Which Confederate general delivered a decisive enveloping attack at the Battle of Chancellorsville?

• A. Stonewall Jackson
• B. James Longstreet
• C. P.G.T. Beauregard
• D. Ewell

Answer: (A)

Stonewall Jackson carried out the decisive enveloping attack. At Chancellorsville, Lee split his forces, and Jackson’s corps swung around the Union Army’s right, striking from the rear and flank. This bold, rapid turning movement disrupted Hooker’s line, created a break in the Union left, and forced a retreat, giving the Confederates a clear victory. The maneuver is the classic example of an enveloping attack—the kind of flank maneuver that can overwhelm a positioned force by attacking from the side and rear. The other commanders were involved in the battle, but it was Jackson’s enveloping flank maneuver that earned the victory.