The Chancellorsville Campaign was the true high water mark for both the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army of the Potomac. The campaign would be the Confederates' greatest battle, though it came at the cost of losing General "Stonewall" Jackson at the height of his military success and public popularity. Although the Confederacy prevailed at Chancellorsville, "Fighting Joe" Hooker used the defeat to institute a multitude of reforms in the Army of the Potomac, which paved the way for the hard-fought victory at Gettysburg and heavily influenced the Union winning the war. Shenandoah University professor James Bryant weaves together a concise yet comprehensive account of the engagement, one brought to life by excerpts from the letters of Lee, Jackson and Hooker, as well as many other soldiers.

Jim Bryant is an associate professor of history at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia. He served five years as the history department chair and a year and a half as executive director of Shenandoah University's History and Tourism Center. He was also a historian with the National Park Service, spending nine years with the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park that encompasses the Fredericksburg Battlefield. He lives currently in Stephens City, Virginia, with his wife Amy and son Jack.