A Brotherhood of Valor by Jeffry D. Wert

Author:Jeffry D. Wert
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Touchstone

The Westerners’ response to Meredith’s proposal reflected the restoration of morale in the brigade and throughout the entire Union army. Since his appointment to command after the Mud March, Joseph Hooker had rejuvenated the demoralized ranks by attending to the men’s needs, changing the army’s command structure, and infusing it with his own self-confidence. The commanding general unsnarled supply problems, saw that the troops were better fed and clothed, granted furloughs, and adopted the idea of chief of staff Daniel Butterfield to give each of the seven corps a distinctive badge. While Butterfield argued that it could give commanders better control of units on a battlefield, the badges became a source of pride to corps’s members. Within each corps, the badges were colored red, white, and blue for the First, Second, and Third divisions, respectively. 45

Hooker abandoned Burnside’s bulky grand division structure, eliminating another command layer within the army. He also appointed new corps commanders and created a cavalry corps to match the Confederates’ superb horsemen. Unfortunately, in a clash of strong-willed men, Hooker reduced the authority of Henry J. Hunt, the army’s highly capable artillery chief. Overall, however, the commanding general streamlined the organizational structure and created a mounted force which would, in time, rival Jeb Stuart’s Southern cavalry. 46

Beyond the changes, Fighting Joe exuded confidence as he rode through the camps and spoke to subordinate officers. According to a Michigander, when Hooker conversed with Colonel Henry Morrow, the general swore “that he was just as sure that he was a going to whip the rebs as he was a living man. He said all he was afraid of was that they would run before he got a chance to fight.” Such words were repeated to the rank and file. They encouraged men who had been searching for another George McClellan, but such boastfulness had to be followed by victories. 47

Military pageantry had always appealed to Hooker’s personal showmanship. When the weather permitted, he massed the army for reviews. A member of the Iron Brigade believed that the one held on April 2 was “the finest military show I have ever seen since the day that we crossed the river at Fredericksburg.” Trailed by fifty staff officers and subordinate commanders, Hooker dashed along the ranks, riding “as though the old Nick himself was after him.” Each unit, “all being out in their best dress,” then passed before the commanding general, emitting three cheers in his honor. A week later, when President Lincoln visited the army, Hooker repeated the spectacle for the commander-in-chief. 48

No man could erase Fredericksburg’s memories, but Hooker healed some of its scars. On Monday, April 27, as blossoms colored peach trees, the massive Union army, numbering over 100,000 troops, began leaving its winter camps. Hooker and his senior generals had been planning a spring offensive for weeks. With accurate estimates of Lee’s strength, the Federal commanders settled upon a flanking movement up the Rappahannock, similar to Burnside’s January debacle. This time, however, Hooker would pass farther

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