Today in 1863, in Washington, D.C.

Union General Joseph Hooker assumed command of the Army of the Potomac.



Gen. "Fightin' Joe' Hooker

Following Ambrose Burnside's disastrous tenure as commander, including the debacle at Fredericksburg, Virginia, President Lincoln realized the demoralized Union army desperately needed a new leader.  Hooker, a West Point graduate, was a veteran of the Seminole War and the Mexican War, and served in the American West in the 1850s. When the Civil War erupted, Hooker was named brigadier general in the Army of the Potomac. He quickly rose to division commander, and distinguished himself during the Peninsular Campaign of 1862. He also continued to build his reputation as a hard drinker and womanizer. Hooker received command of the First Corps in time for the Second Battle of Bull Run, Virginia, in August 1862 and his corps played a major role in the Battle of Antietam in Maryland in September of that year.

Accidentally saddled with the sobriquet “Fighin’ Joe” when a newspaper poked fun at the General’s notoriously thin skin, General Hooker would forever after be known as Fightin’ Joe Hooker.

Battle of Chancellorsville

When he took charge, Hooker first had to deal with the sagging morale of the army. He reorganized his command and instituted a badge system, where each division had its own unique insignia. This helped to build unit pride and identity, and Hooker led a re-energized army into Virginia in April 1863. Hooker's appointment was part of President Abraham Lincoln's frustrating process of finding a winning general in the East. After Irwin McDowell, George McClellan, John Pope, McClellan again, and then Burnside, Lincoln hoped Hooker could defeat Confederate General Robert E. Lee and the vaunted Army of Northern Virginia.

Gen. George Meade

However, it was too tall an order for a man like Hooker. In May 1863, Hooker clashed with Lee at the Battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia, and the Union army suffered a decisive and stunning defeat. Lincoln's search for an effective commander continued.  When Hooker sensed that his Commander in Chief (and the army itself) had lost confidence in him, he foolishly tendered an offer of resignation (which he did not believe Lincoln would accept).  But, Lincoln knew Hooker was not the man for the job, accepted the resignation, and, much to his surprise, appointed George Meade the new commander, just days before the pivotal battle at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

[January 26, 1863]