Battle of Chancellorsville

Chancellorsville, Battle of, U.S. Civil War battle, May 1–5, 1863. Gen. Joseph Hooker's Union forces crossed the Rappahannock River to Chancellorsville, west of Fredericksburg, Va., in a bid to encircle Gen. Robert E. Lee's Confederate forces protecting Fredericksburg. The ploy failed; Lee's counteroffensive led to a Confederate victory in a battle that claimed 30,000 lives, including that of Gen. Stonewall Jackson.

See also: Civil War, U.S.