several much-needed organizational reforms and
prepared to challenge the South at the Battle of Chancellorsville
(May 1-4, 1863). His grave defects as a commanding officer became
apparent when Confederate general Robert E. Lee, with fewer than
half the number of troops, outmaneuvered him and caused a Union
retreat. This defeat resulted in the loss of 17,000 Union soldiers.
When Lee advanced into Pennsylvania in June, Hooker followed him
closely until, rebuffed by Washington in his request for additional
troops to meet the enemy at Gettysburg in July, he sensed his
superiors' distrust and resigned his command on the eve of battle.
Three months later Hooker was sent by rail in command of two corps
of the Army of the Potomac to help relieve General W.S. Rosecrans,
besieged at Chattanooga, Tenn. On Nov. 24, 1863, he won the "Battle
Above the Clouds" on Lookout Mountain, clearing the way for the
crowning Union victory on Missionary Ridge. Denied advancement
during the Atlanta Campaign in 1864, he thereafter ceased to play
any active part in the war. |