First Day at Chancellorsville

<i>The enemy were in force in my immediate front... the country was favorable for a flank attack."</i><br>- Gen. Lafayette McLaws<br><br>"Flanked!" one of the most feared words in any army. It meant that the enemy positioned upon the end of your line could fire down its length while only a few of your troops could fire back. <br><br>From where you now stand, Confederate forces under Gen. Lafayette McLaws poured a devastating fire into the Union troops. McLaws's job was to hold the Federals in his front while his commander, Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, "would endeavor to gain the rear of the enemy." Jackson did just that. Troops from Gen. Robert E. Rodes's division, advancing with Jackson on the Plank Road, wheeled to the right, crashed through the thick woods, and bore down on the Union flank - a preview of what Jackson would achieve on a much larger scale the next day.