Joseph Hooker (November 13, 1814 â€" October 31, 1879) was an American
Civil War general for the Union, chiefly remembered for his decisive
defeat by Confederate General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of
Chancellorsville in 1863.Hooker had served in the Seminole Wars and
the Mexicanâ€"American War, receiving three brevet promotions, before
resigning from the Army. At the start of the Civil War, he joined the
Union side as a brigadier general, distinguishing himself at
Williamsburg, Antietam and Fredericksburg, after which he was given
command of the Army of the Potomac.His ambitious plan for
Chancellorsville was thwarted by Lee's bold move in dividing his army
and routing a Union corps, as well as by mistakes on the part of
Hooker's subordinate generals and his own loss of nerve. The defeat
handed Lee the initiative, which allowed him to travel north to
Gettysburg.Hooker was kept in command, but when General Halleck and
Lincoln declined his request for reinforcements, he resigned. George
G. Meade was appointed to command the Army of the Potomac three days
before Gettysburg. Hooker returned to combat in November 1863, helping
to relieve the besieged Union Army at Chattanooga, Tennessee, and
continuing in the Western Theater under Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman,
but departed in protest before the end of the Atlanta Campaign when he
was passed over for promotion. Joseph Hooker Biography, NetWorth, Height, Age, Weight, Family, Married, Son, Daughter