John Dimitry , A. M., Confederate Military History, a library of Confederate States Military History: Volume 10.1, Louisiana
Clement Anselm Evans, Ed.

[248] Horror, most truly! Heros Van Borcke, J. E. B. Stuart's distinguished and devoted chief of staff, in his ‘Memoirs of the Confederate War for Independence,’ says that ‘the dead bodies lay thicker on the field than I had ever seen before.’ Meagher's brave Irish brigade was nearly annihilated. In front of the stone wall which skirted the sunken road at the foot of Marye's hill the brigade's dead lay in heaps.

For the North, Fredericksburg had chilled the gladness following Antietam; for the South, it had restored confidence. Reckless Burnside was replaced by ‘Fighting Joe Hooker.’ Hooker began well. While Lee was watching him from his old heights back of Fredericksburg Hooker had taken a march on him, massing 40,000 men on his left flank at Chancellorsville. Here ‘Fighting Joe,’ forgetting his nickname won by daring, rested, undecided, one full wasted day. When at last prepared to advance, Lee (without Longstreet, who was absent at Suffolk), hastening by forced marches from Fredericksburg, was ready to meet him. After barely feeling Lee, Hooker tempted him by retiring into the Wilderness, facing toward Fredericksburg. Here the Confederate advance under Jackson attacked him. The expected happened. In the dense thickets, turned everywhere into abatis and bristling at every avenue of approach with artillery, Hooker was practically impregnable. Lee soon drew back from the purposeless contest. The heavy guns on this day, both Federal and Confederate, thundered only the prelude of the mighty opening orchestra. Lee on the same evening (May 1st) called a council of his corps commanders. Jackson, who had led the assault of the day and had seen its futility, was ready with his plan for the next day's battle.

Here we see the one opportunity of Jackson's military life. He for the first and only time outlined a plan for the movements of the army of which he was only a lieutenant. It was as though Lannes had laid before Napoleon