Hooker, Joseph

Life Span
to
Full name
Joseph Hooker
Place of Birth
Birth Date Certainty
Exact
Death Date Certainty
Exact
Gender
Male
Race
White
Sectional choice
North
Origins
Free State
No. of Spouses
1
No. of Children
0
Family
Joseph Hooker (father), and Mary Seymour (mother), Olivia Groesbeck (wife)
Education
West Point (US Military Academy)
Occupation
Military
Businessman
Relation to Slavery
White non-slaveholder
Military
US military (Pre-Civil War)
Union Army
US military (Post-Civil War)

Joseph Hooker (American National Biography)

Scholarship
As to Hooker's military abilities, two conclusions would seem to be justified. First, he had few equals and perhaps no superior among Union generals as commander of a corps or any force he could personally supervise and inspire. Second, he was deficient, as revealed at Chancellorsville, in those qualities of mind and temperament needed to lead a large army in a successful offensive campaign against a foe as redoubtable as Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia. But, then, the only northern general who ever did so was Grant, and it took him a year and 100,000 casualties to do it. Thus it is quite possible that if Hooker had gone against any Confederate army commander other than Lee, he would have garnered the glory he sought. His failure at Chancellorsville basically was his own fault, but it also can be said that he was unfortunate in his opponent.
Albert Castel, "Hooker, Joseph," American National Biography Online, February 2000, http://www.anb.org/articles/05/05-00359.html.
Date Event
Near Williamsburg, Virginia, forty-thousand pursuing Union troops clash with the Confederate rearguard
- Largest battle yet in the eastern theater fought at Fair Oaks, Virginia near Richmond
Battle of Antietam
- The Army of the Potomac concentrates on Chancellorsville in preparation for an attack on Lee
Union and Confederate armies collide near Chancellorsville in Spotsylvania County, Virginia
"Stonewall" Jackson's flanking movement seizes the initiative in the Battle of Chancellorsville
Lee's Army of Northern Virginia forces back entrenched Union forces at the Battle of Chancellorsville
- The beaten Union Army retreats across the Rappahannock, ending the Battle of Chancellorsville
Court martial convicts General Joseph Revere, grandson of the patriot, for his retreat at Chancellorsville
General George Meade appointed commander of the Army of the Potomac, replacing Joseph Hooker
Above Chattanooga, Tennessee, Union troops storm the Confederate positions on Lookout Mountain
In northern Georgia, retreating Confederates mount a bold and successful defense of the Ringgold Gap
President Lincoln's remains spend the day in Cleveland, Ohio, on their journey west
In Columbus, Ohio, thousands view President Lincoln's remains during a day at the State Capitol
Reaching his home state, President Lincoln's remains arrive in Chicago to a remarkable reception
Abraham Lincoln returns to Springfield, Illinois where his remains lay in state in the State House
How to Cite This Page: "Hooker, Joseph," House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College, https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/index.php/node/11941.