Reference Entry
JOSEPH HOOKER TAKES COMMAND OF THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC
After the disastrous Union defeat at Fredericksburg and the swampy failure of the so-called “Mud March,” President Abraham Lincoln decided he could no longer keep Ambrose Burnside in charge of the Army of the Potomac. Orders issued in late January placed Major General Joseph Hooker, a combative and outspoken corps commander, in charge of the Union’s main eastern field army.
Dated Historical Context
A RECORDED MOMENT IN HISTORY
Joseph Hooker takes command of the Army of the Potomac
After the disastrous Union defeat at Fredericksburg and the swampy failure of the so-called “Mud March,” President Abraham Lincoln decided he could no longer keep Ambrose Burnside in charge of the Army of the Potomac. Orders issued in late January placed Major General Joseph Hooker, a combative and outspoken corps commander, in charge of the Union’s main eastern field army. Hooker inherited an organization battered by casualties, poor morale, and political intrigue, but he also took over a force with enormous potential in manpower and equipment. He moved quickly to reorganize the cavalry, improve supply and camp sanitation, and institute more generous furloughs to strengthen loyalty. Those reforms helped restore confidence before the Chancellorsville Campaign, even though Hooker would ultimately lose that battle to Robert E. Lee. His brief tenure nonetheless demonstrated how much leadership changes could reshape the Union war effort, for better and for worse.
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