The Chancellorsville Campaign: Mission Command
In late April, 1863, the American Civil War was ongoing for two bloody years but the Armies of the North and South met near Spotsylvania, Virginia. Major General Joseph Hooker’s Army of the Potomac marched south to the Rappahannock River, imposing on the last Confederate strong point north of the Confederate capitol (Wineman, 10). The two armies collided in Chancellorsville, which was equidistant between Washington DC and Richmond, Virginia. The Army of the Potomac marched 130,000 strong against a dug-in 60,000 man force commanded by General Lee (Luvaas, 11). During the Chancellorsville campaign, MG Joseph Hooker failed to leverage the mission command warfighting function, which led to one of the greatest Union defeats of the American Civil War.
The Union’s objective was to seize the Confederate capitol of Richmond, the …show more content…
Sickle placed artillery on key terrain in the area to support this maneuver (Wineman, 120). Initially, when the Confederate lines did not break, MG Hooker ordered forces to be relocated to a defensive position on Plank Road. Not only did the Union relinquish the initiative and momentum, but they also ceded key terrain, which resulted in a marked advantage to their enemy. MG Hooker failed to provide General Sickles with any freedom of action during the maneuver. He mandated the orders without collaboration from the commanders on the front lines (Wineman, 120). Instead of issuing broad guidance and allowing his subordinate commander to execute his task, MG Hooker allowed the Confederate forces to conduct a counterattack, seize Hazel Grove, and place their artillery in the advantageous position for the rest of the battle. MG Hooker’s misuse of mission command and mistrust of Sickles put the Union Army at a disadvantage on the Western