Which lasted longer, the Battle of Chancellorsville or the Battle of the Wilderness ?
Battle of Chancellorsville The Battle of Chancellorsville was a major battle of the American Civil War (1861–1865), and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville Campaign. It was fought from April 30 to May 6, 1863, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, near the village of Chancellorsville. Two related battles were fought nearby on May 3 in the vicinity of Fredericksburg. The campaign pitted Union Army Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker's Army of the Potomac against an army less than half its size, General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Chancellorsville is known as Lee's "perfect battle" because his risky decision to divide his army in the presence of a much larger enemy force resulted in a significant Confederate victory. The victory, a product of Lee's audacity and Hooker's timid decision making, was tempered by heavy casualties, including Lt. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson. Jackson was hit by friendly fire, requiring his left arm to be amputated; he died of pneumonia eight days later, a loss that Lee likened to losing his right arm.
Battle of Pea Ridge The Battle of Pea Ridge (March 7–8, 1862) (also known as the Battle of Elkhorn Tavern) was a battle of the American Civil War. It was fought at Pea Ridge in northwest Arkansas, near Leetown. Union forces, led by Brigadier-General Samuel R. Curtis, moved south from central Missouri, driving Confederate forces into northwestern Arkansas. Major-General Earl Van Dorn launched a Confederate counter-offensive, hoping to recapture northern Arkansas and Missouri. Curtis held off the Confederate attack on the first day and drove Van Dorn's force off the field on the second. This Civil War battle, one of the few in which a Confederate army outnumbered its opponent, essentially established Union control of most of Missouri and northern Arkansas.