Turning Points on the Plank Road

The Battle of Chancellorsville raged in Virginia May 2 through 6, 1863. Union General Joseph Hooker failed and gave a decisive victory to the Confederates. However, the victory was not a cheerful one for the South. On the night of May 2, Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson and his men, returning from an attack, were fired on by their own Confederate brethren who thought Jackson’s group was Union soldiers. Jackson was hit by two bullets in his left arm, which was then amputated. Eight days later Jackson died of complications from pneumonia.