Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park - Virtual Tour Stop, Chancellorsville House Site and Intersection (U.S. National Park Service)

Chancellorsville was not a town, but an intersection where the Chancellor family lived. A house was constructed about 1816 and occasionally functioned as an Inn for travelers on the busy Orange Turnpike. The building burned during the battle. The family rebuilt the house, but it burned in 1927. Archaeologists found and marked the outline of the original house.

In 1863 this was a five way intersection, today it is a very busy four way intersection. On the afternoon of April 30, 1863, Union soldiers of the Fifth, Eleventh, and Twelfth Corps concentrated at this intersection. General George Meade, commander of the Fifth Corps, was anxious to push on toward Fredericksburg to tighten the vice around Lee's surrounded army, but General Henry Slocum had orders from General Hooker to halt and wait for his arrival.

Sketch of Joe Hooker at Chancellorsville

General Joseph Hooker arrived at the Chancellor House on the evening of April 30. He used the dwelling as his headquarters until mid-morning on May 3. Instead of immediately advancing toward Fredericksburg, Hooker wasted nearly twenty-four hours before continuing their march. It was a turning point in the campaign.

Union lines deployed in the clearing in front of the Chancellor House.

About mid-morning on May 3, General Joseph Hooker was standing on the porch of the Chancellor House when an incoming projectile struck a pillar which broke and knocked the general out. He regained his senses, but was forced to retire to the rear.

During the fighting on the morning of May 3 that raged around the Chancellor House, the dwelling caught fire. Union soldiers rescued the family that had taken cover in the cellar. The house was badly damaged.

On May 3, Union troops fighting at Fairview fell back to Chancellorsville and eventually to a last line, a half mile to the north. Artillery covered the retreat.

The house was rebuilt, but it burned in 1927. Today the outline of the original house is marked with bricks.

Banks Ford on the Rappahannock River

Proceed to Virtual Tour Stop, Banks Ford

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