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Article: Pennsylvania, Invasion of
- Article from:
- Dictionary of American History
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PENNSYLVANIA, INVASION OF
PENNSYLVANIA, INVASION OF
(1863). The Confederate victory at Chancellorsville, Virginia, early in May 1863 forced General Robert E. Lee to rethink his battle plans. Lee divided his army into three corps under generals James Longstreet, Richard S. Ewell, and A. P. Hill. He was preparing his army for a tactical gamble: an offensive on northern soil that would free Virginia from the danger of invasion, demoralize the enemy, and turn the tide of northern public opinion for a peaceable settlement.
Between Lee and Pennsylvania stood Union General Joseph Hooker's army on the Rappahannock River. Lee approached Hooker in early June, forcing him northward so as to keep ...